Speaking in the West Wing before demonstrators handed over their petition, White House spokesman Jay Carney defended the proposal, pointing out that Republicans proposed far more sweeping cuts to welfare entitlements.
In Atlanta, Jim Doyle, president of Business Forward and a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration, said the benefits of fighting climate change outweigh the potential costs of the proposal, pointing out that a severe storm that shuts down an auto manufacturer in the Southeast costs more than $1 million an hour.
Other political parties rejected the proposal pointing out the better environmental performance of the railway and that the railway transports large volumes of freight.
"Unconscionable," he said of the proposals, pointing out how members of Congress have traveled to Puerto Rico, seen the catastrophic damage and promised help.
The BBC's director general, Tony Hall, has already flagged his concerns about the proposals, pointing out that unlike any previous governing body, the unitary board would set the editorial direction of the whole BBC.
A Lib Dem source said they had not been informed of the proposals, pointing out that David Laws, Mr Gove's Lib Dem deputy, had made clear in an interview last month that state schools would not be allowed to be run by profit-making companies while his party were in coalition.
Others have criticized this proposal, pointing out that the term "extremism" is notoriously hard to define, and expressing concerns that it might drive radical Islamists further underground.
And many opponents of the rifle association's proposal pointed out that a security guard at Columbine High School did not prevent the tragedy there, and that even trained New York City police officers shot and injured nine bystanders in August in their pursuit of a gunman outside the Empire State Building.
The Danish government's proposal pointed out that face coverings that have a "recognizable" purpose, such as winter clothing, sports gear or masks for festivities, are excluded from the ban. .
The Danish government's proposal pointed out that face coverings that have a "recognizable" purpose, such as winter clothing, sports gear or masks for festivities, are excluded from the ban.
