Speeches and Remarks

Royal Missionary Baptist Church
North Charleston, South Carolina

10:53 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey, folks.  It’s going to be quick because I got to be downstairs, but thank you very much for being here.

This morning, the deal that I first put forward last May for the Middle East has finally come to fruition.

The ceasefire has gone into effect in Gaza, and today, we’re seeing hostages being released — three Israeli women, held against their will in the dark tunnels for 470 days.  Four more women will be released in seven days; three additional hostages every seven days thereafter, including at least two American citizens, in this first phase.

We pray for them and their families for their — their — going to be a long recovery ahead.

By the 16th day of the deal, talks will begin in the second phase.

This phase includes the release of Israeli soldiers and a permanent end to the war without Hama- — without Hamas in power or able to th- — threaten Israel. 

Hundreds of trucks are entering Gaza as I speak.  They’re carrying assistance for civilians, who have suffered enormously from the war that Hamas started on October 7th, 2023, nearly 15 months ago.  Today alone we anticipate several hundred trucks will enter the Gaza Strip as I’m — probably as I’m speaking.

And after so much pain, destruction, and loss of life, today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent.

This was the deal that I outlined for the world back on May 31st — many of you covered it at the time.  I was endor- — I — it was endorsed overwhelmingly by folks around the world, including the U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed the deal.  And developed a — in coordination with — I developed it in coordination with Egypt, Qatar, and Israel.

I’ve worked in foreign policy for decades, and this is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve been part of.

Many of you who’ve followed these negotiations will attest that the road to this deal has been not easy at all and a long road.  But we’ve reached the point today because of the pressure Israel built on Hamas, backed by the United States.

Some said my policy of a firm support for Israel is relentlessly pursuing diplomacy risked drawing America into a wider war in the region.

I listened to those voices, many of whom I respected a great deal.  But I concluded abandoning the course I was on would not have led us to the ceasefire we’re seeing today, but instead, it would have risked the wider war in the region that so many feared.

Now the region has been fundamentally transformed. 

Hamas’s long-time leader, Sinwar, is dead.  Hamas sponsors in the Middle East have been badly weakened by Israel, backed by the United States.

Hezbollah, one of Hamas’s biggest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield and its leadership was destroyed.

Even as we worked for diplomatic solutions in Lebanon, we provided ongoing assistance and support to Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah, including its efforts to take out the terror inf- — the terror infrastructure along the border between Israel a- — and Lebanon.

Israel’s campaign was extens- — extremely successful.  So much so that by the end of November, the United States had brokered a ceasefire in Lebanon. 

Hezbollah did what it said it would never do: It cut its — its — cut its deal and abandoned Hamas.  

And today, Lebanon — in Lebanon, there’s finally a new president and prime minister, both of whom support a sovereign Lebanon without Hezbollah ruling the show — running the show or playing any part in it. 

The Assad regime next door in Syria is gone, removing Iran’s ready access to Lebanon.

Iran is in the weakest position in decades after the U.S. military helped defend Israel from Iranian missiles and supported Israel’s military response inside Iran.

Just look across the region.

In Lebanon, there’s an opportunity for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah.  In Syria, a future free from the Assad — the tyranny of Assad.  For the Palestinian people, a credible path to a state of their own.  And for the f- — for the region — and the future of normalization and integration of Israel with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, with whom I’ve spoken with.

You know, we’ve had many difficult days since Hamas began this terrible war.  We’ve encountered roadblocks and setbacks, but we haven’t given up.

And a special thanks to my team, particularly Brett McGurk, who many of you know, who spent weeks and months working nonstop to reach this deal, many of — many of those weeks and months out of the — out of the country.

Today’s ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages is a result of a principled and effective policy that we pre- — I presided over for months.  And we got it — we got here without a wider war in the Middle East many predicted.  

And now it falls on the next administration to help iml- — implement this deal.

I was pleased to have our teams speak as one voice in the final days.  It was both necessary and effective, and unprecedented.  But success is going to require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.

So, as we reflect on the news from Gaza today, we also remember all the victims of this war.  They were — we are mindful — we are mindful that the pursuit of a lasting peace, while never easy or quick, must always be our calling.  

So, thank you all for listening.  May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  I’m looking forward to this deal being fully implemented.

And I’m sorry I’m not going to take any questions now because I’m waiting — there’s a whole congregation waiting for me, and I’m sure the remainder of the day I’ll have an opportunity to speak with you.

Thank you very much.

Q    Can you say anything about the condition of the hostages that were released today and the others that are yet to be released?

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I — I’ve just got a call saying the three are released into Gaza to the — out of the hands of — of the — of their captors, and they appear to be in good health, but it’s early to tell.  They’re literally being — they may be across the border, out of the Gaza Strip into Israel now; I’m not certain.

Thank you.

Q    Sir, any concerns about Hamas regrouping?

THE PRESIDENT:  No.

Q    Will you remain in the — in the — involved in the deal as it moves forward?

THE PRESIDENT:  No way out.  I’m proud of the deal.

10:59 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden on the Ceasefire and Hostage Deal | North Charleston, SC appeared first on The White House.

Royal Missionary Baptist Church
North Charleston, South Carolina

12:31 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Please.  Please, sit. 

Before I — before I begin, let me tell you what I told Jim about 20 minutes ago. 

I used to start off, as a young kid getting involved in the civil rights — my state, Delaware, to its great shame was a — was a — anyway, fought on the wrong side of the w- — (laughs).  My state was segregated by law.  My state, Delaware, was no different in terms of its laws than South Carolina or any other Southern state.  And like two other states, just couldn’t figure out how to get in the fight on the side of the South because it was cut off.  But the southern two parts of my state, they talk funny like y’all do down here.  (Pronounced in an accent.)  You know what I mean?  (Laughter.)

And — but all kidding aside, I — I used to — I used to go, when I got engaged to — in the c- — I — I didn’t plan on — I love reading these biographies on how I knew I was going to be president, going to run for president, et cetera.  Truth of the matter was that I’m a kid who — we talk about impediments; I used to ta- — t- — ta- — talk — talk like that.  I used to stutter.  Came from — came from a — a — you know, came from a place called Claymont, Delaware.  A lot of steel town — it all went bankrupt.  Come from Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Things didn’t work out so well because of the economy. 

But you know what?  Every time — every time I spent time in the Black church — I was telling Jim — I think of one thing: the word “hope.”  (Applause.)  No, not a joke. 

Pastor Holt, thank you for allowing me to be back at this pulpit.  And, Senator, thank you for that introduction.  I appreciate it. 

You know, you made a really moving sermon, Pastor.  And — and thank you, for the congregation of Royal Missionary Baptist Church, for welcoming me back to Charleston to worship with you. 

I prayed with you here in February of 2020 when I was running for president.  On my final full day as president, of all the places I wanted to be was back here with you.  (Applause.)

I first got involved — first got involved in public life because of the Civil Rights Movement.  I — I’d attend 7:30 mass at my church, then I’d go to another morning service at the AME Church in Delaware — the Black church, the spiritual home of the Black experience that helped redeem the soul of the nation, literally. 

That’s the truth we honor on the weekend we celebrate one of the political heroes — my political heroes, many of yours — Dr. Martin Luther King.

I have two busts in my office that I can see from my desk.  I had two political heroes growing up: Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy.  (Applause.)  No, I’m serious.  S- — you’ve been in my office, Jim.  There’s two busts fr- — that I see from my desk.

On Sundays, we often reflect on resurrection and redemption.  We remember Jesus was buried on Friday and he rose on Sunday.  We don’t talk enough about Saturday, when his disciples felt all hope was lost. 

Our lives and in the lives of the nation, we have those Saturdays; we bear — to bear witness of the day before glory, and some people’s pain — are in pain and they can’t look away.  But what — the work we do on S- — Saturday is going to determine whether we move a- — with pain or purpose. 

How can faith get a person, get a nation through what’s to come?

Here’s what my faith has taught me.  Scripture says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another person.”  (Applause.)  That’s what faith and friendship has taught me. 

And friends in South Carolina, like Jim and Emily Clyburn, I could not be standing here, I would not be standing — that’s not hyperbole — I would not be staying here in this pulpit were it not for Jim Clyburn.  (Applause.)

And although somewhat presumptuous of me, neither of us would be standing here without Emily, who we all miss dearly, and who actually made Jim endorse me.  (Laughter.) 

Thank you, Emily.  (Laughter and applause.)

South Carolina friends like Fritz and Peatsy Hollings, who believed in me when I got through one of the most difficult times of my life.  When I was a 26-year- — -9-year-old kid, I got a phone call saying my wife and daughter were dead and my two boys were not likely to live. 

Well, guess what?  Jim, Emily, Fritz and Peatsy, and so many friends in South Carolina have always been there for me, and especially in those Saturdays when I felt all hope was gone; those days when I buried pieces of my soul — my wife, my daughter, my son, Beau, who was the attorney general of Delaware; when I felt like there was just a black hole in my chest sucking me into it — anger and rage that I felt at the time. 

But then, friends — your friends bear witness.  They see your pain.  They pick you up to help you get to Sa- — to Sunday, from pain to purpose.  (Applause.)

I felt that faith of pres- — friendship when I prayed with this congregation — when they play- — played with the congregation and prayed with the congregation of Mother Emanual.

I went there and tried to confront [comfort] them on my own Saturday, but it was they who ended up comforting me, as we arrived together and found grace together.  Moving from pain to purpose strengthened my faith in the service of others, to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and all thy mind” and “love thy neighbor as thyself.” 

Very easy to say, but very hard to do.

But in the words — in those words are the essence of the gospel, is the essence of the American promise: the idea, as was mentioned earlier, that we’re all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

My dad used to say, “The greatest sin of all is the abuse of power.”  (Applause.)

We’ve never fully lived up to that commitment, but we’ve never walked away from it either because of you and your ancestors before us, who followed light of the North Star even in the darkness. 

After this service, I’ll be visiting the International African American Museum.  It captures the ongoing story of redemption.  I’ll tour the exhibits, and I’ll speak about the power of history to make real the promise of America for all Americans.  But this morning, I’d like to talk about the essential piece of redemption — the power of mercy and justice.

With experience, wisdom, conscience, compassion, and science, we know how healing and restoration from harm is a pathway to the kind of communities we want to live in, where there’s fairness, justice, accountability in the system; where the people we love go through hard times, fall down, make mistakes, but we’re right there to help them get back up.  (Applause.)

We don’t turn on each other.  We lean into each other.  That’s the sacred covenant of our nation.  We pledge an allegiance, not just to an idea but to each other.  That’s who we’re pledging allegiance to. 

That’s how I viewed my decision to issue more inv- — individual pardons and commutations than any president in American history.  (Applause.)  To inspire an end to federal death penalty by commuting most of those sentences to life in prison without parole.  To commute the sentence of individuals serving disproportionately hard, long, and harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenses compared to the sentence they would have received today in commuting [committing] that crime.  To show mercy for individuals who either did their time or a signi- — a significant amount of time and have shown significant remorse and rehabilitation.  To understand that supervision after release is critical to provide accountability and support, while knowing that government supervision over a very long time serves neither the interest of the person or the public. 

These decisions are difficult.  Some have never been done before.  But in my experience, with my conscience, I believe, taken together, justice and mercy requires as a nation to bear witness; to see people’s pain, not to look away; and do the work to move pain to purpose, to show we can get a person, a nation, to a day of redemption. 

But we know the struggle toward redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing, the distance is short between peril and possibility, but faith — faith teaches us the America of our dreams is always closer than we think.  That’s the faith we must hold on to for the Saturdays to come. 

We must hold on to hope.  We must stay engaged.  We must always keep the faith in a better day to come. 

I’m not going anywhere.  (Applause.)  I’m not kidding.

So, to the — (applause) — to the people of South Carolina, thank you for keeping the faith.  It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president, the highest honor for Jill and our family. 

And as I close out this journey with you — (applause) — I’m just as passionate about our work as I was as a 29-year-old kid when I got elected and wasn’t old enough to serve yet.

I’m in no ways tired.  (Applause.) 

I’ve always heard before, “We’ve come too far from where we started.  Nobody told me the road would be easy.”  (Applause.)  “I don’t believe — I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.”  (Applause.)

My fellow Americans, I don’t think the good Lord brought us this far to leave us behind.  (Applause.)

As we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy and generations before and since — women and men, enslaved and free — we have to remember one of his favorite hymns: “Precious Lord, take my hand through the storm, through the night, and lead me into the light.” 

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

I owe you big.  As they say where I come from, you all — you the guys that brought me to the dance. 

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

12:44 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden During Service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church | North Charleston, SC appeared first on The White House.

Cross Hall

2:02 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  And it’s a very good afternoon, because at long last, I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.

For more than 15 months of conflict that began with Hezbollah’s [Hamas’s] brutal massacre on October the 7th; more than 15 months of terror for the hostages, their families, the Israeli people; and more than 15 months of suffering by the innocent people of Gaza, fighting in Gaza will stop and soon the hostages will return home to their families.

The elements of this deal were what I laid out in detail this past May, which was embraced by countries around the world and endorsed overwhelmingly by the U.N. Security Council.

The deal is structured in three phases.

Phase one will last six weeks.  It includes a full and complete ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and — and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded. 

And I’m proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well.  And the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home.

In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

And during phase one, the Palestinians can also return to their neighborhoods in all the areas of Gaza, and the surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin, and the innocent people can have a greater access to these vital supplies.

You know, during the next six weeks, Israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements to get phase two, which is a permanent end of the war.  Let me say that again: a permanent end of the war.

There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two, but the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire will continue, as long as the negotiations continue.

I’ve spoken to the amir of Kuwait [Qatar] and the president of Egypt, and we have pledged to make sure the negotiations will keep moving forward for as long as it takes.

Then, when phase two begins, there will be an exchange of — for a release of the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza and the temporary ceasefire will become permanent.

And finally, phase three.  Any final remains of hostages who have been killed will be returned to their families and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin.

This — this is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring.  Today, Hamas and Israel have agreed to that ceasefire agreement and the whole — ending the war.

You know, those of you have followed the negotiations can attest, the road to this deal has not been easy.  I’ve worked in foreign policy for decades.  This is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever experienced.  And we reached this point because — because of the pressure that Israel built on Hamas, backed by the United States. 

Hamas’s longtime leader, Sinwar, was killed.  Hamas’s strongest supporter, Iran, launched attacks in Israel.  And those attacks failed after my administration organized a coalition of nations to stop them. 

And after I ordered the U.S. ships and planes to come to Israel’s defense, we also shaped Israel’s strong and calibrated response, destroying Iran’s air defenses but avoiding an escalatory cycle of an all-out war.

The United States also organized a coalition of 20 countries to stand up to attacks by the Houthis, including their missile attacks in Israel. 

Then Hezbollah, another of Hamas’s strongest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield and its leadership was destroyed. 

With our support, Israel s- — Israel negotiated a ceasefire with them.  And after that, Lebanon finally elected a new president who’s not — who’s not beholden to Hezbollah, and he can begin a new chapter for the Lebanese people.

All told, these developments in the region, which the United States helped to shape, changed the equation.  And so, now the terror network that once protected and sustained Hamas is far weaker.  Iran is weaker.  Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades.  Hezbollah is badly degraded.

And after more than 15 months of war, Hamas’s senior leaders are dead, thousands of Hamas fighters are dead, and the military formations have been destroyed. 

With nowhere to turn, Hamas finally agreed to releasing hostages.

You know, there was no other way for this war to end than with a hostage deal, and I’m deeply satisfied this day has come — finally come for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.

The Palestinian people have gone through hell.  Too many innocent people have died.  Too many communities have been destroyed.  In this deal, the people of Gaza can finally recover and rebuild.  They can look to a future without Hamas in power.

You know, the Bible says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”  Many peacemakers helped make this deal happen, including an extraordinary team of American diplomats who have worked nonstop for months to get this done.  Secretary Blinken led the effort.  Secretary Jake Sullivan — not — National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Jon Finer, Brett McGurk, Amos Hochstein, and the vice president worked relentlessly as we worked to deliver this deal.

I’d also note this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented, for the most part, by the next administration.  In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team.  This has been time of real turmoil in the Middle East, but as I prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak, and there’s a genuine opportunities for a new future. 

In Lebanon, there’s an opportunity for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah; in Syria, a future free from the tyranny of Assad; and for the Palestinian people, a credible — a credible pathway to a state of their own; and for the region, a future of normalization, integration of Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia. 

At the G20 in Delhi in September ’23, I rallied key countries behind a vision of an economic corridor from India across the Middle East to Europe.  That vision can now become a reality. 

There are risks as well, including ISIS and Iran, even in a badly weakened state, but — but we’re handing off the — to the next team a real opportunity for a better future for the Middle East.  I hope they will take it. 

Let me close with this.  My f- — my friend for years in the United States Senate, former Senator George Mitchell, who did so much to forge peace in Northern Ireland, once said di- —

about diplomacy — said it is a “700 days of failure and 1 day of success.”  “Seven hundred days of failure and one day of success.” 

Well, we’ve had many difficult days since Hamas began its terrible war.  We’ve encountered roadblocks and setbacks, but we’ve not given up.  And now, after more than 40- — 400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived. 

God bless all the hostages and their families.  May God protect the troops of all those who work for peace.

Q    Mr. President, how can you see the future of Gaza now — as you are saying, the implementation of this deal will be in the hands of the next administration and, basically, they will shape the future of Gaza.  So, how do you see this future?

And also, how much credit do you give to give to the Trump team for this deal?  Trump is already taking credit for it. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, this is the exact framework of the deal I proposed back in May — exact — and — and we got the world to endorse it.

Secondly, it’s America’s support for Israel that helped them badly weaken Hamas and its backers and create the conditions for this deal.

And thirdly, I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team, so I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice, because that’s what American presidents do.

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, can you tell us how many —  

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

Q    — Americans will be in the — how many Americans will be released when the hostages are being released?

THE PRESIDENT:  All the exact detail of how many of — people are being held and how many bodies will be returned and all this will all be forthcoming — all of it, all of it. 

Thank you.

Q    Mr. President, what’s your level of confidence that this deal will hold?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m confident. 

Thank you.

Q    Who does the history books credit for this, Mr. President: you or Trump?

THE PRESIDENT:  Is that a joke? 

Q    No.

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh.

Thank you.

2:13 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden on Reaching a Ceasefire and Hostage Deal appeared first on The White House.

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
Fort Myer, Virginia

3:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Every time I’m here, it’s made me so damn proud to be an American. And it must all of you as well.

One percent of you are defending ninety-nine percent of us. We owe you. We owe you big.

Just over 240 years ago, George Washington gave his farewell address to the Continental Army. Still astonished by their victory and by their unity, Washington asked, and I quote, “Who that was not a witness could imagine that men who came from different parts of the continent would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers?”

That’s what you are: one patriotic band of brothers.

Vice President Harris, Jill, Doug, Secretary Austin, Secretary [Chairman] Brown — two of the best decisions I ever made in my career, I might add — service secretaries — (applause) — members of the Congress, and, most importantly, this patriotic band of service members before me: Serving as your commander in chief has been the greatest honor of my life.

And while I’m deeply grateful for your thanks and affection, I’m here to thank you — thank you for your service to our nation and for allowing me to bear witness to your courage, your commitment, your character.

As I listened to the choir sing, I thought about it. You all represent what America is: character, honesty, integrity, commitment.

Like Washington, you’ve left me astonished. And I mean it.

Over the years, I’ve frequently seen you in action in war zones in Bosnia, Baghdad, Fallujah, Kabul, K- — I — I wasn’t going to bore the hell out of you, but — (laughter) — Helmand, Kandahar, and other places.

I remember one trip to Afghanistan as vice president. I was at a forward operating base, Wardak province, which is in eastern Afghanistan.

I was asked by a commanding officer to pin a Bronze Star on a soldier for his heroism. The soldier’s teammate was hit while driving in a Humvee. And this soldier did everything possible to rescue his colleague from the burning flames.

But when I went to pin the medal on him, the soldier looked at me and said, “I don’t want it. I don’t want it. He died. I don’t want it.”

And in that moment, all I could think about was the encourage and — incredible courage and humility and moral compass that this soldier had, that all of you have.

You’re the — this is not hyperbole. You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world — in the history of the world. (Applause.) That’s a fact. That’s not hyberbole. That’s a fact.

And there’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things, so many places all at the same time. And I want to be clear: You have done all — all these missions with strength and maybe even, importantly, with integrity.

When I asked you to end our nation’s longest war, you rose to the occasion, evacuating Americans, allies, and our Afghan partners; accomplishing the largest airlift in military history; and ending a war with the same courage that defined American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years.

I believe history will reflect that it was the right thing to do, but I know — I know it was hard. After decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including the withdrawal, the pain was still real.

And it was for me as well. Every day I still carry — every single day — (the president holds up a piece of paper) — it’s my schedule. On the back of the schedule, every single day at the top since I’ve been here, it says, “U.S.” — “Daily U.S. troops in Afghanistan” — “U.S. troops that have died in Afghanistan: 2,465.” Not “over 2,000” — “2,465.” “Troops wounded: 20,769.”

And every day we’ll honor their sacrifice for con- — continuing a mission for which they gave their lives: fighting terrorism, defending our homeland, and protecting the American people.

Six months after that war ended, when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. You didn’t hesitate. You kept Ukraine in the fight; trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops; bolstered NATO’s eastern flank; and, above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends. America stands strong with our allies. We never bend down. We bend down to no one, certainly not Putin.

And now, nearly three years later, Putin has failed to take Kyiv, failed to make large territorial gains, and failed to break NATO.

As a matter of a fact, when I spoke to him on the phone, I talked — he talked about — he wanted us to be the Finland of Europe. And I pointed out to him at the time, for real, that you’ll not only get the Finland of Europe, you’re going to get the Finlandization — not of Europe — you’re going to see Europe joining NATO — Finland joining NATO, Sweden joining NATO.

On America’s watch, dictators do not get to do whatever the hell they want.

Then, following Hamas’s terrorism on October the 7th, I asked you to de- — excuse my back, by the way. (Laughter.) My mother would be very upset. (Laughter.)

I asked you to deploy to the Middle East. Again, you stepped up, pulling long nights and long deployments to weaken Hamas, to defend Isa- — Israel against unprecedented attacks on [from] Iran.

Imagine had we not.

If we don’t lead the world, who will lead the world? Who?

And twice, you stood up to the attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Last year, I spoke with the women and men aboard the destroyer that took down the first Houthi attacks. It was the USS Carney. And I want you — to tell you all what I told them: We owe you. We owe you.

And back in May — yesterday I announced — proud to announce the ceasefire, the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The road to that deal was not easy. It was eight months ago I laid down the elements of that deal, in May — embraced by countries around the world, because they know we say what we mean; endorsed overwhelmingly by the U.N. Security Council.

It’s taken eight months of nonstop, relentless effort by my administration to get it done, but because of you — all of you standing behind me — because of you, because of so many diplomats and defense professionals, we kept the pressure on Hamas and we got it done. We got it done.

And finally, when I asked you to strengthen America’s position in the Indo-Pacific, in the middle of all the other conflicts and crises, you said, “No problem.” You kept China in check.

Remember when we take of- — took office, China was over — going to overcome the United States economically and politically by 2030. Everybody wrote that, except here in this building.

The skies open. The seas free. And our allies close.

You established our first trilateral defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom; our first trilateral partnership that some — we said couldn’t get done — with Japan and the Philippines; and our first trilateral partnership between Japan and South Korea.

Remember that? Camp David. They said we couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t me. It was America. We did it. That’s what America does — people know America is acting out of character. Our nation is so much and so many others as — did — our nation has asked so much of so many others as well.

Doctors and nurses helping service members to learn to walk again, eat again, speak again. The National Guard members who dropped everything to help their fellow Americans during the fires and hurricanes. The Marines guarding embassies around the world. The scientists making sure we have an edge over adversaries. Interpreters who make our missions possible.

And perhaps most importantly, your families. They sacrifice so much.

And I might add, the doctors and nurses — excuse a point of personal privilege, as they used to say in the Senate — came home one — I commuted every day — every single day, over two million one hundred thousand miles on Amtrak because I lost my family when I first got here.

My oldest son — one day, I went home — he was the attorney general — he said, “Dad, what are you doing Friday?” I said, “What do you want me to do?” He said, “I want you to pin my bars on.” I said, “What?” I said, “You’re married with two children.” He said, “I know, Dad, but someone has got to go.”

He spent a year in Iraq, won the Bronze Star, conspicuous service medal. But like many others, he was exposed to those burn pits, which are within about a half a mile of where he was — where he bunked. He had stage 4 glioblastoma, like so many other of our folks.

And I watched the nurses and the doctors who took care of him for so long.

And, by the way, I want to take a moment to speak to all military spouses, kids, and parents here today. Most Americans never see the sacrifices that you make every single day. They’ll never see all those holidays and birthdays with an empty seat at the dinner table because mom or dad was deployed. They’ll never see all the moves you had to make to new states, to new schools, to new jobs. But I see it, and Jill saw it.

She made it her life’s work. She’s — she’s done everything big and small, from helping military spouses find childcare and build their own careers, by hanging photos of deployed moms and dads outside classrooms of those National Guard folks, because then, ev- — every holiday, every time there’s — something is going on, their moms or dads weren’t there but then — but no one ever mentioned it. She started getting into every classroom in America to put a picture of an deployed mom or dad outside the classroom.

Even this morning, she held an event for — with Joining Forces, an historic White House initiative to support military and veterans’ families, because, as the poet John Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

So, for the last time as commander in chief, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the families. We owe you.

I’ve long said, as a nation, we have many obligations. But I said we only have one truly sacred obligation, and that’s to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don’t.

Over the last four years, Kamala and I have worked to make good that obligation. We passed more than 40 bipartisan laws to support you, including something I felt so strongly about: the passage of the PACT Act. I drafted that law, and we passed it. Now it’s already helped over 1 million service members and their survivors, their children have access to everything from college to health care.

These people were exposed to toxins — in my generation, to Agent Orange; my son’s generation, to burn pits. But we had to prove that what you had — what’s your disease, all the brain damage, all the brain cancers — were a direct consequence of those toxins or Agent Orange.

But we changed that. And I want to publicly thank the 9/11 Commission. All those folks, all those firefighters were so badly, badly damaged because of the fumes and the toxins associated with the — 9/11.

And those of you who are the Vietnam generation — finally, all you had to prove is that stuff dropped on you and it didn’t cause — they didn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt it caused your disease. Just state the fact and you’re covered.

We’ve invested over a trillion dollars in our defense industry base. In real dollars, that’s more than America did in any four-year period during the Cold War.

We also invested record resources to fight the scourge of military suicide. No more calling and saying, “My husband needs help. He needs help.” You get an answer.

We fought (inaudible) — we brought veterans’ homelessness to record lows, made historic changes in the military justice system, which has reduced the rates of sexual assault for the first time in nearly a decade.

We ended the ban on transgender service.

We took landmark steps to create more economic opportunities for military spouses.

We expanded opportunities for women in combat roles. And I’m proud to have appointed the first woman as a service chief in the history of this country. Clap for that, folks, because she deserves it. (Applause.)

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but the women in my st- — family are a hell of a lot smarter than the men in my family. (Laughter.)

Look, if there’s one thing I hope to take away from today, it’s this — this is not hyperbole: You’re truly the finest fighting force in the history of the world. That’s not hyperbole. That’s true.

Everything I and others have asked of you, you’ve done — you’ve done with honor, commitment, grit, and guts.

Let me close with a final request. I say it not as your president or commander in chief; I say it as a man who spent 50 years of his life serving his country in a different way: Remember your oath.

My son, Major Beau Biden, used to call it “home base.” That’s a set of principles, of values that give you light in darkness, that guide you.

It’s true that the military has the best weapons, the best training in the world. We have the most cutting-edge ships, planes, and subs. We have the smartest and most well-trained force on Earth.

That’s all critical, but that alone is not what makes us strong. This is not what brought Washington’s “band of brothers” together all those years ago. It’s our values. I mean this sincerely. It’s our values — American values. Our commitment to honor, to integrity, to unity, to protecting and — and defending not a person or a party or a place, but an idea, literally, unlike — as a student of history, I can say unlike any other in human history.

And that idea is: The United States of America is unique in the world. Virtually every other nation in the world is based on geography, ethnicity, re- — ethnicity, or religion, or some defining feature. But we’re the only nation in the world — only nation in history built on an idea — an idea — an idea that we’re all created equal.

We know the words by heart. We’re endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. That’s the idea that generations of service members have fought for, an idea you have sworn an oath to defend.

As a nation, we’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never, ever, ever walked away from it. And our country is counting on you to ensure that that will always be true.

As I said when I began, 1 percent of you defend 99 percent of the people across this nation. That’s why you all deserve a special place in our hearts and in God’s heart.

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

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
3:21 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony | Fort Myer, VA appeared first on The White House.

Vice President’s Ceremonial Office
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

 4:24 P.M. EST
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  (Applause.)  Hi.  Oh, my goodness.  We’ve got alum from years and years ago and days ago here.  (Laughter.)
 
     And — oh, I — I — you know, I saw so many of everyone who was here during the holiday parties, but I just have to say again: I am so proud of our team.  And this is a team that spans many years of doing extraordinary work on behalf of the people.
 
     And as you all have heard me say many times, I am fully aware that I am the public face of a lot of our work.  And so, I have the benefit of running into people all over our country who thank me.  And I will tell you, I am fully aware that when they are thanking me, they are thanking our team for the extraordinary commitment that you each have and as a team have to lifting up the American people — lifting up their condition, lifting up their hopes and dreams, and understanding, through it all, the nobility of public service.
 
     We have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in the service of others and doing it in a way that is fueled, yes, with ambition; yes, with a sense of almost stubbornness about not hearing no; and knowing we can make a difference.
 
     And I’m not going to go through the laundry list of all of our accomplishments.  We know what they are.  But I will tell you that everyone here has so much to be proud of, and our work is not done.
 
     And as you all know me, because we have spent long hours, long days, and months and years together, it is not my nature to go quietly into the night.  (Laughter.)  So, don’t worry about that.
 
     But the ceremony of signing this desk is something that is especially important, so I hope everyone will get a chance to see the desk.
 
     But I have actually, I think with the exception of Truman and Eisenhower, met every person who has signed this desk, every vice president — former vice president.  And, you know, we don’t all — yeah, all of them.  In fact, I talked to Mondale — Vice President Mondale just days before he passed. 
 
And I will say that although many of us might have disagreed — me and some of the previous vice presidents — on — on certain matters, policy matters, I think we all probably have shared a very common experience that is a through line, as evidenced by the fact that we have this tradition of signing this dec- — desk since the — 1940, I believe. 
 
And it is the work of caring about our country.  It is the work of understanding we hold these offices in the public trust with the duty and the responsibility to uphold the oath we take to respect, to defend the Constitution of the United States, to do our work on behalf of the people of the United States.
 
And so, I stand in a long tradition, as the 49th vice president of the United States — in a long tradition of vice presidents who have signed this desk, and I do so with great honor and with the knowledge that our work here has mattered.  It has meaning.  It has impacted people we may never meet, people who may never know our name, but who are ever, forever grateful for the work that you each and we all together have done.  So, I thank you all.
 
And with that, I’m going to pull out the Sharpie.  (Applause.) 
 
(The vice president signs the Theodore Roosevelt desk drawer.)
 
All right.  It’s done.  (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE:  MVP!  MVP!  MVP!
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  All right.  Doug is going to take a selfie.

     Okay.  Okay.

     THE SECOND GENTLEMAN:  I’m taking pictures now.
(Cross-talk.)

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s — we’ll get the press —

     Q    Madam Vice President, what’s next?
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Just — we’re going to continue getting work done until Monday, and then I’ll keep you posted.  (Laughter.) 

     Thanks, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
                        END                4:29 P.M. EST
 
 

# # #

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During this century, major powers have deployed economic sanctions and other restrictive tools of economic statecraft to an unprecedented degree. The number of sanctioned individuals and entities across the world has increased by an order of magnitude since 2000.[1] Tariffs and other trade restrictions have tripled over the past five years.[2] The percentage of OECD countries screening investments in sensitive sectors has risen over the past decade from less than a third to more than 80 percent,[3] while the number of countries with sophisticated export controls has quadrupled since their inception during the Cold War.   

These trends are global, and while precise data are difficult to source in many jurisdictions, the growth of restrictive economic measures is accelerating both from the United States and our strategic rivals. China, despite having issued the lowest cumulative number of explicit sanctions among major economies, increased its designation activity by almost 100 percent last year – the highest rate of growth within this peer group  – on top of its existing array of informal and extralegal barriers such as consumer boycotts, tourism restrictions, phytosanitary standards, and corporate pressure.[4]  Russia, for its part, now applies its own sanctions regime at scale and is  routinely weaponizing its commodity exports – including nickel, tin, titanium, refined uranium, and, of course, oil and gas – to coerce trading partners and adversaries.[5]

Structural Forces & Shocks Underpin the Rise of Restrictive Statecraft

In my judgment the trendlines are set to extend, for three main reasons.

First, sanctions and other restrictive measures are symptomatic of new and durable geopolitical realities.  We’re no longer in the post-Cold War, unipolar order that underpinned the so-called “great moderation” in the global economy.  Instead, we’ve returned to the “old normal” that prevailed for much of modern history, in which divergent forms of national governance and political ideology lead to intense geopolitical competition, less opportunity for cross-border cooperation, and greater risk of cross-border conflict. Since most of today’s “great powers” are also nuclear powers, barring catastrophic miscalculation, the logic of mutually assured destruction suggests that direct competition is likely to continue playing out mostly in the theaters of economics, technology, and energy rather than in kinetic conflict on the battlefield. Set against this backdrop, the range of potential outcomes – the promise and peril for major powers to rise and fall – has widened, ushering in an era of more active use of economic tools to shape the course of events.   

Second, these trends reflect opportunity. Though we’ve left the era of hyper-globalization, the world economy is still nearly as connected as ever – which provides scope for economic powers to break existing linkages (or threaten to do so) in exchange for geopolitical leverage. The ratio of global trade to global GDP has plateaued not far from the peak reached earlier this century.[6] Worldwide foreign direct investment declined sharply after the pandemic but is rebounding and still exceeds the long-term historical average at well above a trillion dollars per year.[7] Technology diffusion across borders remains largely unabated for all but the most sensitive items, in part because U.S. restrictions on technology remain narrow and targeted.[8]

Third, the succession of cross-border shocks this century – most prominently the COVID pandemic, but also financial crises, climate change, mass migration, and acute episodes of energy and food insecurity – has punctuated the sense among policymakers that the singular pursuit of maximal efficiency and minimal cost will leave critical supply chains insufficiently resilient. Here in the United States, the Biden Administration centered its geoeconomic strategy on making long overdue public investments at home and building partnerships abroad to strengthen and scale our productive capacity, but we also imposed targeted tariffs in strategic sectors to level the playing field against competitors playing by a different set of rules. Under the same rationale, many other leading economies have also implemented a similar mix of policies – including tariffs – to “de-risk” their supply chains from disruption and distortion.     

Sanctions (and their ilk) Are Never Costless

Indeed, there is a growing policy reflex across the world to navigate a more uncertain and turbulent world by applying a sanction, tariff, export control, or investment restriction. As President Biden has reminded us, however, these measures are never costless. In each instance, they weaken or sever economic bonds that took decades to build, with immediate and sometimes unintended costs for households and businesses. And though in our Administration we’ve deployed restrictive measures in service of a higher geopolitical objective – not as an end to themselves – their repeated use can invite skepticism about American stewardship of the global economy. 

To the extent that our use of restrictive tools is perceived as arbitrary or illegitimate, the incentive to “hedge” against perceived dependency on the United States will rise.  China and Russia are making every effort to increase their (and others’) capacity to do so in finance, technology, and other domains in which the United States has a dominant position.  

Take, for instance, China’s longstanding effort to build a cross-border payment architecture without any nexus to the U.S. financial system – and therefore outside the reach of U.S. sanctions authorities.[9] Several non-aligned G20 economies have already signed up for this platform, and while the volumes transacted are far from reaching a threshold of macroeconomic significance, they have already surpassed a threshold of geopolitical consequence, with a run rate large enough to intermediate a significant portion of Russia’s procurement of dual-use items from China that are finding their way to the battlefield in Ukraine.  

In addition to strengthening the incentives to hedge against the sources of American economic power, the unconstrained use of restrictive economic statecraft also invites efforts by adversaries to deploy these same tools to target our own and our allies’ vulnerabilities. 

This isn’t conjecture, but rather a description of reality. The PRC is by far the world’s largest supplier of manufactured goods, accounting for almost a third of global manufacturing in value-added terms – equivalent to the combined production capacity of the United States, India, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.[10] From this position of strength, China has already weaponized its economic leverage in its attempts to coax geopolitical concessions from trading partners such as Lithuania, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.[11]  It also has untapped potential to exploit chokepoints in a wide range of supply chains in which it has dominant market share and where the current production capacity of the United States and our allies is limited (for now), including medical equipment, ship-to-shore cranes, solar panels, EV batteries, pharmaceutical ingredients, critical minerals, and lagging-edge semiconductors. Russia restricted its export of enriched uranium last November, creating the risk of disruption to our and allied nuclear power production, and for years has attempted to coerce Europe by modulating its supply of natural gas.  Iran and its proxy forces have repeatedly exploited their control over the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping lanes to pressure the United States and its allies.

The Urgent Need for Limiting Principles

Against this backdrop, we have an urgent need to implement a set of principles that guide and constrain why, when, how, and to what extent we deploy restrictive economic tools.  I believe this effort should have three overarching goals: first, to sustain the credibility and potency of America’s economic statecraft toolkit for when we need it most; second, to prevent an escalatory tit-for-tat in the use of restrictive tools that could make the United States and the world worse off; and third, to update the rules of the international economic order we’ve worked to build and sustain for over 70 years.

I suggest we seek to embed five principles in the practice of restrictive economic statecraft, first in our conduct, and then among allies, non-aligned countries, and eventually our adversaries.  

First, economic and financial sanctions should be used sparingly, and in service of clearly defined and achievable geopolitical objectives.

Sanctions are a tool, and often a force multiplier, but never a standalone strategy. They should be designed and deployed in service of a geopolitical objective that policymakers outline prior to implementation and assess periodically afterwards.

Prior to articulating the objective, policymakers would be well served to analyze and explain – at least internally – how they expect an economic measure to influence the decision-making calculus of the target, how they are expected to reinforce other levers of foreign policy (e.g., military, diplomatic, humanitarian), and the degree to which a multilateral coalition is necessary for their success. 

These objectives could be pursued before an adverse “trigger” event occurs, either to deter a target’s malign behavior, degrade its capabilities, or both. Alternatively, or additionally, these measures can be imposed after a trigger event to impose costs, change the calculus of the target, or create leverage for an eventual settlement.   

In every instance, the objective should be achievable.  Efforts to engineer regime change through maximalist sanctions, for example, predictably fail to persuade the target (often an autocrat) that the benefits of sanctions relief outweigh the costs of giving up power (typically jail, or worse).   

Relatedly, the individuals or entities being sanctioned need to know why and for what behavior they are being penalized, so that the consequences of an action – whether it’s support for a terrorist organization, a serious human rights abuse, or the prosecution of an illegal war – are understood, such that the key actors can ultimately seek the reversal of sanctions through a change in behavior.

Second, the force of restrictive actions should be responsibly calibrated to their expected impact, spillovers, and uncertainties.

As the leading economic and geopolitical force in the world, restrictive measures imposed by the U.S. are capable of imposing great and lasting harm, producing ripple effects that are impossible to identify fully in advance. The force of our restrictive actions must be calibrated in proportion to their expected impact, spillover costs, and the uncertainties involved.

This requires the U.S. government to continue building the analytical muscle to conduct   rigorous, data-driven analyses on historical and imagined scenarios in which restrictive measures could be implemented – whether unilaterally or multilaterally, alone or in tandem with military and diplomatic actions, before or after a trigger event.

Assessments should highlight the degree to which the range of outcomes depends on the breadth of the implementing coalition, the target’s potential to mitigate the impact (e.g., by substituting the good or service with domestic supply or import from third countries), and our own vulnerabilities and potential for risk mitigation in an extended and escalatory conflict.

Third, policymakers must consider explicitly and upfront the efficacy of restrictive measures on the decision-making calculus of the target. 

The design of restrictive measures is typically prepared by those with expertise on how to impose costs on the macroeconomy and financial system of the target while minimizing spillovers to the U.S. and global economy.  While this is a vital and necessary contribution, the ultimate success of restrictive measures depends on how these costs are likely to influence the decisions of key actors in the target country or entity. It also depends on the extent to which these actors are influenced by their economic, political, social, and humanitarian impact on political elites and the civilian population. Meeting the analytical test of sufficiency requires the upfront and explicit integration of economic analysis with political intelligence.

Fourth, restrictive measures should be maximally coordinated, both with domestic stakeholders and international partners.  

Unity with partners multiplies the impact of restrictive measures – due to the higher impact it delivers on the target, the reduced opportunity for evasion, and the perceived legitimacy of the action.  This last point on legitimacy is critical: when we act together, it makes clear that our purpose is not the unilateral exercise of brute economic force, but rather the collective defense of shared principles that underpin peace and security.

It’s also critical that restrictive measures are explained to the range of stakeholders that transmit the force of restrictive policies to the real world – including private sector institutions, the regulatory community, and central banks.  Private sector actors, in particular, often represent the “front lines” of implementing financial sanctions and export controls, and we depend on their cooperation and sense of civic duty to spot and counter circumvention. In exchange, we owe them clarity and coordination.

Finally, restrictive measures must be flexible and adjust to unintended consequences, evolving economic conditions, and the reaction of the target.   

Even after exhaustive analysis and careful design, restrictive measures are blunt tools that are typically implemented under conditions of high uncertainty – often with little or no precedent from which to make confident projections about their likely effects.    

It should surprise no one when the impact delivered, or spillovers caused, are materially different than expected. Humility requires us to admit when we’re mistaken in our judgments and course correct as needed.

Separately, the context in which restrictive measures are applied inevitably evolves over time. The coalition that implements sanctions may grow or decline. Economic and financial conditions may change for the better or worse, both in the target country and within the implementing coalition. Political and power dynamics within the target country may harden or soften, along with the behavior we seek to influence.

All of these are reasons why we must have timely and demonstrated pathways to ratchet higher or lower the scale and scope of restrictive measures, to adjust the channels through which we generate impact, and to stand ready for mitigation of unanticipated risks or costs. 

Towards an Economic Geneva Convention

Under the leadership of President Biden and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, we’ve made important strides in putting these limiting principles into practice – not in a formalistic sense, but in real-time as events unfolded – and often in ways that were never made public. Each of the principles I’ve just described animated the design and execution of the sanctions program against Russia; the intuition of the oil “price cap” coalition; the logic of the “small yard and high fence” for our export controls and investment restrictions; and the targeted nature of the tariffs we deployed against China in strategic sectors. 

I’d like to close my remarks, and my time in government, with three recommendations on how to institutionalize these practices. Of course, it won’t be for those of us in the Biden Administration to decide whether and how these get implemented, but I believe emphatically they each would serve to advance our shared bipartisan interests of safeguarding America’s national security, while enhancing our economic prosperity.

First, much as we restructured our national security apparatus amid rising tensions in the aftermath of Second World War, this is a moment to evaluate whether the U.S. government’s organizational design for conducting economic statecraft is fit for purpose. Too many of our tools and subject matter experts are spread across too many agencies without a unifying set of incentives, objectives, and metrics for strategic success.  Japan pioneered the elevation of economic security to a Cabinet level in 2021, and we would be wise to consider following suit in this new era of geoeconomic competition – particularly to strike a deliberate balance between restrictive tools that impose economic pain and positive tools that offer the prospect of mutual economic gain. 

Second, we must continue to upgrade what I’ve described previously as the “analytical infrastructure” of economic statecraft – the personnel, technology, data, and connectivity to continually assess the efficacy, limitations, and tradeoffs of using our restrictive tools; to “stress test” and wargame their use against historical and simulated scenarios; to anticipate how and where evasion is likely to occur and build readiness for countermeasures in real time; to build surveillance capabilities that provide early warnings on developing threats; and to maintain the capacity to execute at pace, even if multiple conflicts emerge at once. While these and other demands on the practitioners of economic statecraft have grown exponentially, their available resources have increased only at a linear rate, and in some cases much less.[12]

Finally, we should begin a series of conversations that aim to forge a common vision on the rules of engagement on why, when, how, and to what extent restrictive measures are used.  We should start with our allies and then seek to build consensus with non-aligned or multi-aligned countries. Ultimately, in the same spirit of the Geneva Conventions, we must include our adversaries in a good faith effort to avoid creating a fractured economic system that damages lives and livelihoods across the world, and brings us closer to the hot conflicts that economic statecraft seeks to avoid.

[1] 2021 Treasury Sanctions Review and Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data.

[2] IMF data. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/05/07/sp-geopolitics-impact-global-trade-and-dollar-gita-gopinath

[3] BCG analysis of OECD data. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/economic-statecraft-is-back

[4] Castellum.AI data. https://www.castellum.ai/insights/2024-sanctions-year-in-review

[5] Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/global-sanctions-dashboard-sanctioning-soars-across-the-board/

[6] Oxford University analysis of World Bank data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/trade-as-share-of-gdp?tab=chart

[7] According to the Kearny 2024 Investor Confidence Survey, 88 percent of investors globally said that they were planning to increase their FDI in the next three years — 6 percent more than last year. Kearny has tracked FDI optimism since the 1990s through annual survey data. https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/foreign-direct-investment-confidence-index

See UN Trade & Development data for year-over-year global FDI. https://unctad.org/data-visualization/global-foreign-direct-investment-flows-over-last-30-years

[8] See National Security Advisor Sullivan remarks on “small yard, high fence.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/04/27/remarks-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-renewing-american-economic-leadership-at-the-brookings-institution/

According to the International Trade Administration, 95 percent of all items exported from the United States do not require an export license. https://www.trade.gov/us-export-licenses-navigating-issues-and-resources

[9]China has been working on a “one-stop-shop” since 2016 for messaging and settlement of financial payments through its Cross-Border Interbank Payments System, or CIPS, and most recently with its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment, the mBridge Project. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/not-so-fast-the-case-for-a-new-swift/

[10] Center for Economic Policy Research / Vox analysis of OECD data. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/china-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower-line-sketch-rise

[11] Australia Strategic Policy Institute analysis.  https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-02/Countering%20Chinas%20coercive%20diplomacy_1.pdf?VersionId=HZDwezgnFY5eitQqtEMEU7WuFci8S75z

[12] To give one example, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control is using IT systems developed in the 1970s.

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State Dining Room

11:36 A.M. EST
 
THE FIRST LADY:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Please.  Thanks.  Please sit.

Sheila, thank you.

You know, I met — first met Sheila when she was a senior military spouse when General Casey was the chief of staff of the Army.  And I always learned so much and drew comfort and strength from you, Sheila. 

Our Joining Forces executive director, Rory Brosius, had — has been — or had been a part of this initiative from the early days, and she led us forward from 2021 to 2023 with grace and compassion and determination.  (Applause.)

So, when it came time for a new executive director, I knew exactly who to call.  (Laughter.)  Because for any Joining Forces issue, we — we’d always call Sheila and ask for her thoughts and her guidance. 

So, I invited Sheila for tea, without telling her what I had in mind — (laughter) — and she walked out as our new executive director.  (Laughter and applause.)

Sheila, when I asked you to — to come lead Joining Forces, you didn’t hesitate.  As you said, it was, like, four seconds.  Like, “Yes, I’ll do it.”  (Laughter.)  And everyone in this room is so grateful for your leadership and your kindness and your friendship. 

Thank you.  I love you.  (Applause.)
 
So, to everybody else, welcome to the White House!  (Laughter.)  And I think this may be the last time I get to say that from this stage. 
 
So, this is the final event I will host here as first lady.  And I knew I wanted to celebrate you –the advocates, business leaders, senior spouses, and so many military families who have been with Joining Forces. 
 
It’s because of you that we’ve made so much progress on employment and entrepreneurship, on military child education, on health and well-being for the whole family. 
 
 Just 1 percent of our nation serves in uniform so that the other 99 percent may live in freedom.  We owe it to them to make sure that they, and their families, have the support that they need. 
So, in 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama and I launched Joining Forces.  And we made a commitment that we wouldn’t tell the military families what they needed.  We would ask them about the challenges they faced and do everything that we could to lighten the load of all that they carried. 

And after the Obama-Biden administration, I knew that I had to continue this work.  And one of the first things I did when Joe was sworn in as president was establish Joining Forces back in the White House — (applause) — with an executive director serving as a commissioned officer, a senior member of the White House team.

It was important that everyone understand that this work was critical to the Biden-Harris administration. 

We saw a new opportunity to write a new chapter for this initiative.  And along with so many of you in this room, we were determined to put an end to those excuses we’d often hear when trying to break down barriers for this community — things like, “Oh, it’s too complicated” or “We don’t know how.”

We came together to say military families deserve as much commitment from us as they give to us.  (Applause.)

Like the spouses who work for the federal government, you told me how hard it was for you to keep those jobs when you moved. 

And in 2023, Joe signed the most far-reaching executive order ever on federal employment for military and veteran spouses to expand opportunities to help you further the careers you have all worked so hard to build.  And believe me, I understood that.

And over the years, I’ve met with so many children of military families.  You know, they might not wear a uniform, but they serve too. 

So, I’ve brought military kids to the White House for, I think, every holiday celebration, displaying their art on the public tour so that everyone could learn about their experiences, and increased support for military caregiving children, which was so important.  (Applause.)  

Parents, you explained how tough it is to piece together childcare that’s affordable, especially as you move from base to base.  And that’s why the Biden administration lowered the cost of childcare for military families and expanded parental leave for service members.  (Applause.)

And this past fall, we also brought universal pre-K to military bases around the world. (Applause.) 

And the moms and dads of military kids with disabilities, you told me how your kids move to new schools, but their individualized education programs don’t move as easily.  So, I understood that, as a teacher.

The federal government and the nonprofit and private sectors are working to pilot seamless and secure data transfers of those specialized service.  (Applause.)  That way — that way, military kids and all students who move frequently will be closer to getting the services they need on the first day at a new school.

The military community is the one that the Bidens are humbled and proud to serve, to call our own. 

You know, at just 17 years old, my father decided that he wanted to fight in World War II.  And back then — and I guess it’s the same today — he was too young to e- — enlist at 17, so he had to get my grandmom’s permission to join.  (Laughter.) 

So, she signed the papers.  And my father served as a Naval — Navy signalman in the Pacific.  And his service shaped his life, and mine as well. 

And I’m proud that Joining Forces is part of what has defined my time at the White House.  

It’s been the honor of my life to serve as first lady and to support the military community that defends our nation and keeps it strong. 

For every new recruit who takes the oath to protect and defend the Constitution…

For every parent who knows the swell of fear and pride seeing their son or daughter in uniform, like I have…

For every military child who saves up all their stories to share during those few precious phone calls with a parent serving overseas, you all know this…

We must make sure that America lives up to their devotion and the sacrifices that they make — the sacrifices that all of you make every day. 

With all of my heart, thank you for your service.

May God bless your families.

I love you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END                 11:45 A.M. EST

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Oval Office

8:00 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, I am speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office.

Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration — by my administration, a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year.

This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be: working together as Americans.

This will be my final address to you from — the American people from the Oval Office, from this desk as president. And I’ve been thinking a lot about who we are and, maybe more importantly, who we should be.

Long ago, in New York Harbor, an ironworker installed beam after beam, day after day. He was joined by steelworkers, stone masons, engineers. They built not just a single structure but a beacon of freedom.

The very idea of America was so big, we felt the entire world needed to see — the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War. Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person but by many people, from every background and from around the world.

Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still.
Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She’s on the march, and she literally moves. She was built to sway back and forth to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test of time, because storms are always coming. She sways a few inches, but she never falls into the current below — an engineering marvel.

The Statue of Liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation, a soul shaped by forces that bring us together and by forces that pull us apart. And yet, through good times and tough times, we’ve withstood it all.

A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force, a nation of immigrants who came to build a better life,
a nation holding the torch of the most powerful idea ever in the history of the world that all of us — all of us are created equal. That all of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice, and fairness. That democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible. Our rights, our freedoms, our dreams.

But we know the idea of America — our institution, our people, our values that uphold it — are constantly being tested. Ongoing debates about power and the exercise of power, about whether we lead by the example of our power or the power of our example, whether we show the courage to stand up to the abuse of power or we yield to it.

After 50 years at the center of all of this, I know that believing in the idea of America means respecting the institutions that govern a free society: the presidency, the Congress, the courts, a free and independent press. Institutions that are rooted not — they just — not to reflect the timeless words, but they re- — they — they echo the words of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” Rooted in the timeless words of the Constitution, “We the People.”

Our system of separation of powers, checks and balances, it may not be perfect, but it’s maintained our democracy for nearly 250 years — longer than any other nation in history that’s ever tried such a bold experiment.

In the past four years, our democracy has held strong. And every day, I’ve kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history.

I’ve had a great partner in Vice President Kamala Harris.

It’s been the honor of my life to see the resilience of essential workers getting us through a once-in-a-century pandemic, the heroism of service members and first responders keeping us safe, the determination of advocates standing up for our rights and our freedoms.

Instead of losing their jobs to an economic crisis that we inherited, millions of Americans now have the dignity of work; millions of entrepreneurs and companies creating new businesses and industries, hiring American workers, using American products.

And together, we’ve launched a new era of American possibilities — one of the greatest modernizations of infrastructure in our entire history, from new roads, bridges, clean water, affordable high-speed Internet for every American.

We invented the semiconductor — smaller than the tip of my little finger. And now it’s bringing those chip factories and those jobs back to America where they belong, creating thousands of jobs.

Finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for millions of seniors.

And finally doing something to protect our children and our families by passing the most significant gun safety law in 30 years and bringing violent crime to a 50-year low.

Meeting our sacred obligation to over 1 million veterans so far who were exposed to toxic materials, and to their families — providing medical care and education benefits and more for their families.

You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we’ve done together. But the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow and they’ll bloom for decades to come.

At home, we’ve created nearly 17 million new jobs — more than any other single administration in a s- — single term.

More people have health care than ever before.

And overseas, we’ve strengthened NATO. Ukraine is still free. And we’ve pulled ahead of our competition with China. And so much more.

I’m so proud of how much we’ve accomplished together for the American people. And I wish the incoming administration success, because I want America to succeed.

That’s why I’ve upheld my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power to ensure we lead by the power of our example. I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed.

That’s why, in my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is the dangerous concer- — and that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.

Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.

We see the consequences all across America. And we’ve seen it before, more than a century ago. But the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trusts.

They didn’t punish the wealthy. They just made the wealthy pay the by — play by the rules everybody else had to. Workers won rights to earn their fair share. You know, they were dealt into the deal, and it helped put us on the path to building the largest middle class and the most prosperous century any nation the world has ever seen, and we’ve got to do that again.

In the last four years, that is exactly what we’ve done.

People should be able to make as much as they can, but pay — play by the same rules, pay their fair share in taxes.

So much is at stake. Right now, the existential threat of climate change has never been clearer. Just look across the country, from California to North Carolina.

That’s why I signed the most significant climate and clean energy law ever — ever — in the history of the world, and the rest of the world is trying to model it now. It’s working, creating jobs and industries of the future.

You know, we’ve proven we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy. We’re doing both.

But powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we’ve taken to tackle the climate crisis to serve their own interest for power and profit.

We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward and push faster. There is no time to waste.

It’s also clear that American leadership in technology is unparalleled — an unparalleled source of innovation that can transform lives. We see the same dangers of the concentration of technology, power, and wealth.

You know, his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. He warned us then about, and I quote, “the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power,” end of quote.

Six day lec- — six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the p- — potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.

We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and our very democracy from the abuse of power.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time — perhaps of all time. Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy and our security, our society, our very — for humanity.

Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation.

We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind.

In the age of AI, it’s more important than ever that the people must govern. And as the land of liberty, America — not China — must lead the world on the development of AI.

You know, in the years ahead, it will help to be — it’s going to be up to the president, the presidency, the Congress, the courts, the free press, and the American people to confront these powerful forces.

We must reform the tax code — not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin to pay their fair share.

We need to get dark money — that’s that hidden funding behind too many campaigns’ contributions — we need to get it out of our politics.

We need to enact an 18-year time limit — term limit — time and term — for the strongest ethics ref- — and the strongest ethics reforms for our Supreme Court.

We need to ban members of Congress from pra- — from trading stock while they’re in the Congress.

We need to amend the Constitution to make clear that no president — no president — is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. The president’s power is limit- — it’s not absolute, and it shouldn’t be.

And in a democracy, there’s another danger to the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning, and people don’t feel like they have a fair shot.

But we have to stay engaged in the process. I know it’s frustrating.

A fair shot is what makes America, America. Everyone is entitled to a fair shot — not a guarantee, but just a fair shot, an even playing field — going as far as your hard work and talent can take you.

We can never lose that essential truth — remain who we are.

I’ve always believed and I’ve told other world leaders America can be defined by one word: possibilities.

Only in America do we believe anything possible, like a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, sitting behind the — this desk in the Oval Office as president of the United States.

That’s the magic of America. It’s all around us.

Upstairs in the residence of the White House, I’ve walked by a painting of the Statue of Liberty I don’t know how many times. In the painting, there are several workers climbing on the outstretched arm of the statue that holds the torch. It reminds me every day I pass it of the story and soul of our nation and the power of the American per- — people.

There’s a story of a veteran — this is — a veteran, a son of an immigrant, whose job it was to climb that torch and polish the amber panes so rays of light could reach out as far as possible. He was known as the “keeper of the flame.”

He once said of the Statue of Liberty, quote, “speaks a silent universal language, one of hope, that anyone who seeks and speaks freedom can understand.”

Yes, we sway back and forth to withstand the fury of the storm, to stand the test of time — a constant struggle — constant struggle, a short distance between peril and possibility.

But what I believe is the America of our dreams is always closer than we think. And it’s up to us to make our dreams come true.

Let me close by stating my gratitude to so many people. To the members of my administration, as well as public service and first responders across the country and around the world, thank you for stepping up to serve.

To our service members and your families, it’s been the highest honor of my life to lead you as commander in chief.

And, of course, to Kamala and her incredible partner — a historic vice president. She and Doug have become like family. And to me, family is everything.

My deepest appreciation to our amazing first lady, who is with me in the Oval today, for our entire family. You are the love of my life and lifes of my love.

And my eternal thanks to you, the American people. After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands, a nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure.

Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith.

I love America. You love it too.

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor.

8:17 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden in a Farewell Address to the Nation appeared first on The White House.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Rhian.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Please.  I’m going home now.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Please — please sit down.
 
Rhian, thank you for that introduction.  Your commitment to conservation gives me so much optimism for the future, and I mean that sincerely. 
 
Before I go much further, I want to explain to you why we have these screens up here.  I was hoping we were going to do this in place so the American people — this being covered by the media — would see what we’re talking about — feel it, sort of taste it. 
 
This is as close as we could get.  I’m going to — as I speak, hopefully they’re going to bring up the areas I’m talking about so people get some sense of what we’re talking about.
 
But I want to make a special thanks to Secretary Deb Haaland whose incredible leadership these past four years has scared the hell out of me.  (Laughter and applause.)  I’ve been doing this job a long time not as president but in public life.  I’m afraid to tell her “no.”  (Laughter.)  She doesn’t take no for an answer on anything.  I promise you, she has a list — (laughter) — still. 
 
You’ve done a hell of a job.  I’m so proud to have nominated you for that.  And thanks for the job you’ve done.
 
As you all know, I was in California last week where the event was supposed to be held, but we had to postpone it because of the fires in Los Angeles — among the worst wildfires in California history.  It’s devastating. 
 
For Kamala and for so many of you, it’s home.  She and I and our entire administration have been working closely with Governor Newsom, Senator Padilla, Senator Schiff, the entire congressional delegation to make sure California has every possible resource to fight these fires and help the survivors — (applause) — and fight back against the misinformation that’s going out.
 
You know, that includes our heroic firefighters and first responders.  The hearts of the nation are with the victims and families left behind and all the people who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and so much — so much of the — to these fires.  It’s been devastating.  It’s incredible.  It’s incredible — thousands of homes lost.
 
Folks, yet another reminder a tragedy like this is not about blue states and red states, not about conservatives and liberals.  It’s about the United States of America — the United States of America. 
 
And now, to turn to today’s event, in addition to Secret- — Secretary Haaland, we have elected officials of the community and from the Tribal community — the “Indian Nations.”  I learned that a long time ago from Danny Inouye.  Just want you to know that, okay?
 
I once said “those Indian reser-” — he said, “No, no, no.  Joe, come here.”  Anyway, I was only 30 years old, but I learned it really quickly.  (Laughter.)
 
Look, members of the California delegation and Senator Padilla, Representative Ruiz championed legislation to establish these national monuments; key members of my administration, Brenda, chair of the Council of Economic and Quality [Environmental Quality]; and — and — you know, and the staff from the Bureau of Land Management and the Fire Servi- — the Forest Service. 
 
Like many families, Jill and I made it a tradition to take our children and grandchildren to national parks and monuments every year.  I wanted them to see — wanted them to see, feel, smell, taste, look at just what had been preserved. 
 
And every time I looked at it, I thought about Teddy Roosevelt and these people, what they — all the pre- — all they preserved.  Imagine had they not acted.  Imagine — imagine had they not acted. 
 
And I wanted them to witness the majesty and beauty of America.  It’s absolutely majestic.  Our natural wonders are the heart and soul of our nation.  And you all know it in this room.  They unite us.  They inspire us.  It’s a birthright we pass down from generation to generation. 
 
And that’s why, on day one of my administration and since then, we’ve been carrying out the most aggressive climate agenda ever in the history of the world.  (Applause.)  I mean it.  And make no mistake, I was able to do it because of you.  (Applause.)  I — no, I mean it.  But — I’m not kidding you.  Because of you, including the historic steps to conserve our natural resources for the ages. 
 
My second week as president, I signed — I signed an executive order establishing the first-ever conservation goal to protect 30 percent of all our lands and waters everywhere in America by 2030 — 30 percent.  (Applause.) 
 
I call this national campaign “America the Beautiful.”  That’s what it’s called: “America the Beautiful.”  And over the last four years, we have delivered, with your help, putting America on track to meet that bold goal. 
 
Restoring and creating new national monuments; conserving hundreds of millions of acres of lands and waters all across the — America, from New England to Minnesota, Texas to Colorado, Arizona to Alaska. 
 
I’ve also created the first national marine sanctuary in U.S. — in the United States proposed by Indigenous communities.  And I thank you for your push.  I thank you for your push.  (Applause.)
 
It stretches 116 miles along the California coast — 116 miles.  It’s going to protect the natural and cultural resources while also supporting our progress on offshore wind, I might add.  (Applause.)
 
And today, I’m proud to use my authority under the Antiquities Act to designate two more national monuments in California.  First, Chuckwalla National Monument — (applause) — in the southern California desert.  This monument will protect more than 624,000 acres of wildlife habitat and sacred ancestral lands. 
 
Ladies and gentlemen, together [with] prior designations, we’re going to create a contiguous corridor along the Colorado River of nearly 18 million acres of protected land — the largest in the lower 48 states.  And the area — (applause).
 
And for those at home who may be listening, that’s bigger than the entire state of West Virginia.  And it’s called the Moab-Mojave Conservation Corridor. 
 
Look, today’s action will also protect and preserve mountain ranges and rugged canyons, desert floors and deep valleys, sandy slopes, stunning peaks.  Tucked away in this desert landscape are beautiful springs and over 50 rare plants and animals.  Palm trees, cacti, lavender flowers, lizards and mountain lions, bats, bighorn sheep, owls, desert shor- –tortoises — I mean, this is incredible what’s there.
 
This action also preserves the mosaic of trails woven together by Tribal Nations that trace their origins back thousands of years — thousands of years.  And left behind on these trails are ancient ceramics, tools, rock art, sacred ceremonial sites that will also be preserved.
 
We’re also preserving ruins of old mines from the 1800s.  Their construction brove out in- — drove out Indigenous people from their homes, a reminder of the harm that was done. 
 
And there are remnants of a U.S. Army camp — trained units of desert combat shortly after World War — we entered World War II. 
 
For generations, this place of wonder has attracted outdoor enthusiasts, from hikers, horseback riders exploring these vast lands, as well as scientists and geologists who are studying how the earth evolves.  
 
Many veterans also returned here to heal their wounds, mental and physical, and invisible wounds as well — seeking solace and serenity in ways that only nature can provide.  And you all know that.  Only nature can provide some of this.  Nothing else.
 
And next door to this monument, solar energy is being built, which proves what I’ve often said: We don’t have to choose between the environment and the economy or between conservation and clean energy.  We can do both at the same time.  (Applause.)  At the same time.
 
This monument offers a perfect road map for how to strike that balance.  It’s a key element of our climate agenda.  It includes the most significant climate law ever in the history of the world.  That’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact.
 
A law that’s positioned us to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030; that’s generated $300 billion so far in new private sector clean energy investment — $300 billion — and that’s creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and unleashing a manufacturing boom all across America.  You know, and this matters a great deal. 
 
Second — the second national monument I’m designating today is this — these — this is important.  I — I mispronounced it the first time — (laughter) — Sáttítla Highlands in Northern California.  (Applause.)
 
Two hundred — 240,000 acres of mountains that contain pristine waters and forests and stunning rock formations, laga — lava fields, craters, and volcanic activity from — volcanic activity centuries ago.  At the center of these highlands, a dormant volcano cradles a beautiful lake inside the summit.  
 
The Highlands are home for countless plants, animals, including fox, frogs, bald eagles, bumblebees. 
 
The night skies there are darkest in America, and distant galaxies and stars are extra visible.  It’s incredible.
 
In the 1960s, these lava formations were used by NASA to train astronauts on Apollo missions how to observe and take samples from the moon.  And ever since, this landscape support California’s outdoor recreation economy, from biking, hunting, fishing, canoeing, and so much more. 
 
This area is also sacred in many — sacred to many Tribal Nations so were violently — who were violently forced to leave their homes.  You know, they held ancient ceremonies here.  They found sources of reverence and healing here.  And they’re preserving lands fundamental to who they are and their way of life. 
 
Folks, it’s important.
 
Today’s monument announcements build on another conservation action I took.  Last week, I signed two directives to protect the entire East Coast, West Coast, and Florida Coast of the eastern Gulf and parts of the Alaskan Coast from offshore drilling for natural gas.  (Applause.)  And I might add, that is a big deal.  (Laughter.)
 
My state is only three feet above sea level.  (Laughter.)  Oh, you’re laughing, but it’s important.  Nearly 40 percent of Americans live in coastal communities. 
 
And it’s not only good for the environment; it’s good for our economy.  It’ll protect coastal fishing industry that generates $320 billion of income a year, beach tourism that generates nearly $220 billion annually, and 3 million American jobs.  
 
It also saves us billions in potential damages by avoiding oils spills, like Deepwater Horizon. 
 
You know, in the spirit of conserving not just the waters and lands but our history, I did something else.  I became the first American president to formally recognize a group of mostly Native Hawaiians.  They lived for years on uninhabited Pacific Islands in the run-up to World War II to claim them for the United States.  As a nation, we honor their service, sacrifice as patriots to our country and stewards of the land.  We owe them.
 
Let me close with this.  As president, I’ve had the privilege of bestowing our nation’s highest honors on the world’s preeminent environmental leaders. 
 
Two weeks ago, I bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Jane Goodell [Goodall].  Well, guess what?  She memor- — she has memorialized a global movement to protect the planet.  She’s done an incredible job.
 
In October, I bestowed the National Medal of the Arts on Clyde Butcher, who grew up in California and became America’s most acclaimed landscape photographer today.  Clyde once said, quote, “Wilderness — wilderness is a spiritual necessity.”  I’d add that our wilderness is a national necessity.  
 
Over the past four years, I am proud to have kept my commitment to protect more land and water than any president in American history: more than 670 million acres — bigger than the size of Texas and Alaska combined.  (Applause.)  And without — without you standing up with me, we couldn’t ever done it. 
 
It’s about our planet, our people.  It’s about America itself.  Our outdoor treasures are the pride of our country, a bond between the physical and spiritual world, a bridge to our past and to our future.  Conserving them not only protects the livelihoods of people who depend on them; it preserves a key piece of our history and full — a full American story. 
 
It unites us through the ages.  It connects us to something bigger than ourselves.  And above all, it reminds of who we are — who we are.
 
I just had another baby grandchild born.  Guess what?  (Applause.)  Actually, to be precise — I hate to say it — a great-granddaughter — (laughter) — -son — great-grandson. 
 
And guess what?  Think what this means for your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren.  I mean it sincerely.  Think of what it means if we don’t do this.
 
Above all, it reminds us of who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  And there’s nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. 
 
I want to thank you all again, because I’m not — this is not hyperbole.  We could’ve never done any of this without the support of the people in this room.  You stepped up.  You made the case.  People listened to you.  Ordinary people listened to you about what — how important this is.
 
And, by the way, if I had my way, I’d make sure everyone can see the natural wonders, because they’d have a more reverent view of who we are.
 
So, folks, God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
The first bill I’m signing is the establishment of the California Chuckwalla National Monument.  (Applause.)
 
Today is the 14th, right?
 
PARTICIPANT:  Yes.
 
(The bill is signed.)  (Applause.)
 
And the s- — the signing pen goes to the secretary, because I’m afraid not to give it to her.  (Laughter.)  No, you’ve done an incredible job, and I’ll get each of you a signing pen.
 
All right. 
 
SECRETARY HAALAND:  Thank you, sir.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  You’re welcome.
 
The second I’m signing is the establishment of the Highlands National Monument.  Here we go.
 
I’ve got to fill this in?
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Sáttítla.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I know, Santino [Sáttítla].  I’m trying — why — the day of — on this hand — you’ll fill in the dates here, guys?  (Laughter.)  All right.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The 14th, sir.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  No, I know that, but I don’t want to —
 
(The bill is signed.) 
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
 
(Inaudible.)  (Laughter.)  Thank you all.  I really mean it, none of this would’ve happened without you guys.  I really, really, genuinely mean it.  This was a national movement you generated.
 
So, thank you.  (Applause.)

The post Remarks by President Biden Establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in California appeared first on The White House.

U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

2:23 P.M. EST

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good afternoon.  (Applause.)  If I didn’t say anything, this would go on all afternoon — (laughter) — for good reason.

Mr. President, it is an honor to welcome you back to the State Department.

On day one of this administration, you shared a few things with me.  You told me something that we long discussed, reminded me that American engagement, American leadership is essential. 

If we’re not engaged, if we’re not leading, you said, someone else is likely to be doing it and probably not in a way that advances our interests or values.  Or maybe no one’s doing it, and then we’re likely to have a vacuum filled with bad things before it’s filled with good things. 

But the other thing you told me, Mr. President, was that there’s a greater premium than ever before on finding ways to cooperate, to coordinate, to work with other countries if we’re going to get done what we need to get done for the American people. 

And so, you instructed me, you instructed all of us to get out there, to rebuild, to rejuvenate, even to reimagine our alliances and partnerships. 

And I remember what you told me then.  You said, “We don’t know when this is going to make a difference, when we’re going to need these friendships, these partnerships, but someday, some way, somewhere, they’re going to be critical for advancing the national interest.”  And that’s exactly what the men and women of this department have done, and we’ve been able to carry out that charge for two reasons. 

First, the people you see before you and so many others who are out in the field or embassies and consulates — you said when you came here four years ago that the leadership of diplomats of every stripe doing the daily work of government is essential.  And they proved it.

That daily work has become nightly work — (laughter) — 24/7, 7 days a week — hammering out agreements, jumping into action in crisis, creating opportunities for our citizens around the world, producing expert advice for you and your team at the White House. 

Everyone heres know — here knows this work can be tough, it’s often not very glamorous, but it makes us stronger.  It makes the world a better place. 

And we simply couldn’t do it without the extraordinary men and women that you have before us, as well as our remarkable partners in government, starting with the great White House team led by Jake Sullivan, my friends and colleagues from across the administration — the secretary of Defense, Samantha Power at USAID, the secretary of the Treasury, Commerce, and so on.  All of these partnerships that we’ve built and built with their teams have made a difference. 

So, to all of my colleagues, thank you.  Thank you for your friendship.  Thank you for your partnership. 

There’s one other reason that we’ve been able to reengage and rejuvenate our diplomacy.  Mr. President, that’s you. 

You have never wavered in the conviction that when America leads, when America engages, there is little we cannot accomplish and that this country remains a force for good, a force for progress around the world.

Your unshakable belief in the promise of America has inspired me for more than 20 years.  It’s inspired so many people in this department and around the world. 

Simply put, it’s been the privilege of my lifetime to work for you, to work with you, to work with this extraordinary team that you’ve assembled. 

And it’s the honor of a lifetime to be able to introduce, one more time, the 46th president the United States, Joe Biden.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) 

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

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

It’s good to be back at the State Department. 

Tony, if I may start by saying this, you’re one of the finest men I’ve ever known in any undertaking for one important reason: You have –- (applause) — you’re not only brilliant, you have incredible character.  You have character.  You have more integrity than almost anybody I know.  Thank you for always sticking with me.  Appreciate it.  (Applause.)

Folks, I’m grateful for his counsel and his friendship as well, but I also want to thank the members of my Cabinet and the members of the Congress who are today.  And to all — all our diplomats and development experts, service members, and intelligence professionals: Many of the achievements we’re going to discuss today were — are the result of your hard work.  And that’s not hyperbole.  It’s true.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your extraordinary service. 

You know, I come here to the State Department to report on the Ameri- — to the American people on the progress we’ve made in the last four years in our foreign policy in our presidency. 

I’ve said many times: We’re at an inflection point.  The post-Cold War period is over.  A new era has begun.  In these four years, we faced crises that — and we’ve been tested.  We’ve come through those tests stronger, in my view, than we entered those tests.  This is a fierce competition underway — the future of the global economy, technology, human values, and so much else. 

Right now, in my view, thanks to our administration, the United States is winning the worldwide competition.  Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker, and we have not gone to war to make these things happen. 

During my presidency, I’ve increased America’s power in every dimension.  We’ve increased our diplomatic power, creating more allies the United States has ever had in the history of our nation.  We’ve increased our military power, making the most significant investments in the Defense Industrial Base in decades. 

We’ve increased the technology power, taking the lead on artificial intelligence and other technologies of the future. 

And we’ve increased the economic power, building the most dynamic economy in the world from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down. 

In short, Kamala and I took office.  Our nation had become stronger at home — are stronger in the world.  And now, America is more capable and, I would argue, better prepared than we’ve been in a long, long time.  While our competitors and adversaries are facing stiff headwinds, we have the wind at our back because of all of you.

This is what we’re heading into.  And over to the next administration, that’s what we’re handing it to.

Today, I want to lay out what we’ve done and the opportunities we’ve created for America and those opportunities going forward. 

Today, I can report to the American people: Our sources of national power are far stronger than they were when we took office.  Our economy is booming, although there is more work to do.  Our technologies, from artificial intelligence to biotech, quantum, and — to advanced semiconductors are the envy of the world. 

And we have made the most significant investments in America and the American workers since the New Deal to rebuild our roads and bridges, our ports and airports, clean water systems, affordable high-speed Internet, and so much more; to build American manufacturing; to make advanced semiconductors, which we invented here at home.  And we made the largest investment in climate and clean energy ever, anywhere on Earth in the history of the world, spurring nearly $500 billion in private-sector investment. 

We’ve also significantly strengthened the defense industrial base, investing almost $1.3 trillion in procurement and research and development.  In real dollars, that’s more than America did in any four-year period during the Cold War.  This is going to ensure that we’re fully equipped to fight and win wars, which is also the best way to deter wars in the first place. 

Today, I can report to the American people: Our alliances are stronger than they’ve been in decades.  NATO is more capable than it’s ever been.  And many more of our Allies are paying their fair share.  Before I took office, nine NATO Allies were spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense.  Now 23 are spending 2 percent. 

And look at the Indo-Pacific.  We’ve made partnerships stronger and created new partnerships to challenge China’s aggressive behavior and to rebalance power in the region.  We did what few thought was possible: to build the first-ever trilateral partnership between the United States, Japan, and South Korea and then another among the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, drawing closer our Pacific allies to defend our shared security and prosperity. 

We brokered a defense pact known as AUKUS among the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific allies as only America is able to do. 

And we’ve taken the Quad to the next level.  The United States, Japan, Austria — Australia, and India.  When we were — had that first meeting, I was dumbfounded when they all called and said, “Can we do this at your house?”  (Laughter.)  You think I’m kidding.  (Laughter.)  My wife said, “No problem.”  (Laughter.) 

It was during the U.N. meeting, and we thought we were going to do it in New York, but they wanted to do it in Delaware.  I said, “Why?”  They said, “We can know — then people will know we’re really friends.”  (Laughter.)

Our democracies, with vibrant ec- — economies, working closely — security, supply chains, technology, and so much more. 

In the Red Sea, we brought together more than 20 countries for (inaudible) civil- — to protect civilian ships from attack by the Houthis, defending freedom of navigation in one of the world’s busiest waterways. 

And we have strengthened partnerships all across the Americas, defending democracy and targeting corruption, addressing migration, increasing prosperity, and protecting Amazon rainforest, which captures billions of tons — billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year. 

Overall, we’ve reinvigorated people’s faith in the United States as a true, true partner. 

Today, I can report to the American people: Our adversaries are weaker than they were when we came into this job four years ago.  Just consider Russia.  When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he’d conquer Kyiv in a matter of days.  But the truth is: Since that war began, I’m the only one that’s stood in the center of Kyiv, not him.  Putin never has.  (Applause.)  Think about it.  It was a long train ride, but I’m the only commander in chief to visit a war zone not controlled by U.S. forces.  We helped the Ukrainians stop Putin. 

And now, nearly thr- — three years later, Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives.  He has failed thus far to subjugate Ukraine; failed to break the — break the unity of NATO; and failed to make large territorial gains. 

But there’s more to do.  We can’t walk away.  We rallied 50 nations to stand with Ukraine.  Not just in Europe but the first — for the first time in Asia as well, because those countries in Asia know what happens in Ukraine matters to them as well. 

We delivered air interceptors, massive numbers of munitions; enacted relentless, unprecedented sanctions to keep Ukraine in the fight.  And now Russia is struggling to replace what they are losing on the battlefield in terms of military equipment and fighters, and the ruble is under enormous pressure.

As I saw it, when Putin launched his invasion, I had two jobs: one, to rally the world to defend Ukraine, and the other is to avoid war between two nuclear powers.  We did both those things.  And today, Ukraine is still free, independent country with the potential — the potential for a bright future.  And we laid the foundation for the next administration so they can protect the bright future of the Ukrainian people. 

And now, look at Iran.  Did you ever think we would be where we are with Iran at this moment?  After those despicable attacks by Hamas on October the 7th, Iran directly attacked Israel twice with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones.  And twice they failed because the United States organized a coalition of countries to stop them and ordered U.S. aircraft to come to the defense of Israel.  

Now Iran’s air defenses are in shambles.  Their main proxy, Hezbollah, is badly wounded.  And as we tested Iran’s willingness to revive the nuclear deal, we kept the pressure with sanctions.  Now Iran’s economy is in desperate straits.  All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades. 

And if you want more evidence that we’ve seriously weakened Iran and Russia, just take a look at Syria.  President Assad was both countries’ closest ally in the Middle East.  Neither — neither could keep him in power.  Quite frankly, neither really tried very hard. 

Now, I cannot claim credit for every factor that led to Iran and Russia growing weaker in the past four years.  They did plenty of damage all by themselves.  But Israel did plenty of damage to Iran and its proxies.  But there’s no question our actions contributed significantly. 

And now, major authoritarian states are aligning more closely with one another — Iran, Russia, China, North Korea.  But that’s more out of weakness than out of strength.  So as the new administration begins, the United States is in a fundamentally stronger position with respect to these countries than we were four years ago. 

Today, I can report to the American people: We’re in a better strategic position in the long-term competition with China than we were when I took office.  You all recall many experts believed — were predicting it was inevitable that China’s economy would surpass ours.  According to many predictions, that would happen by the year 2030 or shortly thereafter. 

But we in this room said, “No.  If we make the investments in ourselves, if we protect our workers and technologies, that will not happen.”  Now, according to the latest predictions on China’s current course, they will never surpass us.  Period.

I met one on one with President Xi in consequential summits.  He and I have always been direct and straightforward with each other.  I made it clear we expect China and everyone to abide by the international rules.  And so, we stood up against unfair trade practices, taking action when China dumped subsidized goods — incredibly subsidized — on our markets to undercut our workers. 

We imposed target tariffs on critical sectors like cars, steel, and semiconductors, rather than across-the-board tariffs.  We imposed historic export controls on investments restrictions to ensure that China cannot — cannot use the most advanced technology and sensive data — and sens- — sensitive data against us. 

And critically, we enlisted our allies and partners to join us, building more convergence among our allies on a shared approach to China than ever existed and showing that it’s more effective to deal with China alongside of partners, rather than going it alone. 

But even while we compete vigorously, we’ve managed our relationship with China responsibly so it’s never tipped over into conflict.  We’ve created lines of communication between President Xi and myself and between the leaders of our militaries to avoid misunderstanding. 

We found ways to work with each other to address climate change, to reduce the flow of fentanyl into the United States — which, by the way, overdor- — overdose deaths are coming down across our nation.  And in my administration, we’ve seized more fentanyl at our border in two years than the previous five years combined. 

Today, I can also report to the American people: We’re [I’m] the first president in decades who is not leaving a war in Afghanistan to his successor.  When we got bin Laden during the Obama-Biden administration, the primary objective of war had been accomplished, and I believed that going forward, the primary threat of al-Qaeda would no longer be emanating from Afghanistan but from elsewhere and so we did not need to station sizable number of American forces in Afghanistan.

So, when I took office, I had a choice.  Ultimately, I saw no reason to keep thousands of servicemen in Afghanistan.  I think I had my schedule with me and I keep it on my — I don’t here.  I don’t have it, but I keep it on the back of my card, the actual number of dead and wounded that occurred in our longest war, to remind myself.  Keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars a day.  We’re now [no] longer doing that. 

In my view, it was time to end the war and bring our troops home, and we did. 

I commend the courage of all those who served in Afghanistan.  We grieve all 2,461 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the longest war in American history.  And I grieve those brave service members whose lives were lost during the withdrawal. 

We also thank those inside and outside our government who have done so much to help thousands of Afghan families resettle in the United States. 

Remember, critics said if we ended the war, it would damage our alliances and it would create threats to our homeland from foreign-directed terrorism out of a safe haven in Afghanistan.  Neither has occurred.  Neither has occurred.  And our alliances have stayed strong. 

We’ve used our over-the-horizon capabilities to strike in Afghanistan and elsewhere when we had to — for instance, eliminating Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, who helped orchestrate the September 11th attacks.  And we did it without putting more American boots on the ground. 

And by ending the war, we’ve been able to focus our energy and resources on more urgent challenges.  There is nothing — I can tell you from my conversations with both Xi and Putin — nothing our adversaries and competitors, like Russia and China, would have liked more than seeing us continue to be tied down in Afghanistan for another decade. 

For all those reasons, ending the war was the right thing to do, and I believe history will reflect that. 

And from the moment I entered office, I also worked to free as many Americans as possible being held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas.  We brought home more than 75 Americans, by last count.  And in some cases, it took months, even years, of effort, like the prisoner swap with Russia over the past summer, a feat of diplomacy v- — involving all — many of you and involving multiple countries who joined complex negotiations at our request — another example of the power of our alliances.  If we did not have these relationships, those women and women [men] would likely still be in prison. 

And finally, I can report to the American people that we’ve restored our leadership on a range of other generational priorities. 

When I took office, we were no longer part of the international climate agreement.  We announced on day one that re- — we would join the Paris Accord — rejoin. 

And we’ve led by example; we’ve conserved hundreds of millions of acres — hundreds of millions of acres of land and water, more than any president in American history; making investments in clean energy and convincing other nations to join us. 

Thanks to our efforts, the world has reached the goal of investing $100 billion every year in public and private funds to reduce greenhouse emissions, to drive down the cost of clean energy, to help developing nations adapt to climate change. 

Our administration has launched a transformative initiative to build high-impact infrastructure in developing nations.  It’s called PGI.  You all know that better than anyone.  This is our alternative to what China offers with its massive projects across Africa and beyond.  But their approach features no workers’ rights, no environmental protections, unmanageable debt, shoddy construction — all in exchange for military access to ports and other exploitative purposes. 

By contrast, we’ve leveraged $600 billion and unleashed the private sector to build an infrastructure in order to grow economies and combat climate change.  As an example, I was recently in Angola to see a major project being built with the help of American public funding, which brought in even more private investment. 

We’re building the first-ever transcontinental railroad across Africa that will significantly improve the economies of the region, will help farmers transport crops to new global markets, will transport critical minerals that would — that need — that are needed for electric vehicles and semiconductors.  China used to control the supply chains and these materials, but not for long. 

Now, make no mistake: There are serious challenges that the United States must continue to deal with in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in the Indo-Pacific.  We must keep the pressure on the Houthis, who are attacking ships in the Red Sea, launching missiles at Israel, and firing at American forces.  We must deter North Korea as they rattle their saber and draw closer to Russia.  And new challenges will certainly emerge in the months and years ahead. 

But even — but even so, it’s clear: My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play.  And we’re leaving them an America with more friends and stronger alliances, whose adversaries are weaker and under pressure; an America that once again is leading, uniting countries, setting the agenda, bringing others together behind our plans and visions; an America which is no longer at war, which has made historic investments in American workers, American energies, Am- — American factories, generating the strongest economy in the world, which is now in a much better position to win the future against any competitor. 

These wins are not partisan.  They’re American.  They benefit all Americans and reflect America’s endless capacity for leadership and reinvention. 

Look, folks, the United States should take full advantage of our diplomatic and geopolitical opportunities we’ve created to keep bringing countries together to deal with challenges posed by China; to make sure Putin war — Putin’s war ends in a just and lasting peace for Ukraine; and to capitalize on a new moment for a more stable, integrated Middle East. 

To do that, the next administration must make sure the fall of Assad does not lead to the resurgence of ISIS in Syria and across the region.  It must carry forward the commitment that America will never, never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. 

And on the war between Israel and Hamas, we’re on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition.  I have learned in many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up. 

So, I spoke to prime minister of Israel yesterday.  I spoke to the amir of Qatar today.  I look forward to speaking with President Sisi soon.  We’re pressing hard to close this. 

The deal we have structured would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, who have suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.  They’ve been through hell.  So many innocent people have been killed.  So many communities have been destroyed. 

The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures.  Israel deserves peace and real security.  And the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited.  And so, we’re working urgently to close this deal. 

And as we deal with immediate challenges, in my view, we have to look to the future.  I urge the next administration to carry forward two issues that have been central to my presidency and which shape the future, in my view. 

On artificial intelligence, we are in the lead and we must stay in the lead.  We must not offshore artificial intelligence, as we once did with computer chips and other critical technologies.  AI has the power to reshorp — reshape economies, governments, national security, entire societies.  And it must be the United States and our closest allies that lead the way to ensure people’s rights are respected, their safety is protected, and their data is secure. 

And likewise, the clean energy transition will race ahead in the years to come.  I know in some incoming administration — some in the incoming administration are skeptical about the need for clean energy.  They don’t even believe climate change is real.  I think they come from a different century. 

They’re wrong.  They are dead wrong.  It’s the single greatest existential threat to humanity.  And the clean energy transition is already happening. 

China is trying to dominate the clean energy, manufacturing critical minerals, supply chains.  They want to capture the market of the future and create new dependencies. 

The United States must win that contest, and we will shape the global economy and the planet for decades to come. 

Let me close with this.  Like many of you, I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my career to our nation’s foreign policy — as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee as a senator, as vice president for eight years, and now president of the United States.  I put together one of the most competent foreign policy teams, I would argue, in American history, sitting in this room and before my eyes.  

Throughout my career, the world has gone — undergone tremendous change.  But certain things have always held true.  At our best, America leads not only by the example of our power but the power of our example. 

In the past four years, we’ve used that power not to go it alone but, instead, to bring countries together, to increase shared security and prosperity, to stand up to aggression, and to solve problems through diplomacy wherever possible; and to relentlessly defend democracy, civil rights, and human rights, because that’s who we are.  That’s who we are.

You’ve heard me say it many times before.  We’re the only country on Earth founded on an idea.  Every other country is founded on geography, religion, ethnicity, or some other unifying factor.  But America was built on an idea — on an idea — literally, not figuratively.  That idea was all women and men are created equal, the idea that has inspired the world for 250 years and counting. 

We’re always reaching to do better, always looking to the future, and, at our best, always seeking progress for our people and for people everywhere. 

It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president.  And today, I’m optimistic about our future — as optimistic as I’ve ever been. 

We just have to remember who in the hell we are.  You’ve heard me say it many times.  We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake.  There is nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together and commit to it — nothing.

So, thank you all for all you’ve done.  I hope many of you are going to be staying in the next administration to keep this moving. 

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

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

2:51 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Administration’s Work to Strengthen America and Lead the World appeared first on The White House.

Thank you, Professor Stock.  I knew Jim first as the author of Econometrics, and then as a generous mentor, gifted problem solver, and brilliant colleague in the Obama administration.  

Thank you for your incredible contributions and thank you for welcoming me back to my alma mater.  

I am grateful.

As we gather today, the fury of climate change rages as fires swell in the foothill communities of Southern California – a heavy moment that reminds us: There are no climate havens anymore.  Communities far from the coasts flooded by hurricanes.  Communities far in the north melting from extreme heat.  Communities in the wealthiest nations.  Development status provides no escape for a crisis that impacts us all.

Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has mapped the impacts with new satellites, better data, and a portal providing real-time information that communities can use to adapt.  We also mapped the impacts on our macro economy and fiscal health, on our infrastructure and institutions and onto the insurance markets – all propelled by two executive orders issued in the first year of the administration that recognized good data and rigorous analysis form the essential foundation for resilience. 

Then we got to work bending the curve on the risks.  

We created new grants to raise roads, to harden substations, and to deploy permeable pavement and restore critical wetlands, expanding our ability to absorb the next downpour. We brought together labor, industry, and the health sector to better engage the risk from extreme heat with new standards that protect workers, new canopy in communities that were literally hotter because of historic redlining, and new missions for old institutions, challenging development finance to step up.  We broke the fever on an epic drought out west by securing 3-million-acre feet of water in a river that feeds 40 million people, supporting rapid conservation, and standing up long-term infrastructure, from desal to catchment to a modernized canal – covered with solar, built in partnership with my friend, Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, now delivering greater water and energy security to the Gila River Indian community. And we shined the spotlight of innovation on resilience, launching a set of resilience gamechangers and convening the best and brightest to hasten the commercialization of fire-tech and water-tech and more. 

Earlier this month, we transmitted our learnings to the United Nations – our national climate resilience framework, and the largest public investment in resilience ever, as the backbone to a new national adaptation and resilience planning strategy. But the most important piece of our approach is hard to capture in any document.  

I saw it last month, as I swore in new members of the American Climate Corps (ACC).  When Hurricane Milton knocked down Andie’s community – in Boone, North Carolina – when it took away so much, Andie decided to give back.  Today, I am happy to report that over 20,000 young people have now answered President Biden’s call to join the ACC.  Faced with the heavy and heart-wrenching, they, like Andie, decided to answer with hope and hard work. 

As we enter the second half of the decisive decade for climate action, this is why we will win a safer and more prosperous future: because we carry with us a fundamentally rewritten climate playbook – an approach that eschews the gloom and doom and embraces the hope and possibilities.  In our new playbook, we have pulled the upside of climate action both forward and close, even as we took on a problem that is global in nature and decades in the making.  We are pursuing climate action in a way that is co-located with economic opportunity and coincided with pollution reduction – a geographic and temporal alignment of benefits designed to earn the political economy to go big, go fast, and go the distance.

Last night, I saw that sense of hope and possibilities in the faces of the folks from California, as I stood beside the President at the White House, looking into a crowd that was watching him sign two new national monuments into the care of future generations.  

That moment marked over 670 million acres of lands and waters protected – the most by any President – an ode to what he calls “America the Beautiful,” but also proof points of a new approach to climate action that enlists nature as part of the solution to the crisis we face down, not just to help us adapt but also to help us attack the root cause. 

Last month, we announced a new Nationally Determined Contribution – a new climate target for America that gets after the very root cause of the climate crisis, by taking aim at the greenhouse gas pollution responsible for warming our planet.  We announced a target to cut our emissions by 61-66% by 2035, relative to 2005 levels, the next evolution that moves us on a straight line toward a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.  

We developed this new target by going bottom up, sector by sector, finding opportunity, economic upside, and emissions reductions – everywhere.  

We took a similar analytical approach at the beginning of the administration, when we set a target for 2030.  At the time, the U.S. was on track for 15-20% emissions reductions by 2030, and off track relative to any reasonable path to stabilize our climate.  Especially, against that backdrop, a target of 50-52% was audacious, but, today, having more than doubled our pace of decarbonization – results outlined in our recently submitted Biennial Transparency Report – that target is suddenly within reach.

The math goes something like this.  In 2005, overall U.S. emissions were over 6500 million metric tons.  By marshalling a bold and broad climate strategy, harmonizing two sets of tools – the tools to deliver investments and the tools to set standards – we have unlocked a pathway that ranges between a little under to a little over 4000 million metric tons by 2030, and from the high 2000s to the mid 3000s in million metric tons by 2035.

This math is enabled by the strategy at work. The investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act enhanced by a complementary architecture of federal standards that spur demand and generate the regulatory certainty needed to accelerate capital formation and encourage entrepreneurial risk-taking.  

It is an important combination, and the success comes from both – the catalytic public investments and tax credits and also the standards that send a signal to the market, spurring long-term investment and firming up that next bet on America.  Bringing the breadth of our tools and partners together helps as we swing for the fences in every sector of the economy. Looking for wins everywhere – power and transportation, buildings and industry, lands and agriculture – gives us a better shot at delivering for everyone. When executed well, the gains from all-in and searching-for-opportunity-everywhere climate action cascade deep through the economy.

Our past success and our future ability to break into the low 2000s in million metric tons by 2035 relies on this approach – one which engages every sector, every level of government, every layer of the capital, every party, and every part of the country.  

I have spoken about this before – about why I think our project carries momentum and is structured for resilience – but it may be worth repeating: The robustness comes from an approach that has mobilized public and private in a tech-agnostic race to net zero as north star.  From governors and mayors of every party to entrepreneurs and investors from every corner of the economy, we are together and united in the implementation, in carrying out this work.  That unity in implementation is rooted in a unity of motivation. The incentive to finish the job is also stronger because the incentive is shared.

Here is what that looks like, tons and opportunity, the incentives, through the sectors. 

First, in nature, the California monuments I mentioned were the most recent in over a dozen established by the President.  Each of those an opportunity to strengthen nature; each also carrying memory and meaning.  I felt that sense standing on the North Lawn as President Biden restored Bears Ears and the same in Arizona as he preserved the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.  Each time, so very powerful.  

But in some ways, the monuments are just the punction – an exclamation mark – on a sweeping story.  Like the decisive action we took to protect the trees that breathe in our excesses. Partnering with Indigenous leaders, the President conserved 9 million acres in the Tongass.  

I remember sitting there mesmerized by the creativity I heard in a visit to southeast Alaska.  And what luck to be part of scaling that approach, through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration, an Executive Order on old growth on Earth Day 2022, and then, soaring above the Amazon with the President as part of a historic visit to build even more momentum behind this approach.  

The tons and opportunity in the nature sector also come from empowering our farmers and ranchers.  Over the last four years, we have enlisted more than 180,000 farms and 225 million acres into climate-smart practices – measures that boost total factor productivity, add new revenue for family businesses, and cut emissions.  We did not stop there.  

We also changed the way we manage public lands, boosted high-integrity voluntary carbon markets, and pushed relentlessly for better MMRV.  All of this provides a platform and path for more emissions reduction – and more economic upside – in this sector, especially as Congress takes up the Farm Bill this year.

Next, in the power sector, the biggest difference maker to the math, we added more than 100 gigawatts of clean energy to the grid – 50 Hoover Dams worth of new clean power in just four years. 

We did it by listening to everyone and by choosing to go big.  In the early days of the administration, the President personally convened unions and utilities, researchers and developers.  I remember one of those meetings – each of us spaced so far apart, each of us, including serious utility CEOs, with our beak shaped masks, the ones that make you look like a duck.  The conversation was good, the solutions clever, and we put them to work.

The progress has been incredible.  

Last year, the United States added more power to the grid than we have in two decades – and 96% of that was clean.  The new records on solar and batteries, on geothermal and hydropower, new records all across the sector, mean a chance at what I call the clean energy comeback – communities harnessing the climate imperative to produce local economic opportunity.  

I saw it in Western Michigan, where a shuttered nuclear power plant is coming back to serve two rural co-ops – the Hoosiers and the Wolverines – the co-ops teaming up despite their rivaling basketball loyalties. There, I met a union worker who thought he had retired, but was now coming back – out of retirement like the plant, beaming with a sense of pride, and eager to lift up the next generation of workers who will deliver carbon-free electricity to the grid.

This clean energy comeback can also be, if I may be so bold, a chance to come together. 

I felt that sense this summer, standing in the Oval Office as Senator Capito, the Republican Ranking Member, and Senator Carper, the Democratic Chair of the Environment Committee, walked into the Oval Office together and shook the President’s hand; as Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan piece of legislation to advance nuclear energy, our domestic supply chains, and America’s ability to lead on the next generation of tech.

Yesterday, the President issued an Executive Order on powering artificial intelligence with clean energy.  The executive order directs action based on stakeholder engagement and spade work by a task force he formed, led by Bruce Reed and supported by a number of us – including the President’s national security advisor, national economic advisor, and national climate advisor, me.  The premise is simple: America can and will both win the AI race and power those new capabilities with clean electricity. Driven by AI, our now back-to-normal load growth – a double-digit rate of growth akin to what we witnessed nearly every decade from the end of World War II until the turn of the 21st century – should be a spur to invent and invest, not a signpost to slow down.

As we meet this new opportunity and as we race to the next NDC, there is actually a common imperative: We need to harness all the tools we have available to build a bigger and better grid. To do that, new poles and wires are critical, which is why this administration has greenlit or underwritten over 5,000 miles of new, high-capacity transmission. But there is so much more.  

To me, it is so important that we also focus on the three Rs – rewiring, repowering, resilience.

Rewiring means investing more in advanced conductoring to get more electrons across existing rights of way, dynamic line ratings to raise the grid’s speed limit, and batteries (“Storage As Transmission Assets,” or SATA) and capabilities like topology optimization to deal with rush hour traffic.

Repowering means investing more in places with idle or suboptimized interconnections, plugging in where an old power plant has shuttered or where an old power plant no longer dispatches at nameplate capacity, uncompetitive in an era of cleaner and more efficient technologies.

Resilience means investing more in a grid that can withstand the next storm, or at least bounce back faster; hardening substations, burying lines, and getting more technology developed and deployed to address persistent grid-adjacent issues like vegetation and stormwater management.

If we do these things, if we build a bigger and better grid, we can go the distance on our 2035 climate target – and unlock so much economic upside on the way there.

Third, the transportation sector.  Over the last four years, the big move here has been in cars and trucks.  I remember the drive to the Ford factory in 2021, my first trip to Michigan with the President.  I was bullish, but still cautious about our ability to go from laggard to leader in a transportation story that was increasingly being written without U.S. workers and businesses.  

At the time, we barely made any batteries despite the fact that the Nobel prize for this technology went to a professor here.  Our national labs pioneered the breakthroughs.  And yet we were very behind.  Today, that has changed.  If you tally the factories that are producing and those being built, we expect 10 million EVs worth of battery manufacturing capability will be online by 2030.  The game has fully changed.  And double click on those batteries. We are making those components here, too – the anodes, cathodes, and separators. We are even racing forward to supply input materials, new lithium facilities and an expansion in recycling – putting old materials back into the supply chain and recognizing both that mineral security and climate security are inherently interconnected and that the clean energy economy must be a circular one.

Our success in going the distance in the transportation sector, however, depends on more than bringing the EV supply chain back home.  It depends on securing the lead in the next generation of battery technologies, like solid state, and being an early mover in the scale up of clean energy technologies in heavier parts of the sector.  America must lead on clean freight, and we cannot do that if we do not lead on clean fuels.  

That is why I am so proud of our work on sustainable aviation fuels, as a proof point for what is possible.  When in the early days of the administration, we pulled together all the airline CEOs, SAF production measured in the single digit millions of gallons.  Four years later, after investment in infrastructure upgrades, acceleration of R&D, and new tax measures like the recently finalized 45Z tax credit, we are on track – based on our accounting this week against the SAF grand challenge – to produce more than 3 billion gallons a year by 2030.  

We must do this and more, in rail and in marine and in heavy trucks.  And must keep going.

Finally, buildings and industry, both hard to decarbonize but for two very different reasons. 

In buildings, we spent the last four years enlisting local governments to update codes for new build, raise ambition in existing build, and define the frontier of zero emissions buildings.  We transformed our industrial capacity to meet new market demand for heat pumps – which now lead the market in new construction and are stoking a massive manufacturing buildout and good, union jobs all across the country.  

In industry, a make-or-break sector I have spoken at length about before, we cut methane pollution with hundreds of administrative actions, bent the curve on HFCs and N2O, capped leaking wells and sealed leaking mines, and launched a broad strategy to boost the economic efficiency, global competitiveness, and environmental performance of steel, cement, aluminum, and other heavy industry.  From grants to 33 pathbreaking projects to new tax credits to a multi-state Buy Clean program, we launched a race to the top on the technologies of the future.  

Our success in both of these sectors, however, and our ability to meet our 2035 target, require a lot of additional innovation.  

The breakthroughs will be of different types – and not just in the core technologies.  We need breakthroughs in buildings of the balance-of-systems kind, to make it easier to rewire and retrofit.  We need breakthroughs in retail finance and permitting, a major acceleration in expanding the affordability and time to install, that will hopefully be aided by the investment that the Biden-Harris administration made through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, capitalizing CDFIs and green banks around the country.  We need breakthroughs in trade policy to level the playing field and level up in a way that sees the GHG molecules as they move – embodied carbon – in products crossing borders.  

But I am optimistic about the path to progress.  

Necessity is said to be the mother of innovation.  We need ways to cut energy costs for homes and small businesses.  We need ways to grow global competitiveness for our heavy industries and the workers they employ.  These breakthroughs are not just a chance to cut emissions, they are also a way to deliver on these other bottom lines.

This is the way forward – nature, power, transportation, buildings, and industry – each sector with proof points, each with possibilities yet untapped.

Today marks my last speech as National Climate Advisor, so, if you will indulge me, I want to finish with some gratitude and a final reflection.  

I am so grateful to the President and Vice President for the chance to serve this nation that I love, and to my first boss and the nation’s first National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy.  

Gina brought the motivation of a public health expert and a grandmother to a fight that needs those perspectives – that seeks every day to answer the questions: How do we pave the way for clean air, clean water, and communities that can sustain healthy people?  How do we leave the next generation sustainable prosperity, a better, brighter future?  Gina has been an incredible guide and good friend, and I am so thankful to her.

I also want to thank my team, the Climate Policy Office staff.  As they crammed into my office on the ground floor of the West Wing during our regular team meetings, I always felt so blessed to be surrounded not just by such genius but also by such heart – the best of public service.  The President and Vice President pushed for massive ambition and this team – along with the best partners across the federal agencies – answered that call every single day.  

And finally, a reflection.  

My favorite sermon from Dr. King is the one about unfinished dreams that talks about the agony and joy of working on projects that cannot be finished.  

Over the last four years, we took on the climate crisis in a way that sought to do so much   – not just to pull down our emissions, but to lift up our people and communities.  In places, where the loss of opportunity was fenced in and the chance for a comeback seemingly fenced out, we started the project of bringing down those fences, the barriers to economic opportunity, of creating jobs and purpose, and of delivering justice long overdue.  

As an immigrant, brought from Pakistan to Pennsylvania by the most amazing and wonderful parents, I have lived my American Dream.  That is why for me, this job, and the project that has consumed all my time, has been as much about climate as it is about putting more rungs in the ladder that reaches into the American Dream.  It has been my chance to give back.  It has been an unfinishable project, but it has been a joyful one. 

Dr. King talks about Schubert’s unfinished symphony and about building temples of peace and of love and of justice.  These are beautiful projects, moral projects.  And the joy comes from just being a part of their building, from the process, from the work.  That is the reward.

As I leave my post, I am so profoundly grateful to have had a chance to work on a symphony, on a temple, on a project of such significance.  My wish for you is the chance to be pulled into the same.  It is the greatest honor and such a profound source of joy. 

Thank you so much.

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San Francisco, CA

***

Thanks so much, Rebecca, for that introduction.

It’s great to be with you all.

Even as we gather for this event today, the people of Los Angeles are on our minds.

To everyone who has lost a loved one, lost a home, or who is facing the uncertainty caused by these devastating wildfires, we will stand with you in solidarity as you rebuild.

And we are so grateful for all of the first responders who are rushing to contain the fires and rescue people and neighborhoods.

I’ll start with the question that has brought so many industry leaders here today.

What’s next?

It’s also the question everyone has been asking my husband, President Biden, and me.

I see something special happening in women’s health research, and I want to keep advancing that momentum to improve lives.

Today, if you ask any woman in America about her health care, she probably has a story to tell.

You know her.

She’s the woman who gets debilitating migraines, but can’t find treatment options that work for her. She’s the woman whose heart attack isn’t detected because her symptoms don’t look like a man’s. She’s the woman going through menopause, who visits her doctor and leaves with more questions than answers.

Globally, women live longer than men. Yet we spend 25 percent more of our lives in poor health. That’s because women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded. In fact, just 4 percent of research spending is focused on women’s health. As a result, too many of our medications, treatments, health products, and medical school textbooks are based on men.

But a new story is also emerging.

In 2023, Joe and I launched the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

Over the past 14 months, we have galvanized the government to invest in groundbreaking research on women’s health. The National Institutes of Health is investing $200 million in interdisciplinary research to advance women’s health—for example, looking at how menopause affects women’s hearts, brains, and bones.

The Department of Defense has committed $500 million to women’s health research.

And ARPA-H, the agency that Joe created to accelerate health breakthroughs, announced $113 million to help “de-risk” investments in big ideas.

In a little more than a year, the U.S. government invested nearly $1 billion in women’s health research.

And we’ve changed the federal research process. Today, we’re designing studies to include women. We’re disaggregating the data so we can see the differences between men and women. And we’re reporting those findings so we can better prevent, diagnose, and treat women—and men.

So what’s next?

It’s time for the private sector to bring discoveries to market and into the hands of consumers.

Women are waiting for better answers to improve their health.

And the potential in this space is too great to ignore. In 2021, the Boston Consulting Group estimated that the size of the women’s health market would grow from 9 billion dollars to 29 billion dollars in just eight years because of the momentum from funders and founders to address the unmet health needs of women.

I’m proud that the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research has laid down a new marker of progress.

But that new standard isn’t the finish line for me. It’s my next starting point.

I will keep pushing for the change in health research that women deserve. I will build alliances across industries. And I will look for partners who want to meet this unfilled need.

Let’s work together to make sure that women everywhere benefit from the life-saving innovations that are within our reach.

You can count on me. And I hope women can count on you.

###

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Oval Office

6:15 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Folks, what we’re going to do is I’m going to make a brief statement; the vice president is going to make a brief statement; Liz is going to call on Chief Moore and call on Griswell [Criswell], the — so FEMA is sp- — spoken; and then I — we’re going to each ask some questions; and then we’re going to ask you to leave.  Okay?  Unless you want to talk about the (inaudible) or something. 

You can smile.  It’s okay.  She’s a real tough guy, right there. 

All right?  Okay. 

Can you guys hear us?

CHIEF MOORE:  Yes, we can hear you. 

THE PRESIDENT:  All right. 

Well, look, we’re heading into the second week of fil- — of wildfires out in California.  These wildfires are the worst in California history.

And Vice President Harris and I are about to meet with Secretary Mayorkas, who is here; FEMA administrator; FEMA regional administrator — regional administrator; and the chief of U.S. Fire — Forest Service. 

And, first, I want to share an update on where things stand now as we know it.

One, over the past few weeks, state and local and federal firefighters were able to prevent the largest fires from moving into new areas.  In other words, they’ve been able to contain the fires.  Fourteen percent containment in the Pacific Palisades has been — that’s how much has been contained.  Thirty-three percent in the fire in Pasadena.  Ninety-five percent in Sylmar.  And the fire in Ventura has been 100 percent contained.  And that’s progress.

That said, that was a heartbreaking weekend for a lot of people in Los Angeles.  Ash was raining down like snow.  Homes burned to the ground — thousands of those homes are gone.  And we learned we lost more of our fellow Americans. 

So, let’s say again to the people Los Angeles: We’re with you.  We’re with you. 

And, you know, al- — although the federal government is going to cover 100 percent of the cost for the next 180 days for things like firefighter overtime pay, debris removal, temporary shelters, it’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to where it was. 

So, we’re going to need Congress to step up to provide funding to get this done.  And we’re going to get that done, God willing. 

Over the next few days, we’re expecting strong wind gusts that are — could move — be — you know, more fires — more fuel for fires.  And I’m continuing to direct the federal government to do everything possible with — everything we possibly can to help California. 

I’ve sent equipment to Los Angeles, including helicopters, tanker planes, and fire engines.  And our allies in Canada and Mexico have sent 130 firefighters and emergency responders, as the team knows.

I’ve asked Bob Fenton of FEMA to help — he helped Hawaii after the Maui fires — to take the lead in coordinating the federal support and debris recovery and removal in Los Angeles.

And the first step of that is coordinating between FEMA, EPA, and the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the ha- — to remove the hazardous debris before you can get in and remove it all.  And that hazardous debris includes things like propane tanks, electric vehicles, and battery (inaudible).  

Then, the monumental task of removing the rest of that debris can begin, but it’s a monumental task.

And I’ve activated 500 Marines from the base in Pendleton to stand by and help in search and rescue, airlift support, and food and water distribution. 

And I want to be clear: We’re not waiting until those fires are over to be — to start helping the victims.  We’re getting them help right now, as you all know. 

People impacted by these fires are going to receive a one-time payment of $770 — a one-time payment — so they can quickly purchase things like water, baby formula, and prescriptions.  So far, nearly 6,000 survivors have registered to do just that and $5.1 million has gone out. 

And I encourage everyone — everyone who has been impacted to get assistance.  Go to Disaster- — DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.  Let me repeat that number: 1-800-621-3362.

Before I turn this over to Vice President Harris, let me say again to all the incredible firefighters and first responders: Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Los Angeles is the City of Angels, and you’re now the angels — all of you.  You’re the angels, literally, saving people’s lives, and we owe you. 

And we owe your families, who are also in harm’s way and you’re still going out and doing your job.

To the people of Los Angeles: Thank you for sticking together, for helping one another through an unimaginable loss.  And I want you to know — and I mean this — I want you to know we have no higher priority than the safety of you folks in Los Angeles.  We’re going to keep doing everything possible to help you get through this. 

And, Vice President Harris, I now turn it over to you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. President. 

So, what is happening in Los Angeles is truly heartbreaking, and there’s an extraordinary amount of trauma that so many people are experiencing through loss of life, loss of their homes, loss of normalcy. 

And what I would ask is that, on this day seven of the fires, in the midst of the extraordinary exhaustion that everyone is feeling on so many levels, that we stay vigilant. 

The next 48 hours, as we will hear, are very critical.  The winds are going to pick up, with wind gusts that may reach as much as 70 miles per hour. 

And so, this is the time that everyone must be vigilant.  Follow whatever orders you are receiving from your local authorities.  If you are in any area where you may be called to evacuate, collect your belongings that you would want to take in the tragic event that you have to evacuate, and — and please be ready and prepared in that event.

Lots of people who still have a home who are under evacuation order, I know you want to get back home, but this is a time to be patient.  There is still so much work that firefighters, police officers, FEMA, and others are doing that is about search and rescue.  The work that still needs to be done to ensure the safety around utility lines — this work is still very much in progress.  And so, it’s critically important that to the extent you can find anything that gives you an ability to be patient in this extremely dangerous and unprecedented crisis, that you do.

But I — I’d echo what the president said: We have seen acts of courage, heroism, building of community, people looking out for strangers.  And we applaud and are in awe of the generosity of spirit that we are seeing throughout the region. 

And so, let us just always, again, thank our firefighters, our police officers, our first responders for what they are doing to personally sacrifice so much for the sake of others. 

Thank you. 

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL:  Thank you, Madam Vice President.

We’ll now go to the U.S. Forest Service chief, Randy Moore, who’s out in Los Angeles. 

Chief Moore, over to you.

CHIEF MOORE:  Thank you.

Mr. President, Madam Vice President, the situation remains very dynamic, with immediate threats to life and safety. 

One important thing to name is that, unlike what we normally will think of with wildland fires, where they’re often on the landscape for weeks, these incidents are — come from urban conflagrations — whereas once the winds are over and if containment continues to increase, we would expect these incidents to move rapidly from fire suppression to recovery.

Now, in terms of the weather, we’re expecting a period of elevated to critical fire weather risk through Wednesday, as the vice president had indicated, and we’re expected to have red flag warnings in effect for strong gusts of winds, low humidity, and very dry vegetation for much of Los Angeles, Ventura, and neighboring counties. 

We’re also expecting to have moderate Santa Ana winds, which begins today — later today through Wednesday.  And as the vice president had indicated, we’re looking at frequent winds of about 20 to 30 miles per hour, but gusts in anywhere from 50 to 70 miles per hour are very likely. 

Right now, our biggest concern is new starts.  And with this wind event or new growth on the Palisades or Eaton fires, these are high possibilities.  So, our personnel are working really hard to strengthen the existing containment lines. 

And also, from Monday through Wednesday, we’re looking to have minimum relative humidities, which is expected to remain in the upper single digits, somewhere around 20 percent.  So, what that’s basically saying is that the vegetation will continue to stay dry.

And by Friday, we expect several degrees of cooling and a large increase in humidity Friday into Saturday.  So, this is the good news on the back end of that — that wind.

In terms of fire activity — so, the Forest Service remains in unified command on the Eaton Fire; the Lidia Fire is no longer active; and the Hurst Fire is no longer in unified command, as threats are minimal on those two fires. 

Now, regarding the Eaton’s Fire, it’s holding at about 14,000 acres.  Containment has grown yesterday at 27 percent to 33 percent today, and there’s no new growth, which is the good news.  However, our fighters are reinforcing that perimeter, and we’ll have to hold that under these challenging conditions through Wednesday. 

We’re looking at nearly 40,000 structures remain threatened, and early remote sensing is reporting a number of structures have been destroyed.  And we are in the process of doing damage assessments by ground-truth and to see what we’re — we think that we’re seeing from the air.

There’s eight confirmed civilian fatalities as a result of this fire.  And, as of yesterday, there were 50 crews, 375 engines, 16 helicopters, and over 3,400 personnel that was assigned to this fire. 

The Hurst Fire is 95 percent contained, spread is minimal, and it has calmed down, and the repopulation started yesterday.  We still have about 100 firefighters out there doing what we call “mop-up duties.”  That’s where if they seeing smoke, to put the fire completely out.  So, we’ll continue to patrol the area and do mop-up activities. 

We continue to support the Palisades Fire.  We’re having moderate fire behavior that persists.  We currently have about 23,700 acres that are burned, and the fire is about 18 percent contained as we speak.  There’s also two confirmed civilian fatalities on that fire as well.  We currently have about 115 crews, 540 engines, 44 helicopters, and 5,123 personnel that are assigned to this fire.

To date, we’re successfully filling resource requests for both initial tag and incident support.  And as of this morning, there’s about 9,000 firefighters that are assigned to these large fires that we’re talking about here. 

Now, this does not include the many who’s assigned to their home units or pre-positioned to their different units to provide initial attack on new starts.  And we continue to have firefighters coming from all across the country, relieving some of the firefighters who has been pressing really, really hard, and we’ll continue to mobilize personnel as well as equipment.

Now, aviation resources that is operational as of this morning.  We have four Forest Service and one Cal Fire area supervision modules.  These are for the lead planes that are going in, guiding the large planes.  We have 12 air tankers.  We have 18 water-dropping helicopters.  We have three water scoopers. 

And all eight of the Department of Defense Modular Aerial Fighting Firefighter Systems tankers are at south ops or down in this area.  Seven of them are in service, and we’re still working on one that has some mechanical problems on the tail of the — the plane.  That’s expected to be fixed and operational later this evening, so for activity — for duty tomorrow.  So, tomorrow, we’re looking to have all eight that are in operations.  And, as I said earlier, we have seven that are operating now.

A request for assistance has been sent, as I mentioned earlier, to our Canadian partners, looking at mobilizing two of the CL-415 water scoopers.  They are expected to clear customs on Wednesday, and they’ll be available after they clear federal inspections and check rides. 

You know, it’s important to — we’re talking about aviation.  It’s really important to emphasize that aviation resources cannot fly safely when the winds are high, like what we’re talking about, so this is a situation that needs to be continually monitored.  And I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to closely coordinate among all partners in managing aircraft in this limited airspace. 

Our national airspace coordinator is heavily engaged with all of the people that are concerned, looking at safe operation of our aircraft in this area. 

And, you know, we’re working with Cal Fire to e- — evaluate the offers that we’re getting from our international partners.  And this thing is — is dynamic and is rapidly changing.  But given where we are in the year, we have very little competition for firefighting resources nationwide, and so we can still draw upon untapped federal, state, and local firefighting resources. 

Our initial tag rate continues to be really high.  You know, we’re staffing firefighters 24/7.  To give you an idea, we have about — right at about 2,000 federal firefighters that are in station for what we call “quick response emerging fires.”  That’s the new starts. 

To give you an idea of how successful this group of people are — this group of firefighters are: Since January 6th, we’ve had 235 new fire starts, and we have kept many of those, just about all of it, down to five acres or less. 

And I say that because that’s pretty significant, considering the — just the four large fires that we’ve had and the damages this is causing.  This team of firefighters — both state, local, federal, and others — Tribes — have kicked back 235 new starts of fires. 

So, we’re — we’re looking at moving into post-fire recovery at some point.  So, the efforts are already underway.  We’ve already provided post-fire imagery maps to the state’s watershed emergency response teams, as well as the federal response team for both the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, and we’re in the process of also doing the same thing for the Hurst Fire. 

Now, these post-fire images that we are providing is — they’re — they’re basically soil burn severity, which a team uses to produce a soil burn severity map.  So, we can look at the type of reclamation activity that needs to take place after the fire. 

The Forest Service is also coordinating with our fellow USDA agencies, including Rural Development, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide an integrated effort for long-term recovery needs. 

And our Research Department is also working with the city of Los Angeles and other water providers to provide some ash contamination modeling for water users. 

So, we’re likely to have boots on the ground of these teams by Thursday morning, after the red flag incidents subsides.

End of report.

THE PRESIDENT:  Randy, is there any more support the federal government can be providing to support to the firefighters doing this heroic work?  Anything else we — we could be doing?

CHIEF MOORE:  I — I think — when you look at the amount of aircraft, I think we provided everything that’s been asked for and that’s needed. 

In terms of firefighters, we have what we call “U2Fs” — U — “UTFs” — that’s “unable to fill.”  We don’t have any unable-to-fill positions that have been requested to date. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

Madam Vice President.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Randy, if, God forbid, the — the fires go beyond Los Angeles County, given the — the surge of resources into Los Angeles, what is your level of confidence that we’ll be able to get the resources to any neighboring county in — in time?

CHIEF MOORE:  I’m confident that we’ll be able to get the resources.  We have access right now to about 15,000 firefighters that are not currently being used, that’s not needed.  So, if things got out of hand, and let’s just say that the wind conditions blew the fires back out into the wildland, we do have firefighters pre-positioned in a lot of different areas to look at that initial attack.

And I mentioned the 235 fires now that these same groups of people have been able to bat down to about 5 or 6 major fires.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good.

THE PRESIDENT:  Can I ask one more question, Randy?  Are you hearing any misinformation that’s going out, false assertions that are being made about the state of the effort to fight the fire?

CHIEF MOORE:  Well, I mean, there’s always rumors with large fires like this, Mr. President.  And one of the — the — one of the things that everybody wants to know is how did these fires start.  And until the team of investigators conclude their investigations, we don’t really know. 

And so, there’s a lot of speculation out there about how these fires started, but there’s no proof to validate a lot of these rumors that we’re — we’re hearing. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL:  Thank you, Randy. 

And now to Administrator Criswell from FEMA.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  All right.  Thank you, Liz.

Mr. President, Madam Vice President, you know, at your direction, I was on the ground there on Thursday and Friday.  I had an opportunity to meet with incident commanders at both the Palisades Fire as well as the Eaton Fire. 

And, again, I think you see the images on television, but it just doesn’t compare to what you see in person — right? — when you see the devastation, when you talk to the family members, when you talk to the community members and they talk so much about how proud they are of their community. 

And I think one of the things we’ve talked about a lot is, you know, they say the community is gone, but the community is there.  The community’s spirit will continue to exist. 

And we had that long conversation with the Pasadena mayor when I was there, and it was, you know, really telling on how — how proud they are of these communities. 

And so, that’s why, as Randy and his teams are continuing to try to put out these fires, FEMA’s programs are in place to help support all of these families that have been impacted. 

I think, right now, we have about eight shelters that are still open.  The shelter numbers have been remaining at about 700 to 800, you know, day over day, which means there’s a lot of people that are staying with family and friends or they’re staying in hotel rooms.  And so, that’s one of the things we can cover.  It’s one of the programs through the major disaster declarations.  We can reimburse these families for the hotel costs that they’re experiencing now, in addition to giving them that Serious Needs Assistance of $770 for, like, clothes.  They just need to buy clothes.  They left with nothing. 

I mean, so, those are the first kinds of infor- — not information, but resources that we’re going to be able to provide to so many families.

And in addition to the just over 6,000 that you mentioned, Mr. President, that have already gotten the Serious Needs Assistance, we’ve got almost 33,000 that have registered for assistance.  And this number goes up a little bit every day, but we think it’s going to continue to rise as we can get into the communities. 

We have our Disaster Survivor Assistance team members that are going out into the community.  You know, they normally walk door to door.  In this case, the fires are still burning, so they can’t.  And so, we have them in the shelters, but we’ve also put them in the public libraries, where we know people are probably going to help register to get information.

And then we’ll continue to work with the mayor and the governor on other places where we can send our folks so we can reach the people that haven’t gotten into the system yet.  And so, we’ll continue to work with them to make sure that we can support them as they register for assistance. 

And some of them are already getting notices and letters, you know, that the information has been received but it’s not final yet.  There’s a lot of confusion about that right now, and we recognize that. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Explain that a little more.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, when somebody registers for assistance and they have not submitted all of their documentation, like what their insurance company is going to pr- — cover or not cover, they’ll get a letter from us saying, “You’re not approved yet.”  They’ll — 

THE PRESIDENT:  Can they get a letter if their — if they have no home, how do they get a letter?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  It’s through email.  So, they get an email notification —

THE PRESIDENT:  I — I just want to make sure we (inaudible).

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah.  They get an email notification to check their case and that it’s been updated.  But we want them to know that it just means we need the — the rest of that documentation. 

So, I’ve directed my team to start calling every one of these families that have already gotten this type of a notification so we can make sure that they know that, “Hey, we just need more documentation.  We want to work with you and help you through this.”  Because it’s traumatizing, right?  And then to have this bureaucracy, you know, limit that, we w- — I’m trying to take away the bureaucracy, at your direction.  That’s “how much can I get rid of?”  This is one of the things we’re going to do is add that personal touch and call all of these families that have already received this notice so we can get them the assistance that they’re eligible for and help them upload the documentation that they might need.

THE PRESIDENT:  You hear it reported by the press that there’s misinformation being put out there by — from some sources or even people identifying themselves and going on the air saying such and such. 

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  Are — are you seeing much of that, and does it have an impact on the — on the public?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  We are seeing some of that, similar to what we saw in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton. 

We even saw somebody put out a way to spread a message through phones that said FEMA is going to provide three years of coverage for hotel rooms, which was completely false and not sent by us. 

And so, our external affairs team works hard to put out the right information.  And we work with the community to try to get the trusted voices within the community to help get the right message out —

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  — and know who they need to go to in order to get this process started. 

And, unfortunately, there’s a lot of people that try to take advantage of these families that have lost everything, try to apply for assistance on their behalf, try to get them to apply on a false website.  Those are the things that we see in almost every disaster.  It just continues to get worse and worse, it seems like, disaster after disaster.

THE PRESIDENT:  I think that’s right. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Given that the winds may pick up tonight and the evacuation geography may change, how are individuals and families going to be alerted if they are now required to evacuate, especially if it happens during the night?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yeah, that’s something that the state and the county have a system to do a wireless emergency alert.  It’ll go right to their cell phone if there’s an evacuation order for their area.  And even if somebody drives into the area, it will let them know that they are in an evacuation zone. 

When I was there, my phone would go off when I would drive into the different areas — when I would drive into Pasadena — saying, “This is an evacuation zone.  You need to leave.”

And so, that alert system goes out, and they have their own provider that sends those out.  It’s all directed at the county level. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And then, do you know whether the requests that have been made of the federal government, local, state — are they all being met or are there any that have yet to be met?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  So, all of the firefighting requests that are going through Randy and all his folks are all being met. 

We are starting this planning process for the — the recovery, and we’re pre-positioning some resources, like food and water, closer to the area if they need it. 

California’s resource — they’ve got a lot of resources, and so they have plenty that they’re drawing from their own stockpiles right now and don’t need ours, but we want to make sure, if they do, we have ours ready to go. 

And so, anything that the state has asked for outside of the fires that FEMA would provide, we’ve been able to meet all of those requests.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Liz, do you have —

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — anything to add to that?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL:  Thank you very much.  I’m all good.

So, with that —

AIDE:  Thanks, guys.  Thank you, press. 

6:40 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Senior White House and Administration Officials During Briefing on the Full Federal Response to the Wildfires Across Los Angeles appeared first on The White House.

Roosevelt Room

5:55 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, everybody. Thanks for your patience. Been a long day.

I’d like to talk about the transformational progress our economy has made over the last four years.

This morning’s job report shows the economy added more than 250,000 jobs in December, that the unemployment rate has dropped below 4.1 — as low as 4.1 percent, and, all told in four years, we’ve created 16.6 million new jobs, the most of any single presidential term in history.

There wasn’t a month — not a single month — when the economy lost jobs, another record for any presidency. In fact, last month, America has lost — the last month America had lost jobs was the month before I came to office.

And the question is — and I want to make it clear: How and why did we make such progress? We did it by fundamentally changing the economic policy of this country.

After decades of trickle-down economics that primarily benefitted those at the very top, Kamala and I and our administration have written a new playbook that’s growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, that benefits everyone.

The new playbook is working, but in 10 days, our administration will end and the new administration will begin. And we’re going to face another inflection point: Do we continue to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, as we have the past four years, or do we backslide to an economy — economic theory that benefitted those at the very top while working people and middle-class people struggled for their fair share of growth?

Four years ago, when Kamala and I came to office, 3,000 Americans were dying per day — per day — because of the pandemic. Millions of Americans had lost their jobs and were at risk of losing their homes. Hundreds of thousands of factories and businesses closed, creating despair in so many communities all across America. Supply chains were shattered. Prices soared from everything from cars to home appliances.

The previous administration had no real plan to get — get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation’s history. In fact, there’s an old saying: If the only tool is a hammer you have, everything looks like a nail. But over the course of decades, our Republican leadership’s trickle-down economic was a hammer and working people were the nail — slashing taxes for the very wealthy and biggest corporations, offshoring jobs and factories for cheaper labor overseas while importing products that used to be made in America.

To offset its cost, advocates of trickle-down economics ripped the social safety net, trying to privatize Social Security and Medicare, trying to deny access to affordable health care and prescription drug costs. Lifting the fortunes of the wealthy often meant attacking the rights of workers.

We came to office with a different vision of America. Within the first two months that I was in office, I signed the American Rescue Plan that put shots in arms and checks in pockets to vaccinate the nation and return us to full employment.

We followed up with long-term investments in our future. My Investing in America agenda, which includes the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act — together mark the most significant investment in America since the New Deal. The Inflation Reduction Act alone is the most significant investment in climate and clean energy ever — ever — anywhere in the world.

And we make these investments — when we do, we buy American. Buy America has been the law of the land since the ‘30s. It says that any money the president is authorized to Con- — by Congress to spend should use American workers and American products. But past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to buy American and use American workers. But not on our watch.

We’re modernizing roads, bridges, ports, airports, clean water systems, affordable high-speed broadband systems and Internet, and so much more. And we’ve incentivized building all these large federal projects with American products and American union labor.

Remember — remember the shortage of semiconductors during the pandemic, those tiny, little chips — computer chips the size of your fingertip that power everything in our everyday lives, from vehicles to refrigerators to advanced weapons to your cell phones? America invented these computer chips. But over time, we stopped making them, and chip factories went overseas for cheaper labor.

So, when the pandemic hit, we found out how vulnerable America was. Supply chains abroad shut down because of the pandemic. We couldn’t get the chips, and prices soared.

For example, it takes over 3,000 of these computer chips to build an automobile today. And when overseas factories making those chips shut down, the production stopped and the cost of a new car soared.

It didn’t have to be this way. I was determined to change that. And that’s what we’ve done with the CHIPS and Science Act, which has attracted $350 billion in private-sector investment in America, including from Korea and Taiwan and other countries.

These investments are building new fabs, they call them — the — the place where they build these chips — new fabs, massive chip factories the size of several football fields — on fields of dream all across America, creating, so far, 125,000 jobs on the construction side of this, which will ultimately create tens of thousands more jobs — tens of thousands. These jobs in these co-called [so-called] fabs are paying over $100,000 a year, and you don’t need a college degree.

It’s not just the fabs. These investments are creating opportunity for entire communities, for small business, and creating even more jobs and much more. You know, when they build these factories, they’re going to find out that they’re going to need drug stores and — and shops and restaurants, and everything grows.

When faced with unfair practices from abroad, we’ve taken tough but targeted action on behalf of American workers, businesses, and factory towns.

We know the pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine and the inflation they created caused enormous pain and hardship all across America and around the world. And so, we took aggressive action that brought down prices; ordered the biggest release of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve in our history, reducing the price of gas at the pump here in America. I also challenged the oil and gas companies: take their record profits and invest in more production.

Today, American energy production is at record levels, including record oil and gas production. Gas prices are $3 a gallon, which is below the price before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

My Inflation Reduction Act took on Big Pharma and reduced the price of insulin for seniors with diabetes to $35 a month from as much as $400 a month.

The Inflation Reduction Act also finally gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug cricis [prices] across the board. As of this month, out-of-procton — out-of-pocket prescription drug costs — this already passed — will be capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how expensive the drugs are, how — even those expensive cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $14,000 a year. No senior will have to pay more than $2,000 a year.

These and other reforms not only save seniors money; it saves the American taxpayers money. A hundred and sixty billion dollars will be saved over the next decade because Medicare will no longer have to pay the exorbitant prices that pharmaceutical companies have been charging.

And, you know, with our historic backing of unions, public support for unions is the highest it’s been in more than half a century, and the labor movement is expanding to new companies and new industries.

The middle-out, bottom-up playbook is also about asking the very wealthy and the most profitable corporations — we want them to do well, but begin — begin to pay their fair share in taxes.

My predecessor’s tax cut, the last time he was here, not only increased the federal debt by $2 trillion, it overwhelmingly benefitted the biggest corporations, delivering tax cuts to the top 1 percent worth more than 50 times what the middle-class families received.

And you’ve heard me say it a hundred times: We have over a thousand billionaires in America. They paid an average of 8.2 percent in federal taxes.

Look, folks, my approach to — is leading to better results for everyone. I kept my commitment that no one earning less than $400,000 a year would pay a single penny more in federal taxes.

I fought hard to expand the Child Tax Credit for working families that, when they existed, cut child poverty nearly in half. I expanded tax credits to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act.

Because of our policy — our policies and confidence of entrepreneurs in our economy, we have also seen 21 million new business applications filed in our administration, the most in any single presidential term on record. And that’s important because every single one of those applications for a small business is an act of hope, believing in the country.

There’s so much more from our playbook, but the bottom line is we’ve come a long way from the crisis we’ve inherited.

Let me close where I started: with the morn- — this morning’s jobs report. More than 250,000 jobs in December. In four years, the economy created 16.6 million new jobs, the most in any single presidential term. We’ve created jobs every single month I was in office.

During my presidency, we saw the lowest average un- — unemployment rate of any administration in the last 50 years.

And battling through the worldwide effects of the pandemic, Putin’s war in Ukraine, and supply chain disruption, the inflation rate is down near 2 percent.

These are simple, well-established ep- — economic benchmarks that measures the strength of any economy and the success or failure of any president’s four years in office.

I believe the economy I’m leaving is the best in the world and stronger than ever for all Americans.

So, I think that’s what we have, and we’ll see what the next president does.

I want to thank you all. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

I’d be happy to take some questions.

Q Mr. President, you talked about gas prices coming down. You made today a decision about sanctions against Russia. Are you concerned that that decision will perhaps lead to gas prices going up? And can you explain why those sanctions were imposed today and not earlier in the term?

THE PRESIDENT: The sanctions were imposed today because they will have profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy and make it more difficult for Putin to conduct his wars.

It is probable that gas prices could increase as much as three, four cents a gallon, but wha- — it’s going to have a more profound impact on Russia’s ability to continue to act in the way it’s acting in the conduct of war.

Q Mr. President, did you speak to Pope Francis about canceling your trip to the Vatican? And are you disappointed to not make that visit before leaving office?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, to tell you the truth, I am disappointed, but it’s much more important I stay here with all that’s going on. He fully understands that. I did not personally speak to him, but the team spoke with the apostolic delegate. And — and so — but I am disappointed.

Q Mr. President, have you had any reaction to the — President Trump’s verdict today up in New York and whether or not the — you believe that the punishment fit the crime?

And also, sir, on pardons. Have you ruled out a pardon for yourself or any other additional members of the family?

THE PRESIDENT: For myself?

Q Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: What would I pardon myself for?

Q That’s what I’m asking. (Laughs.)

THE PRESIDENT: No, I have no contemplation of pardoning myself for anything. I didn’t do anything wrong.

Q Mr. President, would you comment on Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking operations in the United States? Is that a good decision, in your opinion?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, the whole idea of walking away from facts-checking, as well as not reporting anything having to do with discrimination regarding to TPS, I — I find to be just contrary to American justice, American — the way we talk about one another. Telling the truth matters.

I mean, it’s — I know I’m on national television, but you all are local reporters and national reporters. I — I’m not — this is not a legi- — real question, but what do you think? You think it doesn’t matter that they let be printed where millions of people read it things that are simply not true?

I mean, I want to know what that’s all about. It’s just completely contrary to everything America is about. We want to tell the truth. We haven’t always done it as a nation, but we want to tell the truth.

And the idea — (laughs) — that, you know, a billionaire can buy something and say, “By the way, from this point on, we’re not going to — we’re not going to fact-check anything.”

And, you know, when you have millions of people reading — going online and reading this stuff, it — it is —

Anyway, I think it’s — I think it’s really shameful.

Q Mr. President — Mr. President, do you regret your decision to run for reelection? Do you think that that made it easier for your predecessor to now become your successor?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think so. I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump. And I think that Kamala could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump.

It wasn’t about — I thought it was important to unify the party. And when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move, I thought it was — even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party.

And I had — it was the greatest honor in my life to be president of the United States, but I didn’t want to be one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election, and that’s why I stepped aside. But I was confident she could win.

Q Do you think she should run again?

Q Can I ask you what your assessment is of how long Ukraine can last without further aid if, in fact, your administration marks the end of American provisions over there, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I had long talk with Zelenskyy today, and I think that as long as we continue to keep Western Europe united as it relates to Ukraine, that there is a real chance that the Ukrainians can prevail, because the cost to Russia is incredibly high. Over six hundred-some thousand dead or wounded. The Koreans they brought in is having high mortality rates as well.

And I made it clear that I was — I provided every bit of funding that the authority I have as president — to be able to do that now, and I know that there are a significant number of Democrats and Republicans on the Hill who think we should continue to support Ukraine. It is my hope and expectation they’ll speak up and not agree to President — if — if — if Trump decides to cut off fu- — funding for Ukraine.

Q Did — did the president-elect’s position on that conflict influence your decision to enact the oil and other sanctions on Russia today — in other words, put more pressure on Russia at a point where the president-elect appears to be (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: The truth of the matter is no. But if it hadn’t — if those other conditions didn’t exist, it would have had an impact. I already decided that — Putin is in tough shape right now, and I think it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the godawful things he is continuing to do.

And as I said, he’s got his own problems, economically — significant problems, economically as well as politically at home. And so, I decided to do everything I possibly could within my power and authority to give Ukraine every advantage it could have to be able to sustain support for an independent Ukraine.

Q You said, Vice President Harris would be able to beat — you said Vice President Harris had a good shot to beat Trump. Do you think she should run again in four years?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that’s a decision she should ma- — I think she’s competent to run again in four years. That’ll be a decision for her to make.

Q Mr. President, on Venezuela. The sanctions that your administration announced today, some are saying that they don’t go far enough by not targeting the petroleum sector. Why was this administration hesitant to apply further sanctions to the oil and gas industry there?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s still being investigated in terms of what impact it would have and whether or not it would just be replaced by Iran or any other count- — so matters what — what would happen afterwards.

I had a long discussion, again, with the man who should be appointed president on that score, and — and — but since I didn’t have a clear answer to what that would be — if I had more time, I may very well do that, but it — I wasn’t — I didn’t the — enough data to make that judgment.

Q If I — if I could also ask about Havana syndrome. Today, the intelligence community assessment changed slightly, with two intelligence agencies now saying there’s an even chance that this is being caused by a foreign actor. Do you personally believe that a foreign actor is responsible for these incidents?

THE PRESIDENT: No. Now, do I believe that — that ISIS’s theology, if you will, has impacted people in America — some who are not particularly well suited to handle the life of — they live. That — it has that effect.

But I — there’s no – I find no evidence, and I’ve — I’ve done — I spent 17, 18 hours with the community, right off the bat, trying to determine whether or not there was any outside influence. And thus far, we find no connection between an outside player, individual, but that doesn’t mean someone reading the malarkey that they’re — that’s going out there does — isn’t influenced by it.

Both these men, both in — in Nevada and in Louisiana, have been men who’ve had their own problems that have — but not because they’ve been influenced by a specific individual that I’m —

Q Sorry. Sorry, sir. My question was on Havana syndrome, not — not Nevada. Sorry, on the Havana syndrome, the intelligence community today, part of their assessment changed, saying that there is now an even chance that the Havana syndrome cases and incidents — there’s a foreign actor potentially behind them. Do you — is that — do you agree with that assessment?

THE PRESIDENT: I — I don’t have the full brief on that right now. I’m not going to comment on that.

Q Do you have an update on Austin Tice in Syria and whether or not he’s —

THE PRESIDENT: The answer is I’m not going to respond to that because that’s an active, ongoing issue. You know, my attitude about getting prisoners released from abroad, and I’m not going to comment on that right now.

Q And just one question, again, back on pardons and commutations. Can you just give us a sense of what other pardons and commutations you’re considering in your last 10 days?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, the answer is no, because two things. One is that it depends on some of the language and expectations that Trump broadcasts in the last couple days here as to what he’s going to do. The idea that he would punish people for not adhering to what he thinks should be policies related to his well-being is outrageous, but there’s still consideration of some folks. The — nothing — but no decision.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, thanks everybody.

Q Have you talked about what kind of post presidency — what kind of —

(Cross-talk.)

Q Have you decided what kind of a — what kind of a — what kind of role will you have post presidency, sir? Do you plan to speak out after you leave Washington or are you going to follow, kind of, the Bush model where you’re kind of out of sight and out of mind?

THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) I’m not going to be out of sight or out of mind.

Thank you. (Inaudible.) Thank you.

6:16 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden on Jobs Report and the State of the Economy appeared first on The White House.

Oval Office

12:15 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Here’s what we’re going to do.  We’re going to get a briefing from the governor and the mayor and FEMA, and then we’re going to lay out where we go from here.  Okay?

Ready?  Get set.  Go.

AIDE:  Ready.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Vice President Harris and I are about to receive a briefing from Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass and the FEMA Director Criswell.  So, both of them are on the ground leading the fight against this god-awful wildfire in Calif- — the worst in California history. 

And there has been some progress in the last 24 hours, so I want to give an update to where we think things are at the moment.

First, overnight, local, state, and federal firefighters were able to partially prevent some of the largest fires from spreading to new areas: 3 percent in Pasadena has been kept from spreading, 8 percent in the Pacific Palisades, 35 percent in Ventura, and 37 percent in Sylmar.  And — and I — but this time yesterday, these fires were mostly spreading out of control.

We — we’ve still got a long way to go, as we’re about to hear from the governor and others.  And while the winds have died down for the time, we expect they’ll remain a threat until early next week.  So, we’re going to keep working 24/7 to support state and local officials to fully stop these fires as soon as possible. 

Next, we’re going to make sure California has every possible resource to fight these fires and help survivors.  As soon as the fire started, I approved the — the Fire Management Assistance Grants, which is a fancy phrase for saying the grants to cover the cost of firefighting federally and the gear, equipment, and capabilities like search and rescue.

Then, I immediately approved the governor’s request of major disaster declaration, which will pay for things like debris removal, temporary lodging, and first responder overtime pay.  Both of these — the grants and the declaration — usually cover 75 percent of the state’s costs.  But yesterday, I directed the federal government to cover 100 percent of state costs for 180 days.

I also announced FEMA has — is go- — has turned on its Critical Needs Assistance program.  This program gives a one-time payment of $750 to survivors so they can quickly purchase critical items, like water, formula, gasoline, and prescription drugs.  And survivors should go to DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.  We can’t help you if we don’t know you need the help, so call.  DisasterAssistance.gov — I mean, co- — contact or call 1-800-621-3362.

And I want to be clear: This is not the only aid that survivors can request from FEMA.  More programs are going to be available through the — that disaster declaration, but this is assistance that survivors can get now and get it fast.

We’re also helping the state and local law enforcement personnel keep people safe.  I’ve offered Governor Newsom additional support on — on that front too.  For example, the Defense Department — military personnel can help direct traffic, evacuate people where traffic lights have been destroyed. 

Finally, I want to thank all the first responders.  And I often say, “God made man, then he made a few firefighters.”  And these are men and women.  The firefighters of Los Angeles are proof of that.

The scope, the scale, and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented.  I mean, it’s truly unprecedented.  And — but day after day, these firefighters have been pulling 24-hour shifts, rushing the flames with har- — hurricane-force winds as well, to rescue people, to evacuate neighborhoods, and put these fires out.

Now, I speak for the American people when I say we owe you, we’re with you, and we’re going to make sure you get every resource you need. 

Now I want to turn it over to the vice president.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. President.  As you’ve said, what we have been witnessing is truly mass devastation.  And whether we are talking about Sylmar to the Palisades to Altadena, it’s important to know that we’re talking about neighborhoods of people who, in many cases — I think about Altadena — these are — these homes have been in these families for generations.  And in many of these homes, it is a multigenerational family that lives there.

Also understand that, in a lot of these neighborhoods, the folks who live there also work in that neighborhood, which means they’ve lost their home and their livelihood.  So, the devastation that we are looking at is multigenerational and is going to linger for quite some time.

And the work, under the president’s leadership, that we are doing through the federal government to provide aid in every way to the governor, to the mayor, to local police and fire is critically important, and we are doing it with a sense of urgency.

I also would mention that not only are firefighters out there working around the clock, some of whom — sadly, more than a few who have lost their own homes in the fire — but so too with LAPD police officers who are working around the clock, and there are at least a dozen who have also lost their own homes to the fire.

So, there is a real human story that is associated with the mass devastation that we are seeing, and everything that we can do to support, we will do.  Also understanding there are moments where we should find optimism in the heroism of people who are taking in strangers, taking in friends, providing shelter to evacuees — people looking out for each other.  Regardless of where they come from or who they voted for, they’re looking out for each other and showing the best of the American spirit in a moment of crisis.

THE PRESIDENT:  In addition to that, I want to point out that — that this is not going to be over even when all the fires are out. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s just going to be the beginning.  And the change in insurance policy in California for these modest homes —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yep.

THE PRESIDENT:  — as well as these really expensive homes and businesses.  So, the — we — we’re going to be around a long while, Gov, to help, the federal government. 

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  And the mayor as well.

So — but why don’t I yield to you, Governor, for any comments you have to make.  Bring us up to date.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  I — I appreciate it, Mr. President and Madam Vice President.  Let me just pick up, in the spirit of y- — of your comments.  But first, with just deep gratitude to both of you for being so solicitous, so supportive, hand in glove in this operation.  There’s simply not an ask that hasn’t been met.

The major disaster declaration, Mr. President, was a game changer.  In fact, you were able to do that within 36 hours.  I don’t know that there’s another precedent in American history for disaster that was in the making, was unfolding and for you to be there in real time and prescient as well.  It turns out that we’re going to need all of that support.  And the fact that you were able to provide 100 percent is just tremendous relief on the (inaudible) side and other disaster relief side. 

And I think the — the big focus now, to your point — and appreciate the recognition of some progress last night.  The winds were favorable.  We were able to address some of the perimeter issues.  Again, it’s been focus about life, property, and perimeter.  But the perimeter progress was real because we were able to get fixed-wing and helicopters up.

Last night, we had a new fire start.  Five fires that we’re actively battling as we speak.  The two large ones you’ve highlighted, the 8 and 3 percent contained.  But we’re able to — these guys just did an amazing job.  We had this fire, the Kenneth fire, that could have been one of the bigger headlines today, and these guys were able to knock that down. 

It was heroic.  I flew around it to see the dozers, the hand crews, Rattlesnake crews in the National Guard, the mutual aid system.

Mr. President, 175 engines from across this country, from New Mexico and Oregon and Washington State, Utah, Idaho — men and women coming out here, regardless of their differences, in the spirit of what the vice president said, working together in the spirit that defines the best of all of us.  And so, just with deep gratitude to you, your team. 

We had the National Guard out last night.  We had 43 key posts that they were — they were working — 855 National Guard men and women.  We’re stationing additional National Guard men and women to the extent we need it. 

We’ve searched all the assets and we drew down from all over the state and, obviously, now increasing across the country. 

I want to also highlight, because I think it’s incredibly important: We have 150,000 people still under mandatory evacuation orders.  These fires are not out.  Though, today, we’re going to make a lot of progress and continue to increase these containment numbers. 

But it is important, and I cannot impress upon you more how happy I was to hear, Mr. President, you say DisasterAssistance.gov. 

People are now naturally calling.  There’s tremendous anxiety out there around getting immediate assistance.  The reality of this is — is starting to come. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  The clarity is — as the, you know, smoke begins to — to move and, in daylight, people are starting to understand the magnitude.

I thought I never would see anything like the Tubbs Fire and then the Camp Fire.  This is up there.  This will be one of the most destructive fires, I mean, in terms of property damage, perhaps in the history of the country, but certainly in terms of scale and scope — 10-plus thousand structures already identified.  Ten people we fear have lost their lives; likelihood of more.  The magnitude of this is pretty profound. 

And — and in closing, you know, I appreciate, Madam Vice President, you bringing up Altadena as well.  You know, I was there yesterday, saw a middle school — it’s a beautiful middle school — burning down.  Lifestyles, places, tradition, kids, families, memories, communities completely, you know, torn — just torn asunder. 

It’s — it’s not just a home.  It’s — it’s their lives and their livelihoods, these businesses, community centers.  I can’t tell you how many churches burned down.

And so, you know, we had these hurricane-force winds, the likes of which we’ve never imagined in our lifetime — 99-plus-mile-an-hour gusts, couldn’t — you know, there was no helicopters that can go up in — in those gusts, in those wind shears.

But we had, you know, thousands and thousands of men and women that — that did everything in their power to hold the line.  And so, hats off to the first responders.

And in closing, hats off to those neighbors that are stepping up, these self-organizing communities that are coming together in the spirit of what makes us great, the spirit of neighbor to neighbor, of being there for each other. 

And final words: You know, I ask you, we’ve got to deal with this misinformation.  There were hurricane-force winds —

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — of mis- and disinformation, lies.  People want to divide this country, and — and we’re going to have to address that as well. 

And it breaks my heart, as people are suffering and struggling, that we’re up against those hurricane force — forces as well.  And — and that’s just a point of personal privilege that I share that with you, because it infects real people that are out there, people I meet every single day, people the mayor has been meeting with.  And they’re having conversations that are not the typical conversations you’d have at this time. 

And — and you wonder where this stuff comes from, and it’s very damaging as well. 

But — but we’re here to get the job done, to be here for folks, to focus, yes, on this mitigation and then, absolutely, recovery in record time.  With your support, we’re going to be able to do that.  With FEMA’s support, we’re going to get people back on their feet.  We’re going to rebuild this remarkable community, and we’re going to come back. 

I know it’s rote and cliché.  It’s just a fact.  We’re going to come back stronger because we’re all in this together.  And — and we’re in this together because we have a leader in the Oval Office right now, Mr. President — Joe Biden, an American president, being there for the American people at a time of critical need. 

And I cannot impress upon you personally, on behalf of 40 million Americans that live in the great state of California, how proud we are of you, the vice president, and your leadership. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Gov, thank you.  You know, that’s why I think it’s so important I — I — we speak plainly to the American people and let them know what we can and can’t do.

For example, those churches that get burned down you talked about, those public schools, the federal government will pay to rebuild those — rebuild those.  There’s a — so, we have to let people know that there are things that are going to be coming that we’ve declared — and there’s disaster relief legislation and others — that are going to be available. 

Because I think people say, “Okay.  I’m out.  But, God, what — what happens now?  What do I…” — and — but we’re — we’re not leaving.  We’re not leaving until we get it done. 

Karen — Mayor.

MAYOR BASS:  Yes.  Thank you, Mr. President and Madam Vice President.

I just can’t emphasize enough how important your support and involvement has been.  And how, in the midst of such incredible devastation and — and tragedy, that it has been comforting to know that you are — have been accessible. 

Again, you know, the governor certainly mentioned the fact that you moved so quickly in response to the emergency declaration, the idea of 100 percent reimbursement.  And we have made it clear to folks that that is not the norm, but that is what leadership does in response to such a devastating event. 

And the governor mentioned, and let me just repeat: hurricane-strength wind without the rain.  And that has led to such amazing devastation in terms of the Palisades fire and some of the other fires. 

I think it is important to acknowledge the successes that have been going on, where there have been evacuation orders that have been canceled, and people are going back to certain neighborhoods.  Fires have been extinguished in several neighborhoods — Pacoima, Hollywood, Studio City — where people were told they had to evacuate, and those evacuation orders have been rescinded.

And as our first responders are out there putting their lives on the line, as the vice president mentioned, they’ve been experiencing the losses as well, as well as the city and the county workforces.  We have a number of our employees who have had to evacuate.  While responding, their families have had to evacuate, or they’ve had the loss, the personal loss of their homes, their places to worship, their schools, or their businesses. 

But Los Angeles, the region, we are going to recover.  We’re going to recover, and we’re going to rebuild, and we’re going to rebuild better. 

One of the biggest challenges that is facing us — and I also know that it is a national situation — is insurance.  And so, today, I’m here at the County Hall of Administration.  We do two press conferences a day — one in the county, one in the city.  And we had our state insurance commissioner here. 

We do have a state plan, but that state plan certainly needs to be — and he’s — he talked about introducing emergency legislation to respond to some of the ways we need to strengthen our system. 

So, many of the homes in the area, especially in the Palisades area, had their insurance canceled — canceled a year or so ago.  And he talked about how he wanted to have a moratorium — he was going to use the power of his office to have a moratorium — that said that no policies can be canceled, even if your home was not damaged.  If you’re in the area and everybody around you burnt down but your home was not damaged, that your policy cannot be canceled. 

So, we have mobilized the philanthropic community.  The philanthropic community is already setting up funds to assist.  But we are also convening — and the city is — is taking the lead here — in the rebuilding effort, and we’re going to expedite rebuilding. 

It brings back a lot of memories for me, in 1992, when we experienced massive civil unrest, and we were able to get the majority of Los Angeles rebuilt quickly by coming together and suspending — waiving rules, you know, getting past bureaucracy. 

If you — if your home was devastated in the fire, there’s no reason for you to have to go all the way back through the permitting process. 

So, while we are saving lives, preventing further destruction, saving homes, saving businesses, dealing with the emergency at hand, we also have our eyes on the future and are preparing to put forward policies, executive directors next week that would address how we bring our city back together and how we expedite the rebuilding.

And so, again, let me just end by saying that, you know, your leadership — your leadership, period, over the last several years has just been outstanding, Mr. President, Madam Vice President.  Madam Vice President, who’s an Angeleno, we know that you know.

When I spoke with you yesterday, you mentioned that you had to evacuate.  You weren’t going to mention yourself, but I asked you, and you mentioned that you had to evacuate from your home here while you were in Washington, D.C.  And I just want to commend your outstanding leadership and let you know how the residents of Los Angeles are so deeply grateful. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Karen, one of the things I’ve found in my experience in dealing with these disasters — similar, not as devastating than this — is: People take a look at the immediate help, and they’re satisfied, they’re happy.  But they look down the road and say, “My God, look at downtown.  It’s gone.  Look at — how are we going to do this?” 

We’re going to need the United States Congress to follow up with appropriations to help provide for significant help for our fellow Americans who need this help to pay for the — these programs that we have because a lot more is going to be c- — be happening.

And now, yield to a woman who’s an expert in all this.  She and I have traveled more states that are — flying over fires for the last four years, and we’ve literally observed, from the air or on the ground, more areas burned to the ground — burned to the ground — from Arizona all the way up to Idaho — than the entire state of Maryland.  Took it all — to the ground. 

And so, we’ve — but we’re used to this but nothing like the concentration that’s here.  This is profound. 

And so, we got the best person we could.

Go ahead, Deanne.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thank you.  Yeah, thank you, Mr.  President, Madam Vice President.  I mean, you and I, sir, have traveled many different disasters, and I can say from what I’ve seen here yesterday that this is certainly one of the most destructive that you and I have had to — to deal with during our time here. 

I had a chance yesterday to talk with the governor and the mayor, to hear some of their immediate concerns, but mostly to start to talk about what this recovery is going to look like. 

I had an opportunity to get briefings from the incident command post, both at the Palisades fire as well as the Eaton fire.

And, Madam Vice President, I had a chance to drive through Altadena and see just what the heart of this community is by hearing from the local officials and just witness the amount of loss that they are experiencing and going through.  I mean, in addition to the thousands of structures that we hear about that are — that are gone, many of those homes, an entire small-business district — a booming business district in Altadena that has just been burnt to the ground — churches and schools and other public facilities that are just gone. 

And so, this is going to be a very complex recovery, but I know that when we all come together and work together through all of our federal partners and bringing in our — our nonprofit and our private-sector partners, that we are going to get through this.

And your approval, sir, of the 100 percent for the debris removal and the emergency protective measures for 180 days is really going to be a game changer in helping to make sure that this recovery gets started off on the right foot. 

And the major disaster declaration itself is going to do so much.  It’s — so many people, as you heard, are evacuated, and there’s not very many in shelters.  And so, we know that so many people are either staying with friends and family or they’re staying in hotels. 

And with the changes that we have made to our programs over the last year, we are going to be able to cover most of those costs, if not all of those costs that people are incurring, whether they’re staying with family and friends or they’re staying in hotels, to help ease some of that burden.

And as they register for assistance — so, we’ve already got close to 10,000 people that have registered, but we know that that’s going to continue to go up, and we’re going to send more people into the community to make sure that they register.  They’re going to be able to get things to help support that recovery, whether that’s moving into the next-term and longer-term sheltering or their longer-term housing needs to help reimburse for some of the losses and damages, even though we know it’s not going to come close to the total devastation and the total loss that they had. 

Working together, again, if Congress approves additional funding, and working with our partners like the SBA, we’re going to really be able to help all of these families with their specific needs and what they’re going to need to do to help start this recovery journey. 

And one of the biggest things is going to be debris removal.  And, you know, we’ve had lots of conversations with the governor’s team about debris removal.  They have an excellent capability here within the state, and we’re going to be able to provide technical assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that they’re getting everything done in the most expeditious way possible so they can start that recovery process. 

And I think, Mr. President and Madam Vice President, what I would just close with is that, as you have said and as, you know, the governor — and I’ve talked to the governor and the mayor — we are going to be here with you.  Governor, Mayor, just know that FEMA, the entire federal family, is going to be here with you throughout this entire recovery journey.  We are going to work through the complicated problems together.  We’re going to find the right federal resource to meet the needs and to get the outcomes that you want.  And we’re going to help every Angeleno with the — the impacts that they’ve had and help them on this road to recovery.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  You know —

MAYOR BASS:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  — one of the things that —

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  — that you and I have done, Deanne, is we not only have to build back, we have to build back better.  There are certain things we can do to prevent things from being — if the same thing occurred — from as much damage occurring.  And that costs money, but it also saves money. 

There is climate —

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  — change.  There is climate change.  This is part of it.  And we have to deal with it. 

And the other thing is that, you know, when I was with you, Gov, and we were looking around the state, it looked to me, as I traveled — when I was out with you in — in California,

it — what it reminded me of — it reminded me of — more of a war scene where you had certain targets that were bombarded, where artillery was — just blew them up with no — with — with no rhyme or reason.  In other words, you’d have this fire going crazy and burning everything down and three houses being fine —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  — noth- — nothing is happening.

Or neighborhoods that were still green — I mean, still green, and next to a place that — for example, you know, there was — we were just looking at a Secret Service house that was out there.  You know, all the vehicles were melted — melt — melt — yet that house next door still has green shrubbery on it, and, you know, it — the house is fine.  There’s only, I think, four or five houses in that 200 — you know, it’s in — in the Pasadena area. 

But — but my generic point is, it’s almost like it’s a — it’s a battle scene.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But, you know, Mr. President —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we saw that in South Carolina, North Carolina —

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I know.  That’s the point.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — Georgia, and Florida with hurricanes. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, same thing.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  This is also the nature of, to your point, this changing climate, these extreme weather conditions, not only are they — they volatile and devastating, but there — there is no method necessarily to how — to the impact in terms of the predictability of where it might land, if we’re talking about a hurricane or — or a wildfire.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, for example, we —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so, resilience and adaptation becomes more important.

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, we found, Gov, that in these other areas, like the hurricanes from North Carolina to Florida, where you saw entire highways devastated —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  — coming off the side of the mountains, dropping into —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we got to build back the highway a different way — 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

THE PRESIDENT:  — to make it stronger. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

THE PRESIDENT:  We’re — so, we — we’re going to have to deal with this, and we can make it — I know if anybody — any of your constituents are listening and saying, “My, God, don’t tell me about ‘better,’ just tell me when about getting back.”  But, you know, we can not only build it back, we can build it back better, God willing.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  A hundred percent.  No, it’s — it is remarkable, and it’s — yeah, to your point, particularly as — as the smoke is clearing, you see that, you know, very indelibly and visually here in this fire.  These — these newly constructed homes more likely to have survived — those with — with different materials, those with the latest home hardening investments. 

And that wou- — the — the chapter, verse, the lesson, the master class in this was the Camp Fire.  Remember, we lost 85 lives —

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — 18,000 structures up there in Paradise, California, and those structures that did survive — and so, we’ve changed our building codes.  We — we began to adapt to this new reality. 

And I just say this to the deniers out there: You may not believe in science, but you have to believe your own eyes.

You know, Mother Nature is — it’s been said by others — it’s just, you know, the chemistry, biology, and physics — she bats last; she bats a thousand. 

There’s been no rain.  It’s January — January in Southern California.  So, what is “time of year”?  None projected in the next many days.  There’s been a modest amount since last May here in Southern California.  The hots are getting hotter; dries, drier; wets a lot wetter with these atmospheric rivers.

And on that, Mr. President, this is an area that we need to focus right now, and that’s the likelihood that we may see some intense rain and a lot —

THE PRESIDENT:  Exactly.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — of debris flow —

THE PRESIDENT:  Exactly. 

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  — and issues around massive flooding, which often is more deadly than the fires themselves.

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s what —

MAYOR BASS:  And we —

THE PRESIDENT:  — happened in North Carolina.  When — when we talked about the hurricane, you saw the entire rivers fill and —

Anyway, there’s a lot we can do though.

MAYOR BASS:  You know, I — I do remember when we used to have a fire season.  Do you remember that, Governor?  You —

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  No.  (Laughs.)

MAYOR BASS:  — used to have a fire season, right?  In your — in your entire term, that has not been the case. 

This is January.  (Laughs.)  Fire season used to be at the end of summer.  So, you know, ab- — absolutely correct.

And then we know that that was the reason for such massive, massive devastation. 

But, again, you know, sending out your Deanne Criswell — Criswell.  It was wonderful to meet you yesterday.  Everybody was very excited to know that you were going to be here and to know that FEMA was going to be a resource that they can access right away. 

Continuing that is really what is needed right now.  And I want to thank you once again.

THE PRESIDENT:  The vice president and I have initiated every federal agency, from the Department of Defense on — every federal agency — to be part of this. 

And the other thing is, look, you know, I think you get a bad rap.  I know you’re getting a bad rap about “these fire hydrants don’t have enough water in them.”  Give me a break.  Give me a break. 

What this is all about is the utilities, understandably — what they did is they cut off power because they’re worried about these high-tension lines coming down and causing more fires in the wind.  Right?  When they do that, guess what?  They shut off the power that controls the ability to pump the water.

And so, now they’re put- — they’re getting generators now.  I mean, this is complicated stuff. 

You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it, but you’re doing the right thing.  We’re going to get it done, God willing. 

And I say to the people of Southern California, “God bless you.  Stay strong.  Stay strong.  We’re not going anywhere.  We’re not going anywhere.”

MAYOR BASS:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Thank you, Mr. President, for everything.

THE PRESIDENT:  And you know, all kidding aside, you both have my phone number, so —

MAYOR BASS:  Yes, we do.

THE PRESIDENT:  No — no, I’m for real.  Anything that comes up, if you have any ideas.

And — and if you didn’t, I’ve got a California vice president, man.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah, that’s — that helps too.

THE PRESIDENT:  She’s wildly focused on this.

MAYOR BASS:  The access to both of you is a tremendous benefit.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Yeah.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, thank you very much.  Keep in touch, okay?

MAYOR BASS:  Okay.

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Thank you for everything. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MAYOR BASS:  Bye-bye.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Take care, guys.

AIDE:  Thanks, press.  Thanks, press.  Let’s go.  Thanks guys.  Thank you, press. 

(Cross-talk.)

AIDE:  All right.  Thanks, folks.

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Whoa.  Hey, I’m going to be talking a little later this afternoon about a number of things you’re asking about, from Russian energy to what’s — what’s going on in terms of the economy, but — but focused on this issue now.  And let’s focus on this, and we’ll be back on the rest of it. 

So, about this, you can ask me questions. 

Q    Can I just ask you about — you mentioned yesterday that you’re about to leave office.  Are you coordinating with the incoming administration about this federal response?

THE PRESIDENT:  We are making — everything they know — every single thing we’re doing about the re- — what — the response, my hope is that they will have — at least acknowledge we have some significant experience in this.  We’ve done really well on it, and I’m praying that they continue to focus. 

Q    Mr. President, have you been told that the loss of life is likely to increase significantly in California?

THE PRESIDENT:  It is likely it will increase.  Whether it’s significantly or not, we don’t know yet.  There’s still a lot of people who are unaccounted for.  We don’t know where they are.  I think this toll is likely to go up.  Whether it’s significant or not — pray God it’s not — but it could be. 

Q    How concerned are you about looting, Mr. President, in this?

THE PRESIDENT:  (Inaudible.)

Q    How concerned are you about looting and incidents of looting in Los Angeles —

THE PRESIDENT:  We are concerned.  That’s why I provided more police officers and more military.  Look, the DOD is in full (inaudible) with this.  They’re providing everything from security through the military, the National Guard; supplementing the National Guard.  Because we are — there’s clear evidence that there’s looting.  There’s clear evidence that people are going into these surviv- — even places where they’re not — they’re evacuated, and it’s not all rubble, and people are going in and they’re looting. 

And so, that’s going to — that — we know that will continue, unless we make sure we — we’re providing the help to prevent it from happening. 

Q    Mr. President, what will you be seeking from Congress?  Is the supplemental for this, specifically, or is it broader for FEMA?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think — I think whether I’m going to be here to suggest it, and I have 10 days left — we have 10 days left, but we’re briefing the opposition — “the opposition” — the incoming administration on what they’re going to have to do. 

Look, we have an awful lot of experience in this, unfortunately.  Climate change has been real.  It’s been real for the last four years of our administration.  We’ve seen devastating impacts of consequences of the changes. 

And it’s just like — you know, there are — it’s going to take more funding.  I mean, look, you’re the most informed people in the country.  I’m not being facetious.  You cover this every single minute.  You’ve seen what these downtowns look like.  I mean, they look like bombing.  They look like they actually have been blown up — entire sections of the cities blown up.  Just to remove the debris — just to remove the debris is an incredibly expensive undertaking. 

We’re going to do it for them.  We’re going to get it done.  We’re going to pay for it, but we’ve got to be prepared to pay for it.  And — and when we do, we’ve got to build back better than we did before. 

So, thank you. 

AIDE:  Thank you, press.

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  One l- — one — one last question.  There was one last question: Do I have any estimates of cost?

I could tell you, based on my experience, what I think the cost would be, but I’m not going to do that because we don’t know.  We want to make sure when we — we get the cost estimate, it’s real.  We’ve thought it through.  We get — we got the engineers and the scientists in to give us the best assessment of what’s happening. 

And one of the things that is going to have to change, and it’s been — I’ve been a — been broken record on this for the last three years: We’ve got to change the way in which we transmit energy.  And these high-tension wires that are the things that cause — some — remember we had someone from the other team about, “Well, we just ought to sweep the floor of the — the forest floor so we have no fires.”  Come on, man. 

You know, we — the idea is if we had these wires underground, it’s a hell of lot safer.  We wouldn’t have as many fires as we have now or in the future, but it costs a hell of a lot of money to put it underground. 

So, we’re working out all those issues to determine what would be needed — when I say “build back better” — to build back in a way that diminishes the prospect that the change in weather and the environment is going to continue to cause such devastation. 

We can protect against much of it, but it’s going to cost a lot of money to do it. 

Thank you.

12:50 P.M.  EST

The post Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris Before Briefing on the Full Federal Response to the Wildfires Across Los Angeles appeared first on The White House.

Washington National Cathedral
Washington, D.C.

11:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Leaders of the clergy.  Distinguished guests.  Most importantly, the Carter family. 

In April 2021, Jill and I visited Jimmy and Rosalynn on a warm spring day down in Plains, Georgia.  We wanted to see them.

Rosalynn met us at the front door with her signature smile.  Together, we entered a home that they had shared for almost 77 years of marriage — an unassuming red-brick ranch home that reflects their modesty more than any trappings of power. 

We walked in the living room, where Jimmy greeted us like family.  That day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades.  A deep friendship that started in 1974. 

I was a 31-year-old senator, and I was the first senator outside of Georgia — maybe the first senator — to endorse his candidacy for president.  It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s enduring attribute: character.  Character.  Character. 

Because of that — character, I believe, is destiny — destiny in our lives and, quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. 

It’s an accumulation of a million things built on character that leads to a good life and a decent country — a life of purpose, a life of meaning. 

Now, how do we find that good life?  What does it look like?  What does it take to build character?  Do the ends justify the means?

Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me — and, through his life, taught me that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold.  It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect — that everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot — not a guarantee, but just a shot.

You know, we have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all: the abuse of power. 

Now, it’s not about being perfect because none of us are perfect.  We’re all fallible.  But it’s about asking ourselves: Are we striving to do things — the right things?  What values — what are the values that animate our spirit?  Do we operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity?  Do we show grace?  Do we keep the faith when it’s most tested? 

For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story, in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter’s life.  A story of a man — to state the obvious, you’ve heard today some great, great eulogies — who came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to the pinnacle of power.  A story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his Savior and the ideals of this nation.  A story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.

The man had character.  Jimmy held a deep Christian faith in God and that his candidacy spoke and wrote about.  Faith as a substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen.  Faith founded on commandments of Scripture: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and love thy neighbor as thyself.  Easy to say, but very, very difficult to do.

In his life — in this life, any walk of faith can be difficult.  It can be lonely.  But it requires action to be the doers of the world. 

But in that commandment lies the essence, in my view, found in the Gospel, found in many faith traditions, and found in the very idea of America.  Because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith to do the work, to be the country we say we are, to be the country we say we want to be.  A nation where all are created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea of America.  But we’ve never walked away from it either, because of patriots like Jimmy Carter. 

Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. 

And today, many think he was from a bygone era.  But in reality, he saw well into the future. 

A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights.

A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace.

A brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation.

A hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy.

And a president who redefined the relationship with the vice president.

Jimmy and I often talked about our dear friend Walter Mondale, whom we all miss very much.  Together, they formed a model partnership of collaboration and trust, as both were men of character.

And as we all know, Jimmy Carter also established a model post-presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America and, I might add, as you all know, around the world.

Through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others.  At our best, we share the better parts of ourselves: joy, solidarity, love, commitment — not for reward but in reverence for the incredible gift of life we’ve all been granted.

To make every minute of our time here on Earth count, that’s the definition of a good life — a life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years.

To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.

I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.

And to the entire Carter family, thank you — and I mean this sincerely — for sharing them both with America and the world.  We love you all. 

Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home.  We saw Jimmy as he always was: at peace, with a life fully lived.  A good life of purpose and meaning, of character, driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope, and love.  I’ll say it again: faith, hope and love.

As he returned to Plains, Georgia, for his final resting place, we can say goodbye.  In the words of the prophet Micah, who Jimmy so admired until his final breath, Jimmy Carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly.

May God bless a great American and a dear friend and a good man.  May he rise up — be raised up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand. 

God bless you, Jimmy Carter.

11:42 A.M. EST

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Santa Monica Fire Station #5
Santa Monica, California

11:16 A.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the governor asked for a declaration that provides for everything the federal government can do, and I’m prepared to sign it today.

The — folks, the fact is that I’ve directed DOD — the Department of Defense — to rapidly provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities.  I’ve also — the California National Guard is adding two Modular Air Fire Fighting Systems units, and two more are being readied by the National Guard — the Na- — the Nevada National Guard.  And four more are coming from Northern — from the Northern Command.  And 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets are coming down from San Diego.

We’re prepared to do anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires and to help reconstruct and make sure we get back to normal.  It’s going to be a hell of a long way. 

The — it’s going to take time.  But we’re in it.  The federal government is here to stay as long as you need us and everything you need. 

Is there anything you’ve asked that you haven’t gotten yet?

GOVERNOR NEWSOM:  Quite the contrary.  Mr. President, just, first of all, that major disaster declaration being approved — next level appreciation on behalf of all the residents here in Southern California.

As the chief said, we had pre-positioned assets this weekend in anticipation of these weather events: the complexity of multiple fires; the likelihood these weather events — this wind event would continue over the course of the next many days; impacts of over a thousand structures already that have been destroyed; a hundred-plus thousand people that have been evacuated; lives lost; traditions, lifestyles, places torn asunder.  This means the world to us.

And — and just publicly, because I think this is important: The president happened to be in the region, in town.  It’s impossible for me to express the level of appreciation and cooperation we received from the White House and this administration. 

So, on behalf of all of us, Mr. President, thank you for being here — and not just being here today.  Thank you for being here since the minute of this incident when it was a 10-acre fire less than 24-or-so hours ago.  My deep gratitude.

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s astounding what’s happened. 

There’s only one piece of good news.  My son lives out here and his wife.  Their — they got a notification yesterday that their home is probably burned to the ground.  Today, it appears that maybe it’s still standing.  We’re not sure.

But the good news is I’m a great-grandfather as of today.  My eldest granddaughter.  (Applause.)  A 10-pound, 4-ounce baby girl — baby boy.

So, I — I’m going to remember this day for a lot of the wrong reasons.  But anyway.

11:19 A.M. PST

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U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC

5:20 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Leader Thune, Speaker Johnson, Leader Schumer, Leader Jeffries, members of Congress, and distinguished guests, it is an honor to be with you this afternoon.

And to Jack, Chip, Jeff, Amy, and Jason and all the other members of the Carter family, on behalf of the American people, Doug and I offer our deepest condolences.

Being with you today, I am reminded of the enduring words of a favorite hymn: May the works I have done speak for me.

Today, we gather to celebrate the life of a man whose works will echo for generations to come, a man from Plains, Georgia, who grew up without electricity or running water and served as the 39th president of the United States of America and lived every day of his long life in service to the people: President James Earl Carter, Jr.

So, I was in middle school when Jimmy Carter was elected president, and I vividly recall how my mother admired him, how much she admired his strength of character, his honesty, his integrity, his work ethic and determination, his intelligence, and his generosity of spirit.

We have heard much today and in recent days about President Carter’s impact in the four decades after he left the White House.  Rightly so.  Jimmy Carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president and leaves an extraordinary post-presidential legacy, from founding the Carter Center, which has helped advance global human rights and alleviate human suffering, to his public health work in Latin America and Africa, to his tireless advocacy for peace and democracy around the globe. 

And Jimmy Carter was a president of the United States who was ahead of his time.  He was the first president of the United States to have a comprehensive energy policy, including providing some of the first federal support for clean energy.  He also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection and more than doubled the size of America’s national parks, including protecting our beloved Redwoods in my home state of California.

He was a president who, between the years of 1977 and 1981, appointed more Black Americans to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined and appointed five times as many women.  And in the wake of Watergate, Jimmy Carter passed historic ethics legislation to help rebuild America’s faith in government.

Jimmy Carter, as president, was also a respected global leader.  To be sure, the years of his presidency were not without international crises or challenges, but his legacy of global leadership is well established. 

In Asia, he instituted full diplomatic relations with China, which he would later call one of the most historically significant accomplishments of his presidency. 

And his legacy lives on in the Middle East, because do recall in the decades before Jimmy Carter became president, Israel and Egypt had been at war numerous times.  Few thought peace could be achieved between them.  Yet Jimmy Carter did that.  Through his persistence and perseverance, through his unshakable belief in the power of American diplomacy, he secured the Camp David Accords, one of the most significant and durable peace treaties since World War II.

And throughout the world, Jimmy Carter elevated the role of human rights in America’s foreign policy priorities and uplifted the importance of civil society in doing that work. 

Jimmy Carter was a forward-looking president with a vision for the future.  Consider his establishment of the Department of Energy in 1977, which anticipated the central role it would play in addressing the climate crisis; his creation of FEMA in 1979, which enabled our nation to mobilize a national response to disasters which has helped countless communities rebuild and recover; and his founding of the Department of Education later that year, which elevated public education institutions and increased national standards for the education of America’s children and future leaders.

Jimmy Carter was that all-too-rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty, and grace.  Recall the stories from the 1976 campaign about how he slept in the homes of his supporters to share a meal with them at their table and to listen to what was on their minds. 

How, on their first trip for Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy and Rosalynn rode the bus with the other volunteers.  And when the group stopped for the night to stay at a local church, Jimmy and Rosalynn gave their private room to a young couple who had put off their honeymoon to join the trip.  And with the other volunteers, they then slept on the floor of the church basement. 

And then, of course, his work to eradicate the vicious Guinea worm disease that once disabled millions of people a year.  It was one of the Carter Center’s greatest triumphs.  And Jimmy Carter, of course, given his nature, attributed its success not to his own leadership but to the thousands of everyday Africans who were on the ground doing the work.

Throughout his life and career, Jimmy Carter retained a fundamental decency and humility.  James Earl Carter, Jr., loved our country.  He lived his faith, he served the people, and he left the world better than he found it. 

And in the end, Jimmy Carter’s work and those works speak for him louder than any tribute we can offer.

May his life be a lesson for the ages and a beacon for the future. 

May God bless President Jimmy Carter.  And may God bless the United States of America.

                        END                     5:29 P.M. EST

# # #

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4:31 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you.  Thank you very much, Bette.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

I know in about 20 years, I’ll become a senior.  (Laughter.)  It’s hell turning 40, you know?  (Laughter.)

God bless you all.

Bette, thanks for that introduction and for all the work you’ve done for retired Americans.  It makes a gigantic difference.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And, by the way, if you excuse what they in the Senate — they used to say in the Senate, “a point of personal privilege.”  She gave me a handwritten poem from her husband who wrote to me, saying I look like I’m 20.  (Laughter.)  So, thank him very well.  I’ll give him a call.  Thank you.

And thank you to the current and former members of Congress for being here today, particularly Susan Collins.  Susan, I hope it doesn’t hurt your reputation, my complimenting you.  (Laughter and applause.)  Sherrod Brown.  (Applause.)  Get up, Sherrod.  Stand.  And Abigail Spanberger.  Where’s Abigail?  Get up, Abigail.  (Applause.)

I also want to thank Leader Schumer and Representative Garret Graves.  Schumer is not here, is he?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  And — and Garret couldn’t make it today either. 

But all of you have kept this bipartisan bill on track from the beginning to end.  And — and so did our great labor leaders here today.  I want to thank them.

You know, my dad taught me — and I mean this — my friends are tired of hearing me saying this: A job is a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about your place in the community.  It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, “Honey, it’s going to be okay,” and know there’s a real prospect that that’s going to happen.

The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition.  Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity.  That’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system crafted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly 90 years ago.

Social Security is the bedrock of financial security for retirees and survivors and for millions of Americans with disabilities.  But we’ve all heard the stories like the one that  Bette shared today.  Public-sector employees, teachers, nurses, maintenance workers, and more — many working second jobs beyond their public service, often just because they need it to make ends meet.

The law that existed denied millions of Americans access to the full Social Security benefits they earned by thousands of dollars a year.  That denial of benefits also applied to surviving spouses of public-service employees.  Benefits cut that cost them security and a little bit of dignity as well. 

Joining us today, Eliseo, a 17-year-old from Texas.  Where is Eliseo? 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  He’s right here.

THE PRESIDENT:  Come here.  (Applause.) 

Eliseo — Eliseo is just around the corner from receiving Social Security.  (Laughter.) 

This guy walked 1,600 miles from Washington — from here to Wa- — from Texas to Washington, D.C., to support this bill.  (Applause.)  And he did it — he did it for his grandmother, a retired teacher who struggled to survive without the Social Security benefits she earned, and he thought it wasn’t right. 

But guess what?  Tomorrow is his birthday.  (Applause.)  We have a tradition in our household.  We’ve got to sing “Happy Birthday.”  Are you ready?

(The president leads the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Mr. Jimenez.)

All right.  (Applause.)  Eliseo, I and others here have one request.

MR. JIMENEZ:  Yes?

THE PRESIDENT:  When you’re president — (laughter) — and they say, “Joe Biden is in the outer office,” promise me you won’t say, “Joe who?”  (Laughter.)

Thank you, pal.  You did a good — your mom — grandmom would be proud.  (Applause.)

MR. JIMENEZ:  Thank you.  Thank you.  

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Go ahead.

Look, by s- — signing this bill we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses, and other public and so- — employees and their spouses and survivors.  That means an estimated average of $360 per month increase.  That’s a big deal in middle-class households like the one I grew up in and many of you did — and million- — for millions of Americans going forward. 

That’s not all.  Over two and a half million Americans are going to receive a lump-sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in the benefits they should have gotten in 2024.  (Applause.)  It’s going to be a big deal. 

They’re going to begin receiving these payments this year.  And this is a big deal.  Someone once said, “This is a big deal.”  It’s a big deal.  (Laughter.) 

As — (laughter) — as the first president in more than 20 years to expand Social Security benefits, this victory is the culmination of a forty-eight — a four-year — excuse me, four [forty]-year fight to provide security for workers who dedicated their lives to their communities.  And I’m proud — I’m proud to have played a small part in this fight and get to sign it.

And thanks to Sherrod Brown and Richie Neal — Richie — (applause) — and other advocates in this room, one of the first things we did was to protect pensions for as many as 2 million union workers and retirees when we signed the Butch Lewis Act.  (Applause.)

It’s the most significant action to protect union pensions in 50 years.  And the Butch Lewis Act helped them in — helped them retire with dignity.

Look, just like the Social Security Fairness Act, when I’m si- — about to sign — what I’m signing today — when I came to office, I promised I’d always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  I never thought anybody would have to make that promise to protect it, but we had to make that promise.  We still do.

I said repeatedly that if anyone tried to cut these programs, I’d stop them.  And that’s the promise we’ve kept, even in the face of proposals to cut and weaken these programs that millions of Americans count on. 

I know there’s a lot more work to do, by the way, to improve and expand benefits, including those who most are in need, to protect Social Security for the long term, and finally asking the wealthiest Americans to begin to pay their fair share so it’s able to be maintained, and so much more.

Folks, we could not have done this alone.  To the people in this room and the people around the country who did the work, who kept the faith, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Our economy today is the strongest economy in the world.  We’ve got more to do, but it’s the strongest economy in the world because we have the best workers in the world.  We have the best workers in the — (applause) — we do.

And I might add, parenthetically, when I asked the — I went to South Korea to get the communications — excuse — to get Samsung to send back the chipmakers to the United States. 

We invented the damn things.  (Laughter.)  We used to have 40 percent of the market. 

And he said, “Yes.”  And I finally said — I said, “Why?”  This is the God’s truth.  The foreign leader of a major corporation said, “Because you have the best, most qualified workers in the world — union worker” — no, I’m serious — (applause) — “and because it’s the safest place in the world to invest.”

Look, let me close with this.  Today is a victory for the dignity of work and the dignity of workers — everyday people who build the middle class, who built this country.  We must never forget it.  We can’t forget who did it.

We just have to remember who we are.  For God’s sake, we’re the United States of America.  The United States — there’s nothing beyond our capacity if we set our mind to it and we do it together.

So, God bless you all.  May God protect our troops.  And now let’s sign this bill.  (Applause.)

(The president greets participants at the signing desk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Who — we’ve got spots up here.  Come on.

SENATOR COLLINS:  We do.  This is so exciting. 

SECRETARY BECERRA:  Well done, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.

Everybody knows that I like her so much, I’d hurt her reputation.  (Laughter.) 

Okay.  You ready?  Get set.  Go.  (Laughter.)

(The act is signed.)

All right.  (Applause.)

SECRETARY BECERRA:  Bette.  Bette.

(The president gives a pen to Ms. Marafino.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Here you go, Bette.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

All right.  I know it’s going to be a long time for any of you to collect Social Security, like me, but it’s — let’s get going.  (Laughter.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everybody.  This is a good day.  (Applause.)

4:41 P.M. EST

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The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Good afternoon.  It’s great to be back in New Delhi.

And thank you, Eric, for that gracious introduction. President Biden has been lucky to have you here representing the United States.

I also want to thank everyone here at IIT Delhi for such a warm welcome.

***

In 1949, Prime Minister Nehru went on a now-famous tour of the United States.

His goal was to understand how new technologies and innovations could strengthen his then-young nation.

So for nearly a month, he traveled all across America. From businesses in New York and San Francisco, to family farms around Chicago and Madison, to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

And that visit at MIT helped inspire the establishment of India’s own IIT system, which not only ignited a new era of science and technology innovation for a new nation –

but also ignited a partnership in science and technology between the United States and India. 

Indeed, the United States was the first foreign partner to collaborate with India’s IITs, when nine leading U.S. universities helped build the Indo-American research program at IIT Kanpur.

Some years later, Prime Minister Nehru would observe – at an IIT convocation, in fact —something prescient for our own era.  He said, and I quote:

“the time has now come when the engineer plays an infinitely greater role than anybody else…because the major work of the country today deals with…engineering schemes of various types…and the administrator who is completely ignorant of engineering does not help much in administering.”

Something quite similar could of course be said today…about governments racing to keep pace with concurrent revolutions in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, space, quantum, and other fields.

So it is fitting in many ways that today, seven decades later and in this moment of technological transformation, India and the United States are taking our partnership to the next frontier—together.

And—if we can get it right—I believe this partnership will be the most consequential of the 21st century.

For both the United States and India, our partnership is key to our own growth — and jobs — at home …

It is critical for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific …

And, increasingly, it will bring prosperity to like-minded friends around the world, especially emerging economies.

And so, we are deeply invested in India’s success and, I believe, India in ours.

Over 1,000 American companies are operating in India.

Over $50 billion in foreign direct investment flowed into India from the United States, and Indian private sector investment in the United States recently surpassed that of China – investments that, by some estimates, are generating over 400,000 U.S. jobs.

And over 300,000 Indian students are studying in the United States. In fact, our international students come from India more than any other country in the world.

And for all our work together, in many ways, we’re just getting started.

When President Biden came into office, he made clear that America’s domestic strength and our international position were inherently linked. 

And that in an era of intense geopolitical competition, we needed to re-invest in our domestic industrial base and our innovation economy to strengthen our advantages abroad. 

But he was also clear that this approach was not one we could pursue on our own.  We would need to do it together with our allies and partners.

Because by building trusted supply chains, jointly investing in emerging technologies, and leveraging our respective advantages, we would all emerge in a stronger position.

There is nowhere we have proved the theory of that case more clearly than in the U.S.-India relationship.

Over the past four years, we’ve joined hands to halt a pandemic and bring vaccines to the world; we’ve launched initiatives on jet engines, semiconductors, and clean energy; and in a few months’ time, we will come together to put an Indian astronaut into space.  

These are remarkable achievements, and we made them by harnessing the remarkable innovation of the American and Indian people.

I had the chance to see some of that collaboration here at IIT Delhi just a few moments ago, when I met with some impressive young entrepreneurs who are designing everything from AI-enabled robotics to military-grade sensors…

…ventures that I’m proud to say are being supported by the United States through partnerships with New York University, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Space Force.

And that’s what I’d like to say more about today: How we’ve taken the U.S.-India partnership to a fundamentally new level over the last four years, with innovation at its core, and how that is playing out bilaterally, regionally, and globally.

***

First, we started by transforming our technology partnership.

When President Biden came into office, he knew that “Make in India” and “Made in America” are complementary, not incompatible, precepts.

That’s why, in 2022, our Administration launched the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies with India.

The fundamental premise of iCET is that, in an era of renewed geopolitical competition, the United States and India must collaborate on the development, diffusion, and protection of critical technologies—from artificial intelligence to biotechnology, and beyond.

That is our responsibility as the world’s largest democracies. As two of the fastest-growing and largest economies. And as leading Indo-Pacific powers.

And—as we mark the second anniversary of iCET this month—we’ve proven just how impactful this deepened collaboration can be across both of our economies, and both of our innovation ecosystems.

Just look at Vikram Solar, which announced plans last year for a $1.5 billion investment in solar manufacturing here in the United States.

Or Bharat Forge, which in 2021 opened the first U.S. greenfield aluminum forging plant in over 15 years.

At the same time, U.S. companies looking for more resilience in both their markets and supply chains are shifting out of China and expanding to India.

Take, for example, Apple’s significant investment in Indian production. Within the next couple of years, over a quarter of all iPhones in the world will be made right here in India.

Or Ford’s recent expansion in Chennai—which will add thousands of jobs in Tamil Nadu.

And I want to take a moment to talk about our supply chains specifically.

The United States, India, and other partners have all been reminded—abruptly and sharply—that we cannot ignore the ways in which interdependencies can be weaponized against us.

We’ve seen countries lose access to critical minerals that support our clean energy and electronics industries.

We’ve seen companies struggling to compete against China’s predatory industrial strategies in chips, clean energy, and other emerging technologies.

And, of course, we’ve seen repeated attacks on industries tied to our critical infrastructure, which is heightening the risks not only of cyber espionage, but of destructive sabotage.

That’s why—as we launched iCET—both President Biden and Prime Minister Modi made it a priority to invest in national programs that are spurring production in sectors that had become overly reliant on China.

These include the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, the India Semiconductor Mission, and India’s Production-Linked Incentive program in areas such as biopharmaceuticals.

The benefits of those programs are already flowing to both of our countries.

Micron was the first, not just American, but first global company to partner with India’s Semiconductor Mission, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new semi-conductor packaging facilities that will establish India as a new hub in the global chip ecosystem.

India and the United States have joined hands with Japan, the ROK, and Europe to establish a new Biopharmaceutical Supply Chain Consortium—the “Bio-5”—that will reduce dependence on single-source suppliers supply chains.

We are poised to expand these efforts into new sectors—most notably, commercial space exploration.  In fact, as we speak, U.S. companies are providing support for a SpaDeX [Spay-Dex] satellite docking experiment that will enable new Indian missions to the moon.    

And as a result of new updates to our missile technology control export policies that President Biden signed out just last week—and which I’m glad to announce publicly for the first time today—our commercial and civil space partnership is set for lift off.

***

Second, as we’ve strengthened our technology partnership—we started delivering for the Indo-Pacific region  as well.  

Take, for example, the U.S.-India defense partnership.  The growth of our defense partnership over the past two decades has been nothing short of remarkable.

Just consider, twenty-five years ago, the United States and India had no defense trade relationship at all.

No frameworks for information sharing or logistics cooperation.

No major military exercises to train alongside each other.

Today, the United States is not just selling defense systems to India. We are making them here in India. And the United States has become the top destination for Indian defense exports.

We launched a first-of-its kind defense initiative—INDUS X—that is awarding American and Indian start-ups the funding to more rapidly bring new technologies forward to our militaries.

On top of this—in the past two years alone—the Biden administration has approved technology proposals that would enable India to become the first global producer of Stryker combat vehicles, a leading producer of advanced munitions systems, and the first foreign producer of cutting-edge maritime systems.

We announced a ground-breaking initiative to enable India to manufacture jet engines that will power India’s future indigenous fighter fleet.

And even more work is underway – in aviation, sensing, undersea — that will come to fruition soon.

So many of these initiatives have the potential to extend beyond the United States and India, to eventually help countries across the Indo-Pacific region upgrade their defensive capabilities as well.

Because that’s another goal that unites us: to ensure a more free, more secure, more prosperous, and more resilient Indo-Pacific region.

And stronger U.S. and Indian defense cooperation is already enabling security across the region.

Through the multinational Combined Maritime Forces Coalition—of which India is now a full-time member—we are combatting piracy and trafficking at sea.

Through Exercise Malabar, the United States, India, Australia, and Japan are training to more rapidly respond to natural disasters across the Indo-Pacific.

And through historic agreements that allow U.S. Navy vessels to seek repair and maintenance in Indian shipyards in Kochi, Mumbai, and soon Chennai, the United States can more readily train and operate with countries across the Indian Ocean region.

At a time when we’re seeing dangerous provocations in the air and at sea—

The proliferation of destabilizing technologies—

And countries attempting to change the status quo by force—

Our cooperation—in technology, in defense, and beyond—is a pillar of stability in the Indo-Pacific.

***

And frankly, it goes beyond the Indo-Pacific. Which brings me to the third area: delivering for the world.

Nowhere is this more evident than clean and affordable technologies.

The U.S. Development Finance Corporation is engaged in path-breaking partnerships with Indian companies to localize and scale solar manufacturing. 

This includes investing nearly $1 billion in solar panel manufacturing in Tamil Nadu, and providing support for leading Indian manufacturers, like Tata Power Renewables. 

And in the past year, we concluded a new initiative on clean energy supply chains that lays out a path for our countries to deploy clean energy across Africa and to work with African partners on high-impact solar and electric vehicle projects.

And we’re not stopping with clean energy. Our technology partnership is delivering affordable public goods in numerous ways.

That is why we launched a new U.S.-India Global Digital Development Partnership that will leverage both government and private sector resources to deploy safe and responsible digital technologies with like-minded partners around the world.

And through the Quad, we announced plans to deliver Open RAN technology, AI-driven agricultural solutions, and cutting-edge satellite data to developing economies.

And at the G20 in Delhi in September of 2023, we announced the launch of the India-Middle East Economic Corridor, an ambitious initiative linking India, the Middle East and Europe with a sea-and-rail corridor and fiber and energy connections. 

That was just a few weeks before October 7.  But we have continued to nurture the vision, and I have personally engaged the key countries and key leaders to keep making progress. 

I have also talked to the incoming administration about the enormous opportunity to deliver growth and integration – and a high-standard alternative to what Beijing is offering.

The bottom line of all of these efforts is that the potential of this partnership is boundless.

***

But I hasten to add: it is not inevitable.

Over the years, people have referred to the United States and India as “natural” partners.

And in many ways, that’s true. Our democracies our linked. Our companies are linked. Our universities are linked. And more than anything else, our people our linked.

But the U.S.-India partnership that we have built together is not one that just naturally sprang into existence.  All of our linkages have been necessary, but at the same time, insufficient.

The partnership we have built is one of intention, of choice. One of determination, of leadership. And, frankly, one of perseverance and grit.

Look at the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement concluded by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, may he rest in peace.

Or India’s designation as a Major Defense Partner of the United States in 2016.

Or President Biden and Prime Minister Modi’s decision to manufacture advanced jet engine technology and explore space together.

None of these were “natural” occurrences.

Step-by-step we have worked to build trust. To build habits of cooperation. And to move our partnership past what Prime Minister Modi has called our “hesitations of history.”

Which brings me to another historic step forward on that journey.

Although former President Bush and former Prime Minister Singh laid out a vision of civil-nuclear cooperation twenty years ago, we have yet to fully realize it.

But as we work to build clean energy technologies, to enable growth in artificial intelligence, and to help U.S. and Indian energy companies unlock their innovation potential, the Biden administration determined it was time to take the next major step in cementing this partnership.

So today I can announce that the United States is now finalizing the necessary steps to remove longstanding regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and U.S. companies.

This is a statement of confidence in the progress we have made—and will continue to make—as strategic partners, and as countries who share a commitment to peaceful nuclear cooperation. 

And it is the result of India’s open and transparent engagement with our Administration over the course of the past four years, which has enabled this new chapter to move forward.

Of course, none of this has been easy.

We’ve both had to navigate our share of turbulence. Legacy relationships. Tensions over trade, as well as human rights and rule of law, at home and abroad.

But we have navigated these issues together, with our eye on the long game. And our ability to do so reflects the deep and enduring resilience between the United States and India—across generations, across administrations, and “across the aisle.”

***

This leads to my parting thoughts: where do we go from here?

I am deeply proud of the work the United States and India have done together under iCET to shape the technologies of the future. And I’m proud that we are passing the baton off the next Administration in an even stronger position.

But there is still much more to be done.

Looking forward, it will not be enough for the United States and India to simply collaborate in building the critical technologies of the future.

We also need to work together to shape the diffusion, protection, and rules that govern those technologies.

We have already begun this work in domains such as space, where India’s decision to join the Artemis Accords is allowing us to establish a common set of principles around civilian space exploration.

We will need to continue to drive similar efforts in other spheres, such as the employment of artificial intelligence and advanced biotechnologies—both of which will have enormous consequences in every facet of life.

As we see more and more new technologies diverted to unfriendly actors, theUnited States and India will also need to ensure that valuable dual-use technologies don’t fall into the wrong hands.

This means aligning our export control systems. Looking at trade measures to protect our industrial strategies against overcapacity. Better securing our supply chains. And reviewing outbound and inbound investments in sensitive sectors.

As we take these steps, we need to expand the work we’re doing to leverage American and Indian innovation to help the world – especially emerging economies – to enable equitable growth across the globe.

And finally, our partnership can be most effectively sustained – and can only reach its full potential – if we each live up to the values that lie at the core of our democracies.  Respect for the rule of law that creates the conditions for dynamic growth. Respect for pluralism and tolerance that powers innovation.  And the protection of basic freedoms that unleash the human spirit. 

I say this not as a skeptic, but as someone who fully believes the United States and India can realize those aspirations.  These are basic truths about how our democracies will grow and flourish.

***

So let me close with this.

This is likely the last trip overseas I will lead as National Security Advisor.

And I cannot think of a better way to end my tenure in the White House–visiting India on my final overseas visit to mark the advances we have made together over the past four years: this is a shared and historic achievement, and a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s foreign policy legacy.

We’ve had to deal with challenging moments.  We’ve had to work to resolve difficult issues.

But being here at IIT Delhi with the young technologists and entrepreneurs and policymakers who will take this generational project forward,

I have every reason to be believe that within the next decade we’ll see:

American and Indian firms working together to build the next generation of semi-conductor technologies.

American and Indian astronauts conducting cutting-edge research and space exploration together.

American and Indian researchers contributing to a new explosion in lifesaving vaccines.

American and Indian engineering students developing new innovations together right here at IIT Delhi.

And American and Indian leaders propelling our partnership – and our future – toward what the American statesman-scientist Vannevar Bush called “the endless frontier” that we haven’t yet imagined.

Thank you again for having me here.  I cannot wait to see what all of you, and so many other young people across our nations, achieve in the years ahead.

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