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The South Lawn

Thank you, Fig. You inspire young people to get excited about their education, especially in STEM. We’re lucky to have you guiding the future of the White House Historical Association.

And I’m glad to see so many Association board members with us. I know you all have had a packed schedule these past few days. Your commitment to this project warms my heart. Thank you.

Earlier, we heard from the Suitland High School Choir. We appreciate you sharing your voices with us today.

And thank you, Emma, JD, and Jonas, for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance!

We’ve also had the Armed Forces Color Guard presenting the colors, and the President’s Own Marine Band playing the beautiful music we’ve heard this afternoon. Joe and I are so grateful to you and your families for your service to our nation.

And it’s great to see so many kids on the South Lawn. The project we’re celebrating today is for you.    

Welcome, everyone, to the White House!

Doorway by doorway, moment by moment, every piece of the White House is cloaked in history—whether it’s in the Cabinet Room where President Kennedy deliberated over the Cuban Missile Crisis, or the East Room where President Theodore Roosevelt once held a wrestling match.

Kids roller skated in the room where we host heads of state, and nearby, in the Red Room, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt held her own press conferences back when women were excluded from the President’s press briefings.

Some guests at the White House have the chance to step inside these rooms—in fact, around 3,000 people come through these halls every day. But the reality is that many people never get that opportunity.

 

Even fewer get to walk through the Rose Garden and the Oval Office. And almost no one gets to go behind the scenes to hear from the Chief Floral Designer or glimpse the upper floor of the residence.

Until now.

Starting Monday, an immersive learning center will be open to all.

“The People’s House: A White House Experience” will bring new generations closer to the home behind me, sparking greater curiosity for civics education and our democracy.

Teachers know the best way to learn is by involving all of the senses—and lingering in the little details that stand out to you.

Right across the street, people will be able to interact and experience how our government works. 

That makes this new space a powerful kind of classroom. Because when people learn more about our democracy, they will be more inspired to participate in it.

At 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, in an exact replica of the Oval Office, you can feel the gravity of sitting behind the President’s Resolute desk. You can join the intense deliberations of a Cabinet meeting. And you can get swept away by the 360-degree enchantment of a State Dinner.

Along the way, you’ll meet people who have lived and worked here across centuries—from Cabinet Secretaries advising the President in times of war, to the chefs, ushers, and florists who work together to arrange the most intricate details of American diplomacy.

Students will imagine themselves as public servants through interactive technology, and teachers will have dedicated spaces to bring their lesson plans to life.

Stewart, you’ve put your whole heart and soul into “The People’s House”—and frankly, I’m not sure when you found the time to sleep! Month after month, you guided this project with careful precision and breathtaking speed.

I’ve been a part of the process from when it was just an idea, to the final touches—and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

So, let’s get started. In just a moment, a group of students will load onto a bus to experience this incredible, immersive space. 

I know it will encourage them to embrace the wonder of White House history, and inspire them to shape our nation’s future.

Thank you, and please enjoy the celebration!

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan today in Wilmington, Delaware, to advance cooperation on a range of security, economic, and diplomatic issues. The President underscored that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity, and commended the progress made in strengthening the global partnership with Japan since the Prime Minister’s Official Visit to Washington, D.C., in April 2024.

The President praised the Prime Minister’s visionary and courageous leadership over the past three years, which has fundamentally enhanced Japan’s defense capabilities and transformed its role in the world. He thanked the Prime Minister for his resolute support for strengthening Alliance defense cooperation, including on command and control, defense industrial cooperation, and enhanced exercises and training, and for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.  Both leaders welcomed progress in pursing cooperation on advanced capability projects under Pillar 2 of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) trilateral partnership.

The two leaders also reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and underscored their opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force. The leaders discussed their respective diplomacy with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and their shared concerns about the PRC’s coercive and destabilizing activities, including in the South China Sea. They also reaffirmed their commitment to developing and protecting critical and emerging technologies such as AI and semiconductors while increasing their resilience to economic coercion.

The leaders also discussed Japan’s robust contributions to global and regional security, including through the Quad and its leadership of the G7 last year, as well as its support for the United Nations and increased humanitarian funding to meet unprecedented needs across the globe. The President welcomed the Prime Minister’s principled and resolute support to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s brutal aggression. He also commended the Prime Minister’s courage and conviction in strengthening ties with the Republic of Korea (ROK), which enabled the launch of a momentous new era of U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation at the historic Camp David Summit in August 2023.

The two leaders committed to sustain efforts to take the U.S.-Japan Alliance to new heights and to continue standing side-by-side together as steadfast global partners.

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10:08 A.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Hey, good morning, everyone.  Sorry for starting a little bit late.  I’m going to turn it over to John Kirby for a topper, and then we’ll take your questions. 

MR. KIRBY:  Hey, guys.  Not much to talk about today.  Just a reminder that the President will be heading up to Wilmington this afternoon to kick off a weekend with the leaders of the Indo-Pacific Quad.  That’s Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, Prime Minister Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Modi of India. 

The first individual meeting will be this evening with Prime Minister Albanese.  We’ll provide a readout of that, of course.

Tomorrow morning, he will meet individually with Prime Minister Kishida and then early in the afternoon meet with Prime Minister Modi.  Again, we’ll provide readouts of those discussions. 

The plenary session begins in the afternoon at four o’clock, where they’ll talk about a range of issues of interest to all four of our nations, particularly when it comes to fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

And then, after the plenary session, they will gather together for the Cancer Moonshot event later in the evening, and then that will be followed by a dinner. 

So, a busy weekend up in Wilmington.  The President is very much looking forward to it, excited about it.  Great way to head into next week, which will be, of course, the U.N. General Assembly up in New York.  I’ve already previewed that, so I won’t belabor that with you this morning. 

I’m happy to take some questions. 

MODERATOR:  First up, we’ll go to Aamer Madhani.

Q    Hey.  Thanks, John and Eduardo.  Was the White House given a heads up by the Israelis about today’s strikes that happened near Beirut?

MODERATOR:  Aamer, so sorry, could you repeat the question? We had some (inaudible).

Q    Sure.  Hopefully you can hear me now.  Was the White House given any heads up by the Israelis about today’s strikes on Beirut?

MR. KIRBY:  Aamer, we’ll let the IDF speak to their operations.  I am certainly not aware of any pre-notification of those strikes.  And that, of course, as you know, is not atypical.

Q    Has the President or any senior aides in the administration had contact with Netanyahu or senior Israeli officials this week about the electronic device explosions?  And if so, have any concerns been conveyed to the Israelis about these incidents?

MR. KIRBY:  I’m simply not going to comment any more on those incidents than I already have, Aamer.  All I can assert to you is that there was no U.S. involvement, and that’s really as far as I’m going to go. 

Q    So at this point, has the President and administration’s influence on Israel’s approach to Hezbollah reached its limit?

MR. KIRBY:  Aamer, we continue to speak every day with our Israeli counterparts about what’s going on in Gaza and certainly about the increased tensions along the Blue Line; that’s the border between Israel and Lebanon.

You know, as you know, Amos was just there recently.  So, our intensive diplomacy efforts continue.  We believe — continue to believe that a diplomatic solution is the best way forward vice escalating any of the military conflict.  I’ll leave it there. 

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Danny Kemp.

Q    Thanks, Eduardo.  Thanks, Admiral.  Sad not to be spending the weekend in Wilmington, but what can you do.

Just a couple of things, if I may.  Firstly, there are apparently some Democratic lawmakers pushing a bill to restore funding to UNRWA, which was suspended after allegations by Israel that some members were involved in the October the 7th attack.  Is that something that the White House would support, or anything you know about that?

MR. KIRBY:  Look, I think our position has been very consistent since we paused funding to UNRWA earlier this year.  And of course, as you know, that pause was following allegations that a number of their employees were involved in the October 7th Hamas attack.

In light of the fact that there is still an ongoing crisis in Gaza and the central role that UNRWA does play in the distribution of lifesaving assistance, we continue, as we have said before, continue to support funding for UNRWA, of course with appropriate safeguards, with transparency measures built in, and obviously with accountability also baked into that.

We believe that all of those efforts should include, for example, a requirement that the executive branch certify to Congress that UNRWA has implemented the proper policies and procedures to include the vetting of their personnel and any plans that they have for investigating credible reports of violations of those policies and procedures.

I would remind that we did support a provision back in March of — I’m sorry — we supported a provision in the March 2024 Appropriations Act, to that effect, but it was not included in what became law. 

So, bottom line: Been consistent.  Continue to support the essential role that UNRWA plays, and therefore support funding for UNRWA — but again, I want to stress, with the appropriate safeguards, with transparency measures built in, and certainly with a provision for accountability.  And we’re going to look forward to working with other partners — Japan, UK, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Canada, others — to ensure that those appropriate safeguards are adequate to the task and to help secure appropriate funding levels for UNRWA’s humanitarian mission. 

Q    Okay, thanks.  And on a similar note, or similar topic, do you have any comment on the Wall Street Journal report that the administration has effectively given up hope of getting a ceasefire by the end of President Biden’s term?

MR. KIRBY:  Yeah, man — I mean, I talked about this the other day at the podium.  Nobody is giving up hope.  Nobody is going to stop working towards this.

As we’ve said so many times, we believe the best chance at getting the hostages home is through the ceasefire deal.  We’d be the first ones to recognize, as I did the other day, that it’s hard, it’s daunting, and that we are not closer to achieving that than we were even a week or so ago. 

But ain’t nobody giving up.  We’re still going to keep the shoulders to the wheel.  We’re still going to keep trying on this.  The President has directed his team to continue to try to find a way to see if we can get a proposal that both sides will agree to so that the fighting can stop, we can get the hostages home, and we can start to really work towards a surge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza for the people that are suffering and in such dire need of it.

MODERATOR:  Thanks.  Next up, we’ll go to the line of Haley Bull.

Q    Hey, thank you.  Curious if there is any consideration of updating guidance for Americans in Lebanon, or if you’re sending any specific instructions to Americans who may be there in light of the escalating tensions on the Blue Line.  Thanks.

MR. KIRBY:  Haley — I’m not aware, Haley, of any additional guidance.  I think the State Department has already spoken to this and issued travel warnings and advisories with respect to being in Lebanon.  I’m not aware of anything additional.

I do want — and so I would refer you to the State Department, but I’m simply not — I’m not tracking anything new.  But I do think it is — this provides an important reminder that Americans should not travel to Lebanon.  It is at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”  And so, we strongly urge all American citizens not to go there, and if they are there, to think about leaving seriously.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Nadia Charters.

Q    Thank you.  A couple of questions.  In addition to what happened with the pagers yesterday in Lebanon, today Israel’s attack on Dahiyeh has killed a senior Hezbollah military leader.  How can you not see this but an escalation?

I know you keep saying that you wanted — you prefer a diplomatic solution, but at this stage, when Israel said there’s no red lines, do you believe that the diplomatic solutions has failed and the military solutions is taking place on the ground? 

And I have another question.

MR. KIRBY:  No.  No.  No, we don’t.  Amos was just there.  We still believe that there is time and space for a diplomatic solution.  We think that that is the best way forward.  War is not inevitable up there at the Blue Line, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can to try to prevent it.

Q    Okay.  Second is: Israel Channel 12 has obtained material that have not been seen before, and they’re basically saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu has played a role to sabotage a hostage deal.  Do you believe that Netanyahu has been obstructing the hostage deal?  Hamas aside, do you believe that he’s responsible for that too?

MR. KIRBY:  Nadia, I haven’t seen this report.  I haven’t seen this alleged video.  So, obviously, I can’t comment on any of that.  All I can comment on is how diligently we continue to try to get this ceasefire deal in place.  And as I have said numerous times, in order to get there, you got to be able to compromise and you got to have some leadership, and that means on all sides of the equation here.  You need compromise and leadership on all sides. 

I will also finish this answer by repeating again what I have said before: that Mr. Sinwar remains the main obstacle to pushing this forward.  And I’d leave it at that.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Nick Schifrin.

Q    Hey, John.  Thanks very much.  First, a very easy one, I think, and then a question that you can answer.  Just making sure: None of these attacks that either Israel is claiming credit for, or not, in Lebanon, has anything — any involvement of U.S. intelligence, is that right?

MR. KIRBY:  There is no U.S. involvement in these incidents. 

Q    Okay, great.  All right. 

And then, I know you can’t say very much on the strike in Beirut just over the last hour, but it is the 40th anniversary today of the attack on the embassy annex that killed 24.  The deputy leader of Hezbollah, who has been targeted by Israel today, participated in that embassy attack.  What does the United States say in general, even if you can’t say any specifics on this, on what happened?  What would the U.S. say if that person was targeted and, in fact, killed?  Thanks.

MR. KIRBY:  Nick, you’re just — you’re not going to be happy with me on this one, but there’s really just not a lot I can say about these reports today.  They just came in before we started the gaggle.  I’m in no position to confirm any of the details of them.  I certainly would point you to the IDF to speak to their operations. 

I’m not trying to dodge you.  I promise you that.  It’s just I don’t have enough information or context to comment here in this particular gaggle right now.  I mean, it just — we just got the reports, and so I think it would be foolish for me to weigh in with any level of specificity.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Asma Khalid.

Q    Hey.  Thanks, John, for doing this.  I have a quick question about the pager/walkie-talkie attacks.  I know you’ve said you can’t really speak broadly to it beyond the fact that there was no U.S. involvement, but I want to ask sort of more of a broader, big picture, strategic question about what the U.S. position is about this tactic as a mechanism of war.  And do you have concerns at all for it being used, in terms of other mechanisms and ways, in countries in the supply chain that the U.S. relies on for many of its own technologies?

MR. KIRBY:  I do appreciate the question, Asma.  I’m afraid I’m just not going to have anything more to say about this.  The United States was not involved in these incidents at all, and I’m going to leave it there. 

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to the line of Lalit.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

All right, we’ll move on to the line of Michael Hernandez.

Q    Thanks, Eduardo.  Thanks, John.  I do have two quick questions.  First, I wanted to see if NSC has any reaction to videos purporting to show Israeli forces throwing the bodies of potentially dead Palestinians off of buildings near Jenin. 

And then, separately, I wanted to just follow up on Nadia and Aamer’s questions and just kind of ask very explicitly if this strike in Beirut, which the IDF has publicly claimed credit for, is in keeping with your appeals to reduce tensions in the region and avoid escalation.  Thank you.

MR. KIRBY:  So, on your second question, again, I’m going to refer you to the IDF to speak to their operations.  I don’t need to tell you that there have been strikes back and forth across the Blue Line now for many months.  And from the very beginning, we have sought to try to prevent an escalation of this conflict, certainly to the north, and we are involved in intense diplomacy to that end. 

As I’ve said earlier in this gaggle, we believe that there’s still time and space for diplomacy to work, and we’re going to continue to give it a shot, and that’s where we are. 

But as for this particular strike, again, just heard the reports ourselves.  Refer you to the IDF. 

But I do want to stress: We don’t want to see escalation.  We don’t want to see a second war — a second front in this war opened up at the border with Lebanon.  And everything we’re doing is going to be involved in trying to prevent that outcome. 

As I also said earlier, there is no reason for an expanded military conflict in Lebanon to be inevitable.  We don’t believe it.  We’re going to keep working to that end.

On your first question, yes, we’ve seen that video, and we found it deeply disturbing.  If it’s proven to be authentic, it clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behavior by professional soldiers.  And we reached out immediately to our Israeli counterparts about it, and we pressed them for more details.  They have assured us that they’re going to investigate this and that there will be proper accountability if it’s warranted.  We’re going to be very eager to see what the IDF investigation finds, and as always, we expect that investigation be done thoroughly and transparently.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to the line of James Rosen.  James, you should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hey.  Can you all hear me, I hope?

MODERATOR:  Yes.

Q    Thank you both.  Admiral, two questions on the Middle East, if you would.

One, you have now, as the war approaches its first-year anniversary, the benefit of enough experience to look back on last November, when you were able, with your partners in the region, to finalize a ceasefire for a hostages deal that went into effect for some time and produced tangible results, and the subsequent failure over many, many months of different iterations of proposals and negotiations. 

So I wonder if you could, with the benefit of that hindsight, say for us what conditions were present, do you think, in November that made a breakthrough possible at that time that apparently are no longer present.  Or how do you account for the fact that you were able to do it once and just have not been able to do it again?  What are the conditions that have created that disparity?

MR. KIRBY:  James, it’s a really thoughtful question, and I would say, first, we’re not sitting down and doing that exact analysis.  We’re focused on the deal at hand and the one before us and trying to find a way to get it across the finish line. 

The only thing I would add in terms of context to your question is that war evolves over time.  Conditions change on the ground over time.  Operations have an effect.

And you were right: Early on in this, we were able to have some success in terms of at least getting a temporary ceasefire in place so we could get a small number of hostages out.  Well, actually, not all that small.  It was not insignificant, the number that we were able to get out.  But that was early on.  And over time, you know, the war evolved in many different ways, and conditions on the ground changed in many different ways, and the outlooks and the perspectives of the two sides changed as the conflict and the violence wore on.

And all of that — all of that context affects the decision-making process of leaders involved.  That’s the best I can do in answering your question.

But I do want to come back to where I started.  I mean, we’re not looking a lot in the rearview mirror here.  We’re really looking ahead and trying to find a way forward that has proven difficult — as I said the other day, daunting, in fact.  But it doesn’t diminish the energy that we’re applying to the problem set.  And quite frankly, it doesn’t — though we’re looking at this pragmatically and certainly with no rose-colored glasses — I mean, we know what’s before us; we know how hard this is going to be — it doesn’t diminish our hope that we can actually get there.  And so, that work continues.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Lucas Thompson.

Q    John, Secretary Blinken, when he was in the region, did not visit Israel.  And now, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is not visiting Israel next week.  What message is the administration sending to Israel? 

MR. KIRBY:  There’s no message being sent to Israel.  First of all, I don’t believe the Defense Department announced any kind of a trip for Secretary Austin. 

This isn’t about message-sending to Israel.  I think Israel knows pretty darn well where President Biden and this administration comes down in terms of supporting their efforts to defend themselves.  And we’ve been nothing but clear and candid with them about the challenges of improving humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the need to be discriminate and precise in how they’re going about defending themselves so as to pay more heat to civilian casualties.  All of those conversations continue.  I would not read anything into visits or no visits to Israel.

MODERATOR:  Our last question will go to the line of Hiba Nasr.

Q    Thanks, Eduardo.  Hi, John.  John, I know that you’ve been asked this question many times, but I would try again.  I mean, what does a broadened war would look like for you?  I mean, except for the thing of a ground military operation.  I know you said you don’t have enough information about the strike today. 

And my second question: I appreciate if you get back to me on this, because you said you don’t have information.  Does the strike tonight, today in Beirut — do you consider it as a targeted strike?  Thank you.

MR. KIRBY:  I don’t know that I’m going to promise you that I’m going to get back to you on that one.  We have been scrupulous in not defining every single military event over there, and I think it’s best to have the IDF speak to their operations. 

And so, I don’t want to get into the habit and I don’t want to start with your question in terms of having us characterize every single event.  You should really talk to the IDF about it, about their operations.

And, look, as for an escalation of the conflict or a new front, I think we all know what we mean when we talk about a new front of warfare and what that means in terms of the resources, the logistics, the sustainment, the operational maneuver, the number of forces involved in moving the conflict to a different front and what that would look like.

Again, I don’t think it’s useful for me to get into an order of battle discussion here with you guys.  I think we all know what we’re talking about when it comes to the potential for escalating the conflict, and we’re doing everything we can, and we still believe that there is things that can be done on the diplomatic front to prevent that. 

MODERATOR:  Thanks, all.  That’s all the time we have for today.  We’ll talk to you soon.

10:32 A.M. EDT

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia today in Wilmington, Delaware. The President thanked the Prime Minister for his partnership and highlighted the progress made in strengthening bilateral ties since the Prime Minister’s Official Visit to Washington, D.C., last October. 
 
The leaders underscored that the U.S.-Australia Alliance remains the core of the bilateral relationship, and welcomed the depth of cooperation across its three pillars: defense and security, economic, and climate and clean energy. The leaders noted the recent Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) Joint Leaders Statement reaffirming their shared commitment to advance this historic trilateral partnership and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable. 
 
The leaders reflected on the strength of the economic relationship and discussed progress over the past two years to modernize the Alliance in the face of new challenges, including addressing climate change and the clean energy transition. They also reaffirmed their commitment to expand cooperation to build more diverse and resilient critical minerals supply chains and accelerate the transition to clean energy in accordance with the “Compact” they signed in Hiroshima, Japan, in May 2023.
 
The two leaders also discussed their support for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, their continued assistance to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s brutal aggression, and their support for a sustainable ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The leaders discussed their respective diplomacy with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and their shared concerns about the PRC’s coercive and destabilizing activities, including in the South China Sea. The President welcomed Australia’s contributions to the Quad, its growing partnership with Japan, and its active engagement in the Pacific region, where the United States intends to provide $1.5 million to support the World Bank’s efforts to strengthen correspondent banking relationships in Pacific Island countries.   
 
The leaders committed to continue deepening the bilateral partnership to advance their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Atlanta, Georgia

3:21 P.M. EDT

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Can we please hear it for Dr. Reddick?  Please.  (Applause.)

Please have a seat, everyone.  Please have a seat. 

It’s so good to be back in Atlanta.  Thank you all.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Thank you. 

You know, I — I just want to say —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) to have you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Laughter.)

I just — I want to say about Dr. Reddick — you know, I — some of you may have seen I did a — an event last night with Oprah Winfrey and — (applause) — and that — it highlighted so many tragic stories, but it also highlighted so many important issues, which is why everyone has taken time out of your busy lives to be here this afternoon.  And it highlighted the importance of a Dr. Reddick.  

AUDIENCE:  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Because the courage, Dr. Reddick, that you are showing in the face of these arcane and immoral laws, to stand so publicly and talk about your commitment to your oath and to the health and well-being of people who need to be seen and treated with dignity is so extraordinary. 

And I do believe, in moments of crisis, the world has a way of revealing the heroes among us.  (Applause.)  And I would say, Dr. Reddick, you are one of them.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

And thank you to all of the elected and community leaders who have joined us today.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, everybody — everybody who is here.

So, Georgia, the- — this election right here is a fight for the future.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom — for freedom. 

And we know, in America, freedom is not to be given.  It is not to be bestowed.  It is ours by right.  (Applause.)  It is ours by right, and that includes the fundamental freedom of a woman to be able to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)  Yes, we must trust women.

And we all know how we got here.  When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood and RBG — with the intention that they would overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade.  And as he intended, they did.

And now more than 20 states have Trump abortion bans — extremists that have passed laws that criminalize health care providers, doctors and nurses, and punish women.  In two states of those states, they provide for prison for life — prison for life for health care providers for simply providing reproductive care, the care they so earnestly and rightly believe must be delivered.  All Trump abortion bans. 

And think about this: Many of these bans make no exception even for rape and incest. 

Now, many of you know I started my career as a prosecutor specializing in crimes of violence against women and children.  What many of you may not know is why. 

So, when I was in high school, my best friend, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And I said to her, “Look, you’ve got to come and stay with us.”  I called my mother.  She said, “Of course she does.”  And she came and she stayed with us. 

And so, I made the decision early in my life that I wanted to do the work that was about protecting the most vulnerable among us and doing the work that was about giving them dignity in the process. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so — well, thank everybody here for being here, standing in solidarity around the importance of that.  (Applause.)

And so, I say to you, then, from that experience and from the work that I’ve done, the idea that someone who survives a crime of violence to their body — a violation of their body — would not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, that’s immoral.  That’s immoral.

And let us agree, and I know we do: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

If she chooses — if she chooses, she will talk with her pastor, her priest, her rabbi, her imam.  But it should not be the government or Donald Trump telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)

And think about it — the stories that Dr. Reddick shares with us, the stories we heard last night, the stories we’ve been hearing for two years. 

One in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban.  This includes Georgia and every state in the South except Virginia. 

Think about that when you also combine that with what we know has been long-standing neglect around an issue like maternal mortality.  Think about that when you compound that with what has been long-standing neglect of women in communities with a lack of the adequate resources they need for health care — prenatal, during their pregnancy, postpartum.  Think about that. 

And these hypocrites want to start talking about “this is in the best interest of women and children.”  (Applause.)  Well, where you been?  Where you been — (applause) — when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America?  Where you been? 

How dare they?  How dare they?  Come on. 

And — and we understand the impact of these bans and the horrific reality that women and families — their husbands, their partners, their parents, their children are facing as a consequence every single day. 

Since Roe was overturned, I have met women who were refused care during a miscarriage — wanted to have a child, suffering a miscarriage.  I met a woma- — a woman — I’ve actually met several who were turned away from the emergency room.  One, at early stages after the Dobbs decision came down, told me with tears — she was with her husband — about how only when she developed ses- — sepsis did she receive emergency care.  Only when she developed sepsis did she receive emergency care. 

And now we know that at least two women — and those are only the stories we know — here in the state of Georgia died — died because of a Trump abortion ban. 

One — and we heard about her story last night — a vibrant, 28-year-old young woman.  She was ambitious.  You know, we — I talked with her mother and her sisters about her, and they described such an extraordinary life of a person.  She was excited.  She was working hard.  She was a medical assistant.  She was going to nursing school, raising her six-year-old son. 

She was really proud that she had finally worked so hard that she gained the independence.  Her family was telling me that she was able to get an apartment in a gated community with a pool for her son to play in.  She was so proud, and she was headed to nursing school. 

And her name — and we will speak her name —

AUDIENCE:  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Amber Nicole Thurman. 

AUDIENCE:  Amber Nicole Thurman.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Amber Nicole Thurman.

AUDIENCE:  Amber Nicole Thurman. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right. 

And she had her future all planned out, and it was her plan.  You know, let’s understand — just take pause on that for a moment.  She had her plan, what she wanted to do for her son, for herself, for their future.  And so, when she discovered that she was pregnant, she decided she wanted to have an abortion, but because of the Trump abortion ban here in Georgia, she was forced to travel out of state to receive the health care that she needed. 

But when she returned to Georgia, she needed additional care, so she went to a hospital.  But, you see, under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a decade in prison for providing Amber the care she needed. 

Understand what a law like this means.  Doctors have to wait until the patient is at death’s door before they take action. 

You know, on the other side of my — you know, the — the other folks, th- — Trump and his running mate, and they’ll talk about, (deepens voice) “Oh, well, yeah, but I — you know, I — I do believe in the exception to save the mother’s life.”  (Laughter.)  Okay.  All right.  Let’s break that down.  Shall we? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s break that down.  (Applause.)  Let’s break that down. 

So, we’re saying that we’re going to create public policy that says that a doctor, a health care provider, will only kick in to give the care that somebody needs if they’re about to die? Think about what we are saying right now.  You’re saying that good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy, is about saying that a health care provider will only start providing that care when you’re about to die? 

And so, Amber waited 20 hours — 20 hours, excruciating hours — until finally she was in enough physical distress that her doctors thought they would be okay to treat her.  But it was too late.  She died of sepsis.  And her last words to her mother — which her mother, as you know, tears up and cries every time she speaks it — last words to her mother, “Promise me you’ll take care of my son.” 

     So, I met last night and I spent time with Amber’s mother and her sisters, and they spoke about Amber — a daughter, a sister, a mother — with the deep love that you can imagine and how terribly they miss her.  And their pain is heartbreaking.  It’s heartbreaking. 

 Amber’s mother, Shanette, told me that the word “preventable” is over and over again in her head when she learned about how her child died — the word “preventable.”  She cannot — she can’t stop thinking about the word that they spoke to her.  It was “preventable.” 

Because, you see, medical experts have now determined that Amber’s death was preventable.  And through the pain and the grief of her mother, who courageously told her story, I promised her, as she has asked, that we will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic — (applause) — that she will not just be remembered as a statistic, so that people will know she was a mother and a daughter and a sister and that she was loved and that she should be alive today — (applause) — and that she should be alive today.

And many of us remember — there’s so many leaders here — from two years ago when the Dobbs decision came down, we knew this could happen.  There is a word “preventable,” and there is another word: predictable. 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And the reality is for every story we hear of the suffering under Trump abortion bans, there are so many other stories we’re not hearing but where suffering is happening every day in our country, an untold number of people suffering.

     Women who are also being made to feel as though they did something wrong.  The judgment factor here is outrageous — being made as though to feel as though they are criminals, as though they are alone. 

So, to those women, to those families, I say on behalf of what I believe we all say: We see you, and you are not alone, and we are all here standing with you.  (Applause.)  Standing with you.  You are not alone.  You are not alone.  (Applause.)

So, Georgia —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We will not be silent.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We — and we will not be silent.

AUDIENCE:  We will not be silent.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we will not be silent.  But this is a health care crisis. 

 AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  This is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis.  He brags about overturning Roe v. Wade.  In his own words, quote, “I did it, and I’m proud to have done it,” he says.  He is proud. 

Proud that women are dying?  Proud that doctors and nurses could be thrown in prison for administering care?  Proud that young women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers? 

How dare he?  How dare he?

And in our debate last week — (laughter and applause).  Well, that was fun.  (Laughs.) 

But — and I know everyone here paid attention to the words, though — the words, right? 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)  I’m trying to get another debate.  We’ll see.  (Laughter.)

But in our debate last week, remember when he said: Everyone wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I don’t know where “everyone” is.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, exactly.  I don’t know where everyone is either, because — (laughter and applause) — women have been arrested and charged for miscarriages.  They didn’t want that. 

 AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I — I was speaking with a physician who is here, who has, in her professional experience, been administering care to girls.  And what we know is that 12- and 13-year-old survivors of assault are being forced to carry a pregnancy to term.  They didn’t want this. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And couples just trying to grow their family being cut off in the middle of IVF treatments, they didn’t want this. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And on that last point, you probably saw, this week, for the second time, Republicans in the United States Senate blocked a bill that would protect access to IVF treatment. 

Now, consider among the multitude of ironies the fact that, on the one hand, these extremists want to tell women they don’t have the freedom to end an unwanted pregnancy, and on the other hand, these extremists are telling women and their partners they don’t have the freedom to start a family.  Okay.  And they want to restrict access to contraception as well.

And now Donald Trump says that he would personally cast his vote in Florida, which is where he now lives, to support their extreme abortion ban, just like the one that is here in Georgia.  And —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Felons can’t vote!  (Laughter and applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, that’s a whole different policy discussion that we’ll have for another day.  (Laughter.)

But let’s understand, if he is — if he is elected again as president, Donald Trump will go further.  (Applause.)  But we know what we’re up against, and we must — we must speak of the stakes.  We must remind — everybody here knows, but we got to remind our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers: The stakes are so high. 

Because, if he is elected again, I am certain he will sign a national abortion ban, which would outlaw abortion in every single state.  And he would create a national anti-abortion coordinator — look at Project 2025 — and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.  It’s right there.

I can’t believe they put that Project 2025 in writing.  (Laughter.)  I — I — they — they put it — they literally put it in writing.  They bound it.  (Laughter.)  They handed it out.  I mean, they are simply out of their minds.  (Laughter and applause.)

And it’s clear that they just don’t trust women. 

AUDIENCE:  They don’t.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, we trust women.  We trust women.  (Applause.)

And like Dr. Reddick said, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will so proudly sign it back into law.  (Applause.)  I will so proudly sign it into law.  Proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)

So, 46 days to go.  And let us remember that momentum on this and so many issues — momentum is on our side.  (Applause.)

Let’s remember, since Roe was overturned, every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot — from Kansas to California to Kentucky; in Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio — the people of America have voted for freedom.  (Applause.)  The people of America have voted for freedom — and not just by a little but by overwhelming margins, from so-called red states to so-called blue states, providing and making clear, also, this is not a partisan issue.  This is not a partisan issue.  And it is proving that the voice of the people has been heard and will be heard again — and will be heard again.  (Applause.)

So, 46 days to go in probably the most consequential election of our lifetime. 

     And with that, then, today, I ask: Georgia, are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.)

     Do we trust women?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in reproductive freedom?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.) 

     And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.) 

     And when we fight —

     AUDIENCE:  We win!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win.  (Applause.)

     God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

     Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all for being here.  (Applause.)

                             END                3:44 P.M. EDT

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The Rose Garden

“Tell her where you are.”

That was President Bartlet’s suggestion to Donna.

For the entire episode, Donna had been trying to find a way to recognize her high school English teacher, Mrs. Morello—who went above and beyond for her school in Wisconsin.

In the end, President Bartlet calls Donna into the Oval Office. Charlie has Mrs. Morello on the phone. And Donna doesn’t know what to say.

“Tell her where you are.”

And Donna says: “Mrs. Morello, I’m in the Oval Office with the President of the United States, and it’s because of you.”

Now, I teach writing at a community college not too far from here—so I might be a little biased in bringing up this moment. And I want to thank Aaron and everyone who contributed to that episode for that beautiful tribute to educators everywhere.

We just came from the Oval.

Because even though Joe is away hosting the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan in Delaware, he wanted to make sure President Bartlet and his staff had a chance to see the Oval Office again.

I often talk to my students about the power of good storytelling—because it can inspire and shape our world.

When The West Wing lights up our screens, every swell of the opening theme, every fast talking, fast walking journey through seemingly endless halls—every performance—changes how we see the public servants behind these white walls, striving for a better tomorrow.

Thank you to Warner Brothers for making today possible.

And I’m glad to have so many wonderful members of Joe’s Cabinet joining us.

I’m grateful to everyone on stage for taking the time to be here, because your work inspired so many to step forward and serve our country—maybe even some of the people here today: working in Congress, at non-profits and on political campaigns, or at the White House.

That’s the power of storytelling—to inspire the Donnas and Charlies of the world who know they have something to give to this country—and the Mrs. Morellos, who may not serve in Washington, but change us for the better all the same.

So anytime we begin to slip into cynicism or apathy—we just have to remember Jed Bartlet’s White House. A place where there are big blocks of cheese and everyone belongs.

Where you do good.

That’s the story The West Wing showed the nation: this family we create here, dedicated to a purpose greater than any one of us.

I see it every day.

It’s something that’s close to my heart, because, with every new hire, the Biden family grows too.

Yes, the work is hard and the days are long. Yes, there are times when the weight of all we have before us can feel too heavy to carry. But that’s where the heart lies, where the future is created, side by side with our family of true believers—hope pushing us forward each step, each day, until the world is as it ought to be.

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce, President Bartlet—or as he’s sometimes known, Martin Sheen.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and ordered federal aid to supplement the Tribal Nation’s efforts in the areas affected by a severe storm and flooding from August 8 to August 10, 2024.

Federal funding is available to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm and flooding.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Ms. Catharine O. Fan of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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     Our Nation’s nearly 200 Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) open doors of opportunity for millions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) students.  AANAPISIs provide a pathway to the middle class and a better life for their students, many of whom often come from low-income neighborhoods and may be the first in their families to attend college.  During AANAPISI Week, we celebrate these critical institutions for the resources and support they provide to students, and we recommit to advancing their mission and success.

     AANAPISIs play a critical role in the lives of so many of our Nation’s AA and NHPI students.  In addition to a quality education, these institutions meet AA and NHPI students where they are and foster inclusive learning environments — providing tutoring, career development, counseling, culturally and linguistically responsive services, and more.  AANAPISIs confer more than half of all associate degrees and more than a third of baccalaureate degrees that AA and NHPI students earn.

     My Administration is committed to strengthening our AANAPISIs so that more AA and NHPI students can reach their full potential.  My American Rescue Plan delivered $5 billion to AANAPISIs.  The Department of Education has invested in increasing the number of diverse and talented teachers by funding programs at Minority Serving Institutions that serve large percentages of AA and NHPI populations.  Across my Administration, Federal agencies are working to expand the capacity of AANAPISIs and strengthen their programs.  And I re-established the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and released a National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities.  These actions work to ensure AA and NHPI communities have the resources they need to thrive.

     My Administration is also working to make college more affordable for all students.  We provided a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award — the largest increase in over a decade, canceled debt for hundreds of thousands of borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and taken steps to help borrowers manage their payments through income-driven repayment.  And earlier this year, I laid out my Administration’s new plans that would cancel student debt for more than 30 million Americans when combined with everything we have done so far.

     I have always believed that the American Dream is big enough for everyone — and every generation has benefited by opening the doors of opportunity a bit wider for those behind them.  During AANAPISI Week, may we celebrate the nearly 200 institutions across our Nation that ensure generations of AA and NHPI students can pursue the limits of their talents and ambitions.  May we recognize that diversity will always be one of our Nation’s greatest strengths.  And may we celebrate all our Nation’s AA and NHPI students. 

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 23 through September 29, 2024, as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week.  I call on public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the many ways these institutions and their graduates contribute to our country.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Around the world today, our people and economies are increasingly impacted by the severe consequences of the climate crisis.  Coastal communities and military bases are threatened by storms and flooding. Extreme heat, now a regular phenomenon with each passing summer, costs lives, reduces productivity, and damages critical infrastructure.  Vital breadbaskets face historic droughts, and are no longer able to regularly deliver on the food security needs of their regions.  Record-breaking fires ravage forests, spill into communities, and pollute the air.

The U.S. national security community has long understood climate change to be a “threat multiplier,” intensifying existing security threats and vulnerabilities, and decreasing resilience.  But today, the devastating impacts of the climate crisis increasingly are themselves the new direct threats from which we must protect our communities.  We are witnessing cycles of cascading climate impacts and increasing instability, at home and across the globe.

U.S. national security requires addressing the growing impacts of the climate crisis.

As described in our recent U.S. National Climate Assessment, growing climate vulnerabilities have profound impacts for U.S. national security, economic, and strategic interests.  As our military is increasingly called upon to respond to disasters, we risk stretching defense resources.  At the same time, our critical infrastructure—including relatively new infrastructure resulting from the increased investments in the clean-energy transition—risks being degraded more rapidly by the changing environment.  Around the world, changing temperature, precipitation, ecosystems, and ocean conditions threaten supply chains, increase prices, affect the affordability and availability of insurance, and strain public coffers, forcing all levels of government to shift funds away from other priorities.  And alongside these strains, we are witnessing vicious cycles of fragility, where communities may have limited capacity to recover from one disaster to the next.  Simply put, climate hazards are threatening the long-term stability of our governments, our economies, and our global security.

The United States has prioritized the need to both mitigate and build resilience to these strategic threats.  This new U.S. Framework for Climate Resilience and Security prescribes three actions for turning this prioritization into implementation.

1. Assess Climate-Related Threats and Opportunities: Without assessment of the impacts of climate change on our security and defense, it is difficult for our leaders to adapt to a rapidly changing environment or to plan strong responses.  The United States has state-of-the-art scientific capabilities, and thanks to this strategic edge, we are able to predict where climate impacts will exacerbate threats–and act effectively in advance.
   
2. Partner for an Integrated Approach: Each federal department and agency has unique capabilities and comparative advantages in our response to climate hazards, but coordination is critical to efficiently and effectively meet the needs of our communities.  Similar partnerships must also extend to partners overseas at the national, regional, and local levels, civil society, the private sector, philanthropies, and international organizations, to enable the effective use of resources and information, and to incorporate and respond to the needs of those who are impacted most.
   
3. Invest in Collective Resilience: Increasing the resilience of our own investments—including those in our supply chains, physical installations, or the provision of emergency assistance when challenges arise—advances national security objectives and yields economic results.  As our deployment of mitigation resources intensifies through the clean energy transition, we must protect them with commensurate consideration for and investment in resilience that can not only protect lives, and livelihoods, but avoid or lessen future humanitarian and economic assistance needs.

Ultimately, these are the investments for which Americans across the country, and our partners across the world, are asking.  These are not just about the rising threats of the climate crisis, but ultimately they are critical ingredients for ensuring  economic security.  Realizing these goals will protect lives and property, prepare first responders and defense forces, and improve livelihoods globally.

We will bring to bear the leadership of the United States to confront these threats, and bring our cutting-edge analysis, partnership, and investment to partners globally.  In doing so, we will be able to turn many of these growing vulnerabilities into strategic opportunities.  Through these efforts, we will build a more resilient and sustainable global security—one that asserts that projecting and withstanding climate shocks and disruptions is better done through partnership and investment.

Signed,

John Podesta
Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy

Jake Sullivan
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

The full U.S. Framework for Climate Resilience and Security can be found here.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Illinois and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding from July 13 to July 16, 2024.

The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will, and Winnebago.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Mr. Darrin Ricketts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.  

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Connecticut Disaster Declaration

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Connecticut and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by a severe storm, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from August 18 to August 19, 2024.

The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Mr. Robert V. Fogel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and additional counties may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed. 

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new resources to support women’s economic security and convening stakeholders to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to ensure that women age with the financial security that they deserve.
 
Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, working age women’s labor force participation is the highest on record, the gender pay gap has narrowed, and the Administration is ensuring that women have access to good jobs and safe workplaces free from discrimination.  Still, women—and women of color in particular—experience workplace inequities throughout their lives, including as a result of discrimination, pay disparities, occupational segregation, and unpaid caregiving responsibilities.  These inequities can add up to millions of dollars lost over the course of a lifetime and contribute to a retirement savings gap between men and women.  While women typically retire with less savings than men, they are also living longer—thereby, experiencing more financial strain as they age.  
 
The Council of Economic Advisers is releasing a new issue brief on the Economic Security of Older Women highlighting the economic challenges that compound over the course of a woman’s life and underscoring that women are more vulnerable to economic shocks.  The issue brief also highlights Biden-Harris Administration policies that have helped mitigate these challenges and ensure women’s economic security as they age.
 
Since Day One, President Biden and Vice President Harris have fought to improve women’s economic security and protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—lifelines for millions of women.  From lowering prescription drug costs for millions of seniors through the historic Inflation Reduction Act to issuing new rules to ensure that the financial advice that Americans get for retirement is in their best interest, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to support women’s financial security.  The Biden-Harris Administration is also closing gaps in women’s health research, ensuring that women enter retirement more securely, supporting families’ access to care, and protecting women from financial fraud and scams. 
 
As part of the ongoing efforts to support women’s economic security, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing the following new actions:
 
Supporting Employment Training and Housing for Seniors. The Department of Labor (DOL)—through the Senior Community Service Employment Program—is awarding more than $200 million in new grants to support training and employment for older adults.  Through these grants, participants—the majority of whom are women—are connected to jobs, gaining critical workplace skills and a pathway to financial stability.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing nearly $3 million in funding for the Elder Justice Innovation Grants.  Because traditional emergency housing options often cannot meet the needs of older adults, older women experiencing abuse are often forced to return to unsafe environments; these funds will support emergency and transitional housing tailored to the needs of older women.
 
Providing New Resources to Help Support Women’s Retirement Security.  HHS is announcing a new guide to services and resources—including tools for retirement planning and financial literacy—to assist women in planning for a healthy financial future in older age.  DOL is publishing resources to assist women navigating challenging retirement scenarios, including a new effort to educate attorneys and advocates on qualified domestic relations orders, a critical step in dividing a couple’s retirement assets in the event of a divorce.  The Department of Treasury is publishing a new issue brief on the unique challenges that many women face in retirement, and how the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the SECURE 2.0 Act—including the Saver’s Match, emergency savings provisions, and expanded coverage for part-time workers—will help mitigate the gender retirement savings gap.  And the Social Security Administration is releasing a new resource for women and their families about how they can better access Social Security benefits and services.  

Protecting Women’s Earnings and Savings.  The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) is announcing new efforts to help older women—who are more vulnerable to certain financial frauds and scams—protect their hard-earned savings.  Today, the CFPB spotlighted the legal challenges faced by surviving spouses—often women—who may be pursued for their spouse’s medical debt.  Some states have enacted laws making clear that surviving spouses are not responsible for their deceased partners’ debts, and others limit the circumstances in which a surviving spouse is responsible; however, the CFPB has found that debt collectors may try to capitalize on a surviving spouse’s vulnerabilities by attempting to collect their deceased spouse’s unpaid medical bills without real consideration of whether the surviving spouse actually owes the debt.  This follows the CFPB’s proposed rule earlier this year, announced by Vice President Harris, which proposed to remove medical bills from most credit reports, increase privacy protections, help to increase credit scores and loan approvals, and prevent debt collectors from using the credit reporting system to coerce people to pay.  The CFPB will also release a report on the barriers that older Americans face in banking that financial institutions must work to address, including loss of a spouse, cognitive challenges, and changes in health.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is releasing a new resource highlighting enforcement activities and public education efforts to combat sex and age discrimination.
 
Today’s announcements build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to help ensure women age with financial security, including—
 
Lowering Health Care Costs for Women
 
The President and Vice President believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and have expanded health care to millions more Americans while lowering health care costs.  The Administration continues to build on, strengthen, and protect Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act and has signed historic new laws to lower prescription drug costs and health insurance premiums.  The President’s prescription drug law, the Inflation Reduction Act, is directly benefiting women with Medicare, including nearly 30 million women enrolled in Medicare Part D.  These actions are especially important for women, who typically face higher health care costs than men and who are more likely than men to take less medication than was prescribed because of cost—with even greater disparities for women of color.  To help address these challenges, the Biden-Harris Administration is:

• Lowering the Cost of Insulin.  The Administration is delivering on the President’s promise to lower health care costs by capping seniors’ insulin costs at $35 for a month’s supply.  As a result, all 3.4 million Medicare Part D enrollees who filled an insulin prescription in 2023 had their insulin costs capped at $35 per month, saving some seniors hundreds of dollars for a month’s supply and lowering costs for about 733,000 women enrolled in Part D and B.
  
• Capping Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs. Under the President’s leadership, HHS is implementing a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for prescriptions drugs costs for Medicare Part D enrollees.  In 2025, when the cap goes into effect, nearly 19 million seniors and other beneficiaries are projected to save $400 per year on prescription drugs. 
  
• Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs. For the first-time ever, the Administration announced new, lower prices for the first ten drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiations, including for drugs that women disproportionately use.  For example, one of the first 10 drugs is Enbrel—an arthritis treatment; women comprise 72 percent of the enrollees who use Enbrel; a woman with Medicare who takes Enbrel and pays $1,777 today for a 30-day supply would pay only $589 to fill her prescription when the negotiated prices take effect—a 67% decrease in out-of-pocket costs.
  
• Lowering the Cost of Health Insurance. Millions of women are saving an average of $800 on health insurance premiums thanks to the Administration’s expansion of the Premium Tax Credit.  This expansion has helped drive health insurance coverage to a record high, while the Affordable Care Act continues to ensure that insurance companies cannot charge women more just because of their gender.

Supporting Women’s Financial Security

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that women are supported throughout their working lives—by ensuring access to high-quality jobs, robustly enforcing workplace antidiscrimination laws, and closing gender wage gaps—and as they enter retirement.  The Administration is working to ensure women’s financial security as they age by:

• Safeguarding Social Security Equity and Efficiency.  Social Security is the bedrock of financial security for American seniors and for millions of Americans with disabilities.  President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security.  SSA also administers the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income and resources; older women are more likely than older men to rely on SSI, making up 64% of SSI recipients aged 65 or older.  To simplify and increase access for individuals, SSA announced the first phase of an online, streamlined SSI application; published three final rules simplifying how non-monetary support from friends and family is counted; and initiated efforts to expedite decisions for people with severe disabilities.  SSA has also deployed a targeted outreach strategy to ensure that beneficiaries are aware of the benefits SSA pays to widowed and divorced spouses and dependents of eligible workers—a population disproportionately comprised of older women.  To help ensure that all beneficiaries receive the benefits that they are entitled to, SSA is also translating more materials into more languages, improving access to interpretation services, and developed a Limited English Proficiency Toolkit.  The Biden-Harris Administration is fighting to ensure that SSA has the funding they need to continue administering these crucial programs.
  
• Protecting Women’s Retirement Savings.  Earlier this year, DOL issued a final rule to close loopholes and ensure that the financial advice that Americans get for retirement is in their best interest.  DOL’s rule will protect the millions of Americans, including millions of women, who are diligently saving for retirement when they rely on advice from trusted professionals on how to invest their savings.  The rule will require trusted investment advice providers to give prudent, loyal, and honest advice, and prevent them from providing recommendations that favor the investment advice providers’ interests—financial or otherwise—at retirement savers’ expense.  These new safeguards will save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per impacted middle-class saver.  The Administration is also implementing the SECURE 2.0 Act, which allows survivors of domestic abuse to elect to receive penalty-free distributions from an employer-sponsored retirement plan. 
  
• Providing Housing Security for Vulnerable Women. The Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to support housing for older Americans, including through the Home Equity Conversion Mortgages for Seniors program, which allows seniors to withdraw a portion of their home equity for additional income, and the 202 program, which offers direct loans and capital for the provision of secure and supportive housing facilities for older persons.  These programs—which predominantly support older women— allow senior homeowners to age in place and help expand the supply of affordable housing by providing low-income older Americans with options that allow them to live independently but in an environment that provides support for daily necessities. 

Supporting Families’ Access to Care

The Biden-Harris Administration—through implementation of the President’s Care Executive Order—is working to ensure that older women have the support they need as they age as well as to care for the ones they love.  Even as older adults require care, they are also often the ones who provide it.  One in four older women provide some form of unpaid caregiving, and, without training and support, their health, well-being, quality of life, and financial future can suffer.  The Administration is supporting families’ access to care by:

• Ensuring Safety and Quality Care in Long-Term Care Facilities. Adequate staffing is proven to be one of the measures most strongly associated with safety and good care outcomes.  To ensure safety and quality care, earlier this year, Vice President Harris announced that HHS finalized a rule to require all nursing homes that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to have 3.48 hours per resident per day of total staffing, including a defined number from both registered nurses and nurse aides.  This means a facility with 100 residents would need at least two or three registered nurses and at least ten or eleven nurse aides as well as two additional nurse staff (which could be registered nurses, licensed professional nurses, or nurse aides) per shift to meet the minimum staffing standards.  Many facilities would need to staff at a higher level based on their residents’ needs.  It will also require facilities to have a registered nurse onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide skilled nursing care, which will further improve nursing home safety.   And HHS released a new “know-your-rights” resource for women to ensure that women can access safe and culturally competent health care free from discrimination and with protections to their privacy. 
  
• Supporting Family Caregivers. Through the American Rescue Plan, the Administration provided $145 million to help the National Family Caregiver Support Program deliver counseling, training, and short-term relief to family caregivers and other informal care providers.  HHS issued a report documenting actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration to implement the first-ever National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers; these actions have created new initiatives that directly support family caregivers, strengthened existing programs, and improved coordination across the federal government to improve the lives of family caregivers.  HHS has also taken steps to support family caregivers’ access to training and beneficiary information during the hospital discharge planning process, published the Guiding and Improving Dementia Experience Model to support people living with dementia and their caregivers, and announced new funding opportunities to develop new approaches to support family caregivers.  HHS also published a guide to help older women find programs and services—such as respite care, support groups and individual counseling—to help them maintain their own health and well-being while being a caregiver for others.  And the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a program to provide mental health counseling services to family caregivers caring for our nation’s heroes.  
  
• Investing in Care Infrastructure and Supporting Caregivers and Care Workers. The Administration is committed to raising the wages and quality of care worker jobs, and to investing in care infrastructure. In March 2024, SBA announced new funding opportunities to support small businesses in the child care sector as well as the creation of a child care business development guide, which will provide resources for child care businesses on starting and running a business throughout the business life cycle.  In addition, SBA is launching a lender campaign to highlight the resources SBA has available to support small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses, including child care businesses, and will discuss additional reforms to support the growth of child care capacity across the country.  The Administration is also taking steps to ensure Service members and military spouses—the vast majority of whom are women—have the support they need to care for themselves and their families while serving our country, including by strengthening hiring and retention of military spouses across the federal government, and expanding access to child care and other employment resources.  And the Department of Labor has published sample employment agreements so domestic home care, child care, and long-term care workers and their employers can help ensure all parties better understand their rights and responsibilities.

Protecting Women from Financial Fraud and Scams

The Biden-Harris Administration is working to protect the savings that older Americans have worked their entire lives to build. Each year, Americans over 60-years-old lose billions of dollars to scams.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other regulatory agencies are taking action to crack down on frauds and scams that too often target older Americans by—

• Protecting Older Women from Financial Fraud. FTC is pursuing actions against scammers who target or disproportionately impact older adults in their schemes, including those who conduct prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams; tech support scams; and family and friend impersonation.  Last year, FTC’s past enforcement efforts resulted in relief of more than $285 million to consumers.
  
• Equipping Older Women with Tools and Resources to Protect Against Scams.  FTC chairs the Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group focused on expanding consumer education and outreach efforts; improving industry training on scam prevention; identifying innovative or high-tech methods to detect and stop scams; it has produced a report on what research shows are effective tactics in scam-prevention messaging.  And the CFPB has released resources to assist older adults—who are disproportionately women—navigate later-in-life challenges, such as resources to navigate critical financial moments after losing a spouse; tools to avoid financial exploitation; and information to help safeguard finances. 

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11:37 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, good morning.  I guess it’s still morning, isn’t it?  Yep.

Before I begin this Cabinet meeting, I want to discuss very briefly the need for Congress to pass a continuing resolution.  It’s critical.  And we have 10 days for Congress to pass a short-term funding bill that gives them more time to deliver on our national defense, veterans, hardworking families — what we’ve already appropriated.  It’s important we get it done.

And it’s the only path forward, b- — it’s by working across the aisle.  We got to have faith that our leaders will pull this together.  It’s really important.  It’s a — and — to fund the government. 

And — and so, this Cabinet meeting comes at a time when we have four months left in the administration.  And we’re going to keep running through the tape because the vice president and I are determined to keep making sure that the democracy delivers what the American people are asking for and what we provided.

That means continuing to implement the historic laws we’ve passed.  They’ve allowed us to invest in America, rebuild our infrastructure, and implement our historic laws. 

So, we’re grateful that Jill is here today.  (Laughter.)  I heard that clapping — it wasn’t for me — when we came in.

And here, across previous administrations, first ladies have attended these meetings and on — for specific reasons.  It’s the first time Jill has joined us.  And it goes to show how important the issue is, what she’s about to speak to, to both of us.

Today, at the top of our meeting, Jill is going to give an update on the House initiative — White House initiative to fundamentally change the approach and fund — on how we approach and fund women’s health services.

So, I’d like to turn it over to Jill and — for any comments she has. 

THE FIRST LADY:  Thanks, Joe.

THE PRESIDENT:  And it’s all yours, kid.

THE FIRST LADY:  Thank you.

You know, sometimes the White House surprises you.  When Joe became president, I knew I wanted to keep shining a light on the issues that I’d worked on for so many years: supporting military and veteran families, ending cancer as we know it with the Biden Cancer Moonshot, lifting up educators, and promoting free community college as a pathway to good-paying careers.

But then last year, I learned about — more about gaps — huge gaps in our understanding of women’s health.  Our nation is home to the best health research in the world, yet women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded.  And we still know too little about how to affectively prevent, diagnose, and treat a range of health conditions in women, from heart disease to cancers.

It was one of those moments where you can never see the world the same way again.  And I knew that I had to add this to my portfolio. 

So, last November, Joe and I launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.  And what has never surprised me about the White House is that when you have a great team, which Joe has in all of you, you can bring about solutions quickly.

I’m here, my first time at a Cabinet meeting, to thank you for the incredible progress we’ve made on women’s health research, all in less than a year.

Joe directed federal departments and agencies to prioritize women’s health research and innovation, and you responded.

In February, ARPA-H, the agency Joe created to pursue breakthrough health research, at lightning speed, launched its first-ever Sprint for Women’s Health.  The $100-million investment will fund innovations that will be life-changing for women.

Then, a month later, NIH committed another $200 million to fund interdisciplinary women’s health research, for ex- — for example, looking at how menopause affects heart health, brain health, and bone health.

In May, the Department of Defense and the VA launched a new joint effort to improve research for women in the military and for women veterans.

On Monday, I’ll be at the Clinton Global Initiative to make a new announcement, and we will share more then.

In June, the Department of Health and Human Services announced new funding to address the unique mental health and substance use treatment needs of women.

Your agencies are strengthening standards so that when the government funds research, it includes women from the beginning.  That means making sure women are enrolled in clinical trials and that researchers design studies, analyze data, and report finding[s] in ways that improve women’s health.

Joe’s executive order directed the most comprehensive set of actions that any president has ever taken to advance women’s health research.  And in his State of the Union Address, he asked Congress for $12 billion to secure the bold and transformative health discoveries we need.

Our White House initiative has built momentum for health research focused on women, but we have to keep moving forward.  We have to keep wok- — working across government and the private sector to incentive innovative health research for women.

It’s time to write a new story of health care in this country, one where women get the answers we need, where the United States continues to be home to the most cutting-edge research in the world, and where everyone can lead healthier lives.

Thank you.  (Applause.)

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, is it realistic to get to a ceasefire?

Q    Mr. President, what do (inaudible)?

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  On the peace process, we’re continuing to try to do what we’ve tried from the beginning to make sure that both the people in Northern Israel as well as Southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes and go back safely.  And the secretary of State, the secretary of Defense, our whole team is working — the intelligence community — to try to get that done.  And we’re going to keep at it until we get it done.  But we’ve got a way to go.

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Is it realistic? 

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Shh.  Hey.

Q    Is it realistic to get to a ceasefire deal, or have too many bad things happened that make it difficult?

THE PRESIDENT:  If I ever said it’s not realistic, we might as well leave.

A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done.  We have to keep at it.

Thank you.

11:45 A.M. EDT

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On Friday, September 20, 2024, the President signed into law:

H.R. 7377, “Royalty Resiliency Act,” which amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to improve the management of royalties from oil and gas leases, and for other purposes.

Thank you to Representative Hunt for his leadership.

H.R. 9468, “Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024,” which provides fiscal year 2024 supplemental appropriations to the Veterans Benefits Administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), establishes reporting requirements related to VA funding and projected funding shortfalls, and requires the VA Office of Inspector General to conduct a review on the causes that led to this funding shortfall.

Thank you to Representatives Takano, Bost, Mike Garcia, Cole, and DeLauro, and Senators Tester, Moran, Brown, Boozman, Murray, and Collins for their leadership.

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Department of Energy Battery Supply Chain Awards Build on Four Years of Whole-of-Government Effort to Increase Domestic and Allied Supply of Critical Minerals

Critical minerals are essential building blocks of the modern economy and our energy security, from clean energy technologies like high-capacity batteries and wind turbines to semiconductors, advanced defense systems, and consumer electronics. Over the past several decades, China has cornered the market for processing and refining of key critical minerals, leaving the U.S. and our allies and partners vulnerable to supply chain shocks and undermining economic and national security. As the world builds a clean energy economy, demand for critical minerals is projected to grow exponentially.
 
President Biden recognized this challenge and took immediate action. In his first weeks in office, he signed Executive Order 14017, America’s Supply Chains, which mandated a 100-day review of U.S. critical mineral supply chains. Following the report’s recommendations, the Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized historic resources to strengthen domestic critical minerals supply chains, from mining to manufacturing to recycling. These investments are strengthening U.S. energy and national security; boosting American manufacturing; creating good-paying and union jobs in mining, construction, and manufacturing; and reducing reliance on unreliable supply chains.
 
Since President Biden took office, companies have announced more than $120 billion in investments in battery and critical mineral supply chains. Through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce are supporting the domestic battery and critical mineral supply chain through grants, loans, and allocated tax credits. That investment has created new jobs: over 250,000 new American energy jobs were added last year—with clean energy jobs growing twice as fast as the rest of the sector.
 
This investment has also dramatically expanded the U.S. critical minerals industrial base and reduced reliance on foreign and unreliable supply chains. In 2021, the U.S. had enough operating and announced battery manufacturing capacity to power 500,000 electric vehicles—today, announced battery gigafactories will power 10 million electric vehicles, enough to meet domestic demand by 2030. In 2021, U.S. lithium producers met just 5 percent of global demand. Thanks to investments in processing and manufacturing, the US is not just keeping pace with the fivefold increase in lithium demand but is on track to outpace it: the U.S. is set to supply more than one-fifth of global demand outside of China by 2030.
 
After years of ceding ground to China, we are now winning the competition for the 21st Century, protecting our industrial base and creating good jobs, and strengthening our energy and national security thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to secure critical mineral supply chains.

Battery Material Processing and Manufacturing

Today, the Department of Energy is announcing over $3 billion across 25 projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to extract, process, and recycle critical minerals and materials and manufacture key battery components, as well as support next-generation battery manufacturing. Combined with the first round of battery material processing and manufacturing awards, funding from this program will generate $16 billion in public and private sector investment throughout the entire battery supply chain. Project details can be found here.

This announcement supports a whole-of-government effort to build an end-to-end domestic supply chain for electric vehicle and grid storage batteries:

• The Department of the Treasury allocated $800 million through the first round of allocations under the Inflation Reduction Act Section 48C Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit for critical mineral processing, refining and recycling, including for lithium-ion battery recycling, battery material processing, and battery component manufacturing.
  
• The Department of Energy Loan Program Office closed a loan of $2.5 billion to Ultium Cells and issued a conditional commitment of $9.2 billion to BlueOval SK, joint ventures between General Motors and LG Energy and Ford and SK respectively, for six total battery manufacturing facilities with more than 200 gigawatt hours of capacity, enough to power more than 2 million EVs.
  
• The Loan Program Office has also issued a $2 billion conditional commitment to Redwood Materials for a first-of-its-kind battery material manufacturing and recycling project in Nevada to produce critical battery components that are currently dominated by China using recycled batteries and material.
  
• The Loan Program Office issued a $102 million loan to Syrah Technologies to produce graphite-based active anode material for EV batteries in Louisiana. Syrah processes natural graphite from its Balama, Mozambique mine, which received conditional commitment of up to $150 million in financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to support the full graphite supply chain.
  
• The Department of Commerce awarded $21 million to the Nevada Tech Hub, led by the University of Reno, Nevada, to build a globally competitive full lithium supply chain and innovation cluster from extraction through recycling, building on the lithium assets, workforce, and research institutions in the area.
  
• In May, President Biden directed his U.S. Trade Representative to raise tariffs on imported EV and grid storage batteries from China, as well as certain critical minerals, to counter China’s unfair trade practices, which will defend U.S. manufacturers from being undercut by artificially cheap products.

Supporting Responsible Domestic Mining

To meet the nation’s climate, infrastructure, and global competitiveness goals, the U.S. must expand and accelerate responsible domestic production of critical minerals in a manner that upholds strong environmental, labor, safety, Tribal consultation, and community engagement standards. By responsibly permitting, managing operations, and remediating mines, the U.S. can set a global standard for responsible mineral development and create good-paying jobs in communities across the country:

• The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office issued a $2.26 billion conditional commitment for lithium processing at the fully permitted Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, which will produce enough lithium to power more than 800,000 EVs annually when operational.
  
• The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office issued a $700 million conditional commitment for lithium processing at the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, which plans to produce enough lithium to power 370,000 new EVs annually when operational. Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management issued the final Environmental Impact Statement for the project.
  
• The Department of Defense awarded Albemarle $90 million through the Defense Production Act to support the restart of the Kings Mountain lithium mine in North Carolina, which could produce enough lithium to power 1.2 million new EVs annually when operational.
  
• The Department of Energy awarded $39 million through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery (MINER) program to 16 projects to develop technologies to increase the domestic supply of critical minerals while reducing energy use and emissions.
  
• The Department of the Interior approved the Gibellini vanadium project in Nevada, the first vanadium mine in the U.S., which will support next-generation energy storage batteries, steelmaking and advanced alloys.
  
• The Department of Agriculture issued a final Environmental Impact Statement and draft Record of Decision for the Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho. Supported by $60 million in funding through the Defense Production Act, the project will be the only domestic source for antimony, a necessary critical mineral for munitions and next-generation battery technologies.
  
• The $1.7 billion Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona became the first mining project to receive FAST-41 coverage, supporting coordination, collaboration and transparency in the permitting process. Today, South32 also received a [$x] Department of Energy award to process the manganese produced by the mine for electric vehicle batteries.
  
• The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office clarified that domestic critical minerals mining and extraction projects are eligible for financing under the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, broadening its support for critical minerals projects.

Establishing a “Mine-to-Magnet” Supply Chain for Rare Earth Elements

Rare earth permanent magnets power everything from electric vehicle motors and wind turbines to missile defense systems. Currently, large portions of the supply chain, from mining to processing to magnet manufacturing, are controlled by China. Through the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to secure domestic production throughout the magnet supply chain.

• The Department of Defense has awarded $45 million to MP Materials for rare earth oxide processing at Mountain Pass, the only operating U.S. rare earth element mine, and more than $288 million to Lynas USA to establish commercial-scale rare earth oxide production.
  
• Down the supply chain, the Department of Defense has invested more than $94 million in E-VAC Magnetics to establish a commercial-scale magnet manufacturing facility in South Carolina, as well as metals and alloys. E-VAC also disclosed that it was allocated $112 million through the Inflation Reduction Act 48C tax credit to support its manufacturing facility.
  
• M.P. Materials voluntarily disclosed that it was allocated nearly $60 million through the Inflation Reduction Act Section 48C tax credit to advance its rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, which will produce enough permanent magnets to power more than 500,000 General Motors Ultium electric vehicles.
  
• The Department of Energy awarded $17.5 million to Niron Magnetics through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program for pilot production efforts to commercialize an iron nitride based rare-earth free permanent magnets.
  
• The President directed his U.S. Trade Representative to increase tariffs on permanent magnets beginning in 2026, which will protect U.S. magnet producers from being undercut by unfair trade practices.

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Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

8:33 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you, Joe!  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Can you hear me — can you hear me in that other county about eight miles away?  (Applause.)

God love you all.  Please have a seat, if you have one.  (Laughter.)  Even if you don’t, take somebody else’s.  (Applause.)

Thank you!

Adriano, thank you for that introduction. 

And thank you to our great partners in Congress — Pete and Katherine, the Chair and Whip of the House Democratic Caucus; Nanette and all of the incredible members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

And a special thanks to the two incredible CHC members who are retiring, Tony and Grace.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please have a seat if you have one.

You guys don’t have a seat, huh?  (Laughter.)  Oh, man.  Well, the speech is only an hour and 20 minutes long.  (Laughter.)  I just listened to a Trump speech, so — (laughter). 

And thank you to everyone at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders.

Think about it: One in four public school students are American — in America are Latino.  (Applause.)  Your future — your future is their future, and their future is the future of America.

Ladies and gentlemen, you embody the very idea of America — the idea that we all are created equal, deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that, but we’ve never walked away from it, either, because the leaders like all of you in this room.

We’re a nation of immigrants, a nation of dreamers, a nation of freedom.  (Applause.)

Let me start by saying it’s yet another time for an important conversation.  Our politics have gotten too heated.  I’ve made clear we all have a responsibility to lower the temperature.  We must firmly reject political violence.  And if we’re going to talk about standing against violence, we have to start by standing against all violence, by standing against the violence perpetrated against the former president in Pennsylvania and Florida. 

But we also must stand against the violence that occurred in El Paso, Texas — the deadliest attack against Latinos in modern history.  (Applause.)  We have to stand against the violence in Uvalde, Texas. 

I spent a lot of time down there afterwards.  Jill and I went there to spend hours with the families.

If you’re going to be outspoken on one act of violence, don’t be silent on the other.  (Applause.)

If we’re go- — if we’re going to speak about violence, we’re going to speak about guns.

More children in America die from gunshot wounds than any other reason in American history.  Sheer cowardice to do nothing about it — it’s sheer cowardice.

So, if you stand against violence in America, then join me in getting the weapons of war off their streets.  (Applause.)

The AR-15 style weapons used to shoot Donald Trump, but just was used to kill so many others, including children. 

It’s time to outlaw assault weapons, period.  I did it once, and we should do it again.  (Applause.)

If you want to stand against violence in America, let’s start by denouncing the violence of January the 6th.  (Applause.)  Stop saying you’re going to pardon insurrectionists.  Start admitting their loss of the 2020 election and commit to accepting the results, which you haven’t done yet, of the 2024 election.

Look, you want to lower the temperature, you got to stop saying immigrants are poisoning the blood of America.  They are the blood of America.  They are the blood of America.  (Applause.)

And you stop calling immigrants “animals” and “rapists” and “murderers.”  You can stop spreading lies and hate, demonizing Haitian communities in Ohio.  You can stop by — blaming every other American in America.

Look, folks, you can start to understand our nation is enriched, protected, and strengthened by immigrants.  Kamala and I and all of you understand that better than the other team even begins to understand it.

Look — look at what we’ve achieved together.  I signed into executive order to allow the spouse of American citizens who’ve been here for 10 years or more to apply to get their green card right here in America, in the United States.  (Applause.)  You still have to fill out the paperwork and pass a strict background — just most importantly, you can keep your family here in America while you’re doing that.

The average person who would benefit from our action has been living in the United States for 20 years.  Their children were born here.  America is their home.

Friends, this is a big deal.  It’s the most important — positive, important immigration action since Obama announced DACA when I was vice president.

But as usual, MAGA Republicans oppose it.  Governors have gone to court to block it.  We’re going to continue to defend it.  Together, we will not give up.  (Applause.)

I also announced an executive action that speeds up work visas to help people, including DREAMers who graduated from U.S. colleges, to land jobs in high-demand, high-skilled professions.

My administration is also expanding access to legal representation and resources for people seeking legal status.  We’re working with all of you to ensure folks can have access to these services, just as we work together to fix our broken immigration system.  We must do it.

I took executive action to secure the border.  It’s working.  Border encounters have dropped over 50 percent.  Let me be clear: People can still receive asylum by making an appointment to arrive at a legal post of entry, and they are.  But let me be clear: There is no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform — none.  (Applause.)

Our politics once had a proud bipartisan tradition on immigrants — on immigration.  More recently, things have gotten worse.  Every time we got close, MAGA Republicans blocked it to make it a campaign issue.  They’d rather weaponize the problem than solve it.

As president, the first bill I sent to Congress when I got elected was a comprehensive immigration reform, after working with all of you.  I’ll work with anyone to get it done.

The Statue of Liberty is not a relic of American history.  It stands for who we are.  That’s who we are.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  And that’s what Kamala and I have stood for all across the board.

Look — look how far we’ve come the past four years.

Together, COVID no longer controls our lives.  Our economy is literally the strongest in the world.  Historic-low Latino unemployment.  Record growth in Latino small businesses.  Latino wealth has grown by 50 percent.  There’s more to do.  But we put checks in pockets that cut Latino child poverty in half.  We increased childcare subsidy funding by 50 percent, providing families with peace of mind and still growing the economy.

We’re turning around Puerto Rico’s economy, investing more than $140 billion and adding 100,000 new jobs in Puerto Rico.  (Applause.)

And the racial wealth gap in America is at its lowest level in 20 years.  Inflation is down and continues to go down.  And Kamala and I keep taking on corporate greed to bring down prices.

Meanwhile, Trump wants a new tax on imported foods, goods, glass — gas, clothing, and so much more.  And as experts point out, it will cost the average family another $4,000 a year in taxes — $4,000.

We’ve doubled Latino enrollment in affordable health care, expanded coverage for DREAMers.

My predecessor — he says he wants to terminate — terminate it, which would cost 45 million people their health insurance, including millions of Latinos.  He has a big idea, though.  He says he has a “concept of a plan.”  (Laughter.)  That — “concept of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act after trying to defeat it 50 times.  He doesn’t have any idea what the hell he’s doing except trying to get rid of it.

We’re putting homeownership within reach to build generational wealth, allowing Latinos to build equity in a home and generate wealth, as my family, a middle-class family, did.

We’re going to bring down rents, including my calling on Congress to cap rent increases at 5 percent a year so corporate landlords can’t jack it up 20 and 30 percent anymore.  (Applause.)

We’re delivering affordable high-speed broadband so no child has to do their homework outside a McDonald’s — in a McDonald’s parking lot. 

We’re removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without fear of brain damage. 

We’re making the most significant investment in climate ever, including the most significant investment in climate justice ever.  That includes proposing the first — the nation’s first-ever federal heat safety standard to protect 36 million workers from extreme heat on the job, many of them Latino workers.  (Applause.)

I’m also relieving student debt for nearly 5 million borrowers, many of whom are Latinos.  (Applause.)  And I’ve not stopped yet.  The courts are not going to win this. 

And we’re investing over $15 billion — the largest investment in history — in Hispanic-Serving Institutions.  (Applause.)  That’s a fact.  $15 billion. 

We also announced the first-ever White House Initiative and President’s Board of Advisers for Hispanic-Serving Institutions to Advance Equity, Excellence, and Opportunity.  (Applause.)

And to support more DREAMers in going to college, we’re proposing expanding the Federal TRIO Program to provide DREAMers with critical college access services like counseling and tutoring. 

I could go on, but the point is simple: Together, we’re making the most significant investment in Latino communities ever, ever, ever, because of you.  And my administration, along with CHC, has been on the road to communities across the country to share the good news.  But there’s more we have to get done.

We must pass the John Lewis Voting Right Act — (applause) — and the Freedom to Vote Act — (applause); stop the intimidation of Hispanic voters in Texas and elsewhere — (applause); and let’s defend your freedom to choose, restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land — (applause) — and pass comprehensive immigration reform.  (Applause.)

We’re not only going to stop extreme MAGA Republicans from cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, we’ll expand and strengthen it.  These programs are making the wealthy begin to pay their share, if we do it the right way.  They don’t pay anywhere near the percentage what everybody else pays.

We’ve capped the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month, instead of an average of $400 a month.  And starting in January, we’re capping total drug costs for seniors at $2,000 a year, even for expensive drugs like cancer costs of $10-, $12-, to $14[,000] a year.  We’re going to continue to fight to do that for every single American.

By the way, our reforms not only save lives; they’re saving the average taxpayer $160 billion because Medicare no longer has to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.  (Applause.)

There’s so much more.  But all of this progress is in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s devastating record of th- — for the Latino community. 

His mismanagement of the pandemic devastated the Latino community.  Trump is a failed businessman who drove up Latino unemployment and decimated Latino small businesses.  And his attacks on legal immigration betr- — betray what we stand for as a nation.  He separated families at the border, ripping children from their parents.  He banned people based on their faith. 

And now Trump and extreme MAGA officials have an agenda, something they call, as you all know, Project 2025.  At the top of the list, and he means it, is the deportation of over 11 million people. 

They say they would use local police, the National Guard, and even the United States military to round up — round up and rip away millions of people from their homes, families, and communities.  Think about that.  Mass detention camps that will tear our country apart and damage our international relations and devastate — devastate our economy. 

And as outrageous as it sounds, he wants to take away birthright citizenship: If you’re born here, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically an America citizen.  That cannot happen.  (Applause.)

What the hell is the matter with this guy?  (Laughter.)

One of the reasons why our economy is the strongest in the world is we’ve rejected xenophobia of my predecessor and leaders like him around the world.  We cannot go down that road. 

But that’s where he wants to go: attacking voting rights, banning choice nationwide — already eliminated affirmative action.  They would also decimate diversity, equity, and inclusion across American life — banning books, erasing history. 

You’re making history, not erasing history.  (Applause.)

Folks, diversity is the strength of this nation.  It really is.

That’s why I’ve kept my commitment to have the most diverse administration in American history that taps into the full talents of our nation — (applause) — including Hispanic Americans at every level of my administration, like our incredible Cabinet members who are here tonight: Secretary — Education Secretary Cardona — (applause); Small Business — Small Business Administrator Guzman.  (Applause.)

Together, we make history.  And let’s finally honor the history of building the National Museum for Latino Americans on the Mall — (applause) — I mean it — as well as the American Women’s History Museum on the National Mall.

Folks, look, let me close with this.  Jill and my ancestors were immigrants as well, years and years ago — Italian — Italy and Ireland.  They came with very little but their family and their faith.  And they were criticized because many of them were Catholics and weren’t allowed to work — were decimated in places like Scranton, Pennsylvania — where I’m from — in the coal mines.

My family Bible, the saf- — same Bible we — my ancestors brought across the ocean sits on my table in my Oval Office.  And across the room, I placed another powerful symbol for me, and from the very beginning: the bust of Cesar Chavez.  (Applause.)  He inspired me when I first ran as a 29-year-old kid in Delaware.  He was — organizing in Delaware. 

My dad taught me early on about the dignity of work and the dignity of all people, like the s- — like the six Latino construction workers who died when the bridge collapsed in Baltimore Harbor.  I met and prayed with their families.  They were literally building a bridge to the American dream. 

That’s the American story — the Latino American story.  (Applause.)

Cesar Chavez’s partner in the fight for dignity of work, Dolores Huerta said, “Every” — she once said, “Every minute is a chance to change the world.”

I look at all of you and I see a nation of dreamers and doers who are literally changing the world, and that’s not hyperbole.  You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic, and I give you my word of that.  We just have to remember who we are.

Ladies and gentlemen, 25 of every 100 high school students and grade school students in America are Latino — 25 percent.  (Applause.)  You are the future.  You are the history.  You will make the history.  I mean that sincerely.  Think about it: 25 out of every 100 students in our schools are Latino. 

We have to remember who we are.  We’re a nation of immigrants.  That’s why we’re strong. 

We’re the United States of America, and there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we decide to do something.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in.

Now, with the leadership of the Latino community, it’s going to happen again.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  (Applause.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

You’re the best.  Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you.

Remember who you are.  Every time I’d walk out of my Grandfather Finnegan’s house in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he’d yell, “Joey, keep the faith.”  And my grandmother would yell, “No, Joey.  Spread it.”  Let’s spread the faith.  Spread it.  (Applause.)

8:52 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 47th Annual Awards Gala appeared first on The White House.

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:42 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Good afternoon, everyone.

Q Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, next Thursday, President Biden and Vice President Harris will separately meet with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine at the White House. They will discuss U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression and Ukraine’s strategic planning.

The president and the vice president will also emphasize their unshakable commitment to stand with Ukraine until it prevails in this war.

Earlier today, the president addressed the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., where he discussed the important moment our country has reached. Inflation and interest rates are falling, and the economy remains strong.

As the president made clear in his remarks, this is good news for the overall economy because lower borrowing costs will support economic growth.

The president knows there is still more to do to lower costs and protect the progress American workers have made.

With that, I will turn it over to Jared Bernstein, who is back, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to further discuss the progress our economy has made under the Biden-Harris administration.

All right, Jared. Welcome back.

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me back. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Thanks to Karine and her team for helping accommodate my visit and to the CEA staff, who always help me be well-prepared.

Earlier today, as you just heard, the president talked about the progress we’ve made in helping to build a more prosperous and equitable economy on behalf of the American people. He described that progress in terms of sustained low unemployment, job and real wage gains, solid real GDP growth driven by strong consumer spending and investment.

He talked about the optimism embedded in the record 19 million people who have filed to start small businesses; the unsnarling of supply chains; the record energy production; the investment in key sectors of domestic production, like clean energy and chips, to ensure America’s position in the global economy.

And he marked this moment in our pro- — in our economic progress by citing the actions taken by the Federal Reserve yesterday to lower the benchmark interest rate they control, an action that will help lower the borrowing cost for homes, cars, credit cards, and borrowing to start or build a business.

Th- — the Fed’s action also underscores the historically unusual fact that all of the progress I just described occurred during a period of significant and critically important disinflation. Though these words, thankfully, did not appear in the president’s remarks today, in CEA language, he was talking about the very low sacrifice ratio that has characterized this economic expansion.

This ratio derives from the historically negative relationship between unemployment and inflation. It describes how many percentage points of unemployment, for example, we would have to accept to get inflation back down to its target.

That concept is why, not that long ago, we saw prominent headlines and commentary assuring us that it would take much slower growth — one headline proclaimed 100 [percent] chance of recession ne- — last year to achieve the disinflation that has occurred.

And yet, here we are with 6.5 percentage points of CPI disinflation and the solid economic conditions I described above.

Quoting Chair Powell from yesterday, quote, “I don’t see anything in the economy now that suggests the likelihood of a downturn is elevated. The U.S. economy is in a good place. More specifically, the economy is growing at a solid pace, with inflation coming down closer to our 2 percent objective over time, and the labor market is in solid shape.”

Now we underscore these dynamics in CEA’s most recent blog post — if I can get figure one — thank you.

So, this is a blog post that you can get from the CEA website. What this shows is, in fact, inflation over the period where it went up and disinflated against a set of forecasts that were made by the Blue Chip forecasters, by CBO, by the Fed’s FOMC SEP committee.

And you see that the inflation forecasts were — were quite — quite good, quite accurate. They pretty much follow the dark line, which is the actual line.

Next slide. That gets very different when you look at the unemployment rate. In fact, the title of our blog is “How the Economy Defied the Forecast.” Here we have the forecast predicting unemployment would have been very high in order to achieve that much disinflation.

And, in fact, what we have here in this shaded area is the most optimistic and the most pessimistic estimations of where the unemployment would be — unemployment rate would be by the Blue Chip forecasters. These are the most optimistic because they’re the lowest. We beat the most optimistic forecast when it came to unemployment.

If — next slide, please — if, in fact, the forecasts were correct, this is how much more unemployment we would have had, how much more unemployment households and American workers would have been stuck with if we hadn’t beaten even the most optimistic forecasts on unemployment.

And you can see those numbers range from 1 to north of 5 million unemployed persons whose fate was avoided by the trends I’ve showed you thus far.

And finally, Figure 4 shows the same dynamic for GDP, again, beating the most optimistic forecast of the Blue Chip, which in this case would be the upper part of the shaded area.

I’ll close with another important reference to the president’s speech today: the part about — and you heard this from Karine — “our work is not done.” As he put it, “I am not here to take a victory lap. I’m not here to say the job is done. I’m not here to say ‘we don’t have more work to do’.” Of course we do.

Our cost cutting agenda, in particular, is as urgent today as it was before the Fed acted. But that fact should not prevent anyone from recognizing the progress we’ve made, the expectation-defying, ongoing expansion, and the work, productivity, and grit of the American people to get us where we are today.

And with that, I’ll take your questions.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Go ahead, M.J.

Q Thank you. You’re, you know, one of the people that the president would call if he has any questions about the American economy. I was curious to ask you: What would you say is an economic iss- — issue that the president these days is asking the most sort of probing questions —

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Yeah.

Q — to you about — whether it’s a data point or a phenomenon or something that he’s seeing in the economy?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, I’ve been talking with the president a lot in the last few days, as I’ve met many other members of the team in preparation for the speech he gave today. So, I am ready with a very timely answer to that question.

It’s — it’s — it’s the same — it’s a similar dynamic, similar conversation I’ve had with Joe Biden since I was his chief economist when he was the vice president. He wants to know how these economic developments, how the progress I’ve talked about today that he spoke about affects working families, like the one he grew up in. And right now, that relates a lot to the interest rate cut. How does a cut in interest rate ripple through to the economic lives of working American families?

And the answer that I shared with him and I’ll share with you is lower costs of lending; lower cost of a mortgage; lower cost if you wanted to take a loan to improve your home; lower cost of auto loans, credit cards, if you want to start or expand a small business. Lower interest rates are really meaningful to people.

It’s one of the — it’s really one of the key economic variables in — in a lot of people’s lives through that channel of — of borrowing costs. And that’s certainly, I think, a timely example of — of things we’ve discussed lately.

Q And how did you prepare him for the possibility of the Fed making the kind of cut that it did yesterday?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Having conversations much like the one we discussed. I mean, we’re very careful, as you know, to respect the independence of the Fed, but, of course, we’re always going to talk about any important dynamic or variable in the economy. And so, this is a conversation we’ve had, and it — you know, it — it goes right to the impact of the — the — ri- — it goes right to the impact on the economic lives of the families we discussed.

I think, also, part of this discussion has been about the trajectory of inflation. And here, I want to underscore something I said in my — in my topper but also the president leaned in today. Very important to him. We’ve had a lot of discussions about this — a direct answer your question.

He’s been very interested in these predictions that said, “Sorry, you can’t get this much disinflation — six and a half points on the CPI — without accepting a much worse unemployment rate or much slower GDP growth.” That is the more kind of traditional within those shaded areas in the figures I showed.

And the president felt strongly that we were not going to achieve disinflation on the backs of working people. We needed to get there through improvements in the economy supply side, through energy production, through cost reductions in the areas where we’ve tried to do more of that.

So, maintaining the strong economy on behalf of working families while getting to lower inflation has been essential for rising real wages and incomes, and that’s what we’ve seen.

Q Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Andrea.

Q Thanks. Hey, Jared. Thanks for being here. You know, one of the issues that has still proven to be very difficult is — is getting housing prices down. Can you walk us through — do you have any kind of numbers to put on housing prices and the — the importance they play within the CPI bundle, in terms of, you know, now that we’ve had the interest rate cut, how much more is — is it — you know, are housing prices going to come down?

And then, I asked this question yesterday, but I want to ask you again. With the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the possibility of a broader regional war growing, how do you assess the impact on prices, both in terms of oil and other factors?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Okay. So, on housing prices, you’re very — you’re very much correct that the CPI, as well — well, the CPI in particular, but the index I was showing earlier, which is the PCE, a different index — they have heavy weights for housing. CPI, in particular.

In the CPI, the housing weight is, I think, around 35 percent. It’s the si- — shelter is the single largest weight, I believe, in the CPI. And so, it’s very impactful.

And one of the ways we di- — showed that in a recent blog that we did — which I think, you know, I — I commend to you, because we really dive into your question on the CEA website — is we pointed out that if you look at core inflation over the past year in the CPI — that’s inflation without energy and food — 3.2 percent. Core inflation CPI without shelter, half of that: 1.6 percent. So, it really gives you a flavor of how heavy that weight is.

Now, there are two things going on with housing prices in the CPI. One is cyclical or mechanical, and the other is — or maybe call it, you know, something — well, one is — is cyclical or mechanical, and the other is structural.

So, the mechanical part is that as rental inflation has rolled over — and it really has. I mean, the inflation of rents was highly elevated. It’s now back to levels that we saw pre-pandemic — and this is rental inflation now, not rental — not the price level but the inflation. As that has rolled over, most CPI analysts have expected that to filter into the index by now. We haven’t seen that. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher.

I think Powell talked about it yesterday. He referenced that the other part of shelter costs — owner-equivalent rent, which I won’t get into the details — that’s been coming in stronger than expected.

So — but — but simply based on the mechanics of the lags and the rollover in rental inflation, we still expect that to show up as easing in the — in — in the CPI’s housing component.

But where we — much more important, from our perspective and from the Biden administration — I’d say the Biden-Harris administration, because Vice President Harris has ambitious plans — is to deal with the structural problem. We have a 15-year-in-the-making shortage of affordable housing in this country. Fifteen years in the making. Millions of units shortfall.

And this is a market failure. And when there’s a market failure, even the most classically oriented economists believe that there is important space for government intervention. And Vice President Harris and President Biden have, I think, very important and some, in — in many cases, tried and true policy measures that would help reduce that shortfall: expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; subsidizing developing and building in — in ways that would make those deals — that make those developments pencil out in a way that they don’t right now.

We could spend a lot more time talking about housing policy, but you can — you can find it out there. I think addressing that shortfall is absolutely critical. I’d call it one of the biggest pieces of unfinished business we have. But we can’t do it by ourselves. Congress needs to work with us, and there is zero reason why this should be a red or a blue or a D or an R issue. This shortage is pervasive in states across the nation.

Q Wait, the Middle East.

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: On the Middle East. So, when it comes to geopolitical conflict, there are other people who can stand up here and talk about that with more authority. What I’ll say is, from an economic perspective, of course, we monitor that very closely. But I think it’s instructive, important. And in — in the context of my discussion to you today about how working families are doing, the breathing room that folks have been getting from low gas prices at the pump, relative to where we were a year ago, is really remarkable, especially when you consider the extent of geopolitical conflict in an area where a lot of — in an area of the world where — where energy is often produced and — and shipped.

And, you know, this morning, the gas price was $3.22
a gallon. I believe that’s 68 cents per gallon down from where it was a year ago. That’s real breathing room. It’s one of the reasons why year-over-year CPI — it’s 2.5 percent in the last read, close to where it was pre-pandemic. And we think that’s, you know, an important piece of breathing room.

We would also argue that the president’s fingerprints have been on that both, whether it’s a matter of the release of the Strategic Reserve, but also record energy production from all sources.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Jared. The president, in his remarks about an hour ago, said that he had never spoken with the Fed chairman since he’s been in the White House. That’s obviously not true. They met in the Oval Office in 2022. Could you clarify the president’s remarks there and why did he say that?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Sure. The president was saying that he has not spoken to Chair Powell about interest rates. He did not pressure Powell and has never done so. And, in fact, in the speech today that was in the section about Fed independence and about the importance of respecting and — and honoring that independence. It’s obviously a stark contrast with our predecessor.

Never has the president spoken to Chair Powell about interest rates as president, never has he pressured him. And, you know, the reason for that — and I speak to you now as an economic historian — is that countries where that independence have been compromised, economies where that independence have been compromised have been brought to their knees by inflationary pressures time and time again.

So, by respecting the Fed’s independence, the president has done a very important service and has made a real contribution to where we are today.

Q But he misspoke an hour ago, is what you’re saying?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: The president was saying he’s not spoken to Chair Powell about —

Q (Inaudible.)

CHAIR BERSTEIN: — interest rates as president. That’s what he — that’s certainly what he meant, and he certainly didn’t pressure him in that discussion that occurred in May of ‘22.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Selina.

Q Thanks, Jared. So, this rate cut is colliding with presidential politics. At what point do you think Americans will start to feel the broad economic improvements that come at this rate cut? Would it happen before the election?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, let me start with the political reference. I’d like to quote from you — from a Wall Street Journal lead editorial a couple of days ago. Quote, “We don’t agree with those who say a cut in rates this week is political or intended to help Kamala Harris.” Now I don’t think the Ed Board of the Wall Street Journal is associated much with Democrats or liberals, so I take that as a statement that I very much agree with.

On the non-politial- — non-politilization — politicalza- — I don’t know how to say that word. (Laughter.) On the — on — on the fact that what Chair Powell was doing was monetary policy, not politics.

Now your more, you know, relevant question is — is about when these interests — when people start to feel these interest rate cuts, right? That was the other thing you asked.

Interestingly, the first part of that answer is: already. Because of the priced-in dynamics — that is the mortgage rate — we talked about housing a minute ago — you go back a few months, it was 7.5 percent. As of this morning, it was 6.1 I believe — 6.15, if I’m remembering correctly.

That’s a big step down, and that occurred before any Fed rate cuts took place, in large part due to the expectation — market expectations that those rate cuts were going to occur. So, that’s a priced-in effect

Now, then there’s the dynamics in home loan, in — in auto loans, in credit card loans, in business lending. And that can take anywhere from weeks to months to quarters. I think — again, I think Powell talked about yesterday — talked about it “rippling through.” So, that — that occurs with more of a lag, but — but some of it’s already priced in.

Q And do you think the Fed waited too long to cut rates?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I’m not going to comment on Federal Reserve monetary policy.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Way in the back, go ahead.

Q Yeah, thanks. Jared, the previous president — no matter what the state of the economy, no matter what was going on — every single good thing that happened, he personally took credit for it immediately, saying this is the best economy ever, we’ve had more jobs ever than anywhere in the universe, et cetera.

Should this president have done the same thing in order to cheerlead more and get people a better — more excited about the state of things?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I’m an economic adviser, and I try to stay in my lane. So, you know, I have, over the course of my long relationship with President Biden, tried to give him a little political advice. And, you know, frankly, he doesn’t want to hear it from me, and I respect that. (Laughter.)

I — but let me say the following, what your question makes me think. I think that — where I go with that is what measures has President Biden taken wherein those policies helped to lower inflation, helped to tackle some of its causes, helped to get us where we are today? Because I think that’s actually an important part of this explanation.

One of them we already talked about. By respecting the independence of the Federal Reserve after his predecestor — predecessor repeatedly criticized the Fed and undermined its independence — simply by respecting that independence, that helped give them the space to do the monetary policy they believed to be needed to get us here.

As I mentioned, again, and he cited this in his speech today, he unleashed record energy production to lower gas prices.

He brought together — this is one of my personal favorites. He brought together business and labor to fix our supply chains. This is the unsnarling of supply chains that was so important to the disinflation.

And one of the charts that we highlight a lot at CEA is if you look at measures of supply-side snarling, supply-side constraints and you plot them against the commodities or the good components within the CPI, they track each other very closely.

In fact, I’ll make sure to put that up on my Twitter feed, EconJared46 — (laughter) — give me a follow — later today to show and that — (laughter) — that — that is something that — that comes directly from the Supply Side Disruption Task Force, of which I and my colleagues here were card-carrying members. And now he’s rebuilding our infrastructure and investing in the manufacturing sector to strengthen these chains.

He took on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs.

So, these are concrete measures that we’ve taken to help get us to where we are. And I would argue the president and vice president’s fingerprints are on these results.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q Thanks for being here. Vice President Harris has, you know — her housing plan to build — what is it? — 3 million units should she become president and should that legislation — gets passed. How important would you say was the rate cut should her plan see — see the — the light of day? How important was it for the Fed to start lowering those rates?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I think the — when — when — and I — I — without getting into, again, the Fed — the Fed’s monetary policy or where they’re going with interest rates, my initial comments about how important lower interest rates are to consumers certainly applies to people with a mortgage, looking for a mortgage, thinking about refinancing. I actually think it’s a pretty different bucket relative to the housing supply policies.

I’ll say a more — more about the 3 million units. I’ll say more about that in a second.

But one thing that I think and hope will happen is that there are a lot of people — and, actually, Powell talked about this as well, but we’ve been talking about this for a while — there are a lot of people locked into their current mortgages. Okay? They want to move — you know, I’ve heard stories about divorced couples that want to move, but they’re stuck in their house together because they have a 3 percent mortgage, and what’s out there in the market has been a lot higher.

One of the things I think we see when mortgage rates start coming down — and I’ve talked to a lot of experts to try to figure out what that number might be — is the unlocking of that lock-in effect.

Now that doesn’t necessarily lead to a lot more housing supply the way her or the president’s policies would, but it does create more churn. And people who are stuck in a starter home, they move to a different house, and that starter home becomes open, and that’s the first rung on the ladder for families trying to get into — trying to, you know, build their — their wealth through homeownership.

So, that churn is actually — I think, would be quite helpful. And as mortgage rates come down, we expect to see that.

When it comes to building 3 million affordable units — again, I won’t go through the policy description I did a minute ago, but I will talk about one: on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, of which expansion is a big part of both her and the president’s agenda. Expanding LIHTC, which is a tried-and-true program for building affordable multifamily households — so this is on the rental side of the equation — is a policy that the banks like because they buy the credits from the developers, the developers like it because it makes the buildings pencil out, and housing advocates for low-income renters like it. That’s a pretty rare triumvirate.

So, expanding LIHTC is a great idea, as is — I mentioned earlier — a set of subsidies and tax credits to make building affordable housing pencil out in a way that it does not do so now.

We also have some measures that help ease some land-use restrictions. I won’t go into them now in the interest of time. But we have a — I think we have a — a powerful agenda in that space.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Naomi, in the back.

Q Thanks, Karine. Thanks, Jared.

Last night, the former president proposed a temporary cap — cap on credit card interest rates at around 10 percent. Is that something that the Biden-Harris administration thinks is a good idea?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I think that happened today. Or when did — what did you say?

Q I thought it happened last night.

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Okay, maybe it happened last night. So, you know, I haven’t had a lot of conversations about that yet with my colleagues, and I would wait before that — I will — let — but I will say the following.

I think you have to be careful with things that people throw out there without a lot of thought or consideration. You have to think about what kind of impact that might have. There’s risk factors that go into that kind of a policy that might make it harder for a lot of people who need credit to be able to get it, because companies won’t sell it to them. So, I think you have to be careful about unintended consequences.

What I will say is that this administration has taken a very forward-looking and very, I think, you know, a pretty deep run at many of these issues — helping to lower credit card fees; helping to make for one of the, I think, most effective Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus — something that the Trump administration consistently tried to shut down and gut.

So, when it comes to protecting consumers, this administration, I think, has a track record that isn’t just about, you know, throwing off ideas that may or may not be effective.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Jared, you have the last question.

Q Thanks. Two quick questions. One, the president, in his speech today, said that he expects interest rates to continue to fall. What gives him that confidence?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I think what the president said was a reference to the SEP, the Survey of Economic Projections, that comes out with the Fed report yesterday, where they put where they — where members of the Federal Open Market Committee put where they think interest rates are going. So, he was simply referring to the published SEP.

Q And the Congress is going to have to, before they leave, pass a short-term spending bill of some kind. That — there seems to be talks between three months and six months. Does the council have a — a preference for kind of how that’s worked out, how long it lasts?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I think the way we would put it from the council, and probably from the administration writ large, is that — well, let me — actually, let me tell you where we would put it from the council.

So, we are at a — an economic moment that I hope I’ve conveyed to you today is unique, is strong, is leading to real wage and income gains, disinflation amidst strong growth, lower inflation, lower interest rates, wages and incomes growing.

This is a — this is a solid economy. You heard my quotes from Chair Powell yesterday. And it’s an economy that is getting back to the kinds of conditions that we’ve wanted to see for a long time.

Making an own-goal kick in that economy is not only a bad idea, it’s — it’s malpractice. It doesn’t — you know, se- — it’s not like these — it’s not like government shutdowns, you know, send the economy off a cliff, but they are a negative. They do lead to losses.

Now sometimes those losses are made up on the other side of the shutdown, but there is no reason for us to go through that. There’s never a good time for that own-goal kick, and it’s particularly bad now.

The only path forward is through bipartisanship. House Republicans should stop wasting time and work across the aisle to pass a short-term bill to keep the government open and provide emergency funding for disasters.

Congress knows how to do this. It’s not complicated. They’ve done it on a bipartisan basis many times.

Given the economic conditions I’ve been touting here today, given what we saw yesterday, given the information in the president’s speech, this is no time to be playing those kinds
of games.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Thank you so much, Jared.

Q Jared, any update on the Farm Bill, sir? The Farm bill?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you. Jared, thank you. Thank you so much.

Q Farmers and ranchers want to know. Jared, the Farm Bill?

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right.

Q Farmers and ranchers would like to know.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Give Jared a follow on X. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. (Laughter.)

CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I actually don’t have anything else. Go ahead, Zeke.

Q Thanks, Karine. First for you, escalating tensions along the Israel-Lebanese border, even this morning, right now potentially, ongoing bombing and shelling across the border. Has the president tried to contain that front since October 7th? The administration held that out in the days after as a success. Has — has he reached the limits of his influence there, in terms of keeping a lid on what had been a (inaudible) conflict from growing into a larger conflagration?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you said, we’ve spoken about this and our concerns, and so we’ve been very clear about this. Our commitment, obviously, to — to Israel’s security is ironclad. We are unwavering — unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah.

And what we have said, and — and I think this is kind of the question that you asked to me — is that the diplomatic resolution is achievable. That’s what we still believe. It is urgent, obviously. The conflict along the Blue Line has gone on for way too long — far too long, and it needs to get to a resolution quickly.

And so, we’re going to continue to do that, continue to have those diplomatic conversations. We continue to work on a ceasefire deal. We believe that is — that is the way forward in — in calming and lowering the temperature there, and that’s why we’ve been working around the clock to get that done.

But we still believe a diplomatic resolution is the way forward here. We still believe that it is — it is possible. And, obviously, the urgency continues to be — continue to be that.

Q And then the president’s top representative was in the region —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — a day before those pagers all started exploding. You know, it seems that U.S. influence, the president’s influence seems to not — not really be working or is not having an effect.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, I wouldn’t — I — I don’t agree. I mean, you — you started off saying that we — you know, we did have some — some — (laughs) — some influence there in the beginning.

Q (Inaudible) was there over the weekend and —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know, but —

Q — then they started exploding the day after.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — you — you did — you did say that we — we — it did — it was working in your question to me or — moments ago — seconds ago.

Look, it doesn’t — it doesn’t stop from the fact that the president wants to see a diplomatic resolution. He believes it’s achievable. Obviously, it’s urgent to get there. And that is going to continue.

We are working around the clock. As you said, we’ve had representative — the president’s White House officials have been in the region, continuing to have conversations about getting to a ceasefire deal.

We’re continuing to work with Egypt and Qatar and, obviously, also Israel to get there. It is important that we get to that — to — to a deal where we can get hostages home, where we can end — end this war. That’s what the president wants to see. He has said that himself. And also get that much-needed — continuing to get that much-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

And so, it’s not going to stop us. It’s not going to stop us from having continuous conversations — those diplomatic conversations, as I’ve been stating.

And so, we’re going to stay steadfast. We’re going to be very focused on her- — with this. And so, we are going to continue to work on these alternative diplomatic solutions so that we can create conditions there that — for displaced Lebanese civilians to go home in — in the south, and also for Israeli civilians to go home in their — in their — in the north. And I’m talking about the — the Blue Line, obviously.

Q And then on a different topic. The president is hosting the Quad Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. We also understand that he’s hosting bilateral meetings with those — some of those — with those world leaders at his private home. And what we currently understand is that the press will not be allowed into that bilateral meeting. Can you explain why that — this is the administration that held itself out as the most transparent in history, and that is not transparency.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait. Okay. Let’s talk about the other things that are happening over the course of the Quad Summit.

Look, we have stated: One of the reasons we talked about having — having the Quad Summit in Wilmington is because the president believes how powerful it is to have that personal relationships. And he wants to — certainly, he has — has developed personal relationships with members of the Quad, and he wants to do — do — he took it a step further, obviously, by having them in his hometown.

And so, diplomacy, he sees, is personal. Politics is personal. Foreign policy is personal.

But we do believe there is going to be plenty of opportunities for press to have access. And I’ll just — just to walk through a couple of things that we are going to be — going to be providing and the availability that you all will have.

The Quad will have extensive press access and will be covered by all four countries’ pools. There will be three individual leader greets at Arch- — Archmere Academy, where the president attended school. There will be a Quad family photo. There will be two major events, including a leaders’ level meeting of the Quad at a newsy Cancer Moonshot event. And press will also see all of the leaders depart on Saturday evening after their intimate leaders’ dinner.

In addition to these coverage opportunities, there’s going to be — we’re going to be arranging briefings — two briefings that NSC is going to be providing to the press pool. It’s going to be NSC folks who — who are focused on the subject matter who will be available to all of you and answer some questions. And so, I think that’s going to be really important.

Look, this is — this is a private dinner. This is continuing the — the personal relationships that he has, fostering those personal relationships that he has with the leaders of the Quad. But there’s going to be many other opportunities for — for the press to see exactly what’s happening, to see —

Q Except we’re —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — some handshakes.

Q — we’re not going to see the private dinners. We’re not going to see those bilateral meetings at this house. I mean, when President Bush hosted foreign leaders in Crawford, the pool was invited. When President Trump —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And I just went —

Q — hosted a lot of leaders in Mar-a-Lago, the press —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I —

Q And youalso didn’t mention a press conference.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. And there’s — and for this particular Quad Summit, we’re not going to have a press conference. We don’t have a press conference for every — every leader eve- — leader summit or event that we have.

In this particular scenario, when it comes to these private meetings, there won’t be — that’s going to be at — obviously, at his home, we’re not going to have access there.

But there are many — plenty of other opportunities where we believe that will be very fruitful for the press. They’re going to see some — some opportunities to see the president engage with the Quad leaders. And I think that’s important too.

Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Karine. The FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies said that Iranian hackers sent stolen information from the Tram camp- — Trump campaign to individuals associated with the Biden campaign. This is before President Biden left the race. So, was the president made aware of this at the time?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can say is that we learned about the statement yesterday, and — and the president has been made aware of it now. But we learned about the statement yesterday.

Look, this is something that the FBI, ODNI, and CISA have to speak to. It is — they put out their statement. So I would refer you to them specifically.

But more broadly, what I can say about this is that no foreign government[s] like Iran or Russia are actively seeking to influence in our elections. And so, we have said that. We know that. And that’s why we have seen — we have seen — you’ve seen us take actions to hold accountable those who tee- — who seek to undermine confidence in our democracy, and we will continue to do so.

And so, that has been something that we’ve said from here. The ODNI has shared with the American people what we know about the foreign influence, including by making public the hack of the Trump campaign on August 19th. In early September, the Department of Justice brought criminal charges against those involved in covert influence operations on behalf of RT.

And so, this is something that, obviously, law enforcement is — and our intelligence — intelligence community is — is focused on. And so, they’re better to — to certainly speak to it directly.

Q Can you share what information was in those emails and if the president has been made aware —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is something —

Q — of the information in those emails?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is something that they could speak to. The president has [been] made aware. We — we saw the statement yesterday. That’s when we were — we learned about it. The president obviously is aware of it now, but I would have to refer you to FBI.

Q So, the president didn’t receive any advance briefing before that statement went out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We were made aware —

Q He —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We were made aware of the state- — of when the statement came out yesterday. Now the president is aware himself.

I would have to refer you to FBI, CISA, and ODNI.

Q And just shifting gears a little bit. In general, what is the White House’s view about the attacks in Lebanon? We’re talking about exploding walkie-talkies and pagers in crowded civilian areas, children dead, including thousands injured.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I will say is my NSC colleague was here yesterday. You all asked him multiple questions about — about what occurred. I don’t have anything else to share beyond that. I’ve taken questions on this. I don’t have any more information to share on this. And so, I don’t have anything beyond that.

Q But is that a tactic that the U.S. would use?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I —

Q Not asking for specifics.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to — I’m not going to speak to this at this time. I’m just not.

Go ahead.

Q Karine, during the president’s remarks, he also spoke about the negotiations that you conducted to lower drug prices and seemed to suggest that you would be doing that on weight-loss drugs. It was kind of an incomplete sentence. He said, “Watch,” you know, doing this on wei- — or — so, can you just give us a —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to go beyond what the pr- — he said, “Watch.” I don’t have anything else to share. I don’t have an announcement to make.

Q But did he miss a few words or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to — I don’t have anything else to add.

As you know, one of the things that came out of the — the Inflation Reduction Act is to make sure that we did everything that we can to lower — lower health care drugs, pre- — prescription drugs. And that’s what you see. You saw the president was able to beat Big Pharma.

And so, that is important to the American people, lowering those really critical drugs that they need just to survive. You’ve heard stories about — whether folks are dealing with cancer or diabetes and how much it ch- — they get charged by big pharmaceuticals. And now we’re in a position where we can lower those drugs.

I don’t have anything to — to say or to add beyond what the president shared today.

Q And — and just to — to go back to the Middle East for a moment. So, you know, I think — would you — would you agree that there has been a change or an escalation in the tensions in the region? And are you concerned about that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q And what — what are you doing to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We —

Q — sort of tamp down on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We have said we are concerned about the es- — the tension and afraid and concerned about potential escalation — we have said that — in the Middle East. We’ve been very clear. And we’ve also said that the way to move forward is dip- — diplomatic resolution. We think it is achievable. Obviously, it is urgent.

And so, that’s what we’re going to continue to do: having those diplomatic conversation. Diplomacy is key here when we talk about a potential escalation, which we do not want to see. We do not want to see. And so, we’re going to continue to work towards that.

Q But, Karine, why not use the levers that you have? You know, the U.S. is sending weapon shipments to Israel. Why not — in other cases involving other countries, you have curtailed weapon shipments. In the case of Israel, you’ve put — you know, stopped, paused the 2,000-pound weapons. Why not send a signal by pausing weapon shipments to express your concern?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. So, we are going to — our policy has not changed. Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad. That has not changed. And we have — we cannot forget what Israel is dealing with in that region. What we’re talking about — having to really fight against, you know, Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah. This is something that we’ve been very clear about.

And so, our support has not changed. It will continue. We do not have a policy change here. We’re going to continue — our commitment to continuing to support Israel’s security continues here. We want to see a diplomatic resolution. It is important. We want to see that happen. Obviously, we believe it’s achievable, and that’s how we want to move forward here.

But we do not — we’re not going to change our policies.

Go ahead, M.J.

Q Thanks, Karine. An Israeli official told CNN that a senior adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu had presented to the Biden administration a new ceasefire proposal. Did that happen?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as I said multiple times before, and my colleagues here who have — from NSC who have been at — at the podium, we’re going to continue to have discussions with Egypt and Qatar as well as Israel on a way forward — let’s not forget — after Hamas brutally, brutally murdered six hostages.

I’m not going to get into specifics. I’m not going to — I’m not going to negotiate from here, but we are going to continue to have those discussions.

Q I’m just asking if you can confirm that there was a new proposal shared with the U.S.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just going to continue to have discussions with Qatar and Egypt. I don’t have anything else to share beyond that.

Q Okay. The proposal appears to be for a permanent end to the war; release of all the hostages in Gaza; all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel also being released; and safe passage for Yahya Sinwar out of Gaza. Does any of this sound feasible to you?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re in consultations with all the parties: Qatar, Egypt, Israel. I’m not going to negotiate from here. I’m not going to confirm anything from here.

But we continue to have these discussions. We believe the best way forward is to get to a ceasefire deal. That’s what we want to see. Bring home hostages, get more immediate relief into Gaza, that’s what we want to see. And get — and make sure we end this war, and that’s what we want to see.

Q And just finally, next week, the president and the prime minister are not meeting in New York City around UNGA. Why is that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything else to share beyond the — beyond what we’ve shared of what we’re going to see with the president. If we have more information to share on what — who the president is going to meet with, any other world leaders, we’ll certainly share that with all of you.

Q Well, we’ve reported that they’re not going to meet, so I’m just asking why that is.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything else. As you know, when it comes to the prime minister of Israel, the president, he and the president have had multiple conversations over the course of almost a year now. They’ve met a couple of times. I just don’t have anything to share beyond — reasoning as to why they’re going to meet, if they’re going to meet. I’m just not — don’t have anything else to share.

Go ahead, Danny.

Q Thanks, Karine. You said that the president believes that a diplomatic solution is achievable. What — what on earth gives you the — (laughs) — you know, the — the reason to believe that? I mean, what — what evidence is there that, despite all these — you know, these —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — the pager bombings and the, you know, now, airstrikes today and Nasrallah saying it’s a declaration of war — what — you know, what is there that makes you believe that? What makes the president believe that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Because the president continues to believe that we have to be optimistic and diplomatic resolution is the best way.

When you think about foreign policy and when we think about these type of relationship, having diplomacy, having those conversations is critical, is key.

And the president has been successful in doing that in the past three and a half years. So, that’s what he wants to see.

He believes that it’s still achievable. He believes that it’s still — still achievable. We are not saying that we don’t have concerns. We do not want to see escalations. We are not saying that the conflict that we have seen — it truly has — along the Blue Line has gone for too long. We are acknowledging that. We’re going to continue to have this di- — diplomacy. It is important to do so. And that’s the way we see — this president sees moving forward.

Go ahead.

Q Yeah. The first lady will be traveling to Mexico October the 1st to attend the inauguration event —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — of Claudia Sheinbaum. Vladimir Putin is also invited to the event. Is that potential encounter something that worries the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No.

Q Okay. And considering the relevance and influence the U.S. has in the region, in the Middle East, considering that you provide most of the arms, I — what is the — what do you think is the precise goal that Israel has in these attacks in Lebanon?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I can’t speak to — to any of — I can’t speak to this. Just going to leave it where we have been in the last two days. You heard from my colleague yesterday.

Look, the — going back to the inauguration in Mexico. The first lady — I talked about this yesterday — she’s looking forward to being there. It’s a historic moment. That’s going to be her focus in supporting the president-elect and being there — being there with the de- — the U.S. delegation, where she’s very much looking forward to it.

I’m not going to speak to what President Putin is going to do or not do.

Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Karine. And thank you for clarifying when the president first learned of this Iranian influence campaign or attempts to reach people associated with the campaign.

Now, what is now the Harris-Walz campaign says it was people associated with the campaign, not campaign staffers who received emails from Iranian hackers. Were any of those people associated with the campaign, as they put it, members of the Biden family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would have to refer you to FBI, CISA, and ODNI on this. They can speak to the specifics. I would also have to refer you to the campaign.

Q And — well, that’s the thing.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q He’s — he’s not a member of the campaign anymore, and apparently, these people weren’t either. That’s why we’re asking you here —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I —

Q — at the White House.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And this is — this is something that the FBI, CISA, and ODNI can speak to. I cannot speak that — to that from here.

Q So, whether any of those people were White House officials who weren’t on the Wilmington payroll at the time being contacted through their personal email, you couldn’t say?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You have to speak to FBI, ODNI, and CISA on this one.

Q Regarding the Quad, is the vice president attending any of the meetings on Saturday?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: She will not be attending any of the meetings on Saturday.

Q And the decision not to allow reporters to see the bilaterals that he’ll be having Friday afternoon and Saturday, does this have something to do with the foreign press pools from India, Japan, and Australia? Is there a security concern with having them on the grounds of his home?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say is, the president wants to have a personal moment with the leaders. This is a — relationships that he has had with leaders of the Quad throughout, obviously, his tenure here as president. He wanted to have a — continue to for- — foster those personal relationship. He wanted to have a private moment with them, continue to grow those relationship. That’s what this is about.

Q But not — the fact also that he’s not having a press conference around this, was that a request of any of the other governments?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I can’t speak to private conversations that our folks at NSC are having with the different countries. I don’t have anything to add to that.

Q I just — it —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I want to say is, it is important to him — inviting them to Wilmington, his home state, his home — his city, his home state, obviously, Delaware. It was important for him to have these personal touches. It was important to him to do something that he hadn’t done before, bring him to his home —

Q Then why not let the world —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — bring them to his home city.

Q — see him having those meetings with them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But there’s going to be plenty of opportunities. It’s not like we’re — we’re not allowing all of you to see many other things that are going to develop with — throughout the day. I mean, I just went through them: a Quad family photo. He’s going to take them to the — to his high school. You all are going to be there. There’s going to be some really important — important announcement about Cancer Moonshot, and you all are going to be there. There’s going to be an opportunity to see them when they leave on Saturday as well — depart. You’ll see him saying goodbye to the leaders on Saturday. There’s going to be —

Q Can you appreciate, though, that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: There’s — there’s — but — but can you also appreciate — I hear you all, but can you also appreciate that we have created other opportunities? There is this one —

Q They’re all photo ops. That’s what you’ve created. They are not a press conference, which we would prefer.

Q And what I was going to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead, Ed.

Q What I was going to suggest is: What baffles people in this room — especially for those who are watching this and wondering why on earth do we harp on these sides of things — what baffles us is this is a president who, from day one, committed to be the most transparent president possible, who has given speeches at various events saying that he stands for and — and respects the freedom of the press. And here is a great opportunity to stand with the leader of the world’s largest democracy, India, and two other key democracies who are from a region of the world that is struggling to maintain democracy. Why not face questions from reporters and a free press —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, which part —

Q — in that setting?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. So, which part are you asking me about? Are you asking me about going —

Q Why aren’t we being allowed to see these meetings —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) So —

Q — at the house?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there — there —

Q And why is there no press conference?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. S- —

Q Which I think was the crux —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. So —

Q — of the negotiations or at least the conversations —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I — no, I —

Q — that went on earlier today.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear you, but there are two things that I’m being asked, so let me — not every — not every opportunity that we have, when we do have these foreign — foreign leaders here, do we have a press conference. That is not unusual. We have gone many times back and forth about —

Q Which also frustrates us. Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I totally understand. There’s been some bilats, some — there’s been some other visit where there has not been some press conferences, right? That is not unusual. I’ve — we’ve had conversation —

Q It is unusual.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Excuse me. Excuse me.

Q It is unusual.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not speaking to you. I really am not. Let me have my conversation with Ed. Let me have my conversation with Ed. Thank you.

And so, it is — it is not unusual for us to have this back and forth and talk about why it is happening or not happening.

So, that is — I’ll put that there.

The other part is, this is an opportunity for the president to have a personal moment with the leaders. We have created other opportunities for you all to see him with those leaders, standing with those leaders, shaking hands with the leaders, giving them a — giving them opportunities to see his high school — right? — places where he — that he’s very well — very much connected to that you all will see. He’s going to make a really important announcement about the Cancer Moonshot.

We believe — and I know there is a difference of agreement here — right? — is that there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for press to have access to see him with these other leaders.

And so, we have made sure — made sure — and people — I think people actually care about photo ops. Photo ops are indeed important because you — and maybe there will be questions taken during those photo ops. You never know. Right? But a formal press conference on this trip is not going to happen. With this particular event, it’s not going to happen.

We have gone back and forth on many other events. So, that’s what I’m saying is not unusual. We are — we wanted to make sure that there were plenty of press access throughout the day. And we believe we have done that. And let’s see how the day goes. Let’s see how the day goes on Saturday.

Q Would he —

Q I just wanted to be there when Modi — when Modi gets to see the Corvette. That’s all. But —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Say — say that — I’m sorry. Somebody was talking over you.

Q We want to be there when Modi gets to see the Corvette. That’s all.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, the Corvette. (Laughter.)

Q On an unrelated matter.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yes.

Q The Republican gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina apparently is not dropping out, despite pressure from his party —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — and some pretty salacious news reports. I’m just curious if the president is tracking what’s been going on there —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So —

Q — and if the White House has any other comment.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, the president was making this really important economic speech. I haven’t had an opportunity to talk to him about this particular — this particular event that just occurred. I haven’t really seen the stories. I’ve seen, you know — I’ve heard from my staff about — a little bit about this.

What I can say and I want to say off the top is that, you know, antisemitism is never acceptable. It is wrong. It is wrong. And so, we have to be really clear about that. Elected leaders have to be really clear about that. They need to be responsible about calling that out.

As far as the ongoing stories and as it relates to this race, I just don’t have any comment for you, and I haven’t had a se- — a second to talk to the president since he made a really big speech.

Go ahead.

Q Thank you. Two questions. One related to, kind of, your topper about Ukraine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q Senator J.D. Vance said in an interview a few days ago — and I’m quoting him — “I think Washington has left Taiwan in a really crappy position because we went — we sent all our weapons to Ukraine.”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Well —

Q And — so, do you agree with his assessment? Does the Biden administration believe that the U.S. can’t protect Ukraine and Taiwan at the same time?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m not going to go into everything that someone who is in part of this 2024 election — everything that he’s saying or they are saying. Certainly would have to refer you to the campaign.

I think you have seen this president be a leader on the global stage. I think you have seen a president that has brought partners together and allies together to certainly show support for Ukraine.

It is not just the U.S. that is en- — engaging in giving that support to Ukraine. You see that from our allies, from our NATO Allies, from 50 other countries. And so, that is happening because this president has leadership and showed leadership.

And we’ve been very clear about the One China policy. That has not changed. And so, we’ll continue — certainly, we’ll continue to be there for our partners and our allies out there.

I just don’t have any — I’m not going to respond to everything that’s been said out there by — on — on the campaign trail. Not something I’m going to do from here.

Q And on Lebanon, if I might try my luck.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.

Q The past two days, the administration kept the position of “We were not involved, and we did not have any knowledge about it.” So, my question is — but you’ve seen what the people in Lebanon endured. Do you think that was act of terrorism?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to get into it from here. Look, obviously, children being harmed, people being harmed is — is difficult to see and not something that we want to see. But as it relates to any information or anything that occurred the last two days, as relates to the pagers or the walkie-talkies, I don’t have anything else to share beyond he- — from here. You heard from my NSC colleague directly as well. I just don’t have anything else to share.

Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Karine. The mayor of Springfield, Ohio, has issued a proclamation claiming temporary emergency powers that are intended for — to mitigate public safety concerns, obviously, in the wake of the smear of Haitian migrants in that city. Separately, former President Trump says he will visit there in the next couple of weeks.

I understand you have constraints as to what you say — can say relating to a campaign. But in general, from a public order or a community-tension perspective, what do you think about that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, again — and we have said this multiple times. You’ve heard the president. You’ve heard the vice president. It is — and speaking about this more broadly, it is shameful to continue to spread this type of conspiracy theory. It has been debunked by the mayor of Springfield, by the governor and the city manager, the police department on the ground.

And to continue to spread this type of hateful, hateful smear is — is — it’s — it’s just quite unbelievable that we’re doing this, especially when we’re talking about leaders who are supposed to protect people, protect our communities.

And it causes harm. It causes harm to everyone and — as you can see from the actions that they have to take on the ground to protect people.

And so, look, we are going to continue to denounce this. We should not be tearing our communities apart. This is a president and vice president that believes in bringing our communities together. And that’s what we’re going to continue to see.

We have to bring down the temperature in politics. That’s what the president has said. And, you know, it is —
it is just really shameful, disgusting what is being said out there — I mean, following — going down a rabbit hole, an ugly rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. And it puts people’s lives at risk. It puts all of our lives at risk.

And so, it is unfortunate that the city of Springfield has to deal with this. And — and so, we are — we’re going to continue to call that out.

I do want to say a couple of things that we have been able to provide as security assistance support for Springfield. We tasked DOJ’s Community Relations Service to Springfield to help the community come together and enhance their ability to prevent conflict, provided four bomb-sniffing dogs to help the community ensure buildings are safe, and they can respond in- — to incoming threats. And DHS security personnel is working with Springfield and Ohio officials to support the needs of the community.

But, again, these are hateful smears. They’re conspiracy theories, as you know, but I want to make very, very clear from here.

Q Just on that front, Karine, you said, if I heard you correctly, “four bomb-sniffing dogs”?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We provided four bomb-sniffing dogs to help the community ensure buildings are safe and they respond to incoming threats.

Q And were those requested by the community, do you know, or is that a proactive thing —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s —

Q — that you’re doing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s something that we’ve been in touch, obviously, with Springfield — the Spring- — the community in Springfield, and so providing the assistance and trying to give them support that they need, which is not unusual, when a situa- — when we’re — when we’re in this type of situation and environment.

All right. We’re going to start wrapping it up. Go ahead, Gabe.

Q Karine, on the subject of arms sales to Israel. Senator Bernie Sanders, an ally of the president, said he’s preparing resolutions to block $20 billion in arms sales to Israel. It’s a long-shot effort, but what’s the White House’s response to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Our commitment continues to be — continues to be clear-eyed. We are committed to Israel’s security. That is ironclad. Our policy has not changed.

We believe Israel has the right to defend itself, especially against Iran-backed militias like — like the — like Hezbollah, and so we’re going to continue to do that. That has not changed.

And, obviously, we want to have diplomatic resolution here to the tensions that we’re seeing in the Middle East. We do not want to see an escalation. We believe that’s achievable. And, obviously it’s incredibly urgent.

All right, Naomi.

Q Thanks, Karine. Earlier this week, the White House touted August data from Customs and Border Protection. Is there any plans within the administration to roll back the part of the president’s border EO as it pertains to asylum seekers?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you mentioned in — the August data came back and it showed that we — July and August saw the lowest encounters since Oct- — since September of 2020. Encounters of August 2024 were down 68 percent lower than August of 2023. Average daily encounters have decreased by 50 percent since the executive actions.

And so, we’ve taken this action because congressional Republicans refuse to act. And so, look, we’re going to continue to deal with an issue that majority of Americans care — care about — right? — which is making sure that the border is protected, dealing with the border security without the help of congressional Republicans who have gotten in the way and do not provide — want to provide more assistance, more resources.

And if they were to pass that bipartisan border deal, we would have additional resources to actually deal with this without — without the actions that the president has taken.

I don’t have any changes to — to speak to, any change of policy. But, again, this is something that we had to do because congressional Repub- — Republicans refused to take action, and so we took action, and now we’re seeing the effects of that.

Go ahead. Yeah.

Q Oh, sorry. Thanks. You mentioned, you know, that you don’t want to see an e- — an escalation in the — the Middle East. But given what’s happening in Lebanon, what does the White House view as that escalation? What are you all looking for — for, I guess, you say, “Things have really escalated. This is what we need to do. What’s going to happen.”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, we — we’ve — I — well, we know there’s tension there. We do not want to see an escalation. We’re continuing to have these diplomatic conversation. This is why the ceasefire deal is — is so important.

This is why we’re continuing to — to engage with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel to get to a resolution here. We believe, if we can get to that, it will reduce the tensions along the Blue Line. So, that’s something that we’re going to continue to continue to do.

I don’t have a chart here to say what is escalation, what does escalation look like, and what’s going to trigger and what we define an escalation. But we know that the tensions exist. We do not want to see further esca- — escalation, and we’re going to continue to have these conversations — these diplomatic conversation to get to a resolution.

Q Have you heard from President Biden on what he is tracking in terms of an escalation and maybe when he might say things have, I guess, taken that turn?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Diplomatic resolution is the way to go. We believe it’s achievable. It’s urgent. We’re going to have those diplomatic resolution. We want to get to a ceasefire and hostage deal. It is important to do so. We believe it would lower the temperature, lower — reduce the tension there. And that’s going to be our focus.

Go ahead.

Q Thank you for taking my question. My colleagues at USA Today published a piece today about the status of the nation’s effort to clear the backlog of sexual assault evidence kits, something that then-Vice President Biden announced in 2015. There have been a hundre- — 100,000 kits tested, $350 million invested, and only 1,500 convictions. Is he satisfied with the results of that initiative? And what more does the president want to see done to reform [how] new and old cases are handled?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, you’re right. This is something that the president is very much focused on. I have not spoken to him about that particular report and the findings of that report, so don’t want to certainly say something that I haven’t discussed with the president.

But you heard us, and you heard the president speak to VAWA, a historic legislation that he introduced more than 30 years ago. And let’s not forget, when he was senator, there was no discussion about what happens when a — when a woman is dealing with domestic violence or any type of violence.

And so, he brought that to the forefront, has fought for that for the past 30 years, has been able to make additional steps — push that — make step forwards in — under his administration.

And so, don’t have anything to say to that particular study. Would have to talk to the president and our team.

But, obviously, when it comes to the issue of domestic violence, when it comes to an issue and protecting women, this is something that the president has been fore- — on the forefront of as a senator, as a vice president, and certainly as president.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Karen.

Q Thanks, Karine. Jared Bernstein spoke at length about where you guys stand on the government shutdown at this point. But how would you describe right now the relationship and the communications between the speaker and the president?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have a conversation to read out. Obviously, the president is in constant communication with leaders, with congressional members on a regular basis. He gets updated by his team on what’s going on, par- — in particular, with the budget conversations.

Don’t have anything to read out on that speaker-POTUS relationship. They’ve talked a couple of times. They’ve seen each other a couple of times.

But as it relates to the CR, we think that there’s a way forward, a bipartisan way forward. We’ve seen this done before, and that’s what the president wants to see.

Q Earlier —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And that’s what the American people deserve.

Q Earlier this week, Johnson was talking about Secret Service protection of Trump, but he said this about the president. He said, “They don’t let me talk to the president very often. That may not be a big surprise to you all. We communicate through staff. It’s a pretty sad situation, and, in fact, it’s a pretty scary situation.”

Is it true that the president is just not talking to the speaker?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s not unusual for staff to have regular conversations with congressional staff. That is not unusual. That is something that happens pretty regularly. We have an Office of Leg Affairs for that purpose. And so, when there’s an important moment for the president and the speaker to speak, obviously, the president has that conversation.

Right now, we’re talking about a short-term CR. That is not a difficult thing. It really isn’t. It is not a difficult thing to get done. It is a easy, easy thing for — action for Congress to take. It — it should be something that they can decide on in a bipartisan way, as they done many times before, and get it done. Really.

As it relates to Secret Service, that is something that Secret Service can speak to. That is something that we don’t talk about from here. It comes from Secret Service. The president has been very clear after July 13th. When we saw the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, the president said we needed to increase — he wanted to see an increase in the protection. And we saw that.

And so, the president has always been very clear about this. He’s always been — spoken to that par- — in particular piece here. He wanted to see the highest level of protection. And Secret Service, the acting director said it — it’s happened, and so that’s important too. But that’s something that the Secret Service speaks to.

All right. Okay, everybody. Thank you.

Q Does the president believe the Farm Bill will happen? Karine, farmers and ranchers really want to know.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you.

3:48 P.M. EDT

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Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to ensure every community—including Latino communities—can access a quality education, obtain a good-paying job, own a home, start a business, and afford high-quality health care. This National Hispanic Heritage Month, President Biden and Vice President Harris celebrate and honor the rich contributions of Latinos and remain committed to ensuring every family has a shot at the American Dream.

Growing Economic Prosperity for Latino Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda has created five million jobs for Latino workers—achieving a historically low Latino unemployment rate, reported at 5.5% through August 2024, down from 8.6% when the President and Vice President took office. The Biden-Harris Administration has delivered record economic results for Latinos, including:

• Hispanic business ownership is up 40%–growing at the fastest rate in 30 years.
• Doubled the number of Small Business Administration-backed loans to Latino-owned businesses in FY 2023 compared to FY 2020.
• Cut mortgage interest premiums for Federal Housing Administration loans, saving over 185,000 Latino homeowners more than $1,000 per year.
• Achieved the largest increase in homeownership rates for Hispanic homeowners versus the previous year and took historic action to root out home appraisal bias, which contributes to the wealth gap by unfairly undervaluing homes owned by Latinos and in majority-Latino neighborhoods
• Awarded nearly $11 billion in Federal contracts to Latino-owned small businesses in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, an increase of nearly $1 billion since FY 2020.
• Increased funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program—the major Federal child care grant program—by almost 50% to serve half a million more children, and issued a rule to cap out-of-pocket child care costs in that program at 7% of income, saving about 100,000 low-income families over $200 a month on average.
• Expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) under the American Rescue Plan, which helped cut Latino child poverty nearly in half to a record low of 8.4% in 2021—lifting 1.2 million Latino children out of poverty that year and bringing the gap between Latino and white child poverty rates to a historic low.  President Biden and Vice President Harris continue to call on Congress to restore the full expanded CTC expanded benefit so that millions of children can be lifted out of poverty. The Biden-Harris Administration also modernized SNAP benefits for the first time since 1975, lifting about 700,000 Latino families, including 360,000 Latino children, out of poverty each month.
• Took action to establish the first-ever Federal heat safety standard in workplaces combatting extreme weather to protect 36 million farmworkers, construction workers, manufacturing workers, and others.
• Invested more than $140 billion to drive an economic turnaround in Puerto Rico—creating more than 100,000 jobs and lowering the unemployment rate to 5.8%, near its lowest level ever. The American Rescue Plan also permanently made Puerto Rican families eligible for the same Child Tax Credit as other Americans, making nearly 90% of Puerto Rican families newly eligible for the credit.

Ensuring Equitable Educational Opportunity for Latino Students

President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that every student in this country deserves access to a high-quality education and a fair shot at the American Dream. This Administration has taken action to expand educational opportunities and improve college affordability for all students, including:

• Invested a record over $15 billion in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)— the largest investment in U.S. history.
• Signed an Executive Order establishing a President’s Advisory Board and White House Initiative on HSIs to coordinate Federal resources and bolster collaboration between institutions.
• Secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award—the largest increase in the past decade, helping the over 50% of Latino college students who rely on Pell Grants.
• Approved the cancellation of almost $170 billion in student loan debt for nearly 5 million borrowers—including for Latino borrowers, who are disproportionately burdened by student debt.
• Proposed a rule to expand TRIO college access programs to Dreamers and others, which would allow an estimated 50,000 more students each year to access Federal college preparation services and programs, such as counseling and tutoring, and thousands more to attend college.
• Announced nearly $15 million in new grants under the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program (Hawkins) to advance teacher diversity and prepare the next generation of educators at Minority Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges Universities—who can provide culturally and linguistically responsive teaching in our country’s underserved schools. This new round of grants—which includes awards to 15 HSIs—brings the total investment in Hawkins to $38 million under the Biden-Harris Administration, which is the first Administration to secure funding for the program.

Improving Health Outcomes for Latino Communities

From beating Big Pharma and lowering prescription drug costs to expanding health care coverage, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken action to make high-quality health care more affordable.

• Starting in 2025, all out-of-pocket drug costs will be capped at $2,000 per year and the cost of insulin is now capped at $35 for Medicare Part D enrollees, which includes five million Latinos.
• In August 2024, the President and Vice President announced new, negotiated prices for the first ten prescription drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation—expected to save Medicare enrollees $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in the first year of the program alone.
• Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage has doubled under the Biden-Harris Administration, which also extended ACA healthcare benefits to Dreamers starting on November 1, 2024.
• Launched a new grant program to train doctors and physician assistants on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate care for individuals with limited English proficiency, including those who speak Spanish, to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.
• Added Spanish text and chat services to the National 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline so that individuals can now connect directly to Spanish-speaking crisis counselors.

Reducing Gun Violence and Saving Lives

President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken historic action to reduce gun violence and keep our communities safe:

• After the heroic advocacy of families from Buffalo and Uvalde and so many other communities across the country, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law—the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years.
• Established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris, which has accelerated work to reduce gun violence and engaged with Latino communities—including survivors of mass shootings in Uvalde and El Paso and survivors of community violence disproportionately affecting Black and Latino communities.
• Secured $400 million for the first-ever federal grant program solely dedicated to community violence interventions.

Addressing America’s Broken Immigration System

On Day One, President Biden introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill and has repeatedly called on Congressional Republicans to pass the SENATE bipartisan border security bill – the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. Throughout this Administration, the President and Vice President have taken action to improve our country’s immigration system.

• Took action to speed up work visas, to help people who graduated from U.S. colleges and universities—including Dreamers—land jobs in high-demand high-skilled professions.
• Took action that would allow 500,000 spouses of American citizens who have been in the country for 10 years or more to apply for lawful permanent residence while staying in the United States. The Biden-Harris Administration is fighting efforts by Republican officials to block this work in court, so that families—including Latino families—can stay together.
• Directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to “preserve and fortify” Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and continue to defend the DACA rule in court.
• Streamlined, expanded, and instituted new reunification programs so that families can stay together while they complete the immigration process.
• Took executive action to secure the border when Congressional Republicans twice blocked the Senate bipartisan border security deal.

Advancing an Unprecedented Whole-of-Government Equity Agenda to Expand Opportunity

President Biden and Vice President Harris promised to leverage the power of the Federal Government to deliver for all communities and build an Administration that looks like America.

• Assembled the most diverse administration in U.S. history, including four Latino Cabinet members—Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra, Department of Education Secretary Cardona, and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Guzman.
• Signed two Executive Orders directing the Federal Government to address system inequality and barriers to equal opportunity faced by underserved communities.
• Updated Federal race and ethnicity data collection standards for the first time in almost 30 years, which is expected to improve Latino community data representation in the U.S. Census and Federal programs.

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Throughout history, America’s service members have risked everything to keep the light of liberty shining bright.  Today, more than 81,000 of these brave men and women remain missing and unaccounted for around the world.  They will never be forgotten, and their courage, service, and sacrifice will always be cherished by our grateful Nation.  On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor all those missing and unaccounted for.  We recommit to bringing them home, no matter how long it takes.  And we express our ironclad support for their families.

The POW/MIA flag is displayed in its rightful place above the White House — the People’s House.  The flag serves as a reminder to all Americans that we are the fortunate heirs of the legacy that they — our Nation’s unreturned heroes — helped to forge.  These service members gave all, risked all, and dared all to protect our freedom.  Just as they kept faith in our Nation, we must keep faith with them.  My Administration will never forget our obligation to these patriots and their families.  We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay.

For those with family members who are missing and unaccounted for, I know that the not knowing weighs on your hearts, amid the grieving, remembering, and cherishing of your loved ones.  My Administration sees you, stands with you, and will never forget our sacred obligation to care for you. 

During National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we recognize the absolute bravery of our Nation’s service members who are missing and unaccounted for, and we recommit to bringing them home.  We offer our gratitude and steadfast support for their families, who have given so much to our Nation.  We also honor the service and sacrifice of former prisoners of war.  And we remember that the truest testimonial to their sacrifice is doing our part to ensure that our democracy and the soul of our Nation endure.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 20, 2024, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.  Let all who read this know that America remains grateful to our heroes held in the worst imaginable conditions as prisoners of war.  Additionally, I encourage my fellow citizens across the Nation to reflect on today and let us not forget those heroes who never returned home from the battlefields around the world or their families who are still waiting for answers.  I call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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On National Service Dog Day, we recognize the proven benefits that service dogs bring to so many people across our Nation.

Service dogs have long been at people’s sides — acting as an important source of comfort and an essential resource to help with everyday life.  It was not until 1990, when we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, that our Nation fully recognized and protected service dogs by law.  I am proud to have co-sponsored this landmark legislation years ago, and I am proud of its continued legacy today.  Service dogs continue to provide valuable aid and support, improving people’s lives — and even sometimes saving them.  For people with disabilities and those struggling with their health, service dogs can help them perform everyday tasks, alert them of oncoming medical episodes, or remind them to take medication.  For those dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety, service dogs can be a source of comfort and care — waking their owner up during nightmares or helping them navigate large crowds. 

My Administration has worked to ensure that everyone has access to the health care and support services they need.  I signed the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act, which established a pilot program that makes veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder eligible to train service dogs.  Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs has also provided the Service Dog Veterinary Health Insurance Benefit to over 1,400 veterans, ensuring that veterinary costs for their service dogs are covered.  And the Department of Transportation established the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, which affirmed the right to travel with a service animal, and proposed a rule to ensure all passengers with disabilities — including those with service animals — can travel safely and with dignity.

Today, may we celebrate service dogs, who offer assistance, comfort, and unconditional love to so many. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 20, 2024, as National Service Dog Day.  I call upon the people of the United States to honor the role of service dogs in the lives of people with disabilities and America’s veterans with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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