And just in case you didn't hear me say this before: We've now become the number-one energy producer, by far, in the world. (Applause.) We're topping Saudi Arabia and we're topping Russia.
Our administration is also working to allow rehabilitated citizens with a criminal record to apply for both federal government jobs and affordable housing - something that we were unable to do before. (Applause.)
Here with us today is Marcus Bullock, who went to prison as a minor in 1996 and now runs a technology company. And he's doing a very good job. Marcus, please come up and say hello. You're here. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. BULLOCK: Thank you so much, Mr. President. When I was in cell C-12, I'd never thought that I would be standing here on this podium, so I'm going to suck all of this moment up while I'm standing here. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
When I was 15 years old, I made one of the worst mistakes of my life, and it landed me in front of a judge, listening to him sentence me to eight years in adult maximum security prisons. I grew up in a prison cell, and I'll tell you, that was one of - some of the darkest times of my life.
The depression that I fought, the battles on the prison rec yards that I saw every day, they became a big part of me, and they were - they built this dark spirit that my mom began to see. And my mom made a commitment because she wanted to understand - she wanted me to understand that there was life after prison. There would be potential days that looked like this.
And so my mom wrote me letters and she sent me pictures every day for the remaining six years of my prison sentence, until I came home, so that she could show me the window to the world.
And this is why I'm so grateful for what happens around the country, and we're having conversations around the FIRST STEP Act and what we're doing now with these second chances. Because even once I came home, it was still very challenging for me to get a job.
After finally finding a job at a paint store, minimum wage job - and I was very, very grateful just to be able to get a job - and it was really only because of the way that they worded one of the questions on the application, it allowed me to be able to even eventually start my first business after prison, which was a painting businesses. We ended up hiring over 18 employees. And after the 19th one, we realized that the first 16 were all returning citizens, just like me. (Applause.) Thank you.
And while we were building opportunities for other men and women to come home and have a great place to be able to work with the sustainable employment, we wanted to venture out a little bit further. And, in 2012, we started our first tech company. That tech company, Flikshop, is now a venture-backed company that connects families back to their incarcerated loved ones the same way that my mom wrote me letters and pictures when I was in prison.
We've connected over 140,000 families around the country. And I'm so grateful because the resources that are flowing back into these prison cells, using our tech, is building the next generation of entrepreneurs, leaders, business executives like me, and great employees at some of you all's incredible companies.
I'm so grateful to be a small part of the solution because we do understand that this crisis is huge. But with you guys' leadership, I feel very, very optimistic about the future of employment. Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And, tomorrow, Marcus will be announcing a run for a major public office. (Applause.) You did a good job. Huh? You guys, great job. Thank you both very much. Really fantastic.
Today, we're also joined by many employers who are hiring former inmates and helping us build the strongest economy on Earth. We have some very successful people in this room, and we appreciate it all very much. Thank you very much. Great job. (Applause.)
Among the leaders who join us today is Steve Preston, the CEO of Goodwill. Goodwill employs and provides training and other services for more than 100,000 former inmates each and every year.
Steve, I want to thank you for the devotion and all that you do for a second chance. (Applause.) Steve. Steve. Please, Steve.
MR. PRESTON: All right. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, for your leadership and the FIRST STEP Act, and for working with Congress to pass this in a bipartisan fashion. That just sounds great, doesn't it?
THE PRESIDENT: It sounds great.
MR. PRESTON: Yeah, it really does. Because we know that it's not an issue of one side of the aisle or the other. It's an issue for the entire country. And now we all get to work together to ensure that we truly give people, who are coming back home, a real second chance.
You know, we all know about high recidivism rates, but it does not have to be that way. I know, because as the President said, last year alone, Goodwill worked with over 100,000 second chance individuals. And with the right kind of support, those recidivism rates plummet, and, in their place, come high-success rates.
So we need to provide support for people to get back on their feet, to stabilize their lives, and, so importantly, define meaningful employment - because it's the promise of that job that often cements the path forward to a sustainable life.
And the small investment we make to do that has a return many times over, not only financially, which I think any of us could prove out, but certainly in the form of lives that are transformed both for the individuals and for their families. And it's so important that we remember those families in this process.
So thank you again, Mr. President, for all that you are doing to be part of - to advance this important effort. Thank you guys for your stories. These are - like, there is no better testimony than to see what's happening here. And there are other people around the country that have the same experience if they're given the right chance. Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
And I thought maybe I'd just a take moment. So, at the White House - and been with me now three and a half years, before I won, before the election - is a person, a friend, a woman - a great, great magnificent person, actually - named Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And she's very popular. She's very popular. (Applause.)
And - and she's done an incredible job. We've been through a lot together, and she's tough but she's good. You know, you also have tough and bad, right? (Laughter.) She's tough and she's good. She's great.
And she's going to be leaving the service of her country, and she is going to be going - I guess you could say private sector, but I hope she's going to - she comes from a great state, Arkansas. That was a state I won by a lot, so I like it, right? (Laughter.) But we love Arkansas, and she's going to be going back to Arkansas with her great family - her husband, who's a fantastic guy, and her family.
And I don't know, Phil, and folks, if we can get her to run for the governor of Arkansas, I think she'll do very well. And I'm trying to get her to do that. (Applause.)
But I just saw her in the room and I really wanted to call her up. She's a special person, a very, very fine woman. She has been so great. She has such heart. She's strong but with great, great heart. And I want to thank you for an outstanding job.
MS. SANDERS: Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: And - thank you. Come. Thank you, honey. Say a couple words. (Applause.)
MS. SANDERS: Thank you. Thank you so much. I'll try not to get emotional because I know that crying can make us look weak sometimes, right? (Laughter.)
This has been the honor of a lifetime, the opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn't be prouder to have had the opportunity to serve my country and particularly to work for this President. He has accomplished so much in these two and a half years, and it's truly been something I will treasure forever. It's one of the greatest jobs I could ever have. I've loved every minute. Even the hard minutes, I have loved it.
I love the President. I love the team that I've had the opportunity to work for. The President is surrounded by some of the most incredible and most talented people you could ever imagine. And it's truly the most special experience.
The only one I can think of that might top it just a little bit is the fact that I'm a mom. I have three amazing kids, and I'm going to spend a little more time with them. (Applause.)
And, in the meantime, I'm going to continue to be one of the most outspoken and loyal supporters of the President and his agenda. And I know he's going to have an incredible six more years and get a whole lot more done, like what we're here to celebrate today.
And I don't want to take away from that. So I certainly want to get back to the tremendous thing that the people behind me have done.
And thank you so much, Mr. President. It's truly an honor. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sarah. Thank you very much. Great. Great person. Great person. Thank you, Sarah. Great.
She's a warrior. You guys know what warriors are, right? Yeah? You're warriors. Huh? We're all warriors. We have no choice. (Laughter.) We have to be warriors in this world. But she is a warrior. Thank you, Sarah, very much.
We're also glad to have with us the President of the Society for Human Resource Management, Johnny Taylor. And where's Johnny? Where's Johnny? Come here, Johnny. (Laughter.) Johnny. This guy is some guy and some athlete, that I can tell you.
So maybe you could just talk a little bit about what we're doing and how well you're doing with it, right? Thank you, Johnny.
