On November 18, First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, welcomed women members of the U.S. military to the White House.

“I hope that you know that your legacy will be measured in the service of every woman who follows in the trails that you’ve blazed, every woman who benefits from your daring and determination,” Michelle Obama said. “It will be measured in the inspiration that you provide to our daughters and our granddaughters — and to our sons and our grandsons as well.”

Video and photos of the event are available on the White House Web site.

President Obama met with Chinese President Hu Jintao today and “agreed to expand our cooperation on climate change, energy and [the] environment” among other issues, Hu told members of the press after their meeting.

“As the two largest consumers and producers of energy, there can be no solution to this challenge without the efforts of both China and the United States,” President Obama said. The leaders agreed to launch a joint U.S.-China clean energy research center, take actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to abide by any agreements that are reached at next month’s COP-15 conference in Copenhagen, a meeting of the conference of the parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC.)

The economy was also high on the leaders’ agenda. Hu said the two countries will continue to increase dialogue on financial policies and trade disagreements. They both spoke of the importance of the G20 as a body that can advance reforms of the international financial system.

“China’s partnership has proved critical in our effort to pull ourselves out of the worst recession in generations,” Obama said.

The U.S.-China relationship “has not been without disagreement and difficulty,” President Obama acknowledged during a town hall in Shanghai November 15. The key to a strong relationship based on mutual interests is “sustaining an open dialogue,” Obama told the student participants.

The president’s comments on Internet access in China received a lot of attention in U.S. media today. “In the United States, the fact that we have free Internet, or unrestricted Internet access, is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged,” Obama said.

“I’m a big supporter of not restricting Internet use, Internet access, other information technologies like Twitter,” Obama said. “The more open we are, the more we can communicate. And it also helps to draw the world together.”

Obama’s China visit comes in the midst of a multi-country Asia tour. In Japan, he met with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and discussed the need to strengthen the nations’ already strong alliance. In Singapore, he gathered with numerous Asian leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit which focused on sustainable growth strategies.

As Americans marked Veterans Day November 11, President Obama spoke at Arlington Cemetery, where many who served in U.S. wars are buried.

The president spoke a great deal about those currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. “For those who are serving in far-flung places today, when your tour ends, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil, you will be home in an America that is forever here for you, just as you’ve been there for us,” he said.

Obama also made an unannounced visit to the section of the cemetery where victims of those wars are buried and spoke with relatives of the fallen. Video of his speech is available on the White House Web site.

President Obama spoke at another solemn ceremony the day before, this one a memorial for those killed at the Fort Hood military base November 5. To family members of the victims, he said, “your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched.” Text of the president’s remarks is available on the White House Web site.

In a rare Saturday session, the House of Representatives passed a health insurance reform bill, the first step in what could still be a long process in bringing changes to the American health care system. The bill’s passage is the first of its kind in decades, and a victory of sorts for President Obama who has made health care reform one of his top priorities.

In an e-mail to his supporters, President Obama said “you and millions of your fellow supporters didn’t just witness history tonight, you helped make it. … Tonight’s vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need.”

The Senate will likely vote on health insurance reform in the coming weeks, and if a bill is passed it is probable that there will be differences between the two legislative bodies’ versions. Those differences will have to be sorted out and voted on before any bill is signed into law.

More information about the administration’s health care goals is available on the White House Web site.

With unemployment more than 10 percent in October, the highest percentage since 1983, President Obama signed a bill today that he says will grow the economy.

While there has been much improvement, Obama said, “history tells us that job growth always lags behind economic growth, which is why we have to continue to pursue measures that will create new jobs.” The new bill extends the length of time unemployed Americans can receive benefits, cuts taxes for some small businesses and extends a tax break for first-time homebuyers.

Obama noted that it takes a lot of time and patience to strengthen the economy, but “I promise that I won’t rest until America prospers once again.”