The President's vision to "Win the Future" spelled out in his State of the Union Address was not one founded on vague dreams of a brighter day ahead -- it was founded on ideas, advancements, and principles already cropping up across the country that can help keep America on top if we only stand by them.  That's what his visit to Penn State today was about:

And right here, right here at Penn State, a university whose motto is “making life better,” you’ve answered the call.  (Applause.)  So today you’re preparing to lead the way on a hub that will make America home to the most energy-efficient buildings in the world.
 
Now, that may not sound too sexy until  -- (laughter) -- energy-efficient buildings.  (Laughter.)  But listen, our homes and our businesses consume 40 percent of the energy we use.  Think about that.  Everybody focuses on cars and gas prices, and that’s understandable.  But our homes and our businesses use 40 percent of the energy.  They contribute to 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce and that is contributing to climate change.  It costs us billions of dollars in energy bills. They waste huge amounts of energy.
 
So the good news is we can change all that.  Making our buildings more energy-efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs right here in the United States of America.  And that's what we’re going to do.  (Applause.)

President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu tour the Engineering Labs at Penn State University with James Freihaut, Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering, in State College, Pennsylvania, February 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Specifically, the President was announcing the “Better Buildings Initiative,” which aims to achieve a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020, reduce companies’ and business owners’ energy bills by about $40 billion per year, and save energy by reforming outdated incentives and challenging the private sector to act.  The White House fact sheet fleshes out those goals, talks about the successes to be built upon from the last two years, and lays out these steps which will be included in the President's coming budget:

During his gaggle with the press this morning aboard Air Force One, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs opened the session with pointed remarks about recent developments in Egypt:

MR. GIBBS:  Let me -- if I can, let me just start with a few thoughts.  I want to reiterate our administration and our country’s strong condemnation of the violence and the images that we’ve seen over the past many hours.

The government of Egypt has to ensure that peaceful protests can take place.  We have obviously seen the remarks of the Prime Minister today and hope that his acknowledgment that anybody that is involved in this will be held accountable is something that the government is serious about.

I want to say a word for a second on the systematic targeting of journalists in Egypt.  This also is completely and totally unacceptable.  Any journalist that has been detained should be released immediately.  I think we need to be clear that the world is watching the actions that are taking place right now in Egypt.  And I’ll reiterate again that the actions of targeting journalists, that is unacceptable, and that those journalists should be, if they are detained, released immediately.  I know the President has been briefed on this as part of the daily briefing this morning. 

Next, I would like to again reiterate that the -- as we have said all along -- that the time for the transition in Egypt is now, and it is important that we all begin to see meaningful steps toward that transition and that negotiations take place between the government and a broadly based group of members of the opposition as we work through, as I said, the transition toward free and fair elections.

Last week, the President visited manufacturers in Wisconsin who are focused on creating the clean energy products of the future. Today, he continues taking his agenda for innovation and a new energy economy on the road, visiting an Energy Innovation Hub in State College, Pennsylvania.

While visiting the researchers and developers at this facility, the President will announce his Better Building Initiative. This initiative aims to achieve a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency in commercial buildings by 2020, improvements which will save American businesses $40 billion a year. Those savings will free up critical funds that businesses can use to expand, reach new markets, and create more American jobs.

One of the key parts of the Better Building Initiative is a program called Race to Green, a competitive grant process modeled after the highly successful Race to the Top program that has improved education across the country. Race to Green will encourage states and local governments to reform their building codes and make it easier to retrofit buildings with energy-saving technology. The best ideas to streamline regulations will receive grants from the federal government that will help put those ideas into practice.

The biggest, most world-changing innovations in this country's history have come from the private sector, and President Obama knows that that's where we'll find the next ones, too. Winning the future is going to require government and business to work together and foster the good ideas that become great inventions.

Ed. note: This is the first blog post in a series that highlights African Americans from throughout the Administration who contribute to the President’s vision of winning the future through their work.

I’m lucky to have been raised by my parents, Raymond and Sue Ann Smith, who value education.  As we celebrate Black History Month I reflect on the fact that I grew up in a period that offered me many more opportunities than my parents had when they were my age. This is one of the things that motivated me to return to public service, and inspires me to work every day to create opportunities for all Americans.

I grew up in Fort Worth Texas and earned a BS degree in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy at West Point. I began my career as an officer in the U. S. Army and served tours with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea and the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. After leaving military service, I went on to work for Citibank and JPMorgan in New York City and London. While I was in England I earned an MBA from Cambridge University.

I spent the next eleven years in the oil industry, first with Texaco, then with Chevron. I spent most of that time leading international projects, including three years living in Bogotá Colombia negotiating offshore and pipeline agreements. The Secretary of Energy appointed me Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas in September of 2009.

President Barack Obama signs the instrument of ratification of the New START Treaty in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011. Participants include, from left: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; Energy Secretary Steven Chu; Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; and Vice President Joe Biden. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Today the President ratified a landmark nuclear arms treaty with Russia, New START.  As the President said during the end of the last Congress, the treaty is "a national security imperative" as well as "a cornerstone of our relations with Russia" as we continue to work with them on everything from Iran to Afghanistan.  With the Senate having approved the treaty with a strong bipartisan vote late last year, today's signing marks a final step in the process.  That process began when President Obama and President Medvedev initially signed the agreement in Prague last April, a fitting location given that one year before that President Obama had been there for a major speech commiting to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.

You can read the Treaty (pdf) and Protocol (pdf) themselves, but here's a quick overview from our fact sheet at the time:

Today the official preliminary results from the historic referendum in Sudan were released. The people of Southern Sudan appear to have voted overwhelmingly in support of independence: total turnout was about 97 percent with almost 99 percent of voters casting their ballots to create the world’s newest nation. West Wing Week was on the ground in Sudan during the week-long referendum, traveling to all parts of the country with the President’s Special Envoy, General Scott Gration. We went behind the scenes at polling stations from Juba to Khartoum, met some of the international community who helped to ensure the vote was fair and peaceful, and traveled to Darfur to inspect conditions and learn about the commitment of the United States to peace in this region after decades of civil war.

"During National African American History Month, we recognize the extraordinary achievements of African Americans and their essential role in shaping the story of America. In honor of their courage and contributions, let us resolve to carry forward together the promise of America for our children," President Obama stated in a Proclamation today.

This month, Americans from around the country will celebrate the creativity, determination, and contributions that African Americans have made to our Nation’s identity and culture. This year’s celebration will be an opportunity not just to look back and recognize the achievements of our community, but also to honor the legacy of those that have come before us while fostering the leaders of tomorrow.

Throughout the month, we'll highlight African Americans from throughout the Administration on the White House blog. We look forward to sharing the stories of individuals who contribute to the President’s vision of winning the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competition through their work.

On Monday, Judge Roger Vinson issued a ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The ruling comes after legal action in cases regarding the law in courts across the country. Twelve federal judges have already dismissed challenges to the constitutionality of the health reform law.  Two federal judges – in the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Virginia – have fully upheld the law, and one federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia ruled against the individual responsibility provision but declined to bar full, continuing implementation.   

The decision issued on Monday is one district court decision, and we believe it to be very wrong.   The Department of Justice has made clear that it is reviewing all of its options in responding to this case, as it does in all cases. Implementation will continue.

Legal experts agree with our assessment of Judge Vinson’s ruling. Here’s what they are saying about the ruling and the case:

Boston College Law Professor Brian Galle:

“The ACA and its accompanying incentives to buy insurance overcome a collective action problem among states.  Thus, the ACA is easily distinguished from the court's parade of broccoli horribles; even if one thought that the federal government should deal only with uniquely national problems, the ACA easily meets that standard.”

David Engstrom, Stanford Law School Faculty Member:

“The issue that the court has ruled on has been specifically contradicted by two other district courts. So, the idea that the Obama administration should somehow stand down from implementing the act, based on a fourth district court, doesn't have any basis in law.”

NYU Constitutional Law Professor Rick Hills:

“Consider the following train wreck of Necessary & Proper reasoning contained in Judge Vinson's opinion striking down the individual mandate:

• It is a legitimate end for Congress to regulate the insurance industry to prevent "insurers from excluding or charging higher rates to people with pre-existing conditions" (pages 60-61);
• The Individual Mandate in the ACA is "necessary" to enable Congress to regulate the insurance industry in this manner (page 63). Yet...
• "[T]he individual mandate falls outside the boundary of Congress’ Commerce Clause authority and cannot be reconciled with a limited government of enumerated powers."

Huh? How can a means that is conceded to be necessary for a legitimate end not be within Congress' implied powers to pursue that end? Judge Vinson never presents even the simulacrum of an argument: Instead, he engages in hand-waving.”

George Washington University Law Professor Orin Kerr:

“I think Judge Vinson’s argument on the Necessary and Proper Clause is not persuasive…Rather, my point is that Judge Vinson should not have used a first principle to trump existing Supreme Court caselaw when that principle may not be consistent with existing caselaw. Either Justice Thomas is wrong or Judge Vinson is wrong, and Judge Vinson was not making a persuasive legal argument when he followed the first principle instead of the cases. Because Judge Vinson is bound by Supreme Court precedent, I would think he should have applied the cases.”

Cornell University Law Professor Mike Dorf:

“Judge Vinson appeared to base the total nonseverability decision partly on what he took to be Congressional intent.… Judge Vinson's approach ought to be especially unappealing to the Supreme Court's “textualists,” who don't even like to speculate about what Congress subjectively intended by the language it enacted.  How much worse it should be to speculate about what Congress might have done if it had known that a provision it enacted would subsequently be found invalid.”

Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor.