Rahm Emanuel Reads To Children

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes read to young children as part of the “Read to the Top!” summer initiative at the Department of Education Monday.

U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan welcomed Emanuel and Barnes to the initiative, which aims to promote reading amongst young children during the summer vacation from school.

While Emanuel is infamous for his aggressive behavior and vocabulary, the Chief of Staff adopted a more family-friendly tone for Monday's event, making jokes while reading "Duck For President" that may have gone over the youngsters' heads.

Following a section of the book that described animals lining up to register to Vote for Duck, Emanuel noted that "It's obviously not in Chicago."

"'Have you seen the other one: Duck Runs For Congress?" Emanuel joked. "It's really good."

Today At TRNS

The Washington Bureau will be covering the following events:

-Remarks by National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers on "Rescuing and Rebuilding the U.S. Economy: A Progress Report”

-An appearance by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at event to read to children.

-A House Financial Services Committee hearing on "Industry Perspectives on the Obama Administration's Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals."

-A discussion on "Scholars and Scribes Review the Rulings: The Supreme
Court's 2008-2009 Term” at the Heritage Foundation.

-A discussion on discussion on "Healthcare Reform: Putting Patients First."

Ed. Sec. Duncan: Unprecedented Money Will Lead to Unprecedented Reforms

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

The $100 billion given to the Department of Education by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the most expensive piece of legislation since the G.I. Bill which provided college education for returning World War II veterans. The investment is intended to shore up state education efforts, while saving jobs and encouraging educational innovation with its main objective to provide a better future for the youth of this country and the future generations said Education Secretary Arne Duncan at a press conference this morning.

“It is a time of economic crisis, it is a time of educational crisis and I am convinced we need to educate our way to a better economy. The challenges are real, the challenges are profound,the stakes have never been higher but the opportunity is absolutely once in a lifetime,” said Duncan.

“With unprecedented resources we want to push unprecedented reform,” said Duncan, adding that “we have to get dramatically better if we were to retain our spot around the world as the education leader... By the year 2020, we want to have the highest percent of college graduates in the world.”

To reach this ambitious goal, investments will be made in nearly every level of education. $5 billion will be invested to early childhood education. $30 billion will be invested in higher education. “There are no good dropouts, no good jobs today for high school dropouts... condemning them to poverty and social failure,” Duncan said. $2.5 billion will be dedicated over five years to retain students in higher education, and “the goal is not to go to college, the goal is to graduate,” he said.

These students are "competing with students in India and China for jobs... We have to raise the bar,” said Duncan.

For Duncan,”we cannot go backwards”, the crisis should lead people “to think very differently, to invest differently... and show what the country is possible.”

Today at TRNS

Talk Radio News Washington Bureau will be covering the following events:
- Address by Education Secretary Arne Duncan on education reform and his
agency's role in President Obama's economic stimulus efforts.
-"Administration's 60-Day Review of Federal Cyber
Security Program."
-Discussion on "Toward Universal Broadband: Developing a National
Broadband Strategy."