The Presidential Planner: Obama Honors Citizens Medal Recipients

Back from his three-day American Jobs Act bus trip, President Obama will spend today at the White House.

This afternoon, Obama will welcome the 13 recipients of the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, to the White House. 

“This year’s recipients of the Citizens Medal come from different backgrounds, but they share a commitment to a cause greater than themselves,” Obama said in a written statement. “They exemplify the best of what it means to be an American, and I am honored to be able to offer them a small token of our appreciation.” 

Later, the president will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway in the Oval Office. 

“The president looks forward to thanking the prime minister personally for Norway’s important contribution to the NATO mission in Libya and to consulting with him on issues of common interest, including Afghanistan, Middle East peace, the Arctic, global health, climate change, the famine in Somalia and support for the new democracies in North Africa,” said a statement from the White House.