President's Schedule: Wednesday, March 31

Good morning...

You won't hear the phrase "Drill, baby drill," but that's what President Obama will propose when he announces plans to open new areas for offshore oil and gas drilling. The remarks are set for 11:05 during a visit to Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington.

Obama called for offshore drilling in the 2008 campaign; he says it’s part of an overall energy strategy that also includes nuclear, solar and wind power. Areas he wants to open include coastal Virginia and other parts of the mid-Atlantic, Alaska & Gulf of Mexico. But some areas he wants to keep off limits to drilling: Alaska’s Bristol Bay, and Calif., Oregon and Washington state through 2017.

Obama also wants the U.S. military - the biggest consumer of oil in the United States - to use fuel more efficiently; he sees energy security helping effecting a "trifecta" of concerns - national security, the economy and environment.

The military is such a huge consumer of fuel, that if it changes its buying habits, it can create, singlehandedly, a vast new market for renewable energy, spurring entrepreneurs to serve it. It's kind of a reverse "Field of Dreams" thing, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus tells National Defense: "If we come, they will build it." The legendary DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - is encouraging this; in fact, WWR predicts the Pentagon will be a key driver of America's pivot towards a green energy economy.

In the afternoon, the President meets with the family of civil rights legend Cesar Chavez on what would have been his 83rd birthday, as well as leaders of the United Farm Workers (UFW) that Chavez co-founded. Obama will then sign a proclamation designating March 31, 2010 as Cesar Chavez Day.

Obama ends his day with remarks at the closing session of the "Forum for Workplace Flexibility." No, not stretching and bending, but rather how companies can better create work environments to help employees do the work-life balance thing.

The Schedule

EDT

9:30AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office

11:05AM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on energy security
Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington


2:40PM THE PRESIDENT meets with the Chavez family and signs a proclamation in honor of Cesar Chavez Day
Oval Office

4:30PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks at closing session of the Forum for Workplace Flexibility
EEOB South Court Auditorium

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Obama's Mail

You may have heard that President Obama gets 20,000 letters and e-mails a day. He reads 10 of them - and responds. The Washington Post has a fascinating look at what Obama calls his most important daily reading material.

http://bit.ly/a0xI6W


Presidential Quote

"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say." - Calvin Coolidge