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John, thanks. Thanks for letting me come by to say “hello.” I’ve got something on my mind I want to share with you. First, happy Presidents Day. It turns out most folks in Washington don’t work on Presidents Day. The only one working is the president.

I want to talk to you about the fact that I think we’re in an important moment in history, and that we have a chance to transform the way we power our economy and how we lead our lives. That’s what I’m here to talk about. It’s a good place to come to talk about it because, the truth of the matter is, in order to seize the moment, this country has got to remain technologically advanced.

Johnson Controls has been on the cutting edge of energy technology and other technologies for more than a century. And the innovators that work here and the smart folks who work here are on the leading edge of change, and that’s why I’ve come. And there’s a role for government to help and I want to explain that role. Before I do, again, I want to thank you, John. I want to thank all the folks who work for Johnson Controls. It’s not easy to host the president.

I had the honor of touring the laboratory on the other side of town there, and it was really neat to see the engineers and the scientists and the Ph.D.s all working hard to apply their God-given talents to help this country remain on the leading edge of technology. It reminded me of one of the challenges we have in America, and that’s to make sure a new generation of our citizens are interested in science and engineering and physics. And part of making sure this country is the leader in the world, we’ve got to make sure our children are properly educated so they’ll be ready for the jobs of the 21st century.

I want to thank Congresswoman Gwen Moore for joining us; I appreciate you coming, nice to see you. They tell me this is your congressional district, so it’s awfully kind of you to let two other congresspersons join us—that would be Congressman Mark Green and Congressman Paul Ryan. Thank you both for coming. We have eaten a lot of custard in the past. I’m still recovering, I want you to know.