Statements and Releases

Today, Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President Kristine Lucius and Heath Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson convened counselors from the Maternal Mental Health Hotline — a toll-free, confidential hotline that is available 24/7 to respond to the mental health needs of pregnant women, new moms, their families, and the communities that support them. 

As the White House marks the two-year anniversary of Vice President Harris announcing the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, this roundtable offered an opportunity to hear directly from 10 of the Hotline counselors about the ways they provide real-time support, encouragement, information, and referrals to those in need. These counselors are licensed mental health clinicians, certified peer specialists, and health care professionals who are trained in perinatal mental health practices. Since being launched on Mother’s Day two years ago, the Hotline has answered more than 40,000 calls and texts. The Hotline offers bilingual counselors in English and Spanish, as well as interpreters who support over 60 additional languages.

During today’s conversation, White House officials emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to support women during pregnancy and during the postpartum period. This is especially important because mental health conditions — including depression, suicide, substance use disorder, depression, suicide, and birth-related PTSD — are the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 75% of women with these conditions go untreated, and yet they are almost entirely preventable. 

Counselors shared that the top three reasons callers contact the Hotline are feeling overwhelmed, depression, and anxiety. The counselors also spoke about providing a safe space for callers, greeting callers with compassion and respect, and reinforcing that “it’s okay to not be okay.” One participant added that the Hotline is “more than a hotline; it’s a lifeline.”

The Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA) was launched as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government effort to combat maternal mortality and morbidity. Led by Vice President Harris, the effort has focused on reducing disparities in maternal health outcomes and improving the overall experience of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for all women in the United States. 

Vice President Harris has consistently led on improving outcomes for women and families throughout her career. While serving in the U.S. Senate, she introduced several landmark bills to address maternal health, including the Maternal CARE Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. She has built on this work since being sworn in as Vice President. Two years ago, she called on states to expand Medicaid’s postpartum coverage from two months to a full year. To date, 46 states have done so, benefiting women throughout the country.

The Vice President will continue to use her platform to raise public awareness about the maternal health crisis, including maternal mental health, and promote resources available to address it.

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President Biden was briefed today by senior White House staff on artificial intelligence (AI). The President and his team discussed national security issues related to AI and AI research and development to achieve a better future for all. The President also evaluated the progress in implementing his Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI. The President, Vice President, and the entire Biden-Harris Administration continue taking action to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of AI.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.  He commended Jordan’s extraordinary humanitarian response in Gaza under His Majesty’s leadership, which has been critical in addressing the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza.  The President updated King Abdullah on his ongoing efforts to secure a hostage release and ceasefire deal, and preparations for a surge in humanitarian assistance during a ceasefire period.  The two leaders discussed the situation in the West Bank and the President’s efforts to enhance the viability of the Palestinian Authority through encouragement of reforms and ensuring the PA has the revenues it needs to deliver for the Palestinian people.  The President finally thanked His Majesty for his friendship, and affirmed unwavering U.S. support for Jordan as a partner and ally in the promotion of a more stable, prosperous, and integrated Middle East region. 

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On Thursday, July 25, the White House welcomed small business owners and leaders of local business organizations from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah for a discussion with senior officials on the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up. More than 40 individuals representing small businesses, local chambers of commerce, and economic and community development organizations met with senior officials from the White House, Treasury Department, and Small Business Administration to discuss how the Administration is investing in local communities, expanding access to capital, and helping small businesses in the region adapt to climate change through incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, more than 1.2 million jobs have been created and more than $161 billion has been invested by the private sector in the states represented in Thursday’s meeting. The Administration’s efforts to support entrepreneurs and communities have powered a small business boom, with more than 18 million new business applications filed since the President and Vice President took office, including more than 1.3 million in these five states alone.

Thursday’s meeting was the third in a series of White House Regional Business Briefings, following a convening of Mid-Atlantic business leaders in March and an convening of Midwest business leaders in May. Additional meetings are planned for this fall.

Administration participants included:

• Isabel Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
• John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy
• Jackson Spivey, Senior Advisor for the White House Office of Public Engagement

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani on August 1, 2024 in Nouakchott.

The Honorable Alice P. Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, will lead the delegation.

Members of the Presidential Delegation:

The Honorable David Reimer, Charge d’Affaires ad interim, United States Embassy Nouakchott

The Honorable Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources, United States Department of State

The Honorable Carol Moseley Braun, Chairman, United States African Development Foundation

The Honorable Nora Todd, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economics and Labor, National Security Council, The White House

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Today, President Biden signed a proclamation marking the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and state and local government services. For the more than 70 million Americans living with a disability, the ADA is a source of inclusion, participation, respect, and dignity. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans with disabilities have seen historic increases in employment and earnings, while the Administration has taken significant steps to protect civil rights and promote full participation in society. The nation has made significant progress since the law was signed, but there is more work to do to live up to the promise of the ADA.
 
The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action to protect the rights of people with disabilities and deliver on the promise of the ADA.
 
Protecting Civil Rights

• Access to Government Services. The Administration is working to ensure full participation of people with disabilities in civic life. This spring DOJ issued a final rule under Title II of the ADA to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications by state and local governments. This rule is ensuring that people with disabilities can access critical local services, like transit information and voter registration. In December, the Office of Management and Budget issued a government-wide policy to agencies to improve the federal government’s digital accessibility. This month, the General Services Administration issued a final rule to improve the accessibility of federal buildings.
• Access to Health Care. This spring, HHS issued two final rules protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities in health care and human services programs under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. These rules ensure that all people have access to health care and human services that are safe, accessible, and free from discrimination for people with disabilities. In particular, the Section 504 rule makes it clear that medical treatment decisions may not be based on biases or stereotypes or a belief that the life of a person with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability.
• Dignity in Air Travel. In 2022, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights. Since then, DOT has delivered on these promises, including:
  • A final rule in August 2023 to increase the size and accessibility of lavatories on single-aisle aircraft, promoting freedom to travel for people with disabilities.
  • A proposed rule in February 2024 that would require airlines to provide prompt, safe, and dignified assistance to passengers with disabilities. The rule would protect travelers through new standards for airline response when wheelchairs are damaged and protect travelers and workers with new training standards for those who assist passengers with disabilities and handle wheelchairs.
• Accessible Transit. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the All Stations Accessibility Program, which has funded accessibility improvements at 111 rail stations across 11 states and will award $1.75 billion through FY26.

Promoting Community Living

• Home and Community-Based Services.  President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is helping deliver a $37 billion investment in home and community-based services (HCBS), which states are using to reduce their waiting lists and improve wages for direct care workers. In 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, directing more than 50 agency actions, including to expand HCBS for veterans with disabilities, improve pay for direct support workers, and ensure access to HCBS. In April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final rules to expand and improve HCBS access, support family caregivers, and improve wages and job quality for care workers.
• Olmstead Enforcement.  Last month, HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) marked the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C. HHS and DOJ have recently engaged in Olmstead enforcement actions to improve community integration for people with disabilities, including findings in Utah and Rhode Island. DOJ and HHS found that the states were violating the ADA by relying on segregated settings for employment, day services, and mental health care, and outlined steps the states could take to improve their services. 

Strengthening Economic Security

• Fair Wages. Since the President took office, median household income for disabled Americans has risen by over $10,000. On July 21, 2022, the U.S. AbilityOne Commission issued a final rule ensuring that workers on federal contracts within the AbilityOne Program are paid at least the full minimum wage. The Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting a comprehensive review of the Section 14(c) program, which allows employers to pay subminimum wages to certain workers with disabilities.
• Competitive Integrated Employment.  Since the President took office, Americans with disabilities have seen a historic high in employment, records in low unemployment and high labor force participation, and the number of people with disabilities in registered apprenticeships has nearly tripled, from less than 2,500 at the end of FY20 to more than 6,800 today. The Administration has taken a multi-pronged, whole-of-government approach to advancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2022, DOL issued a national plan to increase competitive integrated employment and eight federal agencies collaborated on guidance on how to leverage federal resources to promote employment. The Disability Innovation Fund, from the Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration, has invested $435 million to promote competitive integrated employment. 
• Employment Opportunity.  Since the beginning of the Administration, employment of people with disabilities in the federal government has increased 20%. The Vocational Rehabilitation program, which helps people with disabilities prepare for and obtain employment, has shown a 15 percentage point increase in those obtaining a credential and an $850 increase in median quarterly earnings after exiting the program, compared to 2020.
• Social Security. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is working to better serve Americans with disabilities. SSA is improving customer service by moving more services online and streamlining the disability application process, as well as improving program equality and reducing burden through new rules simplifying policies for Supplemental Security Income recipients who get help from family and friends.   

Improving Access to Health Care

• Addressing Long COVID.  As tasked by the President in his Memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19, HHS established the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, which is coordinating a whole-of-government response to the long-term impacts of COVID-19 and responding to the needs of those living with Long COVID. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) RECOVER initiative has enrolled nearly 30,000 people to help us understand Long COVID and develop treatments.
• Prescription Drug Savings. The President’s Inflation Reduction Act is helping the 7.6 million disabled Medicare beneficiaries under age 65 access $0 vaccines, insulin for $35 a month per prescription, and could save thousands with the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs starting in 2025.
• Recognizing Health Disparities. On September 26, 2023, NIH announced the designation of people with disabilities as a health disparities population, which will unlock research funding into disability health disparities throughout NIH.

Improving Access to Education and Supportive Services

• Historic Investments in Students with Disabilities.  President Biden has increased annual funding by $1.4 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants that support special education services for PreK-12 students since he came into office. The President has also continued to call for increased IDEA investment in each budget he has sent to Congress.
• Expanding School-based Services. Under the President’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Department of Education (ED) and HHS are working together to help schools leverage Medicaid funding to increase access to mental health and disability services in schools. On June 25, 2024, CMS announced that 18 states will receive funding to implement, expand or enhance school-based services programs.
• Leveraging Technology. In 2024, ED released the National Educational Technology Plan with strategies for closing gaps in access to technology in education. The Office of Special Education Programs released a companion Myths and Facts Surrounding Assistive Technology Devices and Services to increase understanding of IDEA’s assistive technology requirements among parents and educators.

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Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released the Implementation Roadmap for the U.S. Government’s May 2023 National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET). The roadmap sustains and reinforces the U.S. Government’s commitment to standards development led by the private sector and enhanced by partnerships with public institutions and calls for robust engagement in the standardization of critical and emerging technologies (CETs) to protect U.S. national and economic security. 
 
Standards are essential to commerce and to the safe, reliable, and interoperable functioning of a broad array of essential products and services. Standards help ensure that technologies and parts from many suppliers work together seamlessly, and facilitate efficient operation of services and manufacturing while facilitating a competitive marketplace for goods and services. Standards provide industries and innovators with a common language that facilitates trade, simplifies transactions, accelerates innovation, and enables people to work across disciplines and borders toward common goals.
 
Critical and emerging technologies have been designated by the Administration as potentially significant to U.S. national security, including economic security and the defense of democratic values. Recognizing the strategic value of CETs, our competitors abroad are seeking to influence international standards development to their own advantage, placing at risk leadership opportunities for U.S. innovators and industry and access to quality products and services that benefit all.
 
The Implementation Roadmap recommends steps the U.S. Government should take to realize the objectives of the USG NSSCET. The roadmap is organized around eight lines of effort for the U.S. Government, with an understanding that success will require extensive and sustained coordination with the U.S. private sector and like-minded allies. The Implementation Roadmap is based on information collected through a Request for Information, stakeholder engagements, consultations, and formal recommendations from federal advisory committees including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology.
 
The U.S. Government is committed to supporting and upholding private sector-led standards development processes that are:

• Built on transparency;
• Strengthen long-standing public private partnerships; 
• And, reflect the U.S. commitment to free and fair market competition in which the best technologies come to market.

Approach

The United States is committed to a private sector-led standards system that is inclusive, diverse, and draws on robust research and innovation. Through clear actions and effective diplomacy, the Departments of Commerce and State, together with the Office of the United States Trade Representative, will continue to work with private sector leadership including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to engage international partners with an aim to promote this approach globally.

The ANSI administers and coordinates the private sector-led U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system, while the NIST coordinates Federal Government engagement in standards activities. The USG NSSCET complements the United States Standards Strategy (USSS) published by the ANSI and supports, complements, and further communicates U.S. Government priorities for CET standards development.  Through SDOs, the U.S. private sector leads standardization activities globally to respond to market demand, with substantial contributions from the U.S. Government, academia, industry, and civil society groups. Industry associations, consortia, and other private sector groups work together within this system to develop standards to solve specific challenges and respond to national priorities.

We also call upon standards stakeholders, including representatives of industry, start-ups, small- and medium-sized enterprises, the academic community, and civil society organizations to work with U.S. Government officials and ANSI on creative solutions to lower barriers, incentivize greater participation, and protect the integrity of international standards development through robust investment and engagement. Building on increased investment in Research and Development (R&D) through initiatives like the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the 21st Century Cures Act, the Implementation Roadmap focuses on short-term actions and long-term sustained outcomes that promote global trade, interoperability in manufacturing, and U.S. competitiveness and innovation through CET standardization.

In the short-term, the U.S. Government will take immediate action to include but not limited to:

• Identifying opportunities to increase U.S. Government pre-standardization R&D and standards participation efforts;
• Tracking and evaluating current U.S. Government CET standards education grants and programs that promote, foster, and remove barriers to U.S. stakeholder participation in national and international standards activities, and;
• Tracking and evaluating current U.S. Government technology cooperation agreements and international mechanisms for standards-related communication and cooperation.

For long-term sustained implementation outcomes, the U.S. Government will take steps to:

• Enhance standards coordination across the federal government;
• Enhance standards coordination with the private sector;
• Enhance standards policy coordination between the U.S. Government and foreign governments;
• Recognize and incentivize federal agency engagement in standardization;
• Provide strong and sustained funding for CET R&D and pre-standardization coordination;
• Engage academia as a critical partner to the private sector in standards development efforts;
• Enhance educational efforts in standards;
• Develop and sustain communications about standards, and;
• Remove barriers to participation in standardization.

A Whole-of-Government Effort

Many U.S. Government organizations are demonstrating their commitment to implementation through their actions and partnerships. These efforts signal a broad emphasis across the government aimed at strengthening U.S. competitiveness, innovation, and national and economic security via standards-related policies and actions. Examples include: 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) coordinates Federal agency implementation of standards and conformity-assessment-related National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act provisions.  In addition, NIST provides technical expertise to standards development efforts across the entire science and technology enterprise, including for critical and emerging technologies. For example: NIST’s experience in contributing to trust in new technologies in general, and in AI research in particular, is why it was among the federal agencies chosen to help fulfill President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (14110). The deliverables include A Plan for Global Engagement on AI Standards, which recognizes the importance of technical standards in shaping the development and use of artificial intelligence.

NIST will establish and operate a Standardization Center of Excellence as a public-private partnership focusing on four key areas: Pre-standardization engagement, workforce capacity building, an information and data sharing hub, and a collaborative pilot program in CETs.

The CHIPS and Science Act appropriated $50 billion to the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS for America program both to support semiconductor research and development (R&D) and to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States. A key element in achieving these CHIPS R&D goals is to accelerate the private sector-led development and deployment by industry of effective technical standards.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is partnering with foreign partners to forge alliances and collaborate toward enhanced efficiencies in standards essential patent licensing markets. So far, the USPTO signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office to this effect on June 3, 2024. It has also partnered with the World Intellectual Property Organization on dispute resolution efforts related to standards essential patents.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) continues to administer the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, a $1.5 billion grant program funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which aims to catalyze research, development, and adoption of open, interoperable, standards-based next-generation wireless networks. NTIA coordinates extensively with the private sector, U.S. Department of State, and other agency partners to represent the United States at the International Telecommunication Union.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) leverages multilateral and bilateral fora, dialogues, and partnerships such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council to engage like-minded nations in promoting the use of international standards and best practices for the development of standards for emerging technologies. Additionally, ITA employs Digital, Standards, and Intellectual Property Attachés in key foreign markets to increase U.S. exports by helping U.S. companies access the global marketplace and navigate foreign regulatory issues.  These Attachés play a critical role in ensuring that U.S. companies remain competitive globally and that foreign markets have access to the high-quality products and services that U.S. industries provide. 

The Department of State launched a project to support an international standards development process grounded in transparency, private sector leadership and public sector support, and diverse stakeholder engagement. The project will also enhance like-minded nations’ representation and expand the number of countries that are aligned with U.S. Government vision, thus creating greater leadership in international standards governance by the United States. In addition, this project will assist participant countries in adopting international standards for domestic policies and laws.


The Department of Defense (DoD) engages with ANSI and the private sector in collaborative standards activities such as the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In the context of the North Atlantic Trade Agreement (NATO) and other multinational organizations, the DoD experts routinely engage with personnel from over 70 countries on standardization matters related to national defense requirements, including participation in Standards Developing Organizations (SDO) activities, development of standardization policy and implementing standards to support defense capability and interoperability requirements.

The Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has many engagements across a diverse and complex spectrum of regulatory and technical standardization activities including within CETs such as automation/autonomy and complementary Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT).  U.S DOT  will continue to support advancement of standards benefitting safe, efficient, and interoperable transportation in cooperation with public and private sector stakeholder communities. For example, the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program supports both private and public sector stakeholder participation in standards activities via multiple SDOs including SAE International, IEEE, the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE), ISO and others, including facilitating multi-SDO cooperation on multiple topics, including the Connected Transportation Interoperability (CTI) family of standards.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a long history of leadership in international standardization efforts to accelerate the adoption of transformative science and technology solutions to energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges. Technical experts at DOE and its 17 National Laboratories provide critical input to new standards in areas ranging from hydrogen and energy storage, to biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing (HPC). DOE’s experts work alongside participants from all over the world toward standards that are consistent with U.S. values and informed by the latest scientific and technological advancements. DOE’s continued investments support the USG NSSCET through research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) and participation and workforce. DOE recognizes that standardization can accelerate the adoption of transformative science and technology solutions that are key to the success of its mission.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) revised its Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) governing submission, review, and oversight of all proposals and awards to now explicitly encourage researchers’ “participation in national and/or international standards development efforts” as an example of the broader impacts of the funding agency’s investments in the nation’s research and innovation ecosystem. Relatedly, through the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,” NSF’s new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships is charged with investing in new pathways for translating research results to practice, and is considering steps toward one such pathway that would enable researchers to mature their technological and related innovations to inform standards development.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) engages with domestic and international government partners, the private sector, academia, and non-government organizations to further public safety standards activities in groups such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Technical and policy experts at the FBI serve as members, consultants, and in leadership roles in the Standards Development Organizations (SDO) and regularly contribute public safety perspectives across a broad range of activities from emergency and law enforcement communications networks to stemming the flow of counterfeit devices to tackling domain name system (DNS) abuse.

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Martin Indyk dedicated his life to the pursuit of peace. 

Raised in Australia, Martin made Aliyah in 1973, moving to Israel and volunteering on a kibbutz. He chose to devote his career to the work of building peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, inspired by the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. His commitment to peace was rooted in witnessing that conflict and realizing that Israel’s existence is fragile, peace is the only path to lasting security, and the United States must be a part of that endeavor.

As a member of President Clinton’s National Security Council and two-time U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Martin played an essential role in the Oslo Accords and the follow-on negotiations – the closest that Israelis and Palestinians have ever come to making peace. He was also America’s Ambassador to Israel on that fateful day in 1995 when Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Martin rushed to the hospital to console Rabin’s wife Leah – representing the American people’s empathy and grief at a pivotal moment.

He and I worked together during the Obama-Biden Administration, when Martin served as Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations – the last time the two parties engaged seriously on final status negotiations. More recently, he has been a voice of clarity and conviction since the horrific October 7thattack by Hamas and during the war in Gaza. His legacy lives on in the many officials across my Administration who were mentored by Martin and learned firsthand from his vast knowledge, integrity, and heart. His unshakeable optimism and commitment to peace is as important today as it’s ever been.

Jill and I are holding Martin’s family in our thoughts – especially his beloved wife Gahl, his children Jacob and Sarah, stepchildren Christopher and Caroline, brother and sister, and five grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing. 

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Nine months ago, President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI).

This Executive Order built on the voluntary commitments he and Vice President Harris received from 15 leading U.S. AI companies last year. Today, the administration announced that Apple has signed onto the voluntary commitments, further cementing these commitments as cornerstones of responsible AI innovation.

In addition, federal agencies reported that they completed all of the 270-day actions in the Executive Order on schedule, following their on-time completion of every other task required to date. Agencies also progressed on other work directed for longer timeframes.

Following the Executive Order and a series of calls to action made by Vice President Harris as part of her major policy speech before the Global Summit on AI Safety, agencies all across government have acted boldly. They have taken steps to mitigate AI’s safety and security risks, protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more. Actions that agencies reported today as complete include the following:

Managing Risks to Safety and Security:
Over 270 days, the Executive Order directed agencies to take sweeping action to address AI’s safety and security risks, including by releasing vital safety guidance and building capacity to test and evaluate AI. To protect safety and security, agencies have:

1. Released for public comment new technical guidelines from the AI Safety Institute (AISI) for leading AI developers in managing the evaluation of misuse of dual-use foundation models. AISI’s guidelines detail how leading AI developers can help prevent increasingly capable AI systems from being misused to harm individuals, public safety, and national security, as well as how developers can increase transparency about their products.
   
2. Published final frameworks on managing generative AI risks and securely developing generative AI systems and dual-use foundation models. These documents by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will provide additional guidance that builds on NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework, which offered individuals, organizations, and society a framework to manage AI risks and has been widely adopted both in the U.S. and globally. NIST also submitted a report to the White House outlining tools and techniques to reduce the risks from synthetic content.
   
3. Developed and expanded AI testbeds and model evaluation tools at the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE, in coordination with interagency partners, is using its testbeds to evaluate AI model safety and security, especially for risks that AI models might pose to critical infrastructure, energy security, and national security. DOE’s testbeds are also being used to explore novel AI hardware and software systems, including privacy-enhancing technologies that improve AI trustworthiness. The National Science Foundation (NSF) also launched an initiative to help fund researchers outside the federal government design and plan AI-ready testbeds.
   
4. Reported results of piloting AI to protect vital government software. The Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported findings from their AI pilots to address vulnerabilities in government networks used, respectively, for national security purposes and for civilian government. These steps build on previous work to advance such pilots within 180 days of the Executive Order.
   
5. Issued a call to action from the Gender Policy Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy to combat image-based sexual abuse, including synthetic content generated by AI. Image-based sexual abuse has emerged as one of the fastest growing harmful uses of AI to-date, and the call to action invites technology companies and other industry stakeholders to curb it. This call flowed from Vice President Harris’s remarks in London before the AI Safety Summit, which underscored that deepfake image-based sexual abuse is an urgent threat that demands global action.

Bringing AI Talent into Government
Last year, the Executive Order launched a government-wide AI Talent Surge that is bringing hundreds of AI and AI-enabling professionals into government. Hired individuals are working on critical AI missions, such as informing efforts to use AI for permitting, advising on AI investments across the federal government, and writing policy for the use of AI in government.

1. To increase AI capacity across the federal government for both national security and non-national security missions, the AI Talent Surge has made over 200 hires to-date, including through the Presidential Innovation Fellows AI cohort and the DHS AI Corps.
   
2. Building on the AI Talent Surge 6-month report, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced new commitments from across the technology ecosystem, including nearly $100 million in funding, to bolster the broader public interest technology ecosystem and build infrastructure for bringing technologists into government service.

Advancing Responsible AI Innovation
President Biden’s Executive Order directed further actions to seize AI’s promise and deepen the U.S. lead in AI innovation while ensuring AI’s responsible development and use across our economy and society. Within 270 days, agencies have:

1. Prepared and will soon release a report on the potential benefits, risks, and implications of dual-use foundation models for which the model weights are widely available, including related policy recommendations. The Department of Commerce’s report draws on extensive outreach to experts and stakeholders, including hundreds of public comments submitted on this topic.
   
2. Awarded over 80 research teams’ access to computational and other AI resources through the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot—a national infrastructure led by NSF, in partnership with DOE, NIH, and other governmental and nongovernmental partners, that makes available resources to support the nation’s AI research and education community. Supported projects will tackle deepfake detection, advance AI safety, enable next-generation medical diagnoses and further other critical AI priorities.
3. Released a guide for designing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI tools for use in education. The Department of Education’s guide discusses how developers of educational technologies can design AI that benefits students and teachers while advancing equity, civil rights, trust, and transparency. This work builds on the Department’s 2023 report outlining recommendations for the use of AI in teaching and learning.
   
4. Published guidance on evaluating the eligibility of patent claims involving inventions related to AI technology, as well as other emerging technologies. The guidance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will guide those inventing in the AI space to protect their AI inventions and assist patent examiners reviewing applications for patents on AI inventions.
5. Issued a report on federal research and development (R&D) to advance trustworthy AI over the past four years. The report by the National Science and Technology Council examines an annual federal AI R&D budget of nearly $3 billion.
   
6. Launched a $23 million initiative to promote the use of privacy-enhancing technologies to solve real-world problems, including related to AI. Working with industry and agency partners, NSF will invest through its new Privacy-preserving Data Sharing in Practice program in efforts to apply, mature, and scale privacy-enhancing technologies for specific use cases and establish testbeds to accelerate their adoption.
   
7. Announced millions of dollars in further investments to advance responsible AI development and use throughout our society. These include $30 million invested through NSF’s Experiential Learning in Emerging and Novel Technologies program—which supports inclusive experiential learning in fields like AI—and $10 million through NSF’s ExpandAI program, which helps build capacity in AI research at minority-serving institutions while fostering the development of a diverse, AI-ready workforce.

Advancing U.S. Leadership Abroad
President Biden’s Executive Order emphasized that the United States lead global efforts to unlock AI’s potential and meet its challenges. To advance U.S. leadership on AI, agencies have:

1. Issued a comprehensive plan for U.S. engagement on global AI standards. The plan, developed by the NIST, incorporates broad public and private-sector input, identifies objectives and priority areas for AI standards work, and lays out actions for U.S. stakeholders including U.S. agencies. NIST and others agencies will report on priority actions in 180 days. 
   
2. Developed guidance for managing risks to human rights posed by AI. The Department of State’s “Risk Management Profile for AI and Human Rights”—developed in close coordination with NIST and the U.S. Agency for International Development—recommends actions based on the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to governments, the private sector, and civil society worldwide, to identify and manage risks to human rights arising from the design, development, deployment, and use of AI. 
3. Launched a global network of AI Safety Institutes and other government-backed scientific offices to advance AI safety at a technical level. This network will accelerate critical information exchange and drive toward common or compatible safety evaluations and policies.
   
4. Launched a landmark United Nations General Assembly resolution. The unanimously adopted resolution, with more than 100 co-sponsors, lays out a common vision for countries around the world to promote the safe and secure use of AI to address global challenges.
   
5. Expanded global support for the U.S.-led Political Declaration on the Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy.  Fifty-five nations now endorse the political declaration, which outlines a set of norms for the responsible development, deployment, and use of military AI capabilities.

The Table below summarizes many of the activities that federal agencies have completed in response to the Executive Order:

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Today’s report shows we are making real progress fighting inflation. Over the last year, inflation has come down to 2.5% at a time when the economy has grown 3.1%, we’ve created 2.6 million new jobs, and wages are rising faster than prices. The agenda that Vice President Harris and I are fighting for has helped us come back strong from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and deliver for working families.

We’re going to keep building on this progress to lower costs for all Americans by expanding on our success capping prescription drug costs and building more homes to lower rents. Congressional Republicans have a different plan, one that would “reignite” inflation by giving more massive tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy while raising costs for working families by taxing all imports. While they fight for special interests, the Vice President and I will keep fighting to rebuild the middle class.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to honor the passing of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng of Vietnam.  The delegation will visit Hanoi, Vietnam on Saturday, July 27, 2024.

The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, will lead the delegation.

Members of the Presidential Delegation:

The Honorable Marc E. Knapper, United States Ambassador to Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The Honorable Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State

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Yesterday, the Department of Justice arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia (AKA “El Mayo”) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two of the most notorious leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the deadliest enterprises in the world. They are being charged for leading the Cartel’s deadly drug manufacturing and trafficking networks. I commend the work of our law enforcement officials who made this arrest for their ongoing work to bring Sinaloa Cartel leaders to justice. 

Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug. My Administration will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives.

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Vice President Kamala Harris today met with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel at the White House. The Vice President reiterated her longstanding and unwavering commitment to the security of the State of Israel and the people of Israel. They discussed the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to ensure Israel can defend itself from threats from Iran and Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and the importance of combatting the rise in Antisemitism globally. The Vice President again condemned Hamas as a brutal terrorist organization as well as individuals associating with Hamas, noting that pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and must not be tolerated.

The Vice President and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed developments in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release. The Vice President echoed President Biden in expressing the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza.

The Vice President expressed concern regarding civilian casualties and discussed the need to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Vice President also expressed her concern about actions that undermine stability and security in the West Bank, such as extremist settler violence and settlement expansion.

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President Biden met today with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House. The President and the Prime Minister discussed developments in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release deal in detail. President Biden expressed the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza. The President also raised the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the need to remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restoring basic services for those in need, and the critical importance of protecting civilian lives during military operations. President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as leaders in his administration:

• Val Butler Demings, Nominee to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors
• William Zollars, Nominee to be a Governor (Republican) of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors

Val Butler Demings, Nominee to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors

Val Butler Demings is a lifelong public servant who broke numerous glass ceilings. In 2016, Demings was elected by the voters of Florida’s 10th District to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She fought to grow the economy, reduce household costs, and end gun violence. She served on the House Committees on Judiciary, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Oversight and Government Reform, and chaired the House Homeland Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. She was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Women’s Caucus, and New Democratic Caucus, a member of the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Review Board and the Elections Security Taskforce, and served as Assistant and Regional Whip for the House Democratic Caucus, Co-Chair of Candidate Recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Vice Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Demings was the Democratic nominee for Senate in Florida in 2022.

At the start of her career, Demings worked as a social worker before joining the police academy. She graduated from the police academy as Class President, receiving the Board of Trustees’ Award for Overall Excellence. Demings served at every rank level in the Orlando Police Department for 27 years, commanding the Special Operations division and handling the department’s highest-profile tasks, including coordinating the response of the Airport Division on September 11th, 2001. In 2007, Demings made history when she was appointed to serve as Orlando’s first female Chief of Police.

Demings became the first person in her family to go to college, earning a B.S. in Criminology from Florida State University and later a Master’s in Public Administration. Demings holds an honorary doctorate of laws from Bethune-Cookman University (HBCU), as well as honorary doctorates from Florida Technical College and City College Fort Lauderdale. Demings and her husband, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, have three children and five grandchildren.

William Zollars, Nominee to be a Governor (Republican) of the United States Postal Service Board of Governors

William Zollars grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota as one of four children. He attended Edina High School and the University of Minnesota where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation, Zollars spent 24 years at Eastman Kodak where he held roles in finance, strategic planning, marketing, logistics, and general management. While at Eastman Kodak, he also spent five years in Europe, three years in Canada, and one year in Japan. In 1994, Zollars helped establish the Integrated Logistics business at Ryder Systems in Miami. In 1997, Zollars became President of Yellow Freight in Kansas City, Missouri, the largest division at Yellow Corporation. In 1999, he was promoted to Chairman, President, and CEO of the company and held the position for 12 years.

Additionally, Zollars served on the public company boards of Cerner, Cigna, Prologis, and several private company boards. He will be completing his first term as a Governor of the United States Postal Board of Governors at the end of the year 2023.

Zollars has served in multiple community roles including as Chairman of the Greater KC United Way; a board member of the KC Civic Council, KC Repertory Theater; and he formed the KC Business Roundtable. He served for five years as a member of the board of trustees of the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota.

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Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric.  
 
I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews. Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation. 
 
I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way. 
 
I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence of any kind have no place in our nation.
 

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When I took office, we were in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today’s GDP report makes clear we now have the strongest economy in the world. Thanks to my and Vice President Harris’s economic agenda, our economy grew a robust 2.8% over the last quarter, based on strong American consumers and business investment. We’ve created nearly 16 million jobs, wages are up, and inflation is coming down. We’re rebuilding the Nation and bringing manufacturing back to America.

But we have more to do. Over the next six months, I will continue doing my job as President: lowering costs for hardworking families and growing our economy. Congressional Republicans have a different plan—which would drag our country backward by putting special interest first. The Vice President and I will keep fighting for America’s future—a future of promise and possibilities, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.

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President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that every person has a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy community – now and into the future. During his first week in office, President Biden launched the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in our nation’s history. Today, at the first-ever White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action, the Biden-Harris Administration released detailed progress reports from 24 federal agencies showcasing how the President is delivering for communities that have faced longstanding environmental injustices and inequities.

The second annual Environmental Justice Scorecard describes the impacts and benefits of more than $600 billion in federal investments that President Biden has secured over Fiscal Years 2022-2027, including through his Investing in America agenda, for programs that are part of the Justice40 Initiative. The goal of the President’s Justice40 Initiative is to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

The federal agency updates released today outline how these investments – along with new regulatory protections, stronger enforcement of environmental laws, and environmental justice reforms across government – are resulting in cleaner air and water, more affordable clean energy, good-paying jobs, and other real-world benefits that people are experiencing today and will continue to experience for decades to come.

In addition to highlighting the unprecedented progress on environmental justice that has been made over three and a half years under President Biden’s leadership, the Administration has in recent days – as part of its fifth Investing in America tour – announced nearly $5 billion in funding awards from programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative. These include the following:

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $4.3 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants to implement community-driven solutions that tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $19 million in new grant and loan awards under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program after announcing more than $142 million last month, bringing the total funding awarded under this program to more than $773 million. This funding supports significant energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations in more than 4,200 homes at properties housing low-income individuals, families, and seniors bringing the total number of homes supported under this program to over 20,000.

• The Department of the Interior (DOI) awarded $20 million in funding to Alabama to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands, create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and catalyze economic opportunity across the state. With this announcement, DOI has now awarded over $1.4 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to states to remediate abandoned mine lands.

• Tomorrow, EPA will announce the first round of Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program selections, the single largest investment in environmental justice ever to go directly to communities. These selections will advance collaborative efforts to achieve a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future for all. EPA has made $2 billion available and organizations are encouraged to apply for awards by November 21, 2024. EPA will make selections on a rolling basis.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced additional new steps to further the President’s historic commitment to environmental justice, including new actions to advance Executive Order 14096 on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All:

• The Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with the Council on Environmental Quality, published the second annual Environmental Justice Scorecard, a government-wide assessment of what 24 federal agencies did to advance environmental justice in Fiscal Year 2023. The Environmental Justice Scorecard incorporates recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and feedback from the public, environmental justice stakeholders, and experts.

• The White House Office of Environmental Justice, within the Council on Environmental Quality, launched EnvironmentalJustice.gov, a new website that highlights the Administration’s actions on environmental justice, features stories of progress across America, and shares tools, resources, and funding opportunities to empower communities to navigate federal programs and advance environmental justice in their neighborhoods.

• The Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the Council on Environmental Quality, announced the release of the inaugural Environmental Justice Science, Data, and Research Plan. Directed by President Biden, this plan provides actionable recommendations for federal agencies to identify and address longstanding barriers and data gaps that relate to environmental justice. The plan was developed by 11 agencies and three components of the Executive Office of the President that participate in the National Science and Technology Council’s Environmental Justice Subcommittee and was informed by public input.

• The White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council (IAC) adopted a Memorandum of Understanding across 24 principals of 16 federal agencies and eight components of the Executive Office of the President to support and advance the IAC’s mission to facilitate robust and effective interagency coordination on environmental justice.

These announcements build on three and a half years of progress to advance environmental justice under President Biden’s leadership. Other recent highlights include:

• Delivering on the Justice40 Initiative. Through President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, the Administration is working hard to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. In total, more than 500 federal programs across 19 federal agencies are being reimagined and transformed to meet the Justice40 goal. Agencies are using the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool to identify disadvantaged communities.
• Making historic investments in environmental justice. The President’s Investing in America agenda makes historic investments to advance environmental justice. This includes $7 billion in Solar for All Grants to deliver residential solar, which is saving money for households in low-income and disadvantaged communities as part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the over $3 billion Environmental and Climate Justice block grant program, and $4 billion to revitalize and reconnect communities that have been left behind and divided by transportation infrastructure. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, agencies are also investing billions to plug orphaned oil and gas wells, remediate abandoned mine lands, replace lead service lines, increase equitable access to trees and green spaces, install air monitors to screen for pollution, purchase clean school buses, improve public transportation with low and no-emission buses, and more.

• Finalizing ambitious regulatory protections for clean air, clean water, and fenceline communities. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken broad regulatory action to protect public health and secure environmental justice. The EPA established the first-ever national drinking water standard for PFAS, banned ongoing uses of asbestos, and strengthened lead protections andMercury and Air Toxics Standards. To address elevated cancer risk and other harms to fenceline communities, the EPA finalized new health protections to reduce exposure to ethylene oxide, issued strong standards to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, finalized stronger clean air standards for chemical plants, and improved safety standards to protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents. The EPA also took action to adopt stronger standards for harmful soot pollution, which will prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and yield up to $46 billion in net health benefits, and finalized national pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles as well as heavy-duty vehicles that will deliver $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality.
• Prioritizing resilience, jobs, and workers with historic climate action. President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate and environmental justice agenda in history, including securing the biggest climate protection bill ever. The President launched the American Climate Corps, a workforce training and service initiative that will ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training they need for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy. The Climate Corps focuses on creating good-paying jobs and advancing environmental justice, prioritizing communities traditionally left behind. To protect all communities in harm’s way due to extreme weather and climate disasters, the Biden-Harris Administration has placed environmental and economic justice at the center of its climate resilience agenda. For example, the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget invests $23 billion in climate adaptation and resilience across the federal government to help protect the most vulnerable Americans from the economic and physical impacts of climate change. Further, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a new rule that, if finalized, would establish the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard to protect workers from extreme heat in the workplace.
• Expanding the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that the voices, perspectives, and lived realities of communities with environmental justice concerns are heard in the White House and reflected in federal policies, investments, and decisions. President Biden appointed 12 additional members to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), a federal advisory committee that President Biden established under Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. The establishment of the WHEJAC marked the first time that a Presidential advisory body has been tasked with providing recommendations to the federal government on environmental justice. The WHEJAC held its first joint public meeting with the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council in June 2024.
• Increasing public engagement in environmental reviews and the regulatory process. The Biden-Harris Administration finalized a rule to advance environmental justice and promote meaningful public input in the federal environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act. The rule helps ensure projects are built smart from the start by promoting early and meaningful engagement with communities, fostering community buy-in, reducing or avoiding conflict, and improving project design.  In addition, the rule directs agencies – consistent with current best practices – to consider environmental justice in environmental reviews and to encourage measures to avoid or reduce disproportionate effects on communities, including the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens. The Office of Management and Budget also issued updated guidance to broaden public engagement in the regulatory process. The Administration will continue to seek public input as it develops a federal framework, guidelines, and leading practices for public participation and community engagement activities.
• Solidifying a whole-of-government commitment to environmental justice. President Biden’s Executive Order 14096 on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All makes clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and should be incorporated into their missions. To support agencies in their work to further embed environmental justice into the federal DNA and deliver real, measurable progress, the Council on Environmental Quality released a template for agencies to help develop their Environmental Justice Strategic Plans. Agencies also incorporated environmental justice into updated versions of their Climate Adaptation Plans. Additionally, the Administration is taking ambitious action to tackle plastic pollution and released the first comprehensive, government-wide strategy to reduce the impact of plastic pollution throughout the plastics lifecycle, calling for sustained and coordinated work with communities with environmental justice concerns.
• Rapidly accelerating locally led efforts to conserve, protect, and expand access to lands and waters across America. From protecting Bristol Bay in Alaska, working to restore healthy and abundant salmon in the Columbia River Basin, and safeguarding the Grand Canyon to investing $1.5 billion in local parks and tree cover, President Biden is protecting and restoring lands and waters that are important to Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples and creating more equitable access to nature. The Biden-Harris Administration has also undertaken an all-of-government approach to engage more effectively in supporting local leaders’ efforts to improve access to and create, expand, steward, and conserve parks and green and blue spaces for communities that currently lack access to nature. The Administration released the first-ever U.S. Ocean Justice Strategy to advance environmental justice for communities that rely on the ocean and Great Lakes, and is in the process of evaluating the potential Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the first Indigenous-led nomination for a National Marine Sanctuary.
• Strengthening enforcement of environmental and civil rights laws. The Justice Department’s (DOJ) Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) is engaging DOJ bureaus, components, and offices to ensure that DOJ utilizes the full set of legal tools at its disposal to secure environmental justice. OEJ is the central hub as DOJ implements a comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy to enhance civil and criminal enforcement of environmental violations in communities overburdened by pollution. For example, following an interim resolution agreement, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Alabama Department of Public Health has made progress in providing access to basic sanitation services, abating exposure to raw sewage from inadequate onsite wastewater systems, and improving health outcomes for the predominantly Black communities of Lowndes County, Alabama. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has strengthened its environmental justice enforcement, such as by increasing the percentage of on-site inspections in communities with potential environmental justice concerns and finalizing Superfund settlement agreements for cleanup work near communities with potential environmental justice concerns.
• Increasing technical assistance and capacity building. The Environmental Protection Agency established a network of 16 environmental justice assistance centers with over 160 partners to support communities and their partners as they work to access federal resources. The program is part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network, which is developing a holistic government-wide framework for technical assistance and capacity building. The Department of Energy also launched the Regional Energy Democracy Initiative, or REDI, to help direct capacity building and technical assistance for community-based organizations and local stakeholders who are engaged in the coordination, development, and delivery of community benefits associated with Department-funded projects in the Gulf South region. Additionally, the White House published a Technical Assistance Guide to make it easier for communities across the country to navigate, access, and deploy infrastructure, climate resilience, and clean energy funding. The Environmental Protection Agency also launched the Environmental Justice Clearinghouse, a first-of-its-kind online collection of resources related to environmental justice.
• Reforming federal funding and support for Tribal Nations. To help ensure that the benefits of the Investing in America agenda reach Tribal Nations and Tribal communities, President Biden signed Executive Order 14112 on Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations To Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination. Among other agency investments, the Department of the Interior recently made available $120 million in new funding to help Tribal communities prepare for the most severe climate-related environmental threats to their homelands. Overall, the Investing in America agenda provides for nearly $560 million in new investments to support climate resilience in Tribal communities.

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order creating a Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve an ongoing dispute between the New Jersey Transit Rail and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET). The appointment of the Board is required under the Railway Labor Act because a party to the dispute has requested a Board.

The Presidential Emergency Board will provide a structure that allows the two sides to attempt to resolve their disagreements. Within 30 days following its establishment, the Presidential Emergency Board will produce a report to the President with its recommendations for settling the dispute.

President Biden also announced that he intends to appoint the following members to Presidential Emergency Board No. 251:

• Elizabeth C. Wesman, Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251
• Barbara C. Deinhardt, Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251
• Lisa SalkovitzKohn, Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251

Elizabeth C. Wesman, Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251

Elizabeth Wesman is a full-time labor arbitrator and a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA). She is listed on several labor arbitration panels, including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the American Arbitration Association, the National Mediation Board, the Oregon Employment Relations Board, and the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission. Wesman is also an Emeritus Professor from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, where she taught Labor Relations, Arbitration, and Human Resource Strategy courses for 20 years. Wesman is past President of the NAA Research and Education Fund and past President of the National Association of Railroad Referees. She holds a Ph.D. from the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Her academic research and published works have been primarily in the areas of conflict resolution, employment discrimination, and arbitration of Title VII disputes. President Obama appointed her to serve on three Presidential Emergency Boards which studied commuter rail negotiations at New Jersey Transit and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

Barbara C. Deinhardt, Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251

Barbara Deinhardt is a labor and employment arbitrator and mediator. In 2022, President Biden appointed her to serve on Presidential Emergency Board 250 to resolve a dispute between railroads represented by the National Railway Labor Conference and the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition representing freight railroad unions. In 2014, President Obama appointed her to Presidential Emergency Boards 247 and 248. She has experience in federal and state government, serving as Chair of the New York State Employment Relations Board, as well as Chair of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

Lisa Salkovitz Kohn, Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 251

Lisa Salkovitz Kohn has been a full-time labor and employment arbitrator and mediator for over 30 years. A member of the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA), she is a past President of the NAA Research and Education Fund, and a past member of the boards of the Chicago Chapters of the Labor and Employment Research Association and the Association for Conflict Resolution and as a program co-chair for the National Association of Railroad Referees. She is listed on the arbitration panels of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the American Arbitration Association, the National Mediation Board, and has served on the panels of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board, and many other labor-management arbitration panels in the public and private sectors. Kohn served for many years as a Hearing Officer and Conciliator for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Cook County (Illinois) Commission on Human Rights. Prior to becoming an arbitrator and mediator, Kohn practiced as a labor attorney for several law firms and served as in-house labor attorney for a large telecommunications company. A native of the District of Columbia, Kohn is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law.

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Since day one, President Biden and Vice President Harris have worked to make “Made in America” a reality. In his first week in office, President Biden signed his Executive Order on Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers, which established the first ever Made in America Office at the White House Office of Management and Budget, and launched a whole-of-government initiative to support American manufacturing. The President and Vice President secured historic legislation to make “Made in America” a reality — including enacting legislation the last administration failed to pass — and implemented the most robust change to the Buy American Act in almost 70 years to ensure that taxpayer money is supporting workers and manufacturing across America.

The Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda is a Made in America agenda. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law put Americans to work rebuilding our nation with American-made materials, and included the Build America, Buy America Act to require that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in Federally funded infrastructure projects are produced in the America. The CHIPS and Science Act is making the United States once again a world leader in manufacturing semiconductors that power our lives. And the Inflation Reduction Act is powering a manufacturing revolution in clean energy industries of the future.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, businesses are building factories that will power our economy for years to come. The private sector has committed nearly $900 billion in investments in American manufacturing and our power sector, including sectors central to our industrial strength. Construction of factories has doubled — to a record high — after falling under the previous administration. And the United States has created nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs, after the last administration lost manufacturing jobs.

These are the largest investments in American manufacturing in generations, and they build on historic actions by the Biden-Harris Administration that are making “Made in America” a reality.

The Biden-Harris Made in America Agenda

• Closing Loopholes: In his 2024 State of the Union address, the President announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is taking a historic step to boost domestic manufacturing in transportation. The Department of Transportation published a proposal to discontinue a sweeping Reagan-era Buy America waiver for manufactured products in federal-aid highway projects. This proposal would close a giant loophole and further advance the President and Vice President’s commitment to support American manufacturers and good-paying jobs across the United States. This proposal will bolster our nation’s manufacturing and help create good-paying, American jobs that support the growth of domestic manufacturing.

• CHIPS: The CHIPS and Science Act has spurred a reshoring of high-tech semiconductor manufacturing capacity back to the United States. Semiconductors are the lifeblood of the future economy and are vital to our economic and national security. Since the President and Vice President took office, dozens of companies have committed to invest nearly $400 billion in total semiconductor investments across this country. These investments have been enabled by the Department of Commerce CHIPS incentive program, which has reached preliminary terms with 13 semiconductor manufacturers across the supply chain to provide nearly $30 billion in direct funding and $25 billion in loans. The Department of Commerce has also launched the National Semiconductor Technology Center and announced billions in research and development funding opportunities; the National Science Foundation has catalyzed hundreds of millions in funding for workforce initiatives; and the Department of Defense has funded research hubs throughout the country to ensure America continues to lead industries of the future. America invented the semiconductor, and once again we are on track to revitalizing our domestic semiconductor industry through over a hundred thousand jobs all across the nation – helping ensure more chips are made in America by American workers.

• Buy American: In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the most robust updates to the implementation of the Buy American Act in nearly 70 years to ensure taxpayer dollars create good-paying jobs here at home, and strengthen critical supply chains. This rule increased the domestic content requirements for Made in America for federal procurement from 55 percent of the value of their component parts that are manufactured here to a threshold of 60 percent in 2022, 65 percent in 2024, and 75 percent in 2029. This action also closed loopholes in the current regulation while allowing businesses time to onshore manufacturing and adjust their supply chains to increase the use of American-made components.

• Broadband: The Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda includes historic funding for high-speed internet access, spurring hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in broadband manufacturing as numerous companies onshore and expand domestic manufacturing capacity.As a result of these policies, close to 90% of the funding spent on equipment for the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program will be spent on equipment manufactured in the United States. Implementation of the BEAD Program is creating thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs across the country — from Kenosha, Wisconsin to Hickory, North Carolina and Gilbert, Arizona. Workers in these communities are now producing broadband equipment, like fiber optic cable and key electronics, necessary to bring affordable, reliable high-speed internet to everyone in America.

• Port Infrastructure: The Administration continues to deliver for the American people by rebuilding the U.S.’s industrial capacity to produce port cranes with trusted partners. The Administration will invest over $20 billion, including through grants, into U.S. port infrastructure over the next 5 years through the Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. As a result, PACECO Corp., a U.S.-based subsidiary of Mitsui E&S Co., Ltd (Japan), is planning to onshore U.S. manufacturing capacity for its crane production. Leveraging over $20 billion in funding for America’s ports infrastructure over the next 5 years, alongside the recent Executive Order on Amending Regulations Relating to the Safeguarding of Vessels, Harbors, Ports, and Waterfront Facilities of the United States to bolster the security of the nation’s ports, and tariffs to protect American workers and businesses from China’s unfair trade practices, these investments will support and better secure America’s critical infrastructure.
  
• High Speed Rail: The Brightline West High Speed Rail project is made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Department of Transportation plans to provide $3 billion in federal funding to Brightline West for the rail project, which will create 35,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent positions when completed in 2028. The railroad is projected to carry 8 million passengers a year between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Because of the work of the Biden-Harris Administration, it is estimated that more than 95 percent of the total direct dollar expenditures for the Project will be spent on domestically sourced products and labor. The project sponsors also established a commitment with several craft rail unions for the use of highly skilled union labor in critical operations and maintenance jobs. The memorandum of understanding with the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition is comprised of 13 rail unions representing more than 160,000 freight, regional, commuter, and passenger railroad workers in the United States.
  
• Clean Energy Manufacturing: The Biden-Harris climate and infrastructure laws have spurred a boom in American clean energy manufacturing as factories break ground nationwide to make electric vehicle batteries, solar and wind components, and other nuts and bolts of the growing clean energy economy. Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, companies have announced more than $250 billion in investments in American clean energy and electric vehicle manufacturing, creating new U.S. manufacturing jobs and helping communities that have been left behind make a comeback. While federal agencies deploy unprecedented investments to support American manufacturing, the Biden-Harris Administration has also taken bold action to protect America’s growing clean energy manufacturing workforce from unfair trade practices in China by increasing tariffs on imports from China in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells, and steel and aluminum.

• Electric Vehicle Chargers: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, at least 40 Electric Vehicle (EV) charger factories in the United States have been announced or opened, representing at least half a billion dollars of investment in the American EV charging network. These investments are spurred by the successful implementation of the American manufacturing plan for EV chargers. This new policy for EV chargers restored Buy America standards for these products, while also giving time for supply chains to adjust — allowing newly announced manufacturing capacity for EV charger components the necessary time to ramp up production. This increased EV charger manufacturing helps enable the $7.5 billion that is going toward building the nation’s EV charging network.

Publicly available EV charging infrastructure has grown by over 93% since the President and Vice President took office. There are now over 185,000 public EV chargers across the country. The United Steelworkers said the approach to Buy America for EV chargers “creates demand signals for companies to make investments in the United States knowing they will benefit from the Buy America preference.”

• Tech Hubs: The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration recently awarded $504 million to 12 Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs to accelerate the growth of manufacturing and innovative industries, such as clean energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors, in communities across the country. These Tech Hubs will ensure that the benefits of innovation and technology development, which for too long have been concentrated in a few coastal cities, reach rural, industrial, and disadvantaged communities, growing regional economies from the bottom-up and the middle-out.
  
• Industrial Mobilization: The Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to agencies to better leverage federal procurement dollars to strengthen domestic sourcing for critical products and supply chains. This action is in furtherance of the President’s directive to develop enhanced price preferences and better leverage industrial mobilization authority to support American manufacturing. These actions will allow agencies to manage and mitigate supply chain risks as well as take a targeted approach to support competition and combat harm to domestic industries as a result of subsidies from non-market economies.
  
• Invent it Here Make it Here: The President’s Executive Order on Federal Research and Development in Support of Domestic Manufacturing and United States Jobs furthers America’s policy of “invent it here, make it here”— benefitting American workers, communities, and global supply chain resilience. The EO will boost the incentive to manufacture new inventions in the United States when those inventions are developed using Federal funds and encourages the expansion of domestic production for critical industries. That means as we bring new inventions to market that were developed through taxpayer dollars, we’re prioritizing American workers, manufacturing, and American ingenuity.

• Construction Materials: The President announced in the 2023 State of the Union that the Federal government would take steps to ensure construction materials that are used in projects that it funds, from copper and aluminum to fiber optic cable, lumber, and drywall, are made in America. The Biden-Harris Administration has since delivered on that commitment, and these standards now apply to virtually all infrastructure spending supported by Federal financial assistance. Meanwhile, thanks to the historic investments in the Biden-Harris climate law, the Department of Energy recently announced more than $6 billion in industrial decarbonization grants to deploy game-changing technologies for steel, aluminum, cement, and other foundational materials. The Biden-Harris Administration also launched the Federal Buy Clean Initiative, to leverage the U.S. government’s purchasing power to spur demand for clean construction materials, like concrete, asphalt, steel and glass. Federal agencies are currently deploying more than $4 billion under Buy Clean.

• Personal Protective Equipment: The Make PPE in America Act, which was signed into law as part of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, requires the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs, to purchase American-made personal protected equipment (PPE). The COVID-19 pandemic made clear the need to reduce U.S. reliance on essential foreign goods like PPE. To minimize this vulnerability, this law seeks to ensure that PPE will be made here in America, support domestic manufacturing, create good-paying jobs, and build resilient supply chains.

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