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House Republicans Want the Tax Code to Work for the Wealthy; President Biden Wants It to Work for the Middle Class

This Tax Day, President Biden is fighting for hardworking families, while House Republicans continue to side with the wealthy and big corporations. Since taking office, President Biden has made the tax system fairer: cutting taxes for families and workers, enacting a minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations, and investing in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) so that it can better serve taxpayers and crack down on wealthy tax cheats. If Congress enacted President Biden’s tax plan, tens of millions of workers and families would have their taxes cut, nobody making less than $400,000 would pay a penny more in taxes, and the wealthy and big corporations would finally pay their fair share—which would fully pay for the President’s tax cuts and investment agenda.

In sharp contrast, the Republican Study Committee—which represents 80% of House Republicans and 100% of their leadership—just released an extreme budget that sides with the wealthy and large corporations, with $5.5 trillionin tax cuts skewed to the richest Americans, doubling down on the failed approach of the Trump tax cuts. If their extreme proposals became law, millions of families would face higher taxes and higher costs, and receive worse customer service from the IRS. Meanwhile, billionaires and the biggest corporations would get huge tax cuts and get away with cheating on their taxes. House Republicans would help billionaires while hurting families by cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other programs hardworking Americans count on.

President Biden Would Make the Wealthy and Big Corporations Pay Their Fair Share, While Cutting Taxes for Working Families and the Middle Class

The President’s plan would build on his progress to date, including proposals to:

• Make corporations pay their fair share by raising the corporate tax rate to 28% and the Inflation Reduction Act’s corporate minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations to 21%, cracking down on tax avoidance by large multinationals and Big Pharma, denying corporate tax breaks for multi-million-dollar executive compensation, quadrupling the stock buybacks tax, and cracking down on corporate jet loopholes.
• Make the wealthy pay their fair share by requiring billionaires to pay at least 25% of their income in taxes, modestly raising taxes on the wealthy to fund the Medicare trust fund permanently, and ending the Trump tax cuts for the richest taxpayers.
• Cut taxes for working families and the middle class by increasing the Child Tax Credit for 66 million children, which would lift 3 million children out of poverty; cutting taxes for 19 million working-class Americans by strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit; and making permanent the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are lowering health insurance premiums by about $800 per year for millions of Americans. These tax cuts are fully paid for by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.
• Make sure the IRS works for Americans by continuing to improve customer service and crack down on wealthy tax cheats. This filing season, the IRS has achieved a 3-minute call wait time, saved taxpayers 1.4 million hours of hold times with expanded call back availability, increased in-person tax preparation support by more than 200,000 returns, and successfully launched a Direct File pilot that lets Americans file their taxes online easily and for free, directly with the IRS. The IRS has also collected more than $500 million in unpaid taxes from around 1,000 delinquent millionaires and billionaires, launched enforcement action against 25,000 millionaires who have not filed a tax return since 2017, and cracked down on high-end tax evasion like deducting personal use of corporate jets as a business expense. President Biden is fighting to continue investing in the IRS, which will enable it to collect hundreds of billions of dollars in additional revenue over the next decade.
• Ensure no one earning less than $400,000 a year sees a tax increase, while rejecting plans to extend tax cuts or restore tax breaks for those making more than $400,000 a year, and fully paying for all tax cut extensions by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, not tax increases on the middle-class or magical growth assumptions.

House Republicans Would Slash Taxes for the Wealthy and Big Corporations, Raise Taxes on Millions of Americans, and Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

The extreme Republican budget proposes $5.5 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations, including:

• Cutting taxes for the wealthy by making Trump tax cuts permanent, resulting in an average tax cut of at least $175,000 a year for the top 0.1 percent and costing $3 trillion.
• Cutting taxes for businesses by more than $600 billion on top of the massive Trump tax cuts, which have completely failed to trickle down to workers.
• Cutting taxes for billionaires and worsening wealth inequality by eliminating the estate tax, which currently applies to only the wealthiest 0.1% of Americans, those with assets over $13.6 million per person ($27.2 million per couple).
• Reversing two of President Biden’s major achievements for tax fairness: a 15% minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations and a tax on stock buybacks that encourages companies to invest in their workers and the American economy rather than windfalls for investors.
• Blocking the President’s global minimum tax agreement in order to keep taxes low for big multinationals, including Big Pharma.
• Rewarding wealth, not work, by cutting capital gains taxes, overwhelmingly benefitting the wealthiest Americans.
• Making it easier for the wealthy and big corporations to cheat on their taxes by eliminating the Inflation Reduction Act’s investment in the IRS.

While cutting taxes for billionaires, the extreme Republican budget would make devastating cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other programs hardworking Americans count on, and raise taxes on millions of middle-class families, including:

• Eliminating the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credit would raise the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans by an average of about $800 per year, including older people and self-employed workers.
• Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, which would raise taxes by thousands of dollars for families installing a heat pump or solar panels.
• Making it harder for honest Americans to pay their taxes by rescinding the funding that has enabled the IRS to reduce phone wait times from 28 minutes to just 3 minutes, answer nearly 3 million more calls than two years ago, and serve 200,000 more taxpayers in person.

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I signed the CHIPS and Science Act to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and ensure America’s consumers, businesses, and military maintain access to the chips that underpin our modern technology. But well before the law was passed, I was working to address our supply chain vulnerabilities. This included my trip to the Republic of Korea (ROK), where I visited Samsung’s Pyeongtaek campus to see one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world.

Now, nearly two years later, I’m pleased to announce a preliminary agreement between Samsung and the Department of Commerce to bring Samsung’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to Texas. This announcement, will unleash over $40 billion in investment from Samsung, and cement central Texas’s role as a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem, creating at least 21,500 jobs and leveraging up to $40 million in CHIPS funding to train and develop the local workforce. These facilities will support the production of some of the most powerful chips in the world, which are essential to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and will bolster U.S. national security.

Today’s announcement of Samsung’s investment in the United States is another example of how my Investing in America agenda and the U.S.-ROK Alliance is creating opportunity in every corner of the country.

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President Biden spoke today with His Majesty King Abdullah II about the situation in the Middle East. President Biden strongly condemned the attack launched by Iran that also threatened Jordan and the Jordanian people. Both leaders noted that they continue to monitor the situation and will remain in close touch over the coming days. They also discussed the situation in Gaza, and reaffirmed their cooperation to increase critical humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to find a path to end the crisis as soon as possible.

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We, the Leaders of the G7, unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. Israel, with the help of its partners, defeated the attack.

We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security.

With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.

We will also strengthen our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.

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Earlier today, Iran—and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq—launched an unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms.

At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week.  Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles. 

I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.  I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel.

Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.  My team will engage with their counterparts across the region.  And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders.  And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Oregon and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected severe winter storms, straight-line winds, landslides, and mudslides from January 10 to January 22, 2024.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storms, straight-line winds, landslides, and mudslidesin the counties of Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Hood River, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Multnomah, Sherman, Tillamook, and Wasco,and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures in all areas within the state.

Ms. Yolanda J. Jackson 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.

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, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from January 31 to February 9, 2024. 

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in the counties of Butte, Glenn, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sutter, and Ventura.

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

Mr. Andrew F. Grant 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.

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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Iran has begun an airborne attack against Israel.  President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House.  His team is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies.  This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours.  President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad.  The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.

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South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

2:52 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Rev.  Thanks for that introduction.  Look, we’ve known each other for a long time.  I’m grateful not only for your leadership and partnership but, quite frankly, more importantly for your friendship. 

And thanks to all of you, members of our nation’s most important civil rights organization. 

You know, for more than 30 years, the National Action Network has been on the frontlines in the work to redeem the soul of America.  We’ve been on the same page, and the work is as important as it’s ever been.    

You know, during your convention, you heard from members of the most diverse administration in history — our administration. 

Starting with our Vice President, Kamala Harris, who is doing an incredible job, in my view. 

And so is Steve Benjamin, who is with us — he is with you guys tonight right now. 

Together, we’ve kept our promises to make some of the most significant investments in the Black American community ever. 

Promise kept to get through the pandemic and to make sure the Black community was not left behind and everyone was taken care of; put checks in pockets to cut Black child poverty in half.

A promise kept to rebuild all of America, reconnecting Black communities that had been cut in half by interstate highway systems with jobs and opportunities as well, to ensure that every community has access to clean water and high-speed Internet.

A promise kept to protect and expand Obamacare, saving Black families $800 a year on their premiums.

A promise kept to beat Big Pharma by giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, literally saving countless lives in underserved communities.

For example, members of the Black community who need insulin now are only — for — because of their diabetes, now only have to pay $35 a month for insulin instead of $400 a month.

And there’s much more to come, by the way.

A promise kept to invest an historic $7 billion in HBCUs, to relieve student debt for more than 4 thous- — 4 million people so far, including a significant number of Black borrowers, including, just today, I announced another 277,000 Americans — a significant number of Black borrowers — are also having their debt forgiven.

A promise kept to advance justice: the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and more Black women confirmed for the federal circuit court of appeals than all previous presidents combined — every single one; the most important executive order on police reform to ban chokeholds, greatly restrict no-knock warrants, advance effective and accountable community policing.  

A promise kept to sign the most significant gun safety law in decades.  The first law making lynching a federal hate crime.  Keeping my promise that no one should be in federal prison for merely possessing marijuana. 

A promise kept to advance environ- — environmental justice and to make the most significant investments in climate ever in all of our history.  That’s delivering clean energy and jobs all across America. 

The results are real.  We’ve reduced Black unemployment rate to its record low.  More Black Americans have health insurance than ever before.  More Black businesses are starting up than we’ve seen in the last 25 years. 

In fact, despite attacks on our support for brown and Black small businesses, we’re investing in them as key ways to build generational wealth in communities. 

Today, I’m proud to announce that last year we awarded $76 billion in federal contracts to small, disadvantaged businesses to level the playing field and close the racial wealth gap. 

I also want to thank my dear friend, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, for an amazing career in public service, for leading the charge in making housing more affordable, for proposing a $10,000 tax first-time home- — $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to building more rental unit — more rental units to bring rents down than ever before. 

We’ve launched a major effort to root out bias in home appraisal process so homes in Black communities are no longer undervalued compared to the same home in a white community.  Thus far, we’ve eliminated that gap by 40 percent, and we’re going to continue until it’s even. 

Put it all together, Black wealth is up 60 percent — up 60 percent, and the racial wealth gap has closed the most in 20 years.  You know, I would argue this is transformational change.  But we know there’s much more work to do.  There are real threats we face.

There are more extreme voices out there who simply don’t want to see people of color in the future of our country.  They want to turn back the clock — voter suppression; election subversion; ripping away reproductive freedom; getting affirmative action — gutting it and attacking diversity across American life; banning books — this is 2024 — banning books, attempting to erase history; embracing political violence, like what happened on January the 6th. 

These extremists are determined to erase the progress we’ve made.  But together, we are determined to make history, not erase it — make history, not erase it.

Let me close with this, Rev.  You know, we face a moment of choosing at a time when our very democracy is at stake.  And that’s not an exaggeration.  Our democracy is at stake.

One vision is propelled by anger, hate, revenge, and retribution. 

The other vision — our vision, your vision — of perseverance, progress, hope and optimism, and everything the National Action Network stands for and embodies.

Here’s the future we can build together.  I see an America where we defend democracy, we don’t diminish it.

I see an America where, with your help, I sign the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act into law, where I sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law, where we make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again.  And we can do that.

I see a future where we give hate no safe harbor and call out the poison of white supremacy.

I see an America where the economy grows from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, and where the wealthy finally begin to pay their fair share of taxes, where working people finally have a fair shot, with childcare, eldercare, paid leave.  We’re — we’re one of the only nations in the world that doesn’t have paid leave. 

I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. 

You know, my administration just yesterday expanded ba- — two days ago expanded background checks.  But that’s not enough.  We’ll ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  Be- — we did it once; we’ve got to do it again.  We must get it done.

And, folks, I know we can do this.  I’ve never been more optimistic about our future.

You know, we just have to remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  We’ve come out of every crisis stronger than we’ve gone into it.  And there’s nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.

So, let’s keep acting together.  I’m looking to you for help.  I’m looking to you for your leadership, and I hope you look to me for the same.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

Q    Mr. President, what’s your message to Iran?

Q    How imminent is an Iranian attack on Israel?

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t want to say.

Q    How imminent do you think an attack on Israel is from Iran, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t want to get into secure information, but my expectation is sooner than later.

Thank you. 

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, what is your message to Iran right now?

Q    Mr. President, what is your message to Iran in this moment?

THE PRESIDENT:  “Don’t.”

Thank you.

Q    Or else what?

Q    Are American personnel and assets at risk, Mr. President?

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, are American troops at risk as well?

THE PRESIDENT:  We are devoted to the defense of Israel.  We will support Israel.  We will defend — help defend Israel.  And Iran will not succeed.

Thank you very much.

3:01 P.M. EDT

 

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT: Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 621 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State:

(1)  the authority under section 506(a)(2) of the FAA to direct the drawdown of up to $60 million in articles and services from the inventory and resources of any agency of the United States Government and military education and training from the Department of Defense for the purposes and under the authorities of chapter 8 of part I of the FAA to provide anti-crime and counternarcotics assistance to countries that contribute personnel to the Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti and to the Haitian National Police; and

(2)  the authority to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, and Philippine National Security Advisor Eduardo M. Año in Washington, DC today. The meeting followed President Biden’s bilateral meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the historic Japan-Philippines-United States Trilateral Leaders’ Summit on April 11.

The parties reaffirmed their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and discussed ways to deepen coordination regarding shared challenges in the South China Sea, including repeated harassment of lawful Philippine operations by the People’s Republic of China. Secretary Blinken, Secretary of Defense Austin, and National Security Advisor Sullivan reiterated the United States’ ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Philippine Alliance and recalled that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.  The parties underscored their determination to increase U.S. support for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to improve interoperability and to achieve our shared security objectives. The parties further decided to explore additional opportunities to strengthen global support for upholding the international law of the sea.

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By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), established by the Congress in December 2022 under section 2104 of Public Law 117-328, is playing a critical role in the Federal Government’s pandemic preparedness efforts.  The OPPR is providing advice, within the Executive Office of the President, on policy related to preparedness for, and response to, pandemic and other biological threats that may impact national security.  The OPPR is also supporting my Administration’s continued work to address COVID-19 and other public health threats, facilitating coordination and communication among executive departments and agencies to ensure that the United States can quickly detect, identify, and respond to such threats as necessary.  At this stage of my Administration’s response to COVID-19, I have determined that certain Executive Orders are no longer necessary and that certain roles and responsibilities established by other Executive Orders related to COVID-19 should be transferred to the OPPR.

Sec. 2.  Revocations.  Executive Order 13910 of March 23, 2020 (Preventing Hoarding of Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of COVID-19), Executive Order 13991 of January 20, 2021 (Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing), and Executive Order 13998 of January 21, 2021 (Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel), are hereby revoked.

Sec. 3.  Transfer of Responsibilities.  Responsibilities and duties of the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President (COVID-19 Response Coordinator), including responsibilities and duties specified in Executive Order 13987 of January 20, 2021 (Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security), Executive Order 13994 of January 21, 2021 (Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats), and Executive Order 13996 of January 21, 2021 (Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats), are transferred to the Director of the OPPR.  The positions of COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response, as established by section 2 of Executive Order 13987, are hereby terminated.

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

     (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

     (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    April 12, 2024.

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Under President Biden’s leadership, the home appraisal gap—an indicator of potential racial and ethnic bias—has shrunk by more than 40%

80% of Congressional Republicans are supporting a plan that would reverse this progress, while cutting Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act

Nearly three years ago at a speech to commemorate the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, President Biden committed to addressing racial inequities in the home appraisal process and increase the share of federal contract spending awarded to small disadvantaged businesses by 50%. Today, during remarks at the National Action Network Convention, President Biden will highlight how his Administration is delivering on that promise and announce key progress being made to create opportunity in historically under-resourced communities and narrow the racial wealth gap.

While the President and Vice President continue working to close the racial wealth gap and create more opportunities for all Americans, 80% of Congressional Republicans are supporting a plan that would move the country backwards.  Their plan would defund the President’s executive orders on racial equity, while cutting Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and Social Security—raising the Social Security retirement age in the process. Congressional Republicans would also roll back billions of dollars in investments and tax incentives that support small businesses as they shift to a clean economy.  Moreover, the Congressional Republican plan would also increase prescription drug, energy, and housing costs, while fighting for tax giveaways for the very rich and big corporations.

In direct contrast, closing the racial wealth gap has been central to the Biden-Harris Administration’s economic agenda, and the progress we are making under the President’s leadership is delivering for communities nationwide, including Black Americans. The President’s announcements today to build on this progress include:

Rooting out bias in the home appraisal process. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is releasing new data showing that the “appraisal gap”—the likelihood that homes in communities of color are undervalued compared to homes in majority-white communities—has been cut by more than 40% since the Biden-Harris Administration took action on appraisal bias. The data also show that some states have eliminated the gap entirely. In these states, families in communities of color are no more likely to have their home valued at less than the agreed contract price than are families in white communities. This means that more Black Americans and people of color are able to build greater wealth from owning a home.

While there can be many reasons why an individual home is valued below the agreed-upon contract price, systemic undervaluation in communities of color can indicate racial bias in the appraisal process.

On June 1, 2021, the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, President Biden announced the creation of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE): a first-of-its-kind effort to root out bias and advance equity in the home appraisal process. Since releasing the PAVE Action Plan in March 2022, the Task Force has made critical progress towards implementation, including major steps to empower consumers to take action against appraisal bias; prevent algorithmic bias in home valuation; and support a well-trained and more representative appraiser profession.

Rooting out bias in appraisals can help narrow the racial wealth gap. According to a recent study, eliminating racial disparities in the amount of wealth families gain from owning a home would narrow the wealth gap by 16% between Black and white households and by 41% between Latino and white households.

Achieving record federal investment in small disadvantaged businesses. Today, President Biden is also announcing that in Fiscal Year 2023, agencies surpassed the President’s goal for federal contracting dollars going to small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), awarding SDBs a record-breaking $76.2 billion, or 12.1% in federal contracts. This sets a new all-time record for federal dollars to SDBs, surpassing the record set by the Biden-Harris Administration last year of $69.9 billion, and illustrates continued progress towards the President’s goal of 15% to SDBs by 2025. Three consecutive years of record-breaking awards to SDBs underscores the Administration’s unwavering commitment to leveling the playing field for the Nation’s small businesses and ensuring that no talent is left on the sidelines, even in the face of legal attacks that seek to undercut the Administration’s efforts.

Increasing federal investments in under-resourced businesses not only helps more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams and strengthens the supplier base, but also narrows persistent wealth disparities. According to analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, eliminating racial disparities in business ownership rates would narrow the wealth gap by an additional 22% between Black and white households and by an additional 17% between Latino and white households. Recognizing this historic opportunity, in 2021, the President set a bold goal of increasing the share of the more than $630 billion in contracting dollars going to SDBs each year, including Black, Latino and Asian American-owned small businesses, to 15% by 2025—or an increase of 50% from 2010.

Canceling student loan debt. The Biden-Harris Administration also today announced that it is canceling an additional $7.4 billion in student loan debt for 277,000 borrowers. This brings the total amount of debt relief approved by the Administration to $153 billion for 4.3 million Americans. Today’s announcement builds on the President’s announcement earlier this week, laying out his Administration’s plans that would cancel student debt for tens of millions of Americans, if implemented as proposed. These plans would cancel runaway interest for over 25 million borrowers, cancel loan debt for borrowers eligible for forgiveness programs but not enrolled in those programs, and cancel student debt for borrowers experiencing hardship in their daily lives preventing them from paying back their loans.

Black and Latino borrowers are more likely to experience growth in their student loan balances due to excessive interest accumulation. Four years after graduation, Black bachelor’s degree borrowers, on average, owe more than they borrowed. These plans would not only help create more financial stability for millions of working and middle-class families, they would also help address the disproportionate debt burden on communities of color and advance racial equity.

Today’s announcements build on the progress the President has made to leverage the full force of the Federal Government—including with the signing of two executive orders on advancing racial equity—in order to ensure the promise of America for all communities, including Black Americans. Here are just a few examples of how Bidenomics and the President’s Investing in America agenda are already delivering for Black Americans:

• Under President Biden, the Black unemployment rate and gap between Black and white unemployment hit record lows. 
• Black wealth is up 60% relative to pre-pandemic levels.
• The share of Black business owners more than doubled between 2019 and 2022.
• Black-owned businesses are being created at the fastest rate in 30 years.

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New debt cancellation for borrowers enrolled in SAVE, other Income-Driven Repayment plans, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness comes on the heels of President Biden announcing new plans that could benefit tens of millions of Americans.

Today, President Biden announced that 277,000 more Americans will get their student debt canceled, bringing the total debt relief approved by the Biden-Harris Administration to $153 billion for 4.3 million Americans through various actions. This latest round of debt cancellation comes on the heels of President Biden announcing new plans that, if implemented, would cancel student debt for over 30 million Americans when combined with actions the Administration has taken over the last three years. This week’s announcements reinforce the President’s commitment to using every path available to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible through various actions.

The 277,000 Americans receiving this latest round of debt relief are borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan, other borrowers enrolled in Income-Driven Repayment plans, and borrowers receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Biden-Harris Administration fixed Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) and launched the SAVE Plan last year – the most affordable repayment plan ever. Already 8 million borrowers are enrolled in SAVE, 4.5 million of those borrowers have a monthly payment of $0, and over 1 million additional borrowers have a monthly payment of less than $100. And if borrowers took out low balances of loans, the SAVE Plan puts them on a faster path to debt relief after at least ten years of payments.

Since President Biden took office, his Administration has approved over $54 billion in debt cancellation for 1.3 million borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, including the new SAVE Plan. This builds on additional actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to cancel debt for nearly 900,000 public service workers, 1.3 million borrowers cheated by their schools or borrowers covered by related court settlements, and nearly 550,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability, including many veterans.

While the Administration continues to cancel Americans’ student debt through improving existing forgiveness programs and through the SAVE Plan, the Biden-Harris Administration is also pursuing new plans that, if implemented, would cancel student debt for tens of millions more. Earlier this week, the President announced his Administration’s alternative path to debt cancellation in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision. Learn more about these plans at StudentAid.gov/DebtRelief.

State Fact Sheets:

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The post President Joe Biden Announces $7.4 Billion in Student Debt Cancellation for 277,000 More Americans, Pursuing Every Path Available to Cancel Student Debt appeared first on The White House.

Today, my Administration is canceling student debt for 277,000 more people, bringing the total number of Americans who have been approved for debt relief so far under my Administration to 4.3 million borrowers through various actions. These 277,000 borrowers are enrolled in my Administration’s SAVE Plan, or were approved for relief because of fixes we made to Income-Driven Repayment Plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Today’s announcement comes on top of the significant progress we’ve made for students and borrowers over the past three years. That includes: providing the largest increases to the maximum Pell Grant in over a decade; fixing Public Service Loan Forgiveness so teachers, nurses, police officers, and other public service workers get the relief they are entitled to under the law, and holding colleges accountable for taking advantage of students and families.   And, earlier this week, I laid out my Administration’s new plans that would cancel student debt for more than 30 million Americans when combined with everything we’ve done so far.

From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to cancel student debt – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on $7.4 Billion in Student Debt Cancellation for 277,000 More Borrowers appeared first on The White House.

2:03 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Hey.  Good afternoon, everyone.

Q    Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Oh, thank you — Thursday afternoon.  (Laughter.)

So, a couple of things, and then we’ll go into the Q&A.

I — do I — I sound like I — do I sound like I have an echo? 

Q    Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Can we — can we fix the sound?  Does that sound — does that sound better?

Q    Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  All right.  Great.

So, from Buffalo — from Buffalo and Kansas City to Uvalde and Monterey Park, we have seen the epidemic of gun violence tearing apart communities nationwide, leaving empty seats at dining room tables across the country. 

The President and the Vice President have spent countless hours with families who have lost loved ones to this senseless violence, and they all say the same thing: Do something. 

These same families and other survivors of gun violence turned their pain into purpose.  They organized, demanded action, and marched for their lives. 

And thanks to their collective efforts, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. 
 
Today, we are building on that progress and announcing a new rule that saves lives by requiring background checks for all gun dealers engaged in the business of firearm — firearms dealing, including for guns sold at gun shows and online. 

This new rule implements the only significant expansion of background check requirements since then-Senator Biden helped shepherd the Brady Bill over the finish line in 1993.  

Today’s new action furthers the Biden-Harris administration’s historic efforts to stop the illegal flow of guns and hold those who supply firearms used in crime accountable.  But there is still much work to be done.

President Biden and Vice President Harris continue to call on Congress to enact universal background checks and finish the job.

Now, as you all have reported, overnight Russia launched another lon- — loun- — large round of aerial assaults against Ukraine’s energy grid, as Vladimir Putin continue[s] to try to break the spirit — the spirit of the Ukrainian people and plunge them into darkness. 

Russia struck the largest power plant in Kyiv Oblast, as well as power facilities in five other regions across Ukraine. 

As President Zele- — Zelenskyy said in the recent days, Ukraine needs more air defenses and interceptors to protect its people and critical infrastructure against Russian missiles and Ir- — Iranian-supplied drones. 

We need the House of Republic- — House of Rep- — Representatives — Republicans specifically, obviously, but the House of Repre- — Representatives — to take urgent action to pass the bipartisan national security supplemental bill so we can send Ukraine more air defenses. 

And let me correct myself.  It’s actually the House of Representatives.  We need Speaker — the Speaker to put that bill on — on the floor because we know we would get overwhelming support on — from Republicans and Democrats, obviously.  So, we need to see that bill put on the floor that was passed overwhelmingly in the Senate. 

The strikes in Ukraine over the past 24 hours are another terrible reminder that Ukraine’s need is critical. 

And now, turning over to Gaza, I wanted to provide an update on our efforts to do all we can to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza and ease the humanitarian suffering. 

As you know, when President Biden last spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu just last week, he was clear that Israel must announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, measurable steps to address humanitarian suffering.

The past few days have shown some pra- — some promise.  Israel made the commitment to open the Ashdod Port for the direct delivery of assistance into Gaza, to open a new crossing for a new route for assistance to reach North Gaza, and to significantly increase deliveries from Jordan directly into Gaza. 

And over the past few days, over 1,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid have gotten into Gaza and with over 300 trucks going into Gaza yesterday — just yesterday alone. 

That’s good progress, but it’s still not enough. And we hope to see the progress continue and accelerate. 

This afternoon, President Biden will welcome President Marcos of the Philippines to the White House for his second meeting at the White House in as many years.  I know the National Security Advisor — Nat- — Jake Sullivan spoke to this on Monday, but I will reiterate what he laid out as well, which is that the President later will host the first-ever trilateral leaders’ summit between the United States, Japan, and Philippines. 

During President Biden’s meeting with President Marcos, the two presidents will mark the unprecedented strength of the alliance between the United States and the Philippines.  The leaders will discuss initiatives to enhance economic and energy security, bolster maritime cooperation, invest in critical infrastructure, and deepen people-to-people ties.  And President Biden will reinforce the ironclad U.S. alliance commitments to the Philippines.   

Following the meeting, the President will host the historic trilateral leaders’ summit.  As — as leading maritime democracies, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines share a joint vision for the future of the Indo-Pacific.  And with this — with this leader-level trilateral, we are — we are taking our cooperation to new heights. 

Our national security advisors met in Tokyo last June to initiate our trilateral cooperation, and officials from across our three governments have met on topics as varied as economic security and maritime cooperation. 

Today, the leaders will announce new initiatives to accelerate and surge high-quality infrastructure investments in the Philippines, enhance energy — energy security, deepen maritime cooperation, and strengthen partnerships on technology and cybersecurity. 

Our three countries embark on this new era of trilateral cooperation as trusted equal partners, guided by shared values and an unwavering commitment to a free, open, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

With that, Darlene, it’s good to see you.

Q    Good to see you too.  Thank you.  To jump off of what you were saying in your topper about Gaza, the USAID Administrator, Samantha Power, has said that she accepts as credible reports that famine is already underway in Northern Gaza.  Does the President and the White House share that assessment?  And if so, you know, you were talking about the progress —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — is good, but more needs to be done.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Exactly.

Q    What more can be done?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Exactly.  The progress is good.  More needs to be done.  I talked about the commitment that Israel had — the Prime Minister gave to the — to the President just last week, and we talked ab- — I talked about the port, and I talked about the new border crossings in Northern Gaza.  We need to see that open up, that move forward. 

But we’ve seen some progress — right? — the opening of more routes and also more trucks.  As I just laid out, we’ve seen more than 1,000 trucks in the last three days. 

Look, specifically to Samantha Power and her comments, our an- — understanding is that the latest reporting from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification indicates that the famine is imminent in Gaza.  And that’s why we’re trying to do everything that we can to uptick, obviously, the humanitarian aid. 

We know how dire the situation is in Gaza.  So, we are certainly deeply concerned about these reports.  And so, we’ve been working around the clock — around the clock to get more of that aid into Gaza.  And so, we’re going to continue to do this.  We’re going to continue to push Israel to increase the flow that is getting into Gaza. 

And like I said, we — I’ve laid out their commitments.  There are two other ways that we want to see their commitment continue, which is that port that I just mentioned at the top and just moments ago, and — and so, also those — the routes — the routes in — in Northern Gaza.

So, there is more work to be done.  But, again, a thousand trucks over the last three days is an improvement.  It’s good promise.  We need to see more. 

Q    Second, was there any reaction from the President to O.J. Simpson’s death?  Do you know if they ever crossed paths? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So —

Q    If so, how?  When?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I’ll say this.  Our thoughts are with — with his families during this difficult time — obviously, with his family and loved ones.  And I’ll say this — I know that they have asked for some privacy, and so we’re going to respect that.  I’ll just leave it there. 

Go ahead.

Q    Thanks.  Iran is threatening a significant attack against Israel.  With all of the U.S. assets in the region, will the U.S. provide assistance in thwarting this attack?  How is the U.S. preparing to respond?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, you heard from the President directly yesterday.  He mentioned this at the top of his press conference and laid out our concerns, certainly, about these threats that are being made.  And he made very clear as well that America’s support for Israel’s security is ironclad, especially against these threats against — that’s coming from Iran and their proxies. 

And so, the President made that clear as well when he spoke to President [Prime Minister] Netanyahu just last week.  As I mentioned moments ago, I want to be really careful.  I’m not going to get into operational procedures from here. 

Beyond that, we’ve made ourselves very, very clear.  The President made himself very clear just yesterday.  And so, just don’t have anything else to add beyond that. 

Q    But we certainly have done joint strikes against Iranian proxies in the recent weeks and months.  Should we be braced for joint strikes against — in response to an Iranian strike against Israel?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I want to be super mindful.  I don’t want to get into hypotheticals here.  What we have made very clear — obviously, we’ve seen the threats coming from Iran.  And so, we have made ourselves very clear where we stand in supporting Israel’s security.  That is ironclad.  Does no- — that does not change.  I’m just not going to get into — into details about our operational procedures from here. 

Q    Just one more on this.  General Kurilla is in the Middle East.  He’s making a stop in Israel.  He’s reportedly there to help, you know, coordinate with Israel ahead of this expected attack.  What does that coordination look like?  What does — what does that mean exactly?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I will refer you to CENTCOM. 

Go ahead, Jeff.

Q    Karine, just to follow up on that topic.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Has Iran been in touch via intermediaries with Washington to indicate that when it responds to Israel’s attack on — on its embassy — on its Syrian Embassy that it will not escalate?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, obviously, we don’t want this conflict to spread.  We’ve been very clear about that.  And we’ve been very clear that in — you know, to Iran that we’re not involved in the Damascus strike.  Right?  We’ve been also very clear.

I’m not going to get into public back-and-forth.  We communicated to Iran that the U.S. had no involvement in the strike, as I just mentioned, that happened in Damascus.  And we warned Iran not to use this attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region or attack U.S. facilities or person- — personnel. 

I’m going to be super mindful not to — to speak beyond that from here or elaborate further.  But we’ve been very clear.

Q    Can you say whether Iran has responded to your or the U.S.’s indications?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I’m just not going to get into public back-and-forth from here. 

Q    And following up on something that the President said yesterday with regard to Julian Assange.  He indicated that the U.S. is considering a deal.  To what extent does the White House and the President weigh in with DOJ on this, considering that it’s a DOJ-led run — or a DOJ-led issue? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, from here, from the podium, I’m not going to go beyond what the President said.  I’m going to refer you to the Department of Justice.  I’m just going to be super mindful from the podium from here. 

Q    But he weighed in.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I know.  I’m — I’m going to be super mindful from the podium.  I’m just not going to go beyond what the President — the President sa- — shared yesterday.  I would refer you to the Department of Justice. 

Go ahead.

Q    I have questions on two topics, Karine.  First on abortion.  Vice President Harris is going to Arizona tomorrow to talk about the need for abortion access in the state.  I know the President’s own views on this topic have been evolving over the recent decades.  Should we expect him to be talking in public about this issue? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So — so, want to be super mindful.  Tomorrow’s event is a — is a campaign event.  So, going to let the campaign speak to the Vice President’s engagement. 

Q    Is tomorrow a campaign event?  I thought it became official.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  From what I understand, it’s a campaign event. 

Q    Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I would refer you to her team, at least — at the le- — at the least.  But from my understanding, it’s a campaign event.  So, I’ll leave that there. 

But, you know, the President spoke to this.  He was shouted a question about — about what occurred in Arizona, how devastating and how wrong the decision to go back to 1864 to make it more difficult for women — millions of women. 

And, you know, he — he talked about that.  So, I certainly will — will refer you to his comments. 

The President has consistently been very clear about where he stands.  He stands for women’s rights.  He stands for women to be able to make decisions about their bodies, right?  He — he stands for reproductive freedom.  He put a statement out right after Arizona made their decision.  

So, he’s been very — you know, very steadfast and out front on this.  You’re going to hear from the Vice President.  So, you’ll hear directly from her.  We’ve been really clear.  And all of this — what we’re seeing right now in states — we have 21 states that have some se- — that have extreme bans — 21 states across the country. 

And a lot of — and that has been caused by the chaos that we have seen from the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  And that’s because, obviously, of the Dobbs decision.  It was a — it was a constitutional right for almost 50 years, and that has been taken away from women. 

And so, it’s caused chaos.  And we’re going to continue to call that out.  We should be fighting for women’s rights, women’s freedom, Americans’ freedom.  And that’s not what — that’s not where Republicans are. 

Q    I know other colleagues have questions.  But I also just want to ask about the State Dinner, because regulators in the Biden administration have sued both Amazon and Apple alleging anticompetitive behavior that has caused public harm.  So, why were executives from those companies invited to the dinner last?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Look, when it comes to the State Dinner, we invite an array of folks to come in.  And — and obviously, you know, it’s — it’s an important night of — especially when another country comes, it shows bipartisanship.  It shows the strength of that alliance that the U.S. has with that particular country.  The — the list varies, you know, and it — we — it’s always — it’s always different types of people that come to — to the —

Q    But the Justice Department said, just —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — less than a month ago, that Apple uses its control —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — over the iPhone to engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — saying that that lawsuit should send a strong signal to other companies. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And —

Q    So, what signal is the White House sending?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I hear your question.  That’s the Department of Justice to decide.  I do not —

Q    But the White House choose —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Oh, I — 

Q    — who to invite to the dinner.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, I — no, I’m not saying that the DOJ invited — invited people to the White House state dinner.  That’s not what I’m saying.  I’m saying DOJ moved forward with that particular case — that particular lega- — legal action.  I can’t speak to that.

We always invite an array of — of people.  We bring people from all corners of different industries here to the White House.  That’s what we do.  And I just don’t have anything else further to share.  And we — you know, I think it’s important that — that we do that, but I can’t speak to a DOJ legal case.  They took —

Q    So, the President doesn’t think that those companies did —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I —

Q    — anything wrong?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That is a legal action being taken by the Department of Justice.  I can’t speak to that.  They have their reasons of moving forward on that.  I — I can’t speak to that.

We invite a — a diverse group of people when it comes to events — not just state dinners — when it comes to events here — from even different sides of the — of the aisle.  That’s what — that’s what this President has done. 

I — I can’t speak to what DOJ — and their legal action.  I just can’t speak to that from here. 

Go ahead.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  Picking up on abortion.  When the President was asked yesterday what his message was to the people of Arizona in light of the ruling, he said, “Elect me.”  So, can you elaborate on what —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — he meant by that?  What can he do for those people?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, a couple of things.  I — I’m going to be careful because obviously he was talking about 2024.  I mean, look —

Q    Actually, he was talking about the 20th century, as I recall.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Mm-hmm.  Yeah, okay.

So, this extreme abortion ban, as we know, that we see was made possible because of the Supreme Court.  And we know what the last previous President said.  He said that, you know, he would — he would make sure that Roe v. Wade was no longer constitutional law, and he made that happen and — which has led to — to chaos — to chaos across the board. 

And so, I want to be careful for — for, you know, talking about an upcoming election, so I’m not going to speak to that from here. 

But we have seen what’s happened in last almost two years since Roe v. Wade has been overturned.  We’ve seen women having to be turned away from emergency rooms, not being given lifesaving — lifesaving needs that they — they have to get in order to — for their lives to be protected.  That’s been turned away. 

And so, what this President has done is he’s taken executive actions — as I’ve talked about, we’ve talked about.  He’s created a task force.  He has done and taken action to do everything that he can from the executive branch to protect women, but we need more to be done.  We need more to be done. 

And so, you know, we have to get Congress to act to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land.  And so, that is where we are right now.  But this is — this is — chaos was started by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  And we’ve seen where extreme Republican elected officials have been on this issue.  We’ve seen that. 

And so, that is something that we’re going to continue to make very clear to Americans, but I’m not going to speak to the upcoming election from here. 

Q    Okay.  And also, on an interview that the President recently did, he said, “I think what he’s doing is a mistake.  I don’t agree with his approach,” talking about Netanyahu.  Can you clarify: What is the mistake?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we’ve talked about how the President spoke to President — Prime Minister Netanyahu just last week; they had a 30-minute conversation.  It was direct.  They have known each other for some time.  They have spoken over more than a dozen times since October 7th — the tragic, tragic attack that we’ve seen from Hamas, a terrorist organization.  And they said October 7th — they said October 7th would be something that they want to see over and over again.  So, they’ve had those conversations. 

Look, the President has been very clear.  I started out this briefing talking about how humanitarian aid has increased, and that’s because of conversation — the conversation that the President had with the Prime Minister.  That’s important. 

We need to make sure that civilians are protected.  We need to make sure that humanitarian aid workers are protected.  The President has said that.  That is what our focus is going to continue to be, as well as making sure that this hostage deal gets done — working around the clock to get that completed so we can get hostages home to their loved ones. 

The President has always been very honest and direct with — with leaders, including the Prime Minister. 

Q    So, does — just one more quick one.  Does the President believe Netanyahu’s approach, as you sort of just laid out there, is to blame for the famine that we are now seeing in Gaza?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  What I will say is I — that is not what the President is saying.  The President has been very clear that more needs to be done to pro- — to protect innocent civilians.  More work needs to be done to make sure that humanitarian aid workers — who are doing incredible work, who are being incredibly brave — are protected.  And so, that is what we’re speaking to. 

And, unfortunately, we’ve seen more than 200 of humanitarian aid workers die, and that is something we do not want to continue to see.  That’s why the President had this conversation with the Prime Minister last week — a 30-minute direct conversation with the Prime Minister on what needs to be done to continue to protect innocent — innocent civilians.  That’s why we’re having conversation about that Rafah operations.  Right? 

And our two sides are committed to — con- — moving forward with those conversations.  They’ve been pr- — they — we’ve seen some progress.  We’re going to continue to have those conversations. 

And Israel has made commitments.  The Prime Minister kept — is — has made a commitment to the President.  We’ve seen an uptick of trucks — more than a thousand over the last three days.  That commitment is continuing.  We want to see more.  That’s good progress.

Go ahead, Justin.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  I also wanted to ask about the Univision interview.  The President said that he was “examining” ways to potentially shut down the border.  It’s a phrase that can mean lots of different things to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — lots of different people, so I’m wondering if you could maybe explain what the President means when he talks about shutting —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I think the bottom line with all of this, and I’ve said this many times: The — the number-one way to really deal with what’s happening at the border is — is to move forward with the bipartisan agreement proposal that came forward out of the Senate and that obviously was rejected by Republicans because of what the former President told Republicans. 

That’s what we want to see.  That’s how we deal with the broken system — the immigration system obviously being broken for decades now — and dealing with the challenges at the border. 

We’re always going to look at executive actions.  We are, and we have been.  But really — really, truly to move forward, we have to make sure that we get this proposal done.

Q    I — I understand that your preference is obviously for that legislation to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — Frankenstein back to life — (laughter) — but since the President himself said that you guys are looking at those executive actions, can you talk —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So —

Q    Is it — is the, sort of, universe here just trying to restrict asylum claims?  Is it changing processing times?  Or is it as extr- — you know —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So —

Q    — President Trump, when he talked about it, talked about le- — ending legal travel or legal trade across the border.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I think what — here’s what I can say.  We evaluate all options.  Right?  We do.  We evaluate all options as it — as it regar- — as it relates to executive actions.  We just have not made a decision on this yet.

But we believe, the President believes it’s important to evaluate those options to see what’s at our disposable — our disposal to move forward. 

And we haven’t made a decision.  But what we will continue to do is — because there is a proposal out there that is bipartisan, that is — would deal with what — the challenges that we’re seeing at the border, we think it’s important.  It was supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the — the Border Patrol unions.  It is a bipartisan, again, proposal that we think would be tough and fair.  We want to see Congress move forward with it.  And — and so, we’re going to continue to call for that. 

But as — as it relates to what we’re looking at, we’re always looking at options.  I just don’t have anything.  We’re always going to evaluate our options.  I just don’t have anything to share.  We d- — haven’t made a decision.

Q    And really quickly.  The trilateral today is open to the press, but the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — bilateral beforehand is not.  I was wondering, first, of course, to request that it be possible that we get in there.  But if not, if you could walk through why the White House decided — because normally those meetings are —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah, no —

Q    — open.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — it’s a meeting between — obviously, between the two countries.  I think it’s important to note it shows the strength of the U.S. alliance and how important it is for these two countries to — to speak with one another and have this meeting.

Look, I will say this.  Their schedules, the — both schedules were — were, you know, the President and the Philippines leader have a very packed schedule.  And so, we weren’t able to make it into — open that to the press. 

But what is important is there is going to be a trilat, which is a historic meeting that’s happening later today.  And you’ll have an opportunity — obviously, that is open to the press.  And you’ll have an opportunity there to see the three leaders together.

Go ahead.

Q    Two quick ones.  First, following up on Weijia.  In the White House’s view, who is to blame for the famine or imminent famine that we’re witnessing right now in Gaza?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Here’s our focus.  And — and I — I get the — the question.  And — and, you know — and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, obviously, is dire.  And that is why the President is doing everything that he can to get more humanitarian aid in.  And that’s what our focus is going to be.

Q    Was it a mistake —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Our focus —

Q    Was it a mistake not to push Benjamin Naten- — Netanyahu sooner to open Ashdod and Erez crossing, which would have allowed the prevention of what Samantha Power agrees is famine in Northern Gaza right now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But here’s the thing.  For — every time the President has spoken to the Prime Minister, there’s — part of that conversation has been to do more on humanitarian aid.

Q    So, why did it change now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  It didn’t change.  It is a — it was a continued — it was the conversation that — that —

Q    Why did Netanyahu respond differently now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That’s a c- — that’s a conversation with — for the Prime Minister.

Q    It wasn’t the potential that the U.S. would change policy —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  It —

Q    — as the President said?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That is — that is a c- — that is a question for the Prime Minister.  But what I want to make sure that is very clear here is that we have seen a thousand trucks go — go into Gaza over the last three days.  That is important.

They have — the Prime Minister made commitments.  They are upholding their commitments.  We want to see more.  We’ve seen good progress.  And what we’re seeing in Gaza — obviously, we have said over, over again that the situation — the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire.

Q    Can you help me — last question.  Can you help me understand one thing?  Yesterday, the President made very clear that the U.S.’s commitment to Israel is, in his words — he said it twice —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — “ironclad.”

How can the U.S.’s commitment to Israel be, quote, “ironclad” when, in the statement released on behalf of the White House last week after his conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that the U.S. would reassess its policy as it relates to Israel given the way it prosecutes the war in Gaza?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, the Pre- —

Q    How can it be ironclad and be reassessed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Look, this is an important relationship that we have with Israel.  It is a — they are our friends.  And we have always said that we are committed to make sure that Israel’s security, especially against these threats that we’re hearing from Iran, that they are protected. 

And we — and that is ironclad.  We’ve always been consistent there.  And we’re going to continue to be very clear about that.

The President made sure to put that at the top of his press conference because he wanted to continue that message, continue the message of making sure that America — we support Israel’s security, especially against these threats that we’re hearing from Iran and, also, their — their proxies.  And so, that hasn’t changed.  That hasn’t changed.

Q    Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.

Q    Just another on Israel.  House Republicans are expected to bring up this resolution that’s critical of the President’s work with Netanyahu.  They say in the resolution they oppose efforts to place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza, including calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Does the White House have any view on the resolution?  Is this constructive?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we believe the entire premise of — of the resolution is — is certainly flawed — is flawed, as — as it — as it claim of one-sided pressure against Israel, which this administration has supported militarily, diplomatically, and in — in myriad of other ways, both since October 7th and from our first day in office. 

So, we oppose it.  And we call on members to vote against it.

Q    And just one more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    The steelworkers union David McCall — leader — David McCall, was at the dinner last night.  You know, he obviously opposes this — this deal with Nippon Steel.  Was — was he invited because of this pending deal?  Was it —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No.

Q    — an opportunity to allow him to speak to Japanese leadership?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I wouldn’t make that connection.  I wouldn’t make that connection.

Go ahead.

Q    Thank you, Karine.  I just want to clarify one of your earlier answers.  Did the administration send a direct warning to Iran not to attack Israel?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We’ve been very clear.  I’ve — I’ve — we’ve been — I mean, you heard from the President — right? — and laid out our commitment to Israel and make sure Israel’s security — that continues.

And so, we’ve had those conversations.  I’m just not going to go into back-and-forth publicly.

Q    Well, the reason that I think it’s important to know is because you — you just shared earlier that, you know, the U.S. was quick to tell Iran directly that we had nothing to do with the strike in Damascus.  The President hasn’t minced words on his feelings about Netanyahu.  But we haven’t gotten a very clear answer on whether it was communicated directly to Iran, “Don’t attack our ally.”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I just said we communicated to Iran.  I just said that.  I said we’re not going to go into b- — public back-and-forth on this.  But I said we communicated to Iran and we said had no involvement.  That’s what I said — right? — on the strike in Damascus and warned Iran.  We warned Iran.

So, I said that at the top and I’ll say —

Q    That was my only question.  Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.

Q    On the issue of inflation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    There was a report in Politico on Tuesday that the former Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, was teeing off on the President’s, you know, talking about bridges all the time when he’s out on the campaign trail and not talking enough about the prices that people are paying.  We didn’t get any statement today on the PPI index.  You know, why — why aren’t we hearing more from the White House about the issues that people are facing at grocery stores and paying rent?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, the State of the Union, the President made very clear about what — he understands what the Americans are facing.  And he’s talked at almost every — every event that he’s had — crisscrossing the country after the State of the Union — about lowering costs, how important it is, and how there’s more work to do.  You hear that.

In New Hampshire and North Carolina, he spoke about his work to lower healthcare costs.  In La- — Las Vegas, he discussed his plan to build and renovate — renovate 2 million homes to lower housing costs.  In Madison, he announced his student debt re- — relief plan. 

He also spoke with Senator Sanders just last week about his progress lowering costs for prescription drugs and inhalers. 

This week, he spoke about plans to lower costs for childcare, home healthcare, eldercare.  He talks about lowering costs almost every event.  I just laid out the events that he did in March and in early April about how he’s making sure that — the number-one economic concerns that American have are lowering costs. 

And just like Ron — Ron said this.  He said that the President has been — he believes — he believes in what the President has been doing in crisscrossing the country and talking about the state of the Union and talking about how we’re going to continue to cut costs for Americans and making sure that we do not give big tax giveaways to corporations. 

That’s what Republicans are talking about.  They put out their — their budget, and their budget is to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.  That’s what they want to do.  And we’re doing the opposite.  We’re trying to protect that and lower costs for Americans.

Q    Is it at all inappropriate for the President to be commenting on what the Fed might or might not do with interest rate cuts?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, the President, unlast — unlike the last one, has been very clear about giving the Fed the space to make independent decisions about how they’re going to move forward on their monetary decisions.  The President has always been very clear about that, and he’ll continue to do so. 

And in his comment yesterday, he was also clear.  He said, “We don’t know what the Fed is going to do.”  And he was simply reflecting on public interpretation of recent datas, but he also said, “We do not know what the Fed is going to do.” 

And we’ve always given them the space to make those decisions — those monetary decision independently and make sure that, again, they have the space to do that. 

Go ahead.

Q    There’s been some discrepancies between what Israel is saying in terms of the number of trucks getting into Gaza that are full of aid versus some other aid groups, including the United Nations.  So, how is the White House exactly measuring what “good progress” is? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, I — I’m not going to get into the nitty-gitty — -gritty here.  I will leave it up to — up to — up to — up to them to speak to what they’re seeing.  But we believe — I mean, we’re talking about a thousand trucks in over three days.  That matters — a thousand trucks.

Q    But a lot of the U.N. folks are saying that some of those trucks are not completely full.  There are trucks that are half full that are being counted.  So, what are the measurements here in terms of what is effective aid delivery? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I think when we are hearing more than a thousand trucks and we’re seeing that — we’re — I just said 300 trucks just yesterday — that matters.  There’s more — there’s more access being allowed.  The trucks are being allowed to come in.  That matters. 

And so, look, that’s what — that’s what we are — we’re continuing to see.  We believe that Israel is keeping their promise. 

There’s more work to be done.  Right?  We need to see the ports open.  We need to — we need to see that as well. 

But we’re seeing progress here. 

Q    And in —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We’re seeing progress.

Q    And in terms of the distribution once the trucks are in — I mean, northern Gaza, obviously, experiencing a lot more famine that’s setting in, as was talked about earlier.  What is the White House tracking?  Or how is the White House, if at all, trying to facilitate some of the distribution?  And are — are there concerns about how it’s getting to the regions where it most needs to be?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, we’re going to continue to have conversations with the Israeli government on how they’re — how these — how this aid is being distributed.  We want to make sure — it is important.  Here’s what is important: It is important that the innocent people in — in Gaza, the Palestinians, get that im- — all-important aid.  We know what’s going on there.  Obviously, it’s dire. 

And so, we’re going to continue to have those diplomatic conversations, be very straightforward with our — with our Israel counterparts here. 

But they made a promise.  We’re seeing a difference here.  We’re seeing aid getting in.  Of course, it’s not going to be enough.  Right?  Of course, we need to see more progress.  Of course, we know what the — how dire the situation is in Israel — and I’m sorry, in — in Gaza. 

And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversation with Israel government. 

Yeah.

Q    Yeah, thanks, Karine.  You said President Biden still hasn’t made a decision on taking executive action on the border.  Why is there a holdup on making a final decision on this?  What factors are being considered before the White House makes a call on this matter?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I mean, look, Joe, we — we spent a couple of months working with the Senate Republicans and Democrats to make sure that we came up with a bipartisan solution to deal with the border — right? — to deal with the challenges at the border.  We believe that that was the best way — we still believe that’s the best way to move forward because it would be tough, it would be fair, and — and it’s gotten support from places that you would never think — right? — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Border Patrol union.  That’s important. 

And so, we believe that is the best way to move forward here.  We’re always going to evaluate other options as it relates to executive action.  But we are continuing to be clear here: The best way to move forward is to get that bipartisan proposal forward and for, you know, Republicans to not pick politics here, to pick a majority of the American people.

Q    I mean, is a matter of there being concerns about opening the administration up to litigation on this with executive a- — action, or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, that’s why we came up with the bipartisan proposal — right? — because we believe that the way to actually deal with this is legislation.  The — the way to actually deal with this is to turn legislation into law, obviously. 

And so, that is the best way to move forward.  And no executive action is going to have the full — the full resources that we need to — to get this done — to get this done. 

We’re going to evaluate all of our options, as we’ve been saying, but we have to continue to be really clear here.  Republicans need to act.  They need to move forward. 

Go ahead.

Q    Thank you.  Following up on my colleagues Weijia and Peter.  You said earlier that the President is doing everything he can on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.  I have to respectfully suggest that that’s not true, because it took until seven aid workers were killed last week for the President to even suggest that he would change U.S. policy and possibly condition humanitarian — condition defense aid on the humanitarian situation in Israel. 

So, how can you stand there —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and say the President is doing everything he can when, for weeks and weeks and weeks now, even as NGOs and aid groups warned that famine was imminent, he continued to refuse to pull on that lever and link defense aid to humanitarian aid. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, first of all, the President has done airdr- — we’ve done airdrops.  We’re going to do this pier.  We’ve talked about, for the past several months, how we need to do more and how we’re going to uptick our efforts to get that humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

We understand what’s going on.  We understand that the dire — it — what it — the dire needs there are.  And so, the President has — we’ve announced we’re going to do this pier.  Right?  We’ve done — done this airdrops. 

And so, we have had the conversation with the Prime Minister multiple times, with the Israeli government almost every day on what needs to be done.  And we’ve had those conversations with them. 

And so, now we are seeing an uptick.  That is important.  That is indeed what we want to see.  We’ve also been working on doing this hostage deal.  The President has been working around the clock. 

So, I take — I take offense to what you’re saying because it isn’t true.  The President has been working on this hostage deal for months now — for months now. 

Q    Respectfully, the hostage deal that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, wait — for months now.  And that is a way to make sure that there is a temporary ceasefire that could pr- — hopefully lead to something longer, get those hostages home, and get humanitarian aid. 

And so, that is what we have been also focusing on really diligently —

Q    But — but —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — for the last t- —

Q    But with all due respect, Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    With all due respect —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah. 

Q    — my question was on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the famine, which has been something that aid groups —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But that’s the same —

Q    — have warned about for weeks.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  The hostage deal includes humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. 

Q    But —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  That’s what he’s been working on — this humanitarian aid to get into Gaza — and, also, get those hostages home. 

Q    But why — why is it — because it sounds like —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But you’re saying that we haven’t done anything.

Q    No.  No.  I —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, but — no, but it’s what you’re saying.

Q    You said the President has done — has been doing all he can. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  He’s been working 24/7, around the clock — 

Q    I have — I have —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — to do what he can —

Q    — no doubt. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But —

Q    But he has not — he has not until recently even suggested that he would condition military aid, which Israel needs, on them allowing food and humanitarian aid into Gaza, which the people of Gaza need.  That has been — I hate to use the term —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — a red line every time I or any of my colleagues have asked —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I’m — I’m not —

Q    — in this briefing room about this.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And you’ve heard from the National Security Advisor.  I’m not going to get into red lines from here. 

Here’s what I can say: The hostage deal includes getting the humanitarian aid in.  We’ve been working on that.  We’ve been working on getting that hostage deal done.  We’re going to continue to do that. 

You’ve heard us say that we’ve worked around the clock to get those hostages home — which, by the way, includes American hostages as well — and getting that aid in.  We know how dire the situation is — is in Gaza.  We are very aware of that. 

And we’ve had conversations almost every day with our counterparts in the Israeli government.  We’ve had conversations, more than a dozen, with the Prime Minister. 

And so, it is important — it is important to get that aid in.  We understand that.  We understand that, and we’re going to have those conversations every day to make sure that it continues.

Q    Thank you.  And one un- — one more, unrelated. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Earlier this week, the former President met with Lord Cameron, the British Foreign Secretary.  He has, in recent weeks, met with Viktor Orbán, the leader of Hungary.  He has said he’s spoken to Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.  There is a long history of Republican presidential candidates meddling in foreign policy to undermine their Democratic opponents.

Without getting into Hatch Act territory — you know, telling people to vote for or against someone — is the administration concerned that this private citizen could be working against U.S. interests in the interests of his own political ones?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  And you’re talking about his meeting specifically with —

Q    With — with foreign leaders: Lord Cameron, his talking with MBS, Viktor Orbán, and others possibly.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, a- — look, as it relates to other — other leaders and those types of meetings — specifically, let’s — let’s talk about David Cameron.  The UK noted earlier this week it is common for officials from other countries to meet with representatives of different parties.  That includes the United States, as we routinely meet with political leaders of different parties as well. 

For instance, we hosted Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid yesterday — at the beginning of the week — at the beginning of the week.  And so, it’s not uncommon. 

I am going to be really careful here, because you’re talking about a presidential candidate.  I’m going to be really mindful.  I used David Cameron as an example.  But I’m going to be really mindful.  I’m not speaking beyond that. 

Go ahead.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Governor Moore is apparently on the Hill today.  He was there earlier this week meeting with lawmakers.  Is — has he been down to the White House to meet with officials to talk about funding for the bridge?  And can you give us an update on the President’s conversations with lawmakers to get that funding moving forward?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, we — yeah, look, we have said to Congress that we want to continue to work with them to make sure that the Key Bridge is back up and that the — Baltimore gets what it needs, certainly, to — to be whole again.  And obviously, we’re getting that port open. 

We’ve been in regular touch with Governor Moore.  You know the President was with him very recently.  And they have had continuous conversations about what Baltimore needs. 

The President said, when he was in Baltimore: We will be with Baltimore and the — and the state of Maryland for as long as they need to get this done. 

I don’t have a specific readout to share with you.  But we’ve been in regular communication.  Our Office of Leg Affairs has been in regular communication with members of Congress.  Our — our Intergovernmental Affairs folks, Tom Perez, has been leading on this issue as it relates to Baltimore and the needs there. 

And also, let’s not forget our — our Department of Labor has been very involved, as well, in making sure — you know, dealing with the economic situation and how we can help on that front as well. 

So, don’t have anything to read out as far as the conversations, but —

Q    And —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — we’ve been there for them. 

Q    And is there any better sense now that we’re, you know, a coup- — another week passed this — and the President’s conversation last week and the briefing he got there — on an estimate of how much this is going to cost?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, I don’t have an estimate for you.  We’re going to talk to our — our — the Maryland delegation, have those conversation.  Don’t have an estimate for you to share — to share. 

DO- — Department of Transportation announced $60 million really right — right aft- — the week after the — the bridge collapsed.  And so, we know that’s — that’s there to help.

Don’t have a — a final estimation.  Obviously, we’re going to continue to talk to the delegation.

Go ahead, Jon. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.  Back in late December, President Biden, in response to a question that I asked him, said that he could not think of one reason for presidents to receive total immunity from prosecution.  Four months later, does the President continue to have that same belief?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Don’t have anything beyond what the President shared with you. 

Q    And in two weeks’ time, a Supreme Court case will happen.  It’s Donald J. Trump vs. the United States. 

Earlier this week, there was an amicus brief that was filed by more than a dozen retired generals and admirals opposing this legal theory that Donald Trump and his lawyers have that he does have total immunity from criminal prosecution.  Does the White House, the administration plan to file an amicus brief of their own on this particular issue? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the Department of Justice.

Q    Is there any effort to have the former presidents — that you know of — to file an amicus brief taking one side or another on this particular issue?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Say that one more time.

Q    Is there any effort that you are aware of of the former presidents, the predecessors of President Biden — President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter — to file a joint amicus brief, either taking a position one way or another on this particular matter?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No. 

Go ahead.

Q    Thanks, Karine.  I’m going to ask you about inflation.  So, yesterday in the Rose Garden, the President said that when — when he came into office, inflation was skyrocketing.  But it was 1.4 percent in January of 2021, and that was the 11th consecutive month, at that time, under 2 percent.  So, was the President misleading Americans?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, when — when the President took office — and you know this — there was a pandemic.  It was closing down businesses, closing down schools.  And so, it was drastically disrupting the supply chain.  Let’s not forget about that.  And — and so, that’s what was going on.  And that caused inflation around the world to increase.  We know that. 

And — and then further increasing inflation was the — the Russia’s war — Russia’s war in Ukraine.  And in fact, many other countries are even worse off because of — of that — of — because of what we seen with Russia’s war. 

So, the President took historic action to deal with the disruption of the supply chain.  Let’s not forget what he did with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

And so, we have made progress in lowering costs.  We’ve made progress in dealing with inflation. 

But that’s what was happening when we walked in: the pandemic, the disruption of the supply chain.  All of these things were happening when the President walk — took office.

Q    But the President didn’t say “the supply chain was being disrupted.”  He said “inflation was skyrocketing.” 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But that’s what he was referring to.  Right?  That’s what was going on.  Those were the things that were happening right before us.  The pandemic — it was taking thousands of lives a day when he — when he took office; schools were closed — were — a majority of schools were closed; businesses were closing; and we had a supply chain that was disrupted.  And so, that’s what the President was speaking to and laying out. 

And then inflation — down the road — became even more — increased even more because of the war that Russia had t- — had — had taken on into Ukraine. 

Q    But the Fed’s — the Fed’s supply chain measure actually went down in November at that time.  So — so, is the President being honest about inflation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  The President has said what — he — he said what he saw when he was — when he took — when he took office.  The pandemic was happening, right?  It disrupted the supply chain.  We know — you know what happens when the supply chain is disrupted.  You know what that leads to.  And so, that’s what he was speaking to. 

And not only that, we — he had to — we also saw a war in Ukraine that — that Mr. Putin, an aggressive — aggression that Mr. Putin was — was putting into Ukraine — set forth.  And so, the President had to take historic action, take aggressive action in dealing with the disruption in the supply chain.  He had to — he released the Strategic Petroleum Reserve so that we can deal with the supply chain. 

And he continued to take action to lower costs.  And that’s what we’ve seen — whether it’s healthcare costs, whether it’s dealing with junk fees, whether it’s prescription drugs — lowering those costs.  That’s what the President took action in.

But we saw what was happening when the President took office.  We did. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Go ahead.  Okay. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.  As you know, there — there’s a tradition, dating back to the Truman administration, of offering intelligence briefings to major party presidential nominees.  President Trump was declared the presumptive nominee on March 6th.  Has the White House offered intel briefings to former President Trump?  And if so, how — have they begun?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I would refer you to the ODNI.  That’s for them to speak to.

Thanks, everybody.

Q    Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  See you tomorrow. 

2:51 P.M. EDT

The post Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared first on The White House.

4:21 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, today we mark a historic moment: the first-ever leaders’ summit between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines.  And it’s truly an honor to have you both here as we begin this new era of a partnership.
 
As you’ve heard me say before, a great deal of history in our world will be written in the Indo-Pacific over the coming years and the three — as the three allies, three steadfast partners, and three proud democracies representing a half a billion people.  And, today, we commit to writing that story and a future together, to building an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, prosperous, and secure for all.
 
This afternoon, we’ll discuss a few key areas where our nations are deepening ties.  First, technology and clean energy.  We’re securing our semiconductor supply chain — from securing our semiconductor supply chain, to expanding trusted telecommunications in the Philippines, to building a clean energy workforce, to expanding our cooperation across the entire board.
 
Second, we are deepening our maritime and security ties.  This is something I know you’ve discussed with Vice President Harris during her travel to the Indo-Pacific.  And I want to be clear: The United States — The United States’ defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad.  They’re ironclad.
 
As I’ve said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our Mutual Defense Treaty.
 
Finally, I’m proud to announce we’re launching an economic corridor in the Philippines as part of the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.  This is the first corridor in the Indo-Pacific.  It means more jobs for people across the entire region.  It means more investment in sectors critical to our future: clean energy, ports, railroads, agriculture, and much more.
 
I’m looking forward to discussing all this with all of you.  But, first, Mr. President, I’m going to hand it over to you. 
 
President Marcos.
 
PRESIDENT MARCOS:  Thank you very much, Mr. President.  And, once again, allow me to thank you for hosting us — Prime Minister Kishida and myself — in the White House for this very important agreement, which we are going to formalize today.
 
We meet today as friends and partners, bound by a shared vision and pursuit of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.  It is a partnership borne not out of convenience, nor of expediency, but as a natural progression of a deepening relation and robust cooperation amongst our three countries, linked by a profound respect for democracy, good governance, and the rule of law.
 
Today’s historic summit is a culmination of several preparatory engagements between our foreign ministries, our national security advisors, and our vice ministers, as well as the conduct of trilateral maritime exercises and joint development cooperation. 
 
But this meeting can be just a beginning. 
 
Facing the complex challenges of our time requires concert- — concerted efforts on everyone’s part, a dedication to a common purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the rules-based international order.
 
This is a meeting that looks ahead.  As we deepen our ties and enhance our coordination, we seek to identify ways of growing our economies and making them more resilient, climate-proofing our — our cities and our societies, sustaining our development progress, and forging a peaceful word — world for the next generation.
 
Today’s summit is an opportunity to define the future that we want and how we intend to achieve it together.
 
Thank you.  And I wish us all a successful meeting.
 
PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you. 
 
Mr. Prime Minister, the floor is yours.
 
PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  I very much appreciate that we are having the first-ever Japan-U.S.-Philippines summit.  And I would like to extend my deep gratitude to President Biden for your leadership. 
 
And, President Marcos, we met last year in December, and what a pleasure it is to see you once again.

In the midst of compound crisis faced by the global community, multi-layered cooperation between allies and likeminded countries is essential if we are to maintain and bolster a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

Today’s meeting will make history as an occasion that significantly pushed forward such initiative.

Japan, the U.S., and the Philippines are maritime nations connected by the Pacific Ocean and are natural partners.  We share fundamental values and principles and have supported regional economic development.

In order to secure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, I hope to reaffirm our intention to further strengthen trilateral cooperation and to present the specific way forward through today’s meeting. 
 
Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you very much, Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister.

To put it simply, when we stand as one, we’re able to forge a better future for all.  And that’s what this new trilat is all about, in my view: building a better future for people across the Indo-Pacific and, quite frankly, beyond — around the world.

So, thank you both for being here.  And I look forward to this first summit and many more in the years ahead.

And as we say goodbye to the press, we’ll wait a minute here, and we’ll get moving.

4:47 P.M. EDT

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Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer hosted Colombian Acting Foreign Minister Luis Murillo and his delegation at the White House on April 11, 2024 for the United States-Colombia High-Level Strategic Dialogue. Mr. Finer was joined by Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols of the Department of State, Assistant Secretary Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security, and National Security Council Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Daniel Erikson.  The delegations discussed ways to strengthen their collaboration on migration, peace and security, and reviewed recent regional developments, including in Venezuela.  During the meeting, Mr. Finer thanked Colombia for its leadership on migration issues, including its plans to provide new lawful pathways to reduce irregular migration in the region.  Mr. Finer also welcomed Colombia’s extension of the three Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Colombia, an initiative that the Biden-Harris Administration launched in June 2023 to facilitate safe, orderly, and lawful migration to the United States and other countries.  The United States-Colombia High-Level Strategic Dialogue helped further our shared bilateral goals across a diverse set of topics of mutual interest in advance of the United States-Colombia High-Level Dialogue in Bogota planned for May.

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We, the leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States, met today for the first Summit between our three countries. As three Indo-Pacific maritime democracies, our nations and the half-billion people we collectively represent are bound together by historical ties of friendship, robust and growing economic relations, and a proud and resolute commitment to our shared fundamental values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law. We gather today in Washington as equal partners and trusted friends, united by the vision we share of a free and open Indo-Pacific and international order based on international law—a vision we pledge to advance together for decades to come. We believe, fundamentally, that by working together, we can advance the security and prosperity of our own nations, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world.
 
Our historic Summit today is the culmination of decades of partnership and builds on the recent momentum of our governments’ trilateral efforts. In June 2023, our national security advisors met in Tokyo, and again virtually in December 2023, to establish a common framework for trilateral cooperation among our nations. In July and September 2023, our foreign ministers met to advance our shared agenda on economic security, development, humanitarian assistance, maritime security, and defense. In September 2023, Prime Minister Kishida, President Marcos, and Vice President Harris met to deepen our trilateral cooperation. Following today’s Summit, we intend to further expand trilateral engagements across our governments and to intensify our cooperative efforts across sectors.
 
Our three nations share a firm commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is connected, prosperous, secure, inclusive, and resilient. We welcome coordination and cooperation with a wide range of partners who share these goals. In that spirit, we affirm our unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity, and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We underscore our support for Pacific Island countries and intend to transparently and effectively work in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to support the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. Additionally, we welcome efforts to support a peaceful and stable, rules-based Indo-Pacific region, including from the Quad, AUKUS, and the U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea trilateral framework.
 
Promoting Inclusive Economic Growth and Economic Resilience
 
Our three nations resolve to promote enduring, inclusive economic growth and resilience in our countries and the broader Indo-Pacific. We are pursuing economic projects that advance our shared objectives: promoting broad-based and sustainable economic growth, and investing in resilient, reliable, and diversified supply chains. We support the continued progress of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies and the broader region. President Marcos welcomes President Biden’s recent Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines and the announcement of more than $1 billion in U.S. private sector investments that help promote the Philippines’ innovation economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resilience, as well as the continued U.S. commitment to mobilizing private sector investment in the Philippines. President Marcos appreciates Japan’s contribution of Official Development Assistance and private sector investment in its 2022-2023 fiscal year, which exceeded the pledge of JPY 600 billion made in the 2023 Japan-Philippines Joint Statement. We welcome the first trilateral commerce and industry ministers’ meeting that took place earlier today to advance our shared agenda. Our three nations commit to facilitating the steady implementation of ongoing and future economic cooperation projects toward the Philippines’ attainment of upper middle income country status and beyond.
 
We express concern over and strongly oppose economic coercion, stress the importance of a rules-based economic order, and underscore the need for close coordination in dealing with economic coercion.
 
Announcing the Luzon Corridor
 
Our three nations are proud to partner on the first Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment corridor in the Indo-Pacific. Today we are launching the Luzon Economic Corridor, which will support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas in the Philippines. Through this corridor, part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment-IPEF Accelerator, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States commit to accelerating coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including rail; ports modernization; clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments; agribusiness; and civilian port upgrades at Subic Bay. Japan has long been supporting connectivity in this area, including rails and roads, through Japan International Cooperation Agency. We plan to work with multilateral organizations and the private sector to attract quality, transformative investments. Together we intend to hold a trilateral event promoting investment in the Luzon Corridor on the margins of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila in May—the premier U.S. commercial event in the region. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also intends to open a regional office in the Philippines to facilitate further investments across the Philippines. The Luzon Corridor is a demonstration of our enhanced economic cooperation, focused on delivering tangible investments across multiple sectors. Japan, the Philippines, and the United States are also partnering to expand cooperation and investments in other areas of the Philippines.
 
Developing Critical and Emerging Technologies
 
We commit to harnessing the talents and ingenuity of our citizens to seize cutting-edge technological opportunities. The United States, subject to Congressional notification, and Japan, with support from Japanese industry, intend to provide at least $8 million for Open Radio Access Network (RAN) field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy based in Manila, to enable future commercial deployment and an open, interoperable, secure, reliable, and trusted information communications technology ecosystem in the Philippines. This builds on prior U.S. and Japanese investment of over $9 million for these projects in the Philippines. The government of Japan is also seriously considering further investments for the potential commercial deployment of Open RAN technology in the Philippines, including from the Global South Future-Oriented Co-Creation Project. The United States and Japan welcome the Philippines’ plan to pilot Open RAN in its national broadband program and free Wi-Fi project. The United States and Japan commend the Philippines’ commitment to develop a national Open RAN policy framework, reaffirming the Philippines’ endorsement of open, interoperable, and trusted architectures. This year, our three countries look forward to holding the first trilateral Cyber and Digital Dialogue to explore additional cooperation opportunities.
 
We intend to pursue a new semiconductor workforce development initiative, through which students from the Philippines will receive world-class training at leading American and Japanese universities, to help secure our nations’ semiconductor supply chains. This initiative complements the expansion of semiconductor investments in the Philippines that would strengthen supply chain resiliency among our three nations. Furthermore, through the CHIPS and Science Act’s International Technology Security and Innovation Fund, the United States and the Philippines plan to coordinate our efforts to develop and expand the Philippine semiconductor workforce to strengthen the global supply chain.
 
Advancing Climate Partnership and Clean Energy Supply Chains
 
Recognizing the existential threat of the climate crisis, we affirm our commitment to take urgent action this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with a 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit and accelerate efforts to build clean energy economies, while noting different national circumstances. Our three nations seek to expand trilateral cooperation in the Philippines on the deployment of clean energy technologies, including renewable energy projects such as solar and wind, to support energy requirements in the Philippines and help ensure a just energy transition. We also welcome the first Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels on March 21, where participants from more than 35 countries, including Japan, the Philippines, and the United States, recognized nuclear energy as an important component of a multifaceted and inclusive clean energy transition. Recognizing the Philippines’ request for further training and capacity building for scientists, engineers, and relevant personnel and policy-makers, our three nations seek to expand our partnership on safe and secure civil-nuclear capacity building. Under the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program, the United States and Japan plan to co-host a nuclear energy study tour in Japan for nuclear experts and policy decision-makers from the Philippines and other FIRST partner countries. We also plan to deepen trilateral cooperation on civilian nuclear workforce development through a trilateral dialogue this year, to advance the Philippines’ civil nuclear energy program.
 
Japan, the Philippines, and the United States are working together to expand cooperation for the transition to clean energy and create high-standard, clean energy supply chain jobs across our three nations through the mutually beneficial development of resources in clear, transparent, and fair market competition with strong protections for labor rights and the environment. Japan, the Philippines, and the United States support critical minerals industries in all of our countries as a way to promote resilient and reliable global supply chains for critical minerals. We share the goal of producing and supplying battery materials and batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems for the global marketplace. The United States, under the International Visitor Leadership Program, plans to manage a clean energy supply chain training program for select participants from Japan and the Philippines. In addition, the United States and Japan look forward to the Philippines being a founding member of the Minerals Security Partnership Forum, which signifies an important step towards securing and diversifying our collective clean energy supply chains.
 
Partnering for Peace and Security
                                                                                                                                                                 
Today, President Biden reaffirms the ironclad U.S. alliance commitments to both Japan and the Philippines, which have helped safeguard peace and security in the Indo-Pacific for decades. We underscore our nations’ unwavering commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight, and the importance of respecting the sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones consistent with international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
 
We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea. We steadfastly oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation. We reiterate serious concern over the PRC’s repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and the disruption of supply lines to Second Thomas Shoal, which constitute dangerous and destabilizing conduct. The final and legally binding July 12, 2016 Arbitral Tribunal determined that this feature lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and we call on the PRC to abide by the ruling.
 
We express our serious concerns regarding the situation in the East China Sea, and reiterate our strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, including through actions that seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands.
 
We affirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity, recognize that there is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.
 
We welcome recent cooperation among our three nations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific and commit to deepening that cooperation. The U.S. and Japan continue to support Philippine Coast Guard capacity building, including through Japan’s recent provision of twelve Coast Guard vessels and plans to provide five additional vessels to the Philippines.  Following the first-ever joint exercise between our coast guards in 2023, the United States looks forward to welcoming Philippine and Japan Coast Guard members onto a U.S. Coast Guard vessel during a patrol in the Indo-Pacific this year. Within the next year, our coast guards also plan to conduct an at-sea trilateral exercise and other maritime activities in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and safety. We announce the establishment of a trilateral maritime dialogue to enhance coordination and collective responses to promote maritime cooperation. We are concerned about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. We support the ability of Filipino and Japanese fisherfolk to pursue their traditional livelihoods. To build regional capacity and address threats posed by transnational crime, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and other maritime challenges, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States plan to expand our efforts to provide maritime law enforcement training and support to partner countries in the region.
 
Our three nations pledge to strengthen our extensive coordination to promote maritime domain awareness and deepen cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. We emphasize our commitment to advancing multilateral maritime domain awareness cooperation through such venues as the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). We intend to identify and implement opportunities for combined training with Southeast Asian regional partners. We are also launching a Japan-Philippines-U.S. humanitarian assistance and disaster response exercise, which could be integrated into trilateral or multilateral activities, including Balikatan 2025, to ensure our countries are ready and able to work together seamlessly and expeditiously in response to any crisis or contingency. We resolve to advance trilateral defense cooperation, including through combined naval training and exercises between our three countries and additional partners, such as the recently concluded Maritime Cooperative Activity between Japan, the Philippines, the United States, and Australia, and by coordinating U.S. and Japanese support for Philippine defense modernization priorities. We plan to conduct a maritime training activity around Japan in 2025. Japan also continues to contribute through its new “Official Security Assistance” cooperation framework.  The U.S. and the Philippines welcome Japan’s revision of the Three Principles on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its Implementation Guidelines, which bolsters cooperation through joint development and production to enhance our deterrence capabilities in the region. The U.S. and Japan also welcome the growing defense cooperation between Australia and the Philippines and between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.
 
Our three nations affirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strongly condemn the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) escalatory threats and unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches, including multiple intercontinental ballistic missile launches, which pose a grave threat to peace and security. We emphasize the importance of addressing the human rights and humanitarian concerns of the international community, including the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. We strongly urge the DPRK to comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and refrain from continued development, testing, and transfer of ballistic missiles to any country, including Russia, which has used these missiles against Ukraine. We assert that these DPRK actions have severe security implications for the Indo-Pacific and European regions. As we continue to affirm our commitment to international law, including the United Nations Charter, we reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. To that end, we recall the United Nations General Assembly resolutions stating that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal. Russia’s threats of nuclear weapon use in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are unacceptable, and we state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be completely unjustifiable.
 
We reaffirm our joint pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons, with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as its cornerstone, and call on nuclear weapon states to promote stability and transparency, and engage in substantive dialogue on reducing nuclear risks. As founding members of the “FMCT Friends,” we also call for the immediate commencement of long-overdue negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
 
We are committed to championing gender equality and the rights of women and girls in all their diversity. In this regard, we commit to strengthening the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. We highlight the leading role of women in preventing violent conflict, delivering relief and recovery efforts and pledge to advance the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peace and political processes. We welcome the Philippines hosting an International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security in October this year, to review global implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 ahead of its 25th Anniversary in 2025.
 
Finally, we underscore the importance of strong democratic institutions, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, gender equality, and human dignity. We represent proud, resilient democracies, mindful of our respective challenges but determined to overcome them, and we remain committed to safeguarding the human rights, media freedom, and labor rights of our people. These democratic values form the very foundation of our bilateral relationships and this trilateral partnership. These ideals have helped us build and sustain the mutual trust between us as leaders and between our people. United by these shared values, we commit to continuing our work together to address the consequential issues of our time, and to build a better future for future generations across our nations, the Indo-Pacific, and the world.
 
A new trilateral chapter between our three nations begins today.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines back to the White House. The two Presidents marked the unprecedented strength of the Alliance between the United States and the Philippines and underscored the historic achievements in bilateral relations since they last met at the White House in May 2023.  President Biden and President Marcos intend to continue the momentous investments into the special friendship between our two nations.        
  
PROMOTING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH
 
The United States and the Philippines are working together to promote inclusive economic growth in both our countries, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launched in 2022. The two leaders celebrate significant achievements in our economic partnership: 
 

• Investing in High-Quality Infrastructure:  Today, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States announced the first Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) corridor in the Indo-Pacific—the Luzon Economic Corridor—which will support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas in the Philippines. Through this corridor, part of the PGI-IPEF Investment Accelerator, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States commit to accelerating coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including rail; ports modernization; clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments; agribusiness; and civilian port upgrades at Subic Bay.
  
• Over the last year, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced new activities that will leverage over $500 million from the public and private sector to develop high-quality infrastructure in the Philippines. These activities support renewable energy, smart grids, vessel traffic management system upgrades, customs and supply chain modernization, healthcare solutions, and aviation infrastructure. To further these and future efforts, USTDA opened a new office at the U.S. Embassy in Manila in early 2024.
  
• The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is committed to mobilizing private sector investment in the Philippines, especially in priority sectors like infrastructure, critical minerals, and renewable energy. DFC is proud to announce a new $20 million loan to promote affordable housing throughout the country, bringing DFC’s total commitments in the Philippines to $80 million. DFC also intends to open a regional office in the Philippines to facilitate further investment across the country.
  
• Presidential Trade and Investment Mission: Following through on the commitment made when the two leaders met in May 2023, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo led a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission (PTIM) to Manila in March 2024. The delegation of 22 U.S. companies and organizations highlighted more than $1 billion in combined investments that promote the Philippines’ innovation economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resilience.
  
• Indo-Pacific Business Forum: The United States and the Philippines will co-host the Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) in Manila on May 21, 2024. The IPBF is the U.S. government’s premier business event in the Indo-Pacific region and will include over 500 senior business executives and government officials from across the region, supporting infrastructure in the region’s emerging economies and highlighting the economic ties that have contributed to prosperity and interconnectedness in the Indo-Pacific.
  
• Semiconductors Cooperation: In November 2023, the United States began a new partnership with the Philippines to explore opportunities to grow and diversify the global semiconductor ecosystem under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, created by the CHIPS Act of 2022. The United States has since partnered with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Philippines’ existing semiconductor ecosystem, as well as with Arizona State University to bolster workforce capacity and create a pipeline of new talent for the semiconductor sector in the Philippines.
  
• Critical Minerals: USTDA is supporting a grant to Eramen Minerals Inc. to develop an ore-to-nickel and cobalt processing plant for the production of critical minerals that are key elements in the supply chain for batteries and energy storage systems.  The State Department, under its Energy and Mineral Governance Program, provides technical assistance on nickel sector policy considerations, copper commercialization, fiscal regime development, and environmental and data management of the Philippine critical minerals sector. In addition, $5 million in USAID programming is helping to improve the Philippine business environment and governance standards to facilitate investments in minerals processing and other downstream industries.
  
• Support from U.S. Industry:  Private sector investment is a key element to promote economic development and growth in the Philippines. Our two countries are enhancing economic and commercial ties and welcome recent private sector investments in the Philippines to include:
  
• Meta’s announcement of its investment in the Pacific Light Cable Network international submarine cable system intends to support the Philippine government’s new National Fiber Backbone Phase 1. This project would connect the United States with locations on the Philippine island of Luzon, the most populous island and home to Manila. The National Fiber Backbone Phase 1 is estimated to be launched on April 19, 2024 and is planned to be one of the longest direct cable systems in the world, strengthening the digital connection between the United States and the Philippines.
  
• United Parcel Service (UPS), a PTIM participant, announced in March that it had agreed with the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corporation to expand its operations at Clark International Airport in the Philippines. The move is expected to strengthen UPS’ portfolio of integrated express, supply chain, and healthcare logistics services, enhancing time in transit and improving service reliability. Construction of the new Clark hub is expected to begin in February 2025, and it is expected to be operational in late 2026. 
  
• GreenFire Energy, Inc., a geothermal energy systems developer and PTIM participant, is implementing a letter of intent signed in February 2024 to supply Philippine steel company SteelAsia with geothermal power from GreenFire’s projects in the Philippines.
  
• Astranis, which builds telecommunications satellites, plans to launch a communications satellite in summer 2024. The company’s Philippines-based partner, Orbits Corp, plans to use the satellite to bring digital connectivity to rural and remote sites across the Philippines. Astranis is building, testing, and readying the satellite—named Agila, for the Philippine national bird—for its summer launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

INVESTING IN CLEAN ENERGY AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

The United States and the Philippines recognize the need to deepen technology cooperation, advance the clean energy transition, address and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and meet the emerging opportunities of the 21st century. The two leaders welcome recent milestones in advancing our clean energy and technology partnership:

• Supporting Secure and Reliable Networks:  The United States, subject to Congressional notification, and Japan, with support from Japanese industry, intend to provide at least $8 million for Open Radio Access Network (RAN) field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy based in Manila, to enable future commercial deployment and an open, interoperable, secure, reliable, and trusted information communications technology ecosystem in the Philippines. This builds on prior U.S. and Japanese investment of over $9 million for these projects in the Philippines.
  
• Civil-Nuclear Cooperation: In November 2023, our two countries signed a “123” civil-nuclear cooperation agreement, which, once in force, will facilitate U.S.-Philippine civil-nuclear energy cooperation and support climate and clean energy transition goals while securing the Philippine’s energy future. In addition, to support the Philippines civil nuclear sector, the Philippine Department of Energy intends to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Philippine-American Educational Foundation to promote capacity building and workforce development through scholarships and academic exchanges through the Fulbright Program. Under the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program, the United States and Japan plan to co-host a nuclear energy study tour in Japan for nuclear experts and policy decision-makers from the Philippines and other FIRST partner countries.
  
• Increasing Renewable Energy Capacity: As part of the Philippines’ efforts to address its energy needs, USAID and the Philippines have partnered and launched the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP). The first and second round of auctions held under GEAP resulted in 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy projects that will be developed between 2024 to 2026, increasing the Philippines’ renewable energy capacity by 65 percent. USAID and the U.S. Department of Energy are also working with the Philippines to develop the next phase of competitive renewable energy zones by supporting transmission planning to unlock the Philippines’ tremendous offshore wind potential. In addition, USTDA supported renewable energy activities across the Philippines, including two grants for the Philippines Energy Development Corporation to develop geothermal energy, a grant to Aboitiz Renewables focused on offshore wind power, a grant to the Rural Electrification Finance Corporation for utility-scale solar power plants with energy storage systems, and funding for an upcoming trade mission to the United States focused on advanced grid technologies.
  
• Cyber-Digital Cooperation:  The Philippines joined the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), the largest cyber partnership in the world, in April 2024. The CRI builds collective resilience and helps design policy approaches to combat ransomware. The United States and the Philippines plan to hold their first bilateral Cyber-Digital Dialogue in July 2024 in Washington. This dialogue focuses on helping strengthen the Philippines’ resilience against cyber intrusions from state-backed and criminal organizations and advance an open, interoperable, secure, reliable, and trusted information communications technology ecosystem in the Philippines. Supporting this work, USTDA is providing a grant to NOW Telecom Company, Inc., for a feasibility study to help develop a secure nationwide 5G network in the Philippines utilizing equipment from trusted vendors. Also, USAID has established eight community digital networks to expand internet access to remote locations in the Philippines, bringing 1,470 households online for the first time.
  
• U.S.-Philippines Space Dialogue:  The United States and the Philippines plan to hold our first bilateral space dialogue in May 2024 to advance cooperation on using space-based technology for disaster management, mapping of resources, pollution monitoring, the use of space for maritime domain awareness, and other areas.

EXPANDING DEFENSE AND SECURITY COOPERATION

U.S.-Philippine defense and security ties serve as the cornerstone of our alliance. As the United States and the Philippines work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the two leaders herald advancements in our cooperation:

• EDCA Sites Advancing Mutual Security and Local Investments: Since signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in 2014, the Department of Defense has allocated $109 million toward infrastructure projects at EDCA sites, including more than $59 million for airfield improvement at Basa Air Base, which will increase interoperability with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and enable Basa to serve as a logistics hub for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and other crisis response. The President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2025 includes an additional $128 million for infrastructure projects.  USAID will launch a new initiative in the next year to preposition humanitarian relief commodities at an EDCA site for Philippine civilian disaster response authorities to help provide urgent assistance to the Filipino people if needed in times of crisis. Prepositioning of commodities, combined with strengthened Philippines’ humanitarian assistance and disaster response capacity, including for EDCA-hosting communities, will contribute to greater crisis resilience and more effective crisis response. In partnership with DoD, USAID will also increase civilian-military disaster response trainings to enhance fluency with response systems between Philippine and U.S. civilian and military agencies and international humanitarian organizations. In addition, USAID has several ongoing projects in and around communities hosting EDCA sites, as it does throughout the Philippines, in the areas of health, education, economic growth, and environment.
  
• Bolstering Maritime Cooperative Activities: Over the past year, the United States and the Philippines increased their cooperation in the South China Sea to historic levels, including a complex multilateral maritime cooperative activity between Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States.  Additionally, U.S. and Philippine forces conducted their first-ever combined intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission over the South China Sea.  Our joint efforts demonstrate resolve, strengthen bilateral security ties, and expand multilateral cooperation and training among likeminded partners.
  
• Implementing Trilateral Coast Guard Exercises: The Philippine Coast Guard hosted coordinated port visits by USCG Cutter Stratton and Japan Coast Guard vessel Akitsushima in Manila in June 2023. Following the port visit and underway preparations, the visiting ships joined Philippine Coast Guard vessels for the first-ever trilateral at-sea coast guard exercise. As part of this first-ever exercise, our three countries held interoperability drills in communications and search and rescue activities. In the coming year, the United States looks forward to welcoming Philippine and Japan Coast Guard members onto a U.S. Coast Guard vessel during a patrol in the Indo-Pacific and our coast guards also plan to conduct an at-sea trilateral exercise and other maritime activities in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and safety.
  
• Enhancing Coast Guard Cooperation and Training: The U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, and Coast Guard inaugurated a technical training center for the Philippine Coast Guard Fleet in September 2023. The center has hosted approximately 200 students for various vessel-related training courses since its opening and builds Philippine capacity and capabilities in operating and maintaining its rapidly expanding inventory of vessels deployed throughout the country and in the South China Sea.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

Our two countries benefit from unique, shared bonds of friendship and community, to include the millions of Filipino-Americans who enrich communities across the United States and serve as the bedrock of our relationship. The two leaders are proud of recent achievements in our people-to-people ties:   

• Investing in the Next Generation of Philippines Leaders: State Department educational and cultural exchange programs provide learning and networking opportunities to emerging Filipino leaders. The Philippines’ Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Network (YSEALI PH) has grown to over 31,000 members, spanning a broad range of Philippine geographic regions and professional areas. This includes increasing numbers of YSEALI affiliated local government leaders, with 80 YSEALI alumni currently serving in local governments nationwide. The YSEALI Academic Fellowship will have 38 participants from the Philippines in 2024, and the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP) will include six participants from the Philippines. Our 9,000 exchange alumni include high-level Philippine leaders, including Vice President Sara Duterte, two sitting senators, and leaders of numerous prominent Philippine institutions from academic institutions to startups.
  
• Higher-Education Partnerships: USAID launched UPSKILL, a five-year activity in February 2024, intended to strengthen higher education institutions in the Philippines, and make them key drivers of growth by improving their innovation, workforce development, and community extension work. UPSKILL creates partnerships between Philippine universities and U.S. universities such as Arizona State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  
• Friends, Partners, Allies Reporting Tour: The United States plans to host an exchange program of ten Filipino journalists for a reporting tour in May 2024. The delegation will visit Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Honolulu to deepen their knowledge of people-to-people ties, economic partnerships, and security cooperation.
  
• Fulbright-Philippine Space Agency Scholarship Program: In support of the Fulbright Philippines program, the Philippine Space Agency provided funding for scholarship and training programs in the fields of space science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in addition to related fields such as space law and policy, business, economics, international relations and diplomacy, and communications. These initial resources are intended to support approximately eight students and scholars to pursue study and research in these fields at educational institutions in the United States.

ADVANCING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR RIGHTS

The United States and the Philippines are committed to our shared values of freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights, labor rights, and the rule of law. These values form the foundation of our bilateral relationship.

• U.S.-Philippines Democracy Dialogue: Following through on our commitment from 2023, the United States and the Philippines intend to convene a bilateral Democracy Dialogue in 2024. The Dialogue provides a platform for the United States and the Philippines to institutionalize discussions on human rights and democracy issues, as well as identify initiatives that can be pursued jointly to complement national efforts on the promotion and protection of human rights.
  
• U.S.-Philippines Labor Working Group: Under the U.S.-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the United States and the Philippines created a Labor Working Group to accelerate implementation of internationally recognized labor rights and facilitate dialogue among the Philippine and U.S. governments and labor unions. The Labor Working Group had its first meeting in December 2023 and plans to hold its next meeting in Manila in May 2024.
  
• U.S. Support for the BARMM Peace Process: In March 2024, the U.S. Department of State and the Government of the Philippines launched the Peace Accords Matrix Mindanao program which emphasizes the importance of respecting human rights and seeks to protect the rights of those living in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) by fully implementing the 2014 Peace Agreement. Implemented by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies with the Joint Normalization Committee and the Presidential Advisor on Peace Reconciliation and Unity, the Peace Accords Matrix program will train civil society to monitor and accelerate implementation of the Peace Agreement before the first-ever elections for the BARMM Parliament and the “Exit Agreement,” both scheduled for 2025.

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