First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a Google+ Hangout on education at the Sci Bono Discovery Center in in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 29, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Today, through the wonders of technology, we brought together students here in South Africa with students across the U.S. who joined us through a Google+ Hangout for a lively town hall about the importance of education.  Singer and songwriter John Legend – who’s passionate about improving education – joined us from Los Angeles.  And singer and actress, Victoria Justice – who works with an organization called Girl Up that empowers girls around the world – beamed in from Houston. 

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a Google + Hangout on education at the Sci Bono Discovery Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 29, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

On Thursday, with a strong bipartisan vote, the Senate passed an immigration reform bill, bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system. President Obama congratulated the passage of the Senate’s bill, which is largely consistent with the President’s key principles for commonsense reform. The bill continues to secure our borders; ensures that every worker and employer is held accountable, plays by the same rules and pays taxes like everyone else; establishes a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants; and modernizes the legal immigration system. The Senate’s passage of the bill was immediately met with support from bipartisan leaders and a broad spectrum of groups across the country – from Democrats to Republicans, business to labor leaders and clergy. Here’s a look into what they are saying:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce | Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO

“Today the U.S. Senate took a major step forward in fixing America’s broken immigration system, securing our border, strengthening our economy and competitiveness, and reaffirming America’s legacy as an open and welcoming society. We commend the Gang of Eight for their leadership and applaud the bipartisan cooperation that made the bill’s passage possible.

“We are pleased that the House is making its own progress. We recognize that the House will take a different approach on many components of reform and hope these differences can be reasonably resolved so that sound legislation can be sent to the president for approval. We will continue to work with all parties to help move this process forward. LINK

Small Business Majority | John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO

“The Senate’s passage of the ‘Gang of Eight’s” bipartisan immigration legislation is great news for small business owners looking for intelligent fixes to our broken immigration system. While not perfect, the bill is full of provisions small employers strongly support and believe would help their businesses and our economy.

[…]

“Everyone benefits when we encourage hard-working immigrants to bring their skillsets to the U.S. and let previously undocumented immigrants legally join our workforce, pay taxes and contribute in a meaningful way to our economy..” LINK

National Association of Manufactures | Doug Oberhelman, Chairman of the NAM Board of Directors and Caterpillar Chairman and CEO & Jay Timmons, NAM President and CEO

“It is critical that we have an immigration system that reflects the needs of our modern economy,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO and Chairman of the NAM Board of Directors Doug Oberhelman. “The benefits of reform—a lower deficit, bolstered economic growth, a skilled workforce and a renewed commitment to the principles that built America—are clear. At each step of this process, the NAM and manufacturers will work with Congress to ensure that reform becomes a reality.”

[…]

“Comprehensive immigration reform represents a simple question: Do we want the next generation of innovation and life-altering ideas to originate in America, or are we content to allow other nations to surpass us?” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Today’s Senate passage is evidence that bipartisanship can still be found in Washington, D.C., and manufacturers are grateful to the senators who came together to lead on this critical issue. However, there is still work to be done. The House of Representatives must take a page from the Senate and work together to pass comprehensive reform.” LINK

Financial Services Forum | Rob Nichols, President and CEO

“We are encouraged by the progress U.S. policymakers have made toward achieving comprehensive immigration reform today. A much-needed update of U.S. immigration policies will help strengthen our national security, increase our economic growth and international competitiveness, and attract and retain the best talent to the United States. We are hopeful the House will work to produce an immigration plan that meets the goals of increasing U.S. economic and job growth and promoting future innovation here in America. LINK

Facebook | Mark Zuckerberg, CEO

“While immigration is important for our economic future, it is also fundamentally an issue of who we are as people,” Zuckerberg wrote in a status update on his Facebook page. “While a lot work remains to be done before reform becomes law, today’s vote showed that Senators from across the political spectrum came together in a bipartisan way to vote for reform that will move our economy forward and honor our history as a nation of immigrants.”

Pat Quinn, Governor, IL (D)

“Immigration reform is not only the right thing to do. It will also stimulate Illinois’ economy over the next 10 years by creating an estimated 4,400 new jobs annually and generating $1.6 billion in additional taxes from immigrants to state coffers. It will send a signal that the people of the United States embrace the freedom-seekers and entrepreneurs who wish only for a shot at the American Dream and a chance to contribute.  As governor of one of the nation’s most immigrant-friendly states, I call on the U.S. House of Representatives to act quickly to pass this legislation.” LINK

Watch the West Wing Week here.

Meeting with Business Leaders: President Obama met with CEOs, business owners and entrepreneurs on Monday to discuss the economic benefits of comprehensive immigration reform. “We have a situation in which millions of individuals are in the shadow economy,” President Obama said, “oftentimes exploited at lower wages, and that hurts those companies that are following the rules, because they end up being at a disadvantage to some of these less scrupulous companies.”

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of Senators voted to reform our nation’s immigration system. Although the Senate approved the bill, lawmakers in the House of Representatives still need to act.

Texting with the President: Students from all across the country sent texts to President Obama this week, asking about his plans to keep interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Working with DoSomething.org, President Obama responded to questions from these students.

Curbing Climate Change: On Tuesday, President Obama traveled across town to Georgetown University to lay out his plan to cut carbon pollution. The President explained the moral obligation we have to future generations – to “leave them a cleaner, safer, more stable world.”

Leaders in the business community and the media support the President’s climate initiative. Check out an infographic explaining the President’s plan here.

In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today's release includes visitor records generated during the month March 2013, and additional records from February 2013. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to nearly 3.3 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

Ed. note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.

This week, the President gave a major speech on climate change policy, hosted a roundtable discussion with business leaders, named a new director of the FBI, and welcomed the next class of Presidential Innovation Fellows.

On Tuesday, President Obama announced his comprehensive plan to reduce carbon pollution and lead global efforts against climate change. With our country facing increasingly volatile weather, rising sea levels and dangerous levels of pollution, the President presented clear steps that the administration will take to address these problems.

However, as President Obama stated, climate change represents not only a challenge to America but also an opportunity for us to create sustainable employment and economic growth in the future in a vast array of fields, from building wind turbines in Iowa to designing the next generation of electric cars in California.

With so much at stake in this debate, from the strength of our economy to the type of world we leave our children, newspapers across the country reported on the President’s common-sense plan. Here’s a sample of the coverage:

CA – San Francisco Business Times (Riddell): SolarCity a big winner from Obama climate change speech Shares of SolarCity rocketed today after President Barack Obama's no-holds-barred climate change speech in which he laid out a broad series of steps to reduce pollution and save energy including upping the federal government's purchase of renewable energy to meet 20 percent of its total demand and encouraging widespread energy efficiency efforts. But the big boost to SolarCity, the San Mateo-based solar installer and project financing company, probably came from the Wal-Mart shout-out the President gave. He said more than 500 businesses, including Nike and General Motors, issued a declaration calling action on climate change "one of the greatest opportunities of the 21st century."

NY – Syracuse Post-Standard (Weiner): President Obama to propose climate action plan President Barack Obama today will unveil a sweeping climate action plan that includes the first-ever carbon dioxide limits on new and existing power plants. Obama will outline his plan in a speech this afternoon at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where aides say he will propose mandatory reductions on power plant emissions, the nation's single largest source of carbon-dioxide emissions.

MN – The Minneapolis Star-Tribune (McAuliffe): Minnesota likely out in front of carbon emissions, climate change mandates Hamilton and several others with interests in environmental issues and climate impacts on local communities praised Obama’s announcement of the effort to address climate change, mostly for its emphasis on curbing carbon pollution. Putting limits on carbon dioxide emissions, as has been done for decades on other pollutants, is long overdue, they said.

After having a lovely tea with Mrs. Sall, the First Lady of Senegal, we headed to the Martin Luther King (MLK) school, an all-girls middle school in Dakar, which is Senegal’s capital city. I had a chance to speak to about 150 members of the ninth grade class and their teachers. The girls put on a wonderful dance performance and delivered presentations they had prepared – in excellent English (they normally speak French). One of them even performed Etta James' "At Last," and she absolutely blew me away – let me tell you, that young woman could sing. 

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks as she and First Lady Marème Sall visit Martin Luther King Middle School, an all-girls school, in Dakar, Senegal. June 27, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama talks with students in their classroom during a visit to Martin Luther King Middle School, an all-girls school, in Dakar, Senegal. June 27, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

The more time I spent with these extraordinary young women – girls living halfway across the world from where I was born in raised – the more I saw how similar their stories are to my own. Like my own parents, many of these girls’ parents never had the chance to get the kind of education they hoped for. And like the family I grew up in, many of their families don’t have much money. 

But no matter what challenges these girls are facing in their lives, they come to school every day eager to learn, and they spend hours each night studying and doing their homework. They also work hard to develop themselves as leaders, running their own student government and meeting with distinguished women leaders, including a number of CEOs and high-ranking government officials. And their hard work is paying off – students from MLK perform very well on their exams, and girls who graduate from this school go on to become accomplished businesswomen, scientists, artists, athletes and more. 

This week, the First Lady is joining President Obama on an official visit to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. During the trip, Mrs. Obama will meet with young people across the continent and highlight the power of education.

On Saturday, June 29th, the First Lady is hosting a special event that will connect young people in South Africa with young people in the U.S. to discuss the importance of education and our shared future -- and you can be a part of it. Here's how:

• Watch the event live on June 29th at 9:30 a.m. ET on WhiteHouse.gov/FLOTUSinAfrica and the White House Google+ page
• Use the hashtag #FLOTUSinAfrica on Twitter and Google+ to join the discussion and ask questions
• Check out the Connecting Continents community on Google+ to continue the conversation

During this event, in conjunction with MTV Base, an African youth and music TV channel, and Google+, the First Lady and MTV Base VJ Sizwe Dhlomo will join students in South Africa for a virtual discussion with young people in cities around the U.S., including:

• Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation that unites girls to change the world, will join from Houston, Texas. In addition to the students joining the hangout, Girl Up is hosting dozens of watch parties around the country.
• John Legend and students involved in his Show Me Campaign, a global campaign fighting for equal access to quality education, will join from Los Angeles, California.
• Y Global Teens, a YMCA program that provides underprivileged youth with an international service learning experience, will join from New York City. Through the program, these students will visit the Cape Town YMCA.
• From Google Fiber Space in Kansas City, participants will join that are part of the KC STEM Alliance to promote and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and math education

This Google+ Hangout with the First Lady kicks off a series of global virtual field trips on Google+ that will launch in the school year. Stay tuned for opportunities to participate in events with the State Department, Global Nomads Group, a nonprofit organization that facilitates cultural exchanges, and others. Check out the Global Nomads Google+ Community to connect with peers around the world right now and stay engaged.

On Tuesday, President Obama laid out his plan to reduce carbon pollution — just like we have for other toxins like mercury and arsenic — so we protect the health of our children, move our economy toward American-made clean energy sources that will create good jobs and lower energy bills, and begin to slow the effects of climate change. The plan was immediately met with broad support from business leaders across a broad array of industries. Here’s a quick look at what they’re saying:

Business Roundtable recognizes the potential consequences of climate change and supports both government and private sector actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally. The President’s proposals today are a mix of commonsense steps we can all support – such as increasing energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy – and measures that will require additional careful attention to ensure they can be deployed in an equitable and effective global framework. For instance, we look forward to reviewing how the Administration plans to regulate emissions from existing power plants. Partnering with industry and stakeholders will be critical to a smart, economically sound approach. The Roundtable has advocated for increased permitting of alternative energy projects and collaboration between the public and private sectors on technology, efficiency and transmission investment, and is pleased to see a renewed commitment from the President. Significant changes to the U.S. tax code should be made only within the context of comprehensive tax reform, not on an ad hoc basis targeting specific industries.”

Business Roundtable | Dave Cote, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell and Chair of Business Roundtable’s Energy and Environment Committee

We applaud the President and his administration for their commitment to renewable energy and conservation. Investing in renewable energy and energy conservation are good for business, good for communities and good for the environment. When we use less energy, that’s less energy we have to buy, and that means less waste and more savings for our customers. Over the last few years we’ve made meaningful progress towards our goal to be supplied by 100 percent renewable energy. Walmart now has over 300 renewable energy projects in operation or under development around the world, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named us the number one user of onsite renewable energy. As we continue on our journey we will continue to leverage our scale in purchasing energy so we can drive down technology costs and make renewable power more affordable for everyone.

Walmart | Mike Duke, President and CEO

“Dominion has long been committed to a comprehensive national energy and environmental policy that balances the nation’s needs for clean, reliable and affordable energy with reducing our environmental footprint -- a plan that is cost effective, economy wide and market based. …As the President’s proposal recognizes, the nation must continue to rely on an “all of the above” approach that includes renewable energy, advanced nuclear, natural gas and clean coal technologies as well as energy efficiency, conservation and demand-side management. The key will be doing so in a way that recognizes the broader energy and economic issues through regulatory certainty, compliance flexibility, technological feasibility and cost effectiveness.”

Dominion Resources | Thomas F. Farrell II, Chairman, President and CEO

“The President appears to be taking a balanced approach to addressing the issue. The focus on resilience, clean coal technologies, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and transmission investment demonstrates that the Administration is looking at a full portfolio of actions to address the issue - not just cutting emissions from power plants. We look forward to working with the Administration to support those efforts.”

American Electric Power | Melissa McHenry, Spokeswoman

“Nike applauds President Obama’s leadership to mitigate climate change.  Nike, together with a number of other companies, has signed the BICEP Climate Declaration urging action on climate change and we are supportive of the President’s focus on tackling this systemic challenge.  Now is the time to work together on an innovative, bold framework.   We look forward to reviewing the details of the President’s plans and working with the Administration, Congress, and other businesses to move forward on strategies to address climate change.”

Nike | Hannah Jones, VP Sustainable Business & Innovation