members of congress and my administration that are here today for the wonderful work that they do. i want to thank mayor gray and everyone here at the arc for having me. this center, which i've been to quite a bit and have had a chance to see some of the great work that's done here, and all the nonprofits that call the arc home offer access to everything from education to health care to a safe shelter from the streets, which means that you're harnessing the power of community to expand opportunity for folks here in d.c. and your work reflects a tradition that runs through our history. the belief that we're greater together than we are on our own. and that's what i've come here to talk about today. now, over the last two months, washington has been dominated by some pretty contentious debates. i think that's fair to say. and between a reckless shutdown by congressional republicans in