Subject: Daily Message Points -- May 10, 2016
From: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
To: "Cunnane, Pat EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2016 14:04:50 +0000

Daily Message Points

May 10, 2016

Hiroshima Visit

*         President Obama will visit Hiroshima after the conclusion of the G7 meetings in Japan.

*         Given recent visits by our Ambassador and Secretary of State, and Hiroshima's role in hosting the G-7 foreign ministerial, this is the appropriate year for President Obama to become the first sitting American President to visit Hiroshima.

*         While in Hiroshima, he will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.  The President will not deliver an extended address, but will share his reflections on his visit.

*         The President will not focus on the past or revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb during World War II, but rather will offer a forward-looking vision for the future.  The United States will be eternally proud of our civilian leaders and the men and women of the United States armed forces who served in World War II at a time of maximum peril to our country and our world.

*         The President's visit will honor the memory of all who were lost during the war.

*         The President's visit will reaffirm America's commitment to pursue the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. As the one nation to use nuclear weapons, the United States has a special responsibility to lead in pursuit of that objective.  That commitment has guided our efforts to promote non-proliferation and nuclear security, and to reduce the role nuclear weapons play in our security.

*         The President's visit will also symbolize how far the United States and Japan have come in building a deep and abiding alliance based on shared interests, shared values, and an enduring spirit of friendship between our peoples.  We will continue to work together for a world without nuclear weapons, and a world of greater peace, while ensuring our shared security.

*         The open recognition of history is essential to understanding our shared past, the forces that shape the world we live in today, and the future that week for our children and grandchildren.

Supreme Court

*         In March, the President fulfilled his constitutional responsibility by nominating Chief Judge Merrick Garland - an eminently qualified American - to the Supreme Court.

*         Today, in addition to continuing to meet with senators of both parties, Chief Judge Garland will submit his questionnaire to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

*         The questionnaire and associated materials present an exhaustive picture of Judge Garland's distinguished career and impeccable credentials as a nominee to the Supreme Court.

*         The President expects that upon receiving the questionnaire, Senate Judiciary Committee members will do their jobs by reviewing the information, noticing a hearing so that the American people can hear directly from Chief Judge Garland as he answers questions under oath, and giving him a fair up or down vote.

*         Every nominee since 1875 who wasn't withdrawn from consideration has received a hearing and or a vote.

*         With more federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in history and a long record of public service, we expect the Senate will give Chief Judge Garland the same fair consideration as prior nominees.

*         The President did his job. Now, senators should do their jobs, and quickly move to consider the President's nominee.

*         That is what the Constitution dictates, and that's what the American people expect and deserve from their leaders.

*         Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. And it's becoming clear that many Republican senators realize they shouldn't either.

###