Statements and Releases

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

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

Battery Material Processing and Manufacturing

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

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

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

Supporting Responsible Domestic Mining

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

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

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

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

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

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

Growing Economic Prosperity for Latino Communities

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

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

Ensuring Equitable Educational Opportunity for Latino Students

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

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

Improving Health Outcomes for Latino Communities

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

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

Reducing Gun Violence and Saving Lives

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

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

Addressing America’s Broken Immigration System

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

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

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

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

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

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On Thursday, September 26, President Biden will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine at the White House. Vice President Harris will also meet separately with President Zelenskyy at the White House. The leaders will discuss the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. The President and Vice President will emphasize their unshakeable commitment to stand with Ukraine until it prevails in this war.

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On September 23, President Biden will welcome His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House.  During the visit, the leaders will strengthen the enduring strategic partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates and advance common priorities.  Vice President Harris will also separately meet with President Mohamed.

President Biden and Vice President Harris will discuss with President Mohamed a number of bilateral and regional matters, including efforts to strengthen regional stability and reduce tensions.  They will focus on areas of deepening cooperation between the two countries such as advanced technology, artificial intelligence, investments, and space exploration.  The leaders will also coordinate on areas of robust partnership on security, defense, and counter-terrorism coordination, collaboration to address the climate crisis and energy transition, and efforts to promote peace and prosperity. 

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Yesterday, on National Voter Registration Day, the White House hosted a roundtable discussion to hear directly from youth leaders about their nonpartisan efforts to promote youth civic engagement across the country. College and high school student leaders from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas discussed their nonpartisan efforts to help eligible young Americans register to vote and cast their ballots. Leaders of organizations that support nonpartisan youth civic engagement highlighted their work to strengthen young peoples’ ability to make their voices heard and have an impact on issues that they care most about. Participants discussed barriers to voting that young Americans face, including unfamiliarity with the voting process, lack of access to and information about voter registration opportunities and convenient ballot polling locations or ballot drop boxes, voter suppression such as laws that limit the ability of students to use their school IDs to vote, and the chilling effect of state restrictions on voter registration activity. During the roundtable, the Biden-Harris Administration discussed its efforts to expand voting access for young Americans, including improving and promoting vote.gov, which offers guides for college students and those approaching voting age, and the Department of Education’s toolkit to provide schools with nonpartisan strategies to help their eligible students register to vote and cast their ballots.

As extremists across the country continue to advance policies that make it harder for Americans to vote and spread baseless lies to sow doubt about the integrity of our elections, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to ensuring that all eligible Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, are able to vote in free, fair, and secure elections. That is why, for example, Vice President Harris announced National Voter Registration Day as one of three National Days of Action on Voting Rights. President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to stand up to attacks on Americans’ fundamental right to vote, and call on Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to fully protect the right to vote for all eligible Americans in every state.

Additionally, on National Voter Registration Day, the Biden-Harris Administration announced actions that agencies are taking to promote access to voting for all eligible Americans, building on the progress that agencies have made since President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting on March, 7, 2021:

1. The General Services Administration (GSA) recently launched a revamped vote.gov website, where Americans can find nonpartisan information about registering to vote and how to vote. The new vote.gov is now available in 19 languages, accommodating 96% of the American public, and has new accessibility features like compatibility with screen readers. Vote.gov partnered with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to now offer an accessible tool that helps voters more easily fill out the National Mail Voter Registration Form online, then print and mail it to their state or territory. While vote.gov itself does not register voters or store any personal data, it serves as a helpful one-stop tool that connects Americans to their state election websites to register to vote. 
2. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making it easier for interested consumers on HealthCare.gov to connect to voter registration services. Starting on September 20, 2024, the HealthCare.gov online application will include an optional question allowing consumers to express an interest in receiving information about registering to vote, and those who select to express an interest will receive a link to vote.gov for additional information.
3. GSA partnered with the United States Postal Service to display vote.gov posters in approximately 17,000 Post Offices across the country.

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Today, the White House launched the U.S. Strategy on Global Development to codify the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment and work over the past four years to accelerate development progress in pursuit of a world that is more free, open, prosperous, and secure.  Our approach to global development – rooted in partnership, transparency, and a commitment to sustainable outcomes – positions the United States to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow in coordination with global partners. 

The world is at a critical moment.  People around the globe are struggling to cope with the effects of compounding crises and challenges that cross borders – whether it is climate change, food insecurity, pandemics, or fragility and conflict.  At the same time, in this age of interdependence in which we must find new and better ways to work together to confront shared challenges, geopolitical competition is also reshaping the global development system.  Our affirmative development agenda reinforces the United States’ commitment to promoting a world in which everyone can live in dignity, all people are afforded equal opportunity, and no one is left behind. 

THE NEW GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

The U.S. Strategy on Global Development articulates an integrated, whole-of-government approach, building on more than 75 years of U.S. leadership and investment in global development as a strategic, economic, and moral imperative.  The United States remains committed to accelerating development progress around the world and to fully implementing the ambitious, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by 194 nations in 2015.  More than halfway to 2030, we are collectively only on track to achieve 15 percent of the SDGs targets.

The United States has redoubled its efforts to protect hard-won development gains and to help developing country partners meet urgent needs, by leveraging the full suite of tools, resources, and expertise across 21 U.S. Government Departments and Agencies.  In the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, we invested [more than $150 billion and mobilized billions more in private sector investment] to drive progress on the SDGs. 

Today, U.S. global development investments are better targeted to achieve sustainable development outcomes and to maximize critical partnerships with other donors, the private sector, international financial institutions, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental partners.  The Strategy sets out five strategic objectives:

• Reduce Poverty through Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth and Quality Infrastructure Development.  For the first time in decades, we saw an increase in extreme poverty and inequality during the pandemic.  We recognize that many countries and communities around the world continue to struggle economically following the COVID-19 crisis.  The United States is committed to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth – growth that improves the lives of all members of society, including those in vulnerable situations. In the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, we have invested over $58.5 billion to reduce poverty and advance shared prosperity.  We have also accelerated investment in high-quality infrastructure as key driver of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development.  Over the last three years through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, we have mobilized nearly $60 billion in public and private sector funding for infrastructure investments to advance climate resilience, energy security, secure digital connectivity, health and health security, agriculture and food security, and water and sanitation.

We have also led a global effort to reform the multilateral development banks to equip these institutions to better address today’s complex development challenges like climate change, pandemics, and fragility and conflict.  Addressing these challenges is integral to achieving their core mandates to end extreme poverty and promote sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development.  Recognizing that too many countries around the world are forced to make tough choices between making debt payments or investing in their own development progress and addressing global challenges, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the Nairobi-Washington Vision, calling on the international community to step up support for developing countries committed to ambitious reforms and investments that are held back by high debt burdens. 

• Invest in Health, Food Security, and Human Capital.  The United States is committed to sustaining critical investments in the fundamentals of all thriving societies: health, food security, and human capital.  The United States continues to build resilient, responsive, and sustainably financed health systems, accelerate efforts towards universal health coverage, and promote primary health care and health equity.  As infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics are increasing in both severity and frequency, U.S. leadership on global health security saves lives and strengthens health systems abroad, while keeping Americans safer at home.   The United States has led an international effort to vaccinate the world against COVID‑19 – donating more than 692 million doses to 117 countries – while simultaneously investing in strengthening countries’ capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to future global health threats.  The Biden-Harris Administration has sustained the United States’ longstanding leadership and investments in the fight to end HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as public health threats by 2030, including through robust commitments to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved more than 25 million lives to date, and a commitment to five-year authorization.  The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to securing a clean, five-year reauthorization for PEPFAR that is fully funded.  President Biden also led the historic replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in 2022, which raised $15.7 billion.  In June, we announced a new five-year commitment to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, totaling at least $1.58 billion, to help reach the goal of vaccinating more than 500 million more children and save more than 8 million lives by 2030.

Meanwhile, hunger and malnutrition are affecting the world’s most marginalized communities.  After decades of progress, a series of unprecedented shocks and stresses –exacerbated by the climate crisis – have reversed many development gains.  An estimated 152 million more people are hungry today than in 2019. The United States continues to lead global efforts to address food insecurity, having invested over $20 billion, including through Feed the Future, to boost food production, provide critical aid to reduce malnutrition, build more resilient food systems, and strengthen countries’ capacity to better withstand shocks. The Biden-Harris Administration also remains committed to supporting human capital development, including and especially children and youth, by expanding access to quality, inclusive, safe, and equitable education. In the first three years of the Administration, we have invested over $4.2 billion to support efforts to expand education access.

• Decarbonize the Economy and Increase Climate Resilience. The climate crisis has reached existential proportions, shattering records for catastrophic droughts and extreme weather events, decimating livelihoods, and undermining health, food, and water security.  This is the decisive decade for tackling the climate crisis, and the Biden-Harris Administration is advancing bold efforts at the nexus of decarbonization, energy security, and energy access.  In the first three years of the Administration, the United States has invested over $1.9 billion to expand energy access and over $4.5 billion to combat climate change.  We have taken steps to doing our part to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by putting in place ambitious policies to achieve at least a 50 percent decrease in emissions domestically by 2030. 

Through the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, we are helping strengthen the climate resilience of countries and communities, supporting more than half a billion people reduce risks and adapt to climate change-related impacts by 2030.  We have bolstered efforts to increase inclusive, transparent, and accountable access to climate finance for developing partner countries, in pursuit of the President’s commitment to work with Congress to increase U.S.-provided international climate finance to $11 billion annually.  Building on the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act, the United States is helping developing country partners reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase clean energy access, through data-driven clean and just energy transitions, green transportation, climate-smart agriculture, and efforts to halt deforestation to preserve carbon critical landscapes. 

• Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, and Address Fragility and Conflict. Democracy and human rights are under threat worldwide.  Over the last decade, there has been a resurgence of authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.  Conflict is on the rise across the globe and threatens to undermine future progress on all SDGs.  In response, the United States has invested $27.2 billion in the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and building effective and accountable institutions.  Through the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal and the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption, the United States has made historic commitments to promote accountability, advance digital democracy, support free and independent media, fight corruption, bolster human rights and democratic reformers, and defend free and fair elections.  Given that this decade will likely experience levels of conflict not seen since the 1980s, we are also taking steps to promote stability, prevent and respond to conflict and violence, and address the drivers of fragility, including through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, the U.S. Women, Peace and Security Strategy, and the U.S. Strategy to Prevent, Anticipate and Respond to Atrocities. 

• Respond to Humanitarian Needs.  At a moment of unprecedented global need, the United States continues to be the world’s leading single-country humanitarian donor.  Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have provided over $49 billion to programs delivering principled, live-saving humanitarian assistance to people in need around the world.  This critical funding has saved lives, alleviated human suffering, and reduced the impact of disasters by supporting people and communities in the most vulnerable situations to become more resilient to shocks and stressors.  On average, the United States responds to 75 crises in 70 countries each year, reaching tens of millions of people around the world with life-saving humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, health care, and other critical aid.  In an era of ever-increasing needs, we are also taking steps to unlock new and innovative financing to support more sustainable solutions, reducing the need for humanitarian assistance over time, while promoting cost-effective systemic reforms.

In the face of global challenges, we are committed to reclaiming lost development gains and accelerating collective progress toward the SDGs.  A more secure and prosperous world is only possible when we stand together to tackle complex global challenges and advance dignity and freedom for all.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to New York City to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23-25.  In addition to addressing the General Assembly on September 24, President Biden will meet with world leaders to discuss cooperation in tackling threats to international peace and security, advancing global prosperity, and protecting human rights.

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For over 17 long months, the Sudanese people have endured a senseless war that has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Nearly 10 million people have been displaced by this conflict. Women and girls have been kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Famine has taken hold in Darfur, and is threatening millions more elsewhere. And today, a violent history is repeating itself. The city of El Fasher, Darfur—home to nearly two million people and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons—has been under a months-long siege by the Rapid Support Forces. That siege has become a full-on assault in recent days.

I call on the belligerents responsible for Sudanese suffering—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—to pull back their forces, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, and re-engage in negotiations to end this war. The RSF must stop their assault that is disproportionately harming Sudanese civilians. The SAF must stop indiscriminate bombings that are destroying civilian lives and infrastructure.  While both sides have taken some steps to improve humanitarian access, the SAF and RSF continue to delay and disrupt lifesaving humanitarian operations. Both parties need to immediately allow unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of Sudan.

The United States stands with the Sudanese people. Since the start of the conflict, we have pressed for peace and sought to hold accountable actors seeking to perpetuate violence.  The United States has advanced efforts to rally international partners, end hostilities, protect civilians, expand humanitarian access, and elevate civil society voices—most recently through talks last month in Switzerland, where we launched the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan Group with a collection of influential partners, the African Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Nations, and the United Arab Emirates. The ALPS Group has secured the opening of new routes into Darfur and Khartoum, through which desperately needed humanitarian assistance is now being delivered, and permission to access some airstrips to further increase aid delivery. But we must keep pressing for more.  

The United States is the world’s largest provider of assistance to the Sudanese people, funding over $1.6 billion in emergency assistance in the last two years. We have previously determined that members of the SAF and the RSF have committed war crimes, and that members of the RSF have committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned sixteen entities and individuals for contributing to the conflict, exacerbating instability, or serious human rights abuses. And we will continue to evaluate further atrocity allegations and potential additional sanctions. Let it be clear: the United States will not abandon our commitment to the people of Sudan who deserve freedom, peace, and justice. We call for all parties to this conflict to end this violence and refrain from fueling it, for the future of Sudan and for all of the Sudanese people.

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Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer spoke on the phone today with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana to discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and reaffirm the commitment of Guyana and the United States to advance regional security, democracy and stability.  They discussed the outcomes of the inaugural Guyana-U.S. Strategic Dialogue that was held in July, and additional concrete steps to contribute to Guyana’s economy, development and territorial integrity.  They also shared their concerns regarding the violations of democratic practices in Venezuela following the July 28 presidential election.  Mr. Finer and President Ali agreed to continue collaboration with regional partners to restore security for the Haitian people, and ensure the success and sustainability of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti.

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Every woman in every state must have reproductive freedom. Yet, Republicans in Congress have once again made clear that they will not protect access to the fertility treatments many couples need to fulfill their dream of having a child.
 
Congressional Republicans’ repeated refusal to protect access to IVF is not an isolated incident. Extremist so-called leaders have launched a full-on attack against reproductive freedom across our country. In the more than two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, they have proposed and passed abortion bans that criminalize doctors and make no exception for rape or incest. They have also blocked legislation to protect the right to contraception and proposed four national abortion bans.
 
Their opposition to a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body is extreme, dangerous, and wrong. Our administration will always fight to protect reproductive freedoms, which must include access to IVF. We stand with the majority of Americans – Republicans and Democrats alike – who support protecting access to fertility treatments. And we continue to call on Congress to finally pass a bill that restores reproductive freedom.

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Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2:14 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey, everybody.  How are you?  (Applause.) 

Well, look, I think we’re really — not because of me, because of you — we’re at a real point where things are about to change in a big way in America.  No, I really mean it.  I really mean it.  I think we have a — not — not because of me, because of you.

Look, you know, I was thinking about it —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It’s because of you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, no.  (Applause.)  You’re nice to say that.  But, look, one of the things that I — (laughter) — one of the things that I — I think about —

You know, I was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  (Applause.)  And in Scranton, there was a hierarchy, and the bottom of the barrel are Catholics.  Seriously, because of the way they came in the mines.  The English own the mines, and so on. And then after that — not just Irish but other denominations.

And I was raised by a dad who just said, “Look, just get up when you get knocked down.  Just get up.”  I have a cartoon on my desk my dad gave me when he showed up at an event at my house.  And I was lamenting, looking out at the back door at a pond, that my deceased wife couldn’t see the house because it had water behind it, and she was raised in Skaneateles, New York, near the water. 

And my dad — what he did was he said, “I’ll be back in a minute.”  I was about — doing a fundraiser — I think it was my fifth or sixth campaign for the Senate — at my home.  And he went up to a Hallmark store, which was in a strip shopping center not far from the house, came back before anybody got there, and he gave me a framed picture — a framed photograph — I mean, cartoon characters: Hägar — do you remember Hägar the Horrible, the Viking? 

And there’s one frame in this — and I’ve had it on my desk for over 20 years.  There’s one frame in that desk — I mean, excuse me, in that — in that frame that shows Hägar looking up and his Viking — ship has been hit by lightning, his hair — his helmet is knocked off, he’s looking up at Heaven and is screaming “Why me?” to God.  In the next frame, the same scene, but a voice from Heaven coming back and saying, “Why not?” 

Well, that was my dad.  He said — and he came back, and he — and he was — he was mad that I was lamenting what happened earlier on.  And he said, “What — why would you be spared with that?  Why?  You just got to get up.  Get up.”

Well, to me, that exemplifies the African American community I was — I worked with.  No, I’m not joking.  To me, when I was — there’s a photograph in my office — (inaudible) Oval Office — of my mom holding Barack’s hand as we were announced as the next president and vice president out in Chicago.  She wasn’t even supposed to walk out.  My mom was 94 years old at the time.

And the photograph reminds me of what she said.  She said to me, after Barack cleaned my clock in the — (laughter) — and I — and so, he had — I was — he was — he became the de facto nominee the second week in August, and I was riding home on the train, which I did every night because right after I got elected, my wife and daughter were killed and my two boys were badly injured in an accident, so I started to commute.  And for over — over 1,200,000 miles on Amtrak every day. 

And — and I was coming out of the Baltimore Tunnel, heading north, and my phone rang.  It was Barack.  And Barack said, “Joe, I want to do a background check on you.”  (Laughter.)  I knew what he meant.  He meant for vice president. 

I said, “Barack, I don’t want to be vice president.  I’ll do anything I can to help you.  I can help you more as a senior senator.  I’ll bust my neck for you.  I’m better there for you.” 

He said, “Well, there’s only three of you.”  And I said, “Barack, I don’t want to be vice president.”  He said, “Well, damn it, it’s only you.”  (Laughter.)

And I swear to God, I said, “I — I don’t want to be vice president, Barack.  I really don’t, but I’ll do what I can.”  He said, “Well, do this.”  He knew my family fairly well.  His — my two — my number three and four granddaughter are his two daughters’ best friends.  They went school together.  They always hang out together. 

Anyway, to make a long story short, I — I called my — my mom and dad.  I mean, my dad had passed.  I called home.  My mom was living with us because my dad had just passed.  And I said to the family, I said, “Let’s have a meeting, because Barack just called me about something I want to talk to you about.”  And he said — he made me promise I’d go home and talk to them.  He said, “And get back to me in 24, 48 hours at the latest,” because he knew the family, as I said.

So, we sat in the back porch, and I started off — and I thought that they’d all agree with me.  And so, I said — I turned to my wife, Jill, who is the love of my life and the life of my love — (applause) — I married way above my station.  (Laughter.) 

But all kidding aside, I said, “What do you think?”  She said, “I think you should take it.”  I said, “Why?”  She said, “If you don’t, he’ll make you secretary of state, and you’ll never be home.”  (Laughter.) 

Then I went to my deceased son, Beau, who was then attorney general.  He said, “Dad, you got to do it,” and gave me a lecture of my obligation.  And my son Hunter, the same thing, and my daughter the same thing.  I went down the list, and my mom was sitting on the railing on the porch — by the railing.  I said, “Honey, you haven’t said anything.” 

And she said, “Joey, let me get this straight.”  This is an absolutely true story — my word as a Biden.  She said, “Joey, remember when you were 14 years old, and they were desegregating the neighborhood Lynnfield?”  About eighty homes were built once — once around — you know, and we lived in an area called Mayfield, the next neighborhood up in suburban Wilmington and in a split-level home with three kids and a grandpop living with us — four kids, counting me.

And — and so, I — she said, “Don’t go down there, Joey; there’s — there’s going to be — there’s protests.”  But I went down, and I got arrested for standing on the porch with a Black couple because the police were worried I was going to get hurt.  They brought me home.

I said, “Yeah, I remember that, Mom.  What’s that have to do with anything?”  She said, “And remember, Joey, you had that job in the country club as a lifeguard, but you wanted to be the only guy to work in the projects — in the public housing projects, the swimming pool that summer — for summer, the only white employee?”  I said, “Yeah, Mom, I just wanted to learn more.” 

She said, “Joey, let me get this straight.  The first Black man in American history has a chance to be president and he said he needs you, and you told him no?”  (Laughter.)  I said —

So, I called him and said yes.  But my generic point is that, you know, for a lot of us, we come from states that were segregated by law.  Delaware was a slave state.  Delaware fought on the side of the North because it couldn’t get to the South, like Maryland and a few other states. 

And when we moved down from Scranton, Pennsylvania, there were no — there were no African Americans where I lived in Scranton — virtually none.  Moving to Delaware, Delaware has the eighth-largest percent of African Americans of any state in the nation. 

And I remember being dropped — we went and moved to a little steel town called Claymont, Delaware, when coal died in Scranton and — and died in Clay- — in Claymont, as well as steel.  But anyway, we would be dropped off because we were out along what they called the Philadelphia Pike was too da-  — we were only lived — in a what later became a public housing project, we only lived probably a quarter mile, maybe half a mile from — we could have walked, except it was too dangerous crossing the road, so we would be dropped off in the morning.

Every morning when we’d get dropped off, I’d see a bus go by — at the time, referred to “colored kids” going by — you know, by the Catholic school I — grade school I went to.  But they also went by Claymont High School and Claymont Middle School, which is right up the street.  And I thought that just — it just struck me as that — that can’t be right.

And from that is what got me engaged, not a joke.  I wasn’t any great shake.  But, you know, I got involved in the civil rights movement.  I got involved in — I’d usually go to — go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, and then I’d get up and go to 10 o’clock mass with Reverend Ha-  — anyway — at the Black chur- — AME Church, where we’d plan what we were going to do.

The whole point is that I had the opportunity to get a little glimpse — just a little glimpse of what it was like and all the talent — all the talent that I knew.  All those guys who were the lifeguards with me down at the (inaudible) swimming pool, four of them were all — were honor students in college.  They were first-rate people. 

And I just got — I wasn’t any great shakes, but I got involved in desegregating movie theaters, those kinds of things.  And one thing led to another, and then what happened was — and the reason I’m telling you this story because I think this is going to be a significant extension, what we’re doing.

What happened was Delaware was the only state in the nation that had — was occupied by the military for 10 months after Dr. King was assassinated, because of the riots.  There was National Guard on every single corner in Delaware with drawn bayonets.  And I had gotten a job with a fancy law firm, and I — you have to clerk for six months as a lawyer before you can even — even if you pass the bar, before you could be admitted.  And it was the middle of the clerkship, and I — I decided I just couldn’t do it anymore because I’d look out my window and see the cops in Rodney Square — or the National Guard, I should say.

So, I remember walking over — a guy named Frannie Kearns ran the public defender’s office, and I walked in and I sought a job.  It was only part time.  And he said, “Don’t you work for Prickett, Ward, Burt?”  And I said, “Yeah.”  He said, “Are you okay?”  (Laughter.)

I said, “Yeah, but I quit and I want — that’s what I wanted to do.”  And my state was a state that had — was a Democratic Party.  It was a Southern Democratic Party — southern part of the state — George Wallace did very well in the state before he was assassinated on the Eastern Shore. 

And so, what happened was we got — I got engaged, and one thing led to another.  And I ended up getting involved in trying to change the Democratic Party to a Northeastern Democratic Party, because it was split at the time.  And one thing led to another.  I — I was a young lawyer.  I got to — I joined a group called the New Democratic Coalition.  And when you’re the youngest lawyer or man or woman in the room, you get to turn the lights on and off.  (Laughter.)

And one thing led to another, and I kept to try — I started this effort to try to attract people to begin to run for office in states wher- — in districts we hadn’t run.  And they came to me and asked me to head up a group to find somebody to run for the United States Senate.

Make a long story short, no one would do it.  There were some competent people and very important people that didn’t want to run.  And so, I’m reporting back to this group all the time. 

And so, I’m down — I go to an off-year convention in the — 1971 convention, the Democratic Party in Dover, Delaware.  I went down with four guys that I — two were radio guys — anyway, all good men.  They happened to all be men at the time. 

And — and I — I came back and — after the afternoon meeting, and I went in to shave and get ready for the evening meeting.  And what happened was, as I’m going in — I go in — you know, a little — a nice motel, when you have an 8-by-10 bathroom, a shower, a toilet, a sink.  You know?  And I’m shaving, and I have a towel around me, getting ready to go back.  And hear, “Bam, bam, bam,” at the door, and I thought it was Bob Cunningham and a few other people I came down with kidding with me.

I opened the door, and there were four leaders there.  One family had more United States senators than any family in American history, the Tunnells — former Justice Tunnell.  The other was a chairman of the — was a former governor, a gentleman named Carvel, a great, big guy, was a moderate guy — a moderate Re- — Democratic member of the House of Representatives who had been defeated.  And the state chairman.

And I’m standing there with a towel on and shaving cream on my face.  (Laughter.)  They said, “Joe, we just had dinner.  We want to talk to you.”  And they walked in.  I said, “Well, okay.”  You know, with two headboards nailed the wall, a desk nailed to the other wall.  I ran in to try on — I thought I was going to put something on.  Well, I couldn’t find — I just took the shaving cream off.

I’m standing, leaning against the thing.  They said, “Joe, we decided: You should run.”  (Laughter.)  I said, “For what, Mr. Justice?”  “For the Senate.” 

I said, “I’m not old enough.”  He said, “Obviously, you didn’t do very well in constitutional law.”  (Laughter.)  He said, “You have to be 30 to be sworn in, not to be elected, and you’ll be 30.”

One thing led to another, and I’d hope what you had — one professor at school you really admired.  Well, there was one I had.  And on the way home, I called him, and I went from Dover to Newark, Delaware, to the university.  And I said, “What do you think?”  And I’ll never forget what he said.  He said, “Remember what Plato said.”  And I’m thinking, “What the hell did Plato say?”  (Laughter.)

Plato said, and I’m paraphrasing, “The penalty good people pay for not being involved in politics is being governed by people worse than themselves.”

So, I went home to my deceased wife, and I said, “What do you think I should do?”  She said, “Look, you’re working part time as a public defender.  You’re trying to start a law firm.  You’re working 40 to 80 hours a week.  Pick one.”  (Laughter.)

One thing led to another, and I wo- — ran and I won.  And I won because the African American community showed up over 90 percent for me in my state and every election since then. 

The point I’m making is simple.  You can do things you don’t think you can do.  You can do things you don’t think you can do. 

And, by the way, I — for 36 years — not a joke, and you’ll all check this, I know; check on your phones — (laughter) — I was — I was listed the poorest man in the United States Congress — not just Senate — Congress — for 36 years I was there.  I had a good salary.  I was making $42,000 as a senator and, after that, it went up.  (Laughter.)  I never thought I was poor. 

But my point is, I didn’t come from any means.  So, I hope some of you do more than just change things.  I hope you run.  I hope you get involved in the political process.  It’s not just supporting people but thinking of yourself as being engaged, because we can really — the — the country is ready. 

We really are, as I said, at one of these inflection points.  Think about it.  What’s going to happen?  Mark my words.  You tell your children, and you’re — if you’re young enough, you’ll know.  In 20 years, you’re going to see a different world, a different nation. 

We can — I think we can make it a hell of a lot better.  I really do.  And I am — I am optimistic.  (Applause.)  So, remember. 

I’m sorry to talk so long.  But I just — I — I just want you to — please, please, please get a — not just get involved — it all gets down to the vote.  The bottom line is the vote.

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

Thank you.  (Applause.)

2:30 P.M. EDT

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We the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, mark the third anniversary of AUKUS – an enhanced security partnership that promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.  We reaffirm our shared commitment to this historic partnership and acknowledge the considerable progress to date.   

Pillar I – Conventionally-Armed, Nuclear-Powered Submarines

In March 2023, our nations announced a pathway to deliver Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability, while setting the highest non-proliferation standard.    

We are steadily building Australia’s capabilities to steward and operate its own fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s.  The United Kingdom and the United States welcomed Australian naval officers and sailors into their submarine training schools and embedded Australian personnel into the UK Ministry of Defence and U.S. naval shipyards.  Our nations have made enormous strides towards the establishment of a rotational presence of U.S. and UK SSNs at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as early as 2027.  Increased visits by U.S. SSNs to Australia have supported steady progress in Australian workforce development, and, in August 2024, Australian personnel demonstrated their progress through participation in the first maintenance activity conducted on a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Australia.

We have made significant investments to lift our respective submarine industrial bases.  The United Kingdom has made an initial allocation of nearly £4 billion to continue work on SSN-AUKUS, and £3 billion to expand production capabilities across its Defence Nuclear Enterprise.  The United States decided to invest USD 17.5 billion into its submarine industrial base.  Australia has committed to invest over AUD 30 billion in the Australian defense industrial base and make proportionate contributions to the United Kingdom and the United States to support the production of SSN-AUKUS and to accelerate the delivery of Virginia class submarines respectively.  In March 2024, Australia announced the selection of ASC Pty Ltd and BAE Systems to build SSN-AUKUS and ASC Pty Ltd to sustain Australia’s SSNs.  These respective investments and decisions will deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs across our three nations. 

In August this year, the AUKUS partners signed a historic international agreement for cooperation relating to naval nuclear propulsion.  Once it enters into force, this agreement will enable AUKUS partners to go beyond sharing naval nuclear propulsion information to include allowing the United States and the United Kingdom to transfer the material and equipment required for the safe and secure construction, operation, and sustainment of Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines. 

The agreement reaffirms AUKUS partners’ existing non-proliferation obligations and Australia’s safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  The agreement will make our non-proliferation commitments under AUKUS legally-binding between the partners.  Our nations continue to consult with the IAEA to develop a non-proliferation and safeguards approach that sets the highest non-proliferation standard.  

Pillar II – Advanced Capabilities

When AUKUS was first announced, we pledged to pursue information and technology sharing and unprecedented integration of our innovation communities, industrial bases, and warfighter capabilities in support of a shared goal to build the advanced capabilities needed to bolster deterrence in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. 

This work is delivering as our Navies are strengthening undersea warfare capabilities by integrating the ability to launch and recover undersea vehicles from submarine torpedo tubes to deliver effects such as strike and reconnaissance.  We are also deploying advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithms across our shared military systems to process sonar-buoy data, assisting anti-submarine operators in making better decisions, faster.  We are strengthening maritime autonomy through a series of joint exercise and experimentation known as the Maritime Big Play, where we will conduct ground-breaking tests on the collective use of autonomous and un-crewed systems in maritime operations.  Together, we are making further strides in quantum technologies, cyber capabilities, hypersonics, and electronic warfare.

In April 2024 our Defense Ministers announced principles for additional AUKUS Pillar II partner engagement on specific projects where new partners could contribute to, and benefit from, AUKUS.  Following initial consultations this year and leveraging Japan’s deep technical expertise, AUKUS partners and Japan are exploring opportunities to improve interoperability of their maritime autonomous systems as an initial area of cooperation.  Recognizing these countries’ close bilateral defense partnerships with each member of AUKUS, we are consulting with Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea to identify possibilities for collaboration on advanced capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II.   

To promote innovation and realize the goals of AUKUS, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have implemented momentous amendments to our respective export control regimes, including reforms to the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  These critical reforms will facilitate billions of dollars in secure, license-free defense trade and maximize innovation across the full breadth of our defense collaboration and mutually strengthen our three defense industrial bases.

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Today, leaders from the National Security Council and the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy convened a roundtable with Federal agencies, global and domestic public health partners, advocacy organizations, and community leaders to discuss the escalating “clade I” mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and multiple other countries that have never before had mpox cases.
 
The global mpox response and domestic preparedness efforts are top priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer and Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall provided remarks during the event. Representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Treasury Department also joined the convening. 
 
“By building on the lessons learned from the mpox outbreak response in 2022, the U.S. will continue to lead the way, globally and domestically, to be more prepared to respond to any biological threat,” said Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall. “We must also continue to partner with trusted community organizations, academic researchers, and civil society actors across the international community to promote the dissemination of information, support the early detection of cases, and ensure the rapid deployment of countermeasures. Doing so will keep Americans safer and more secure here at home.”
 
“Our actions today and in the coming weeks have the potential to change the course of the global clade I mpox response at home and abroad” said Jon Finer. “It is more critical than ever for the United States to be a global leader in preventing and responding to health emergencies. When the United States invests in building stronger partnerships around the world, and when we support stronger, more effective multilateral and regional institutions, not only are Americans safer, but the world is safer.”
 
The convening affirmed the United States leadership role in the global mpox response and identified efforts to bolster domestic preparedness and improve U.S. readiness for a clade I mpox case. While there are no known clade I cases in the United States at this time, federal and state leaders are working to ensure that the U.S. can rapidly detect, contain, and manage clade I cases should they occur. Clade IIb mpox, which caused the 2022 global outbreak, continues to circulate at low levels in the United States and in many countries around the world.

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Three years ago, President Biden and our Australian and United Kingdom partners committed to AUKUS, an enhanced security partnership that promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable. As this partnership has grown, it has strengthened the security of our allies in the region as well as our own security here at home. Over the past three years, our countries have made significant strides in supporting Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability. Australian sailors are now enrolled in U.S. and UK nuclear power training schools, Australian personnel are embedded in U.S. shipyards, and each of our countries have made significant investments to strengthen our respective defense industrial bases creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs. AUKUS partners recently implemented sweeping changes in each of our export control regimes opening up defense trade between our three countries. Through deep integration of our innovation communities, AUKUS partners are steadily developing and deploying advanced capabilities for our warfighters. These efforts will continue in the years to come as we collaborate and invest in this historic partnership.

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Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced additional federal investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) totaling $1.3 billion. With these new investments, combined with the previously announced $16 billion in total federal investments in HBCUs, the Biden-Harris Administration has set another record of over $17 billion in federal investments in HBCUs from Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 through current available data for FY 2024.

Investments in HBCUs continue to be one of the most powerful engines of economic mobility for students and their families and have proven to more than pay for themselves. Despite representing only 3% of colleges and universities, HBCUs provide college access to twice as many Pell Grant-eligible low- and middle- income students as non-HBCU institutions. HBCUs have produced an astonishing 40% of all Black engineers, 50% of all Black teachers, 70% of all Black doctors and dentists, 80% of all Black judges, and the first Black American and first woman to be Vice President of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris. HBCUs foster more upward mobility than most US colleges: about 30% of HBCU students move up at least two income quintiles compared to 18% for non HBCUs. And research by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) found that, compared to the Ivy League and other top-ranked non-HBCU institutions, HBCUs help more than five times as many students move from the bottom 40% to the top 60% of U.S. household.

A report by the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) published in May further underscores this point. The report found that, even in the face of historic underfunding, HBCU enrollment was associated with an increased likelihood of completing a bachelor’s degree and higher household income, and noted that HBCUs have seen a surge in applications and enrollment in recent years – indicating that students increasingly recognize and appreciate their value.

But beyond just serving as an engine of economic mobility for students and their families, HBCUs make a substantial contribution to the national economy. New research by the UNCF finds that HBCUs generate $16.5 billion annually in economic impact on communities across the United States, as well as over 136,000 jobs, and $146 billion in collective lifetime earnings for their graduates.

As a component of this outsized economic impact, HBCUs play a significant role in the research and development (R&D) that drives vital progress in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As such, the Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to expand the capacity of HBCUs to offer high quality STEM education programs and to compete for federal R&D dollars. In the first six months of the Administration, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act – which requires federal research agencies to provide funding and other support for expanding the R&D capacity of HBCUs. The Biden-Harris Administration has worked diligently to implement this law.

The Biden Harris Administration has advanced racial equity, economic opportunity, and educational excellence through HBCUs since Day One, including by reestablishing the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Biden-Harris Administration is the most diverse administration in history and many members are HBCU graduates, including Vice President Kamala Harris,  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips.

The additional $1.3 billion in federal investments announced today will further build on the Administration’s commitments and on HBCUs’ demonstrated track record of delivering excellence. These investments include:

• $188 million in competitive grants to HBCUs through the Department of Education, including grants that will support R&D capacity building.

• $1.1 billion in funding to support students at HBCUs directly through need-based grants and other federal programs, including Pell Grants.

While there is more work to be done, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to build on an unprecedented track record of delivering for HBCUs and the students and communities they serve:

• The Department of Defense U.S. Air Force established the first-ever HBCU-led University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). Led by Howard University with seven other HBCUs and funded at $90 million over five years, this program will focus on advancing the deployment of autonomous technologies for Air Force missions. Participating HBCUs include Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Florida Memorial University, Hampton University, Jackson State University, Norfolk State University, Tuskegee University, and Tougaloo College.

• The Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration established the first-ever Connecting-Minority-Communities program delivering funding for 43 HBCUs to purchase high-speed internet, purchase equipment, and hire IT personnel to tackle the digital divide impacting HBCUs.

• The Department of Commerce CHIPS for America hosted the launch of the HBCU CHIPS Network, a collaboration of several HBCUs and the Georgia Institute of Technology to increase the coordination of the resources at HBCUs and jointly contribute to workforce and research development needs of the semiconductor industry. Chips are critical in powering our consumer electronics, automobiles, data centers, critical infrastructure, and virtually all military systems.

• The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will provide $4.2 million in grant funding to HBCUs, through the EPP/MSI Cooperative Science Center program.

• The Department of Agriculture announced a $262.5 million investment to support 33 projects across U.S. institutions of higher education designed to train the next generation of diverse agricultural professionals. Through the USDA NextGen program, the projects are led by 1890 land-grant institutions (historically Black land-grant universities), 1994 land-grant institutions (Tribal Colleges and Universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)), and institutions of higher education located in the Insular Areas. This historic investment will provide training and support to more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders through 33 projects executed by more than 60 institutions across 24 states and Insular Areas.

• The Department of Energy announced the inaugural $7.75 million Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Prize, a competition that will support HBCUs in developing programming to strengthen the participation of K-12 and community college students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The competition, which has announced its first 10 winning HBCU teams, is supporting the creation of clean energy community networks to inspire the next generation of students to work in STEM fields related to clean energy.

• The Department of Education provided nearly $25 million to HBCUs under the Research and Development Infrastructure program to transform their research infrastructure, including strengthening research productivity, faculty expertise, physical infrastructure, and partnerships leading to increases in external funding.

• The Department of Education announced nearly $2.3 million in new grant awards for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program, which strengthens science and engineering education programs and reduces barriers to entry in STEM careers for students of color, particularly women. Four HBCU grantees across three states (Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina) will receive a total of more than $1 million in funding.

• The Department of Education announced nearly $15 million in new grants under the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program to prepare the next generation of teachers at HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions. These new awards include four HBCU grantees across four states (Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas), receiving a total $1.6 million in funding. This brings the total investment in Hawkins to $38 million under the Biden-Harris Administration, which is the first Administration to secure funding for the Hawkins program.  

• The Department of Transportation announced Prairie View A&M University in Texas as the first-ever HBCU to lead a University Transportation Center. Prairie View A&M and 11 other HBCUs were among 34 schools to receive a portion of a $435 million grant for development of interoperable technology systems, which allow equipment, software, and applications to work together, communicate, and exchange data.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is pioneering efforts to close opportunity gaps in STEM, including nearly $12 million for eight HBCUs to support programs in artificial intelligence and machine learning and create a more diverse pipeline of talent for careers in data-intensive space-based Earth science.

• The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through HBCUs established the Executive HBCU Space Lab, a new collaboration between HBCUs, the Federal government, and industry partners to increase HBCU engagement in space-related federal contracting. The Executive HBCU Space Lab is a solutions-oriented initiative that will release resources including SpaceTechConnect, a free platform to highlight space-related capabilities at HBCUs.

• The Executive HBCU Space Lab will release a federal contracting playbook to equip HBCUs with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively secure and manage federal contracts, ensuring they fully leverage opportunities to benefit their institutions and communities.

• The Department of Health and Human Services National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences established HBCU-Connect, a new initiative with HBCUs to inspire the development of environmental health science leaders from diverse backgrounds. HBCU-Connect is a multifaceted effort to strengthen ties between the institute and faculty and students at academic institutions that are often underrepresented in the sciences.

• The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau launched the Maternal Health Research Collaborative for MSIs, providing roughly $30 million in research support to seven HBCUs over five years. The funding will build capacity of HBCUs to conduct Black maternal health research to fully understand and address the root causes of disparities in maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health outcomes; and to find community-based solutions to address these disparities and advance health equity.

• The Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to HBCUs totaled $147.5 million to support research, training, research capacity building, and outreach efforts. NIH funding included endowment awards to strengthen the research infrastructure of the HBCU award recipients to conduct minority health and health disparities research. Other NIH funding has assisted several HBCUs in contributing towards building a diverse scientific workforce, including mentorship and student training programs and career development opportunities for faculty.

• The National Science Foundation has awarded $10.5 million for Ideas Lab projects, under its Advancing Research Capacity at HBCUs through Exploration and Innovation (ARC-HBCU) opportunity, to assess and address research capacity needs, increase access to research facilities and build human capital at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Among the awards include a $3 million award to Central State University and a consortium of six HBCUs to advance research capacity in semiconductors. The consortium includes North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Fayetteville State University, Hampton University, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, Coppin State University, and Meharry Medical College.

• The National Science Foundation, as part of Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) initiative, awarded an Atlanta-based HBCU consortium a $14 million competitive grant to establish a hub that promotes equity in the national research ecosystem and serves as a model for other HBCUs and emerging research institutions. The consortium includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College.

• Micron and GlobalFoundries, two leading semiconductor companies, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, recently announced their Minority Serving Institution Semiconductor Network, an investment of over $10 million across 15 schools, including HBCUs. Micron and its partners have come together to focus additional funding toward student programming and infrastructure at HBCUs, HSIs, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to diversify the semiconductor workforce and bring attention to education equity in STEM degrees. 

• The National Science Foundation announced a new $2 million grant award to Clark Atlanta University under the HBCU CHIPS Network. The HBCU CHIPS Network, which was launched in February, is a collaboration with over 30 HBCUs and Georgia Institute of Technology to increase the coordination that supports semiconductor workforce development. HBCU partners include Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, Delaware State University, Jackson State University, Norfolk State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

• The National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on STEM (CoSTEM), in support of the CHIPS and Science Act, established an Interagency Working Group (IWG) on HBCU, TCU, and MSI STEM Achievement. The Council provides a coordinated federal approach to carry out sustained outreach activities to increase clarity, transparency, and accountability for federal research agency investments in STEM education and research at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including such institutions in rural areas. In May 2024, CoSTEM issued a report and recommendation on advancing research capacity at high-research activity status HBCUs. Federal agencies, the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, and the White House Initiative on HBCUs will work together to issue additional recommendations and advance the model best practices recommended in the report.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced awards totaling $5.5 million for HBCUs to conduct housing and community development research to support the production of affordable housing, support homeownership, advance use of renewable energy, and address infrastructure inequity affecting underserved communities.

• The Department of Justice (DOJ) has increased both the number of HBCUs applying for grants and its HBCU approval rate. Over the past five years, DOJ’s grant awards to HBCUs have increased 83% (from $900,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 to $5.2 million in FY23).

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I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.
 
I am thankful that former President Trump is safe. I commend the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance. As President Biden said, our Administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission.

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I have been briefed by my team regarding what federal law enforcement is investigating as a possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former President is unharmed. There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.

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On Thursday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan welcomed 20 leaders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for a round table discussion.  The discussion focused on two areas: increasing pathways for HBCU students into national security fields, and identifying areas through which federal agencies can support HBCUs in managing their unique security challenges.  This discussion followed up on a round table Mr. Sullivan hosted with HBCU presidents in February 2023.
 
During the conversation, Mr. Sullivan shared the progress that national security and foreign policy Departments and Agencies have made implementing benchmarks directed by President Biden in his White House Memorandum on Revitalizing America’s Foreign Policy and National Security Workforce, Institutions, and Partnerships.  Mr. Sullivan reported the addition of more than 4,000 paid internships across agencies including the State Department, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Intelligence Community (IC).  He also described the expansion of Centers of Academic Excellence on HBCU campuses for training and research on the challenges of the future.  Mr. Sullivan affirmed that the Administration is eager to continue making progress on addressing obstacles to HBCU student recruitment and hiring.  HBCU presidents shared their desire to expand partnerships with Federal agencies to support groundbreaking research and improve programs to meet national security needs.  
 
HBCU presidents also spoke about security challenges facing their institutions, most notably the challenges and concerns associated with both domestic violent extremism and racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism.  They expressed gratitude for the support that local and regional federal law enforcement liaisons have provided to HBCUs’ threat prevention partnership and coordination efforts.  Mr. Sullivan discussed with HBCU leaders existing and new U.S. Government resources available to all college campuses, including HBCUs, to help to bolster their preparedness and resilience against both physical and cyber-attacks, as well as training, toolkits, and grant funding available for security hardening.  Some of these resource include the DHS Prevention Resource Finder, the U.S. Department of Education’s Free to Learn: Leading Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education Resource Guide, an HBCU Bomb Threat Resource Guide, and CISA’s K-12 School Security Guide Companion for School-Based Law Enforcement and School Resource Officers. 
 
The Biden-Harris Administration has consistently demonstrated its commitment to supporting the vital mission of HBCUs, having invested a record over $16 billion dollars in HBCUs, including nearly $4 billion in emergency support and recovery funding through the American Rescue Plan.
 
The roundtable participants included:

• Chris Rey, J.D., President, Barber-Scotia College (NC)
• Dr. Roslyn Artis, President, Benedict College (SC)
• Dr. Darren Martin, President, Bluefield State University (WV)
• Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, President, Bowie State University (MD)
• Dr. Morakinyo A.O. Kuti, President, Central State University (OH)
• Dr. Monique Guillory, President, Dillard University (LA)
• Dr. Martin Lemelle, Jr., President, Grambling State University (LA)
• Darrell K. Williams, President, Hampton University (VA)
• Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, President, Harris-Stowe State University (MO)
• Dr. Ben Vinson, III, President, Howard University (DC)
• Dr. Bobbie Knight, President, Miles College (AL) 
• Dr. David Kwabena Wilson, President, Morgan State University (MD)
• Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, President, Norfolk State University (VA)
• Dr. Maurice D. Gipson, President, Philander Smith University (AR)
• Dr. Tomikia LeGrande, President, Prairie View A&M University (TX)
• Dr. Marcus Burgess, Interim President, St. Augustine’s University (NC)
• Dr. Adena Loston, President, St. Philip’s College (TX)
• Dr. Mark Brown, President, Tuskegee University (AL)
• Dr. Herman Felton, Jr., President, Wiley College (TX)
• Dr. Vann R. Newkirk, Sr., President, Wilberforce University (OH)

From the White House:

• Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs 
• Jen Daskal, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Homeland Security Advisor
• Curtis Ried, Deputy Assistant to the President & National Security Council Chief of Staff & Counselor
• Amanda Mansour, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Partnerships & Global Engagement, National Security Council
• Brent Robinson, Director for Partnerships & Global Engagement, National Security Council
• Bintou Njie, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Africa
• Dr. Dietra Trent, Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities

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From worker heat exhaustion to bridge failures, extreme heat is increasingly placing strain on lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. Earlier this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the United States just experienced its fourth-hottest summer on record.  Globally, August 2024 was the warmest August in the agency’s 175-year record.

Recognizing that extreme heat is the deadliest type of disaster among all weather-related hazards, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the first-ever White House Summit on Extreme Heat, bringing together over 100 participants from around the country and across the government. The Summit, announced by President Biden earlier in the summer, convened federal agencies and White House senior staff alongside leaders – including workers exposed to extreme heat, healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and researchers and innovators – who represent many of the communities that are fighting on the front lines of extreme heat to discuss lessons learned from this year’s extreme heat, highlight Administration progress in tackling extreme heat and advancing environmental justice, and amplify successful best practices to manage extreme heat that have been locally tailored and community driven.

At the Summit, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi also announced a new Extreme Heat Call to Action, which calls upon state, local, Tribal and Territorial governments, along with the private sector and non-profit organizations to lead by example and use all of the tools at their disposal to protect people from extreme heat looking ahead to 2025. The Call to Action invites interested organizations to submit a commitment to take action in advance of the 2025 heat season, including a wide range of approaches and tools which could be used to protect people and resources from extreme heat, such as actions highlighted in the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit and the National Heat Strategy:

• Long-term adaptation and resilience actions, like improving tree canopy and installing new cooling infrastructure;
• Heat planning actions, like running a heat tabletop exercise or creating a community phone tree in partnership with trusted community partners;
• Heat preparedness actions, like equipping emergency responders and healthcare providers with new resources to address extreme heat;
• Heat response actions, like opening new Resilience Hubs or cooling centers during extreme heat events; and
• Heat recovery actions, such as establishing new ways to track progress on key heat and health metrics.

The White House will collect submissions for the Call to Action through November 1, 2024, which may include information about the goals that communities have set and the new actions they are planning in advance of future extreme heat events. As part of this effort, the White House hopes to understand and amplify a number of promising commitments and actions. 

The White House also announced the publication of a Draft Community Heat Action Checklist, a new tool for local governments taking their first critical steps towards planning and preparing for extreme heat. This document supplements existing tools on Heat.gov helping communities map, understand, and address their heat risk. It also builds on major investments by the Biden-Harris Administration relevant to understanding, preventing, and responding to extreme heat—including investments in urban and community forests, green and resilient building retrofits, lowering cooling costs for American families, and in protecting our nation’s workers from extreme heat. This work also advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to align climate resilience investments across the public and private sector through common principles and opportunities for action to build a climate-resilient nation through the National Climate Resilience Framework, the federal interagency National Heat Strategy, and other regulatory actions.

Additionally, given that climate change is fueling extreme heat both at home and abroad, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a toolkit to Mission leaders that will help ensure the well-being of Agency workforce members during extreme heat events across the world. The toolkit outlines key measures Missions can take to prepare for and respond to extreme heat. USAID also announced more than $18 million in humanitarian assistance to populations experiencing the increasingly severe impacts of climate change – including extreme heat and drought.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda includes more than $50 billion to help Americans in every state become more resilient to climate impacts like hurricanes, wildfires, drought, and extreme heat. The Extreme Heat Summit will highlight how those investments are moving the country forward in heat response and inspire communities nationwide to take additional future steps.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom at the White House. The leaders had an in-depth discussion on a range of foreign policy issues of mutual interest.  They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend against Russia’s aggression.  They expressed deep concern about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia and the People’s Republic of China’s support to Russia’s defense industrial base. They reiterated their ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, the urgent need for a ceasefire deal that will free the hostages and enable increased relief in Gaza, and the need for Israel to do more to protect civilians and address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. They also condemned Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. They discussed U.S.-UK cooperation on clean energy and advanced technologies, on AUKUS, as well as opportunities to deepen our strong U.S.-UK economic ties. President Biden underscored his support for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and its role in maintaining peace and stability in Northern Ireland.

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