I want to make the Merchant Marine Academy the same jewel that Air Force, West Point and Annapolis are.

I want to highlight the President's funding request for some of our critical modes.

I want to express real serious appreciation for the evolution of the interest and the concern that is being expressed relative to the whole question of prison reentry.

That is wonderful.

I think if we could find a way somehow or another to prevent individuals from becoming drug addicted because about half the individuals who end up prison are there because of some drug related activity.

Many of them were put on the books as we decided that we needed to get tough on crime in the 1980s and the early 1990s.

They are very good. They work extremely well. And I think they are worth their weight in gold.

I think that those programs that can result in an individual being able to find employment after everything else is said and done...

I urge Congress to please take hold of this and make it happen.

And I think that is one of the reasons we ended up calling this activity 'Second Chance,' because in many instances, unless individuals get that employment opportunity, then they are totally frustrated.

As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research and the humanity and conscious to do so responsibly.

But after much discussion, debate and reflection, the proper course has become clear. The majority of Americans from across the political spectrum and from all backgrounds and beliefs have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research.

Science, not politics, would guide his Administration's approach to difficult public policy issues we face today.

Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration on a wide range of issues.

Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells.

Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it's a fiscal imperative. If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy and get our federal budget under control, then we have to address the crushing cost of health care this year in this administration.

I want every American to know this. We will rebuild. We will recover. And the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

Just this morning, we learned that we lost another 651,000 jobs throughout the country in the month of February alone which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to an astounding 4.4 million -- 4.4 million jobs.