dr. jill biden meeting the call, businesses are leading efforts to train veterans and spouses. more than half a million so far and growing. veterans unemployment is going down, and now it is lower than the national average. it was higher to begin with, and we have been driving it down, but we have more to go, especially for our post-9/11 veterans. we will keep saying to every business in america, if you want somebody who knows how to get the job done no matter what the mission, hire a veteran. hire a vet. [applause] so fixing what is broken at the v.a., ensuring the resources you deserve, delivering the health care you have earned, eliminating the backlog, standing up for your rights and dignity, helping you realize the american dream that you so honorably defended, these are our commitments to you. this is what we focused on. this is what we can do together. especially as our war in afghanistan comes to an end and we welcome home our newest veterans, there are a lot of them here tonight. we salute captain scott miller of indiana, a proud hoosier and a proud marine. in afghanis

dr. jill biden, who is here as well. she has been a tremendous partner over the past five and a half years, and i'm thrilled she is here with us today. id of course, most of all want to thank all of you for joining us at this event. we have a fabulous program lined up for you today, as you've heard. we will be discussing important issues. we will be hearing from renowned experts and we will be making some really exciting announcements about new initiatives across africa. so this is going to be a really big day. this has been a day that has been part of a big week, that has been part of a big couple months, actually. as you may know, the summit that your husbands are attending this ofk is the largest gathering african leaders ever hosted by an american president. ago, 500 six weeks young leaders from across africa arrived here in the united states to take art in the mandela washington fellowship for young african leaders. and i have to tell you these young men and women are truly extraordinary. many of them are barely hal

dr. jill biden. tall on this. so . think i should push it aside ( laughter ) well, good afternoon, everyone. thank you for that warm welcome. it is a pleasure today to be here with my great friend and michelle obama. you have been a great example of firstofound difference ladies can make. so thank you, michelle, for your leadership and for your friendship. [applause] and it's wonderful to see and mrs. bush again. we had a great event together in earlier this year. thank you for the work you are post 9/11ehalf of the veterans through your military initiative. to all the african first ladies guestser distinguished here today, thank you for taking part in this historic summit, for adding your voice to this important conversation. a teacher for over 30 years. in my own classroom and in my around the world, i have seen firsthand the difference a strong educational foundation can make. ago, i had the incredible opportunity to visit where ischool in kenya saw how education was providing a sense of hope. normalcy. and the chan

dr. jill biden, who is here as well.she has been a tremendous partner over the past five and a half years, and i'm thrilled that she is here with us today. and, of course, most of all i want to thank all of you for joining us at this event. we have a fabulous program lined up for you today, as you've heard. we will be discussing important issues. we'll be hearing from renowned experts and we're going to be making some really exciting announcements about new initiatives acss africa. so this is going to be a really big day. this has been a day that's been a part of a big week that's been part of a big couple of months actually. as you may know, the summit that your husband or attending this week is the largest gathering of african leaders ever hosted by an american president. and about six weeks ago, 500 young leaders across africa arrived here in the united states to take part in the mandela washington fellowship are young african leaders. and i have to tell you that these young men and women are truly extraordinary. many

dr. jill biden. [applause] >> wow, i feel so tall on this. [laughter] push it aside. well, good afternoon, everyone. thank you for that warm welcome. it is a pleasure today to be here with my great friend and partner, michelle obama. unit in a great example of the profound difference first ladies can make. so thank you, michelle, for your leadership and for your friendship. [applause] and it's wonderful to see president and mrs. bush again. we had a great event together in texas earlier this year to thank you for the work you are doing on behalf of the post-9/11 veterans through your military service initiative. to all the african first ladies, and other distinguished guests here today, thank you for taking part in this historic summit, and for adding your voice to this important conversation. i've been a teacher for over 30 years. in my own classroom and in my travels around the world, i've seen firsthand the difference a strong, educational foundation can make. a few years ago i had the incredible opportunity to visit a girls school in kenya where i was a how educat

dr. jill biden. [applause] >> i feel so tall on this. [laughter] i feel i should push it aside. [laughter] now, good afternoon, everyone. thank you for that warm welcome. it is a pleasure today to be here with my great friend and partner michelle obama. you have been a great example of the profound difference first ladies can make. so thank you, michelle, for your leadership and your friendship. [applause] seeit is wonderful to president and mrs. bush again. we had a great event in texas earlier this year. thank you for the work you are doing on behalf of the us 9/11 veterans through your military -- the post-9/11 veterans through your military initiative. part inu for taking this historic summit and for adding your voice to this important conversation. i have been a teacher for over 30 years. in my own classroom and in my travels around the world, i have seen firsthand the difference of strong educational foundation can make. i had thes ago, incredible opportunity to visit a girls school in kenya where i saw how education was inviting a sense of hope, of normalcy, and the chanc

dr. jill biden who is here as well. she has been a tremendous partner over the past several years. am thrilled she's with us here today. and of course, thank you to all of you for joining us at this event. we have a fabulous program lined up for you today. we will be discussing important issues and hearing from renowned experts and we will be making some really exciting announcements about new initiatives across africa. this is going to be a really big today. this has been a day that has been a part of a big week that has been part of months actually. as you may know, the summit that your husband's are tending the sick is the largest gathering of african american leaders hosted by an american president. about six weeks ago, 500 young leaders from across africa arrived here in the united states to take part in the mandela washington fellowship for young african leaders. i have to tell you that these young men and women are truly extraordinary. age.are barely half my they have already started their own businesses. -- as part of the mandela fellowship, they have undertaken intense cou

dr. jill biden, my dear friend, when he is here as well. she has been a partner over the past five and a half years and i am thrilled she is here with us today. and of course most of all i want to thank all of you for joining us at this event. we have a fabulous program lined up for you today as you have heard. we will be discussing important issues, hearing from renowned experts and making really exciting announcements about new initiatives across africa. this is going to be a really big day. this has been a day that has been a part of a big week that has been a big part of a big couple months actually. as you may know, the summit that your husbands are attending is the largest gathering of african leaders every >> hoshosted by an american president. and about six weeks ago, 500 young leaders from across africa arrived here in the united states to take part in the mandela fellowship for young african leaders. and these young men and woman are extraordinary. then of them are barely half my age -- i don't want to say that but they are young.