Statements and Releases

At the third Summit for Democracy on March 18, 2024, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Poland, and Republic of Korea joined this first-of-its-kind international commitment to work collectively to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware. This joint statement, which was originally announced at the second Summit for Democracy on March 30, 2023, has been updated to reflect these additional countries.

We, the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, recognize the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware and the need for strict domestic and international controls on the proliferation and use of such technology. 

Commercial spyware has been misused across the world by authoritarian regimes and in democracies.  Too often, such powerful and invasive tools have been used to target and intimidate perceived opponents and facilitate efforts to curb dissent; limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or association; enable human rights violations and abuses or suppression of civil liberties; or track or target individuals without proper legal authorization, safeguards, or oversight.  The misuse of these tools presents significant and growing risks to our national security, including to the safety and security of our government personnel, information, and information systems.

We therefore share a fundamental national security and foreign policy interest in countering and preventing the proliferation of commercial spyware that has been or risks being misused for such purposes, in light of our core interests in protecting individuals and organizations at risk around the world; defending activists, dissidents, and journalists against threats to their freedom and dignity; promoting respect for human rights; and upholding democratic principles and the rule of law.  We are committed, where applicable and subject to national legal frameworks, to implementing the Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies and the Code of Conduct developed within the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative. 

To advance these interests, we are partnering to counter the misuse of commercial spyware and commit to:

• working within our respective systems to establish robust guardrails and procedures to ensure that any commercial spyware use by our governments is consistent with respect for universal human rights, the rule of law, and civil rights and civil liberties;

• preventing the export of software, technology, and equipment to end-users who are likely to use them for malicious cyber activity, including unauthorized intrusion into information systems, in accordance with our respective legal, regulatory, and policy approaches and appropriate existing export control regimes;

• robust information sharing on commercial spyware proliferation and misuse, including to better identify and track these tools;      

• working closely with industry partners and civil society groups to inform our approach, help raise awareness, and set appropriate standards, while also continuing to support innovation; and  

• engaging additional partner governments around the world, as well as other appropriate stakeholders, to better align our policies and export control authorities to mitigate collectively the misuse of commercial spyware and drive reform in this industry, including by encouraging industry and investment firms to follow the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 

Our efforts will allow us to work collectively for the first time as we develop and implement policies to discourage the misuse of commercial spyware and encourage the development and implementation of responsible use principles that are consistent with respect for universal human rights, the rule of law, and civil rights and civil liberties.

###

The post Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware appeared first on The White House.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. welcomed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland to the White House today to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and continue their close coordination on shared priorities. A longstanding tradition, the leaders’ annual meeting was an opportunity to discuss a range of issues. They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it defends against Russia’s continued aggression. President Biden commended Ireland’s support to over 100,000 Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Ireland. They reaffirmed their commitment to Israel’s right to self-defense consistent with international law, underscored the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza, discussed the crucial need to prevent regional escalation, and emphasized their shared view that a two-state solution remains the viable path to lasting peace.  The leaders also highlighted growing economic and people-to-people ties between the United States and Ireland, building on our strong historic connections. They welcomed the restoration of Northern Ireland’s Executive and Assembly, reaffirming the critical role these institutions play in preserving the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. They looked forward to continuing to build a vibrant future for U.S.-Irish relations.

###

The post Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland appeared first on The White House.

This week, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard convened White House officials and the Federal Co-Chairs of six Regional Commissions: the Appalachian Regional Commission, Denali Commission, Delta Regional Authority, Northern Border Regional Commission, Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and Southwest Border Regional Commission. Participants discussed the importance of Regional Commissions to President Biden’s commitment to investing in all of America and all Americans; helping rural and distressed communities make a comeback — which the President spoke about in his State of the Union address.

Structured as federal-state partnerships dedicated to different regions of the country, Regional Commissions make place-based investments in technical assistance, capacity building, economic development, workforce, and infrastructure. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the six Regional Commissions received over $1 billion in additional funding to help local economies and distressed communities attract historic public and private investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, and clean energy.

Federal Co-Chairs discussed priorities and success stories in their regions. To date, Regional Commissions have used Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to support more than 300 projects in 19 states. For example: the Delta Regional Authority funded infrastructure projects to support a $5.6 billion investment by Ford in a new electric truck and battery plant in West Tennessee; the Denali Commission provided technical assistance to an Alaska Native Tribal consortium to help secure over $90 million in federal grants for broadband projects in remote communities; the Northern Border Regional Commission awarded a $3 million grant to construct and expand child care facilities in Lewis County, New York; and the Appalachian Regional Commission expanded its ARISE program to build capacity across multi-state regional partnerships. The Southeast Crescent Regional Commission also launched its inaugural $20 million State Economic and Infrastructure Development grant program.

Meeting participants included:

Lael Brainard, National Economic Advisor

Gayle Manchin, Federal Co-Chair, Appalachian Regional Commission

Jocelyn Fenton, Interim Federal Co-Chair, Denali Commission

Corey Wiggins, Federal Co-Chair, Delta Regional Authority

Chris Saunders, Federal Co-Chair, Northern Border Regional Commission

Jennifer Clyburn Reed, Federal Co-Chair, Southeast Crescent Regional Commission

Juan Sanchez, Federal Co-Chair, Southwest Border Regional Commission

Samantha Silverberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation

Heather Boushey, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers & Chief Economist of the Investing in America Cabinet

Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development & Industrial Strategy

Brian Anderson, Executive Director of the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, Department of Energy

Vaishant Sharma, Senior Policy Advisor, National Economic Council

Ishan Sharma, Senior Advisor, Office of Science and Technology Policy

John McAuliff, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Clean Energy Innovation & Implementation

Anna Duffy, Policy Advisor, National Economic Council

Jordan Arnold, Policy Advisor, Infrastructure Implementation Team

###

The post Readout of White House Convening with Regional Commissions on Supporting an Economic Comeback in Communities Across the Country appeared first on The White House.

This week, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten hosted a Summer Learning Convening at the White House as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Improving Student Achievement Agenda focused on improving academic performance for every child in schools through the adoption of three evidence-based strategies: (1) increasing student attendance; (2) providing high-dosage tutoring; and (3) increasing summer learning and extended or afterschool learning time.
 
This convening provided an opportunity to hear from representatives from the National League of Cities, Tuscaloosa, AL and Rochester, NY on their collaborative efforts to increase access to high-quality summer learning programs as a key strategy to increase student achievement. The Tuscaloosa City Schools Summer Program is an early champion of summer learning heading into its fourth year with 19 programs that serve 3,000 students. The Rochester City School District worked with community partners to establish 30 summer programs, such as a program at St. John Fisher University which provided learning support to over 5,000 students.
 
This convening comes on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request, which proposes $8 billion in new mandatory funding for Academic Acceleration and Achievement Grants to support student success across States and districts and the Department of Education’s recently launched Engage Every Student Recognition program to spotlight high quality summer learning and afterschool programs across the nation that are improving academic and other outcomes for children and youth.
 
Participants in the convening included:

• Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council
• Cindy Marten, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education
• Simeon Banister, President & CEO, Rochester Area Community Foundation
• Dr. Elfreda Massie, Director of Education and Expanded Learning at the National League of Cities
• Dr. Andrew Maxey, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Tuscaloosa City Schools
• Dr. Carmine Peluso, Superintendent Rochester City School, NY
• Liliana Ruiz, Director of Special Projects, Office of the Mayor of Rochester NY
• Dr. Daniela Susnara, Director of Planning and Assessment for Community Engagement in the University of Alabama’s Center for Community-Based Partnerships
• Kim Turner, President & CEO, Boys and Girls Club, West Alabama

###

The post Readout of White House Summer Learning Convening appeared first on The White House.

Reforms would save students and borrowers billions in unnecessary fees and improve the college and loan repayment experience.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new steps to crack down on hidden junk fees as part of President Biden’s agenda to lower costs for students and families paying for college. Junk fees are hidden costs or surprise fees that companies and institutions include on customer or student bills, increasing their costs. 

Each year, students—including Federal student loan borrowers—incur billions in fees or additional unseen costs for unused meal account funds, using a college-sponsored credit card or banking account, paying for textbooks, or simply taking out a loan to pay for school. Additionally, students aren’t always provided clear and upfront opportunities to avoid fees for services they do not want. Obscured costs and misleading practices aren’t just frustrating—they cost millions of students and borrowers money.

The fees targeted in today’s announcement may be imposed multiple times during the college or graduate school experience. 

For example, when students first take out their federal student loans to go to college, they incur a “loan origination” fee that ranges from 1 percent for undergraduate loans to 4 percent for graduate and parent loans. This can tack on hundreds or thousands of dollars onto their debts.

Additionally, many colleges directly offer students financial products through affiliated banks, like student banking accounts and credit cards. Students trust and rely on their schools’ offering of these products; in some cases, these products help students receive student aid. However, reports have found that these products often assess high and unusual fees that are more costly than widely available options and can erode the purchasing power of students’ financial aid. 

Colleges are also currently allowed to automatically charge students for textbooks if the charge meets certain criteria. Students are often unaware of this hidden cost or their ability to decline the charge, preventing them from shopping around for a better price. Further, some colleges keep unspent student meal plan credit balances, instead of providing students with a refund.

The actions announced today are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy to lower costs and make higher education more affordable and accessible for students by creating more transparent and student-friendly policies. These actions include:  

• Eliminating the Student Loan Origination Fees: The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal calls on Congress to end student loan origination fees.  According to the Office of Management and Budget, approximately 7 million undergraduate, graduate, and parent borrowers pay origination fees of 1 to 4 percent of the total amount each federal student loan is charged to every borrower who takes out federal money to help get an education. These fees are a relic of an era when the government compensated private lenders to issue these loans.  Today, this fee is nothing more than a tax imposed on students by the government, costing consumers more than $1 billion annually. Adding insult to injury, these fees are added to loan balances and subject to interest for the life of the loan.  A typical teacher or nurse taking out federal loans for undergraduate and graduate degrees will pay $1,000 or more over the life of their loan because of these fees. Parents often fare even worse, with the average parent borrower paying out an additional $2800 or more because of these fees. The Biden-Harris Administration is calling on Congress to pass the President’s 2025 Budget proposal and eliminate it.

• Putting an End to College Banking Junk Fees:  The Department of Education (ED) is undergoing negotiated rulemaking to clarify that college banking products that provide students access to their financial aid cannot include harmful fees.  A recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) highlighted how banks are imposing millions in high and unusual fees on more than 650,000 student account holders with college banking accounts, with account holders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, for-profit colleges, and Hispanic-servicing institutions paying higher-than-average fees. The report found that these junk fees no longer reflect prevailing market practices as more banks have phased them out – contributing to the $5.5 billion decrease in overdraft and bounced check fees for all consumers since 2019.  To address the problem, the Department is formally considering regulations that would prohibit entities that contract with institutions of higher education for the disbursement of Title IV funds from charging particular fees that harm students, such as insufficient funds fees or maintenance and closure fees.  These changes, if proposed and finalized, would be included under ED’s cash management regulations, which are currently in rulemaking.
• Eliminating Automatic Charges for Textbooks: The Department is undergoing negotiated rulemaking to reduce costs incurred by students in addition to tuition in higher education by ending the practice of automatic billing on tuition for textbooks. Under the draft proposal, students would now need to authorize a charge on their tuition bill for course materials. Competitive markets provide consumers choice and value, but automatic charges for textbooks and course materials leave students with little ability to meaningfully shop around for better prices or to utilize free and open-source textbooks. These changes, if proposed and finalized, would provide students with real choice and the ability to use the best textbooks at the most affordable price.
• Stopping Colleges from Pocketing Students’ Leftover Meal Plan Dollars: The Department is formally considering regulations to require institutions of higher education to return any unused funds from Federal financial aid recipients’ meal plans back to students. Students are often required to purchase meal plans from institutions, and institutions can credit financial aid funds toward meal plan expenses that can be used like cash to also cover expenses at campus grocery stores and food courts, often referred to as “flex dollars.” At the end of a term, institutions can take any remaining funds without returning unused funds. This can create a financial penalty for students as they either lose the money they are entitled to, or are forced to spend remaining funds at the end of the term on items they might not otherwise feel they need.

These actions build upon important steps to increase transparency and improve the experience for students through final regulations issued in late 2023 that go into effect on July 1, 2024. Recently finalized student- and borrower-friendly policies include:

• Increasing College Cost Transparency: The Department issued final regulations to require that institutions provide the most detailed information ever about the cost of college, including costs that students and families are likely to pay out-of-pocket, before students enroll in a college and accept financial aid. The Department is also requiring that institutions provide adequate financial aid communications and counseling to students. This will help to increase cost transparency and decision-making for students and families. Under this rule, institutions of higher education may have their participation in Federal student aid programs limited, suspended, or terminated if they fail to administer their programs consistently with these new rules.
• Preventing Schools from Withholding Student’s Transcripts: Recently issued final regulations also restrict colleges from withholding course credits paid for with Federal money. Previously, institutions of higher education could withhold transcripts from students until their accounts were fully paid. Withholding transcripts can keep students from transferring to another institution, enrolling in another program upon graduation, and securing a job. Under the Department’s new rule, colleges will no longer be allowed to withhold transcripts over unpaid debts if the student paid for some of their courses with Federal student loans or other Federal financial aid.
• Holding Schools Accountable as Lenders. CFPB clearly communicated to institutions that when they act as lenders by offering tuition payment plans and other credit to students, they will be held accountable if they violate federal consumer financial protection laws. A recent CFPB report found some colleges charging late fees over $200, using troubling debt collection practices including transcript withholding, removal from campus meal plans, and providing unclear and inconsistent product disclosures.
• Reducing the price of textbooks by investing in freely available textbooks. The Department’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program provides grants for institutions to create and use their own free textbooks and other open-source course materials. In fiscal year 2021 through 2023, the Department awarded slightly under $30 million to 17 grantees for this purpose. The total federal investment in the Open Textbooks Pilot Program through 2023 is $47 million. The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal calls for funding the Open Textbooks Pilot Program.
• Establishing the most effective safeguards ever against unaffordable debt or insufficient earnings for postsecondary students. This includes landmark regulations finalized in fall 2023 to hold for-profit colleges and career education programs accountable for failure to deliver for students. Approximately 700,000 students a year will now be protected from career training programs that leave graduates with high debts, low earnings, and poor career prospects.
• Establishing a new framework holding student loan servicers accountable. The Department has returned student loan borrowers to repayment following the pandemic-era pause on payments and has worked to ensure borrowers are not harmed by servicer errors in doing so, including by errors identified in a recent report released by the CFPB.

These actions build upon the Administration’s efforts to protect students and borrowers. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue its efforts to make higher education more affordable and accessible, as well as to eliminate hidden, surprise, and junk fees and put cash back in the pockets of Americans.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes New Action to Crack Down on Junk Fees in Higher Education appeared first on The White House.

Five years ago today, a gunman fired upon worshippers at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center in Christchurch, New Zealand—murdering 51 people, wounding 40 others, and forever shattering families in one of the deadliest mass shootings in history. Today, on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we remember these innocent souls who were stolen from us while peacefully praying.
 
We recognize the violence and hate that Muslims worldwide too often face because of their religious beliefs—and the ugly resurgence of Islamophobia in the wake of the devastating war in Gaza. And, we rededicate ourselves to building a world where people of all faiths and all backgrounds are free to live without fear of persecution.
 
That includes right here at home. I’ve said it many times: Islamophobia has no place in our nation. Yet Muslims in the United States frequently endure baseless fearmongering, blatant discrimination, harassment, and violence in the course of their everyday lives. Today, Jill and I remember Wadea al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy brutally killed in his own home last fall—a crushing loss for his family and community, and a devastating reminder of how all Americans must unequivocally stand up against hate.
 
That’s why, in 2022, my Administration established an interagency policy committee to counter Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination. We are also currently drafting the first-ever National Strategy to Combat Islamophobia and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination. The goal of this strategy is to mobilize a whole-of-society effort to counter all forms of hate, discrimination, and bias against Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, and Arab American communities and to raise awareness about their heritage and invaluable contributions to our country. We are also strengthening the security of mosques and other places of worship, and working to prevent and prosecute hate crimes against vulnerable communities. And my Administration continues to implement the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism amidst the serious increase in Antisemitism and to advance the White House Initiative on Hate-Motivated Violence. Put simply, we are taking concrete steps to make real for all Americans the promise of America: that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.  We have never fully lived up to that promise, but we have never walked away from it either, and for as long as I’m President, we never will.
 
Today, as millions continue to observe the holy month of Ramadan, Jill and I extend our best wishes to Muslims everywhere and continue to keep them in our prayers. And, we reaffirm our commitment to do all we can to put an end to the vicious hate of Islamophobia—here at home and around the world.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia appeared first on The White House.

We welcome the appointment today of Dr. Mohammed Mustafa as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and we urge the formation of a reform cabinet as soon as possible.  The United States will be looking for this new government to deliver on policies and implementation of credible and far-reaching reforms. A reformed Palestinian Authority is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people and establishing the conditions for stability in both the West Bank and Gaza. 

###

The post Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the appointment today of Dr. Mohammed Mustafa as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority appeared first on The White House.

Planned Parenthood
St. Paul, Minnesota

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  I first want to thank the governor, Tim Walz, for your leadership both for this beautiful state, but nationally you’ve been a great friend and advisor to the President and me.  And thank you for all of that.

GOVERNOR WALZ: Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Congresswoman — I mean, just an extraordinary leader.  She is strong, she is powerful, she is committed, and always working on behalf of the people of the state.  And I thank you, and thank you for traveling with me to be here today. 

REPRESENTATIVE MCCOLLUM:  It was an honor.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And, Mayor, thank you, as well.  We shared a lot of stories about your leadership.  And I know that you have a lot of support here in the city for the work that you have done.  Thank you for that.

So, many of you have asked why am I here at this at — this facility, in particular.  And I will tell you, it is because, right now in our country, we are facing a very serious health crisis.  And the crisis is affecting many, many people in our country, most of whom are, frankly, silently suffering after the United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America.

In states around our country, extremists have proposed and passed laws that have denied women access to reproductive healthcare.  And the stories abound. 

I have heard stories of — and have met with women who had miscarriages in — in toilets.  Women who were being denied emergency care because the healthcare providers there, at an emergency room, were afraid that because of the laws in their state, that they could be criminalized, sent to prison for providing healthcare.

So, I’m here at this healthcare clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like, which is to understand it is only right and fair that people have access to the healthcare they need and that they have access to healthcare in an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect. 

And please do understand that when we talk about a clinic such as this, it is absolutely about healthcare and reproductive healthcare.  So, everyone get ready for the language: uterus.  (Laughter.)  That part of the body needs a lot of medical care from time to time.  (Laughter.)

Issues like fibroids — we can handle this — breast cancer screenings, contraceptive care — that is the kind of work that happens here, in addition, of course, to abortion care.

So, to have laws in states that have caused clinics like this to shut down so that women have no access within any reasonable distance of where they live to get this vital care that is necessary to address their health needs and concerns.

So, again, I say thank you to the governor, the congresswoman, the mayor, and the doctor and all those who work here, and the staff. 

This work includes having people here who go out and talk to young people — our young people in high schools.  And sadly, in so many places around our country, Sex Ed is a thing of the past, which leaves our young people to learn about their bodies and reproductive systems on social media — often with a profound amount of misinformation, which leaves them confused about what is happening to their own bodies.

The work that happens here is about providing assistance to women who do not live in the state of Minnesota, because, sadly, this state exists in a neighborhood where laws have been passed to deny people reproductive healthcare.  And so, women have to travel here. 

You know, the majority of women who receive an abortion are mothers.  God help her that she’s got affordable childcare.  If she is working, God help her she’s got paid family leave so she can figure out how is she going to get to the place that will provide her the care she needs. 

Well, the work that happens in a clinic like this includes answering those questions for someone who might be in great distress, letting her know what is available to her in terms of transportation, in terms of housing or a hotel, what is available to her in terms of assistance for her childcare needs.

So, I’ll close with this.  In this environment, these attacks against an individual’s right to make decisions about their own body are outrageous and, in many instances, just plain old immoral. 

How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need, to tell women what is in their best interest.  We have to be a nation that trusts women.  (Applause.)

And with that, I will introduce this extraordinary healthcare provider.  And, Doctor, please. 

DR. TRAXLER:  Thank you.  Thank you so much. 

I have to use my notes, folks.  (Laughter.)  I’m not used to doing this. 

So, good afternoon, everyone.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.

DR. TRAXLER:  I’m Sarah Traxler.  I’m the Chief Medical Officer here at Planned Parenthood North Central States.  I’m a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist with a subspecialty in complex family planning, and I also have my masters of science in health policy. 

I am a proud abortion provider.  And I’m honored that Vice President Kamala Harris has visited our clinic today.  It’s a historic moment and one that demonstrates how critically important access to reproductive healthcare is to people and their families across the country.

So, thank you so much —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

DR. TRAXLER:  — for being here today.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

DR. TRAXLER:  Thank you.

After the Dobbs decision a year and a half ago, Minnesota has become a bastion of access for abortion care.  But abortion rights are not only a Minnesota issue; it is a national issue. 

Our Planned Parenthood has seen a 25 percent increase in abortions here in Minnesota since Roe was overturned.  We’ve seen nearly 100 percent increase in patients coming here from outside of our state. 

This is not by accident.  Surrounding states have been limiting and banning abortion, while Minnesota, with the help of our governor, has been increasing access. 

Since Roe was overturned, I’ve cared for patients from everywhere, from nearby states like South Dakota and North Dakota and Wisconsin, but from far-away states like Texas, Alabama, Wyoming, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, and the list goes on. 

I’ve seen patients who’ve flown from places like Louisiana only to have me tell her that her complex pregnancy condition would keep her from having her abortion here with me, forcing her to continue a dangerous pregnancy because hospital-based care was not available to her in her home state. 

Traveling to access essential healthcare can be intimidating and overwhelming.  It is not an easy thing to do, as we have all pretended that it is. 

Like the experience of our patient who traveled from a small rural town and became lost in downtown Minneapolis with a dead cell phone after her flight landed.  We were able to get her a Lyft driver, our patient navigators, and she described that Lyft driver as a savior for her.  And like our patient who drove hundreds and hundreds of miles through blizzard conditions just to get her abortion. 

Our new abortion landscape is difficult, it is dangerous, and it is putting my patients and healthcare providers at severe risk.  I’ve talked to my colleagues practicing in states where abortion is now illegal, and they are unnecessarily struggling with decisions around providing ethical, proper medical care and conflicting with the law.  This should never happen.

Thankfully, providing abortion care has gotten less complicated in Minnesota.  Here, I’m trusted as a provider and an expert to work with my patients to provide the best care possible. 

To know that I’m trusted to do my job is a comfort to me, but it should be the standard everywhere.  Private medical decisions should be made between patients and their doctors without interference from politicians or the protesters standing outside on the street in front of our clinic today.

You know, I didn’t always feel this way.  I came to understand bodily autonomy after a long history of being anti-abortion and having a very distorted point of view about abortion care.  It wasn’t until a friend told me her abortion story that I came to see the light. 

After hearing her, knowing her history, I knew that an abortion was the right choice for her, for her life, for her future and nobody else’s.  And it dawned on me.  If she is making the right decision for her life, then there are countless other people who are making the right decision for their lives.  And no one should be interfering in that.

From my — from that point on, my awakening into understanding bodily autonomy and freedom grew to the point that I am today.

Everyone should have the right to access healthcare.  Your ZIP Code shouldn’t dictate the care that you can access.  Your race, your socioeconomic status — none of that should determine it.

So, in 2024 and beyond, we will keep fighting, we will keep working until we live in a world where everyone can access the care they decide is best for their futures and their bodies and in their own community.

Thank you.  (Applause.)

AIDE:  We’re going to take a couple of questions, and we’re — we’re going to start with Rochelle from the Star Tribune.

Q    Hi, Madam Vice President.  Why do you think it took so long for a sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion provider?  And, also, how concerned are you about the 20 percent who voted uncommitted in the Minnesota presidential primary?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’ll tell you, the reason I’m here is because this is a healthcare crisis.  And I think that of the many stories that we can tell — excuse me.  (Coughs.)

Of the many stories that we need to tell about what has happened after the Dobbs decision, one of them is that part of this healthcare crisis is the clinics like this that have had to shut down and what that has meant to leave no options with any reasonable geographic area for so many women who need this essential care.

And, again, it runs the gamut of reproductive healthcare.  So, yes, it is abortion care.  It is also, as I mentioned earlier, essential and critical reproductive healthcare like paps, like breast cancer screenings, things of that nature.

So, I’m here to highlight that of the many, I believe, potentially intended consequences of the Dobbs decision, one of them has been for healthcare providers such as this in the states that have banned or outlawed access to reproductive care — clinics like this to shut down.  And it’s a travesty.  It’s a travesty.

Q    Madam Vice President, can I —

AIDE:  We’re going to go to our next question, Madam Vice President.  Darlene, right to your left, with the AP.

Q    Hi.  Thank you.  We were not able to go with you on the tour, obviously.  Can you give us a sense of what you saw back there —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — and also what you learned by coming here today?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, what I saw were, I don’t know, maybe two dozen healthcare workers who really care —
really care about their patients and who understand that in the healthcare delivery system, regardless of your gender or your healthcare need, I think we should all expect and certainly we all desire that you will be treated with dignity and you’ll be treated in an environment where you feel safe.  And by that, I mean safe to be free from judgment, to be in an environment where you are actually and really listened to, where your needs and your expression of your needs are taken seriously.

And walking through this clinic, that’s what I saw are people who have dedicated their lives to the profession of providing healthcare in a safe place that gives people dignity.
And I think we should all want that for each other.

AIDE:  Thank you, Vice President.  We’ll going to Nick at the New York Times.

Q    Madam Vice President, what do you see as your role on this issue, given that the administration has run up to the limit of what it can do to protect abortion rights and Congress is unlikely to pass a bill codifying them?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, Congress will pass that bill when we win back the House.  (Applause.)  And so, I am sure of that.

And I think that the — the point — one of the points that must be made on this issue, as we attempt to uplift the real stories and the real consequences of the Dobbs decision is to remind people elections matter.  Elections matter. 

What happened here in Minnesota, with the reelection of the governor and the turning of the state legislature is what has led to ensuring that these fundamental rights are intact and are protected.  Elections matter.

And let me be very clear about this.  When it comes to national elections and who sits in the United States Congress on this, there’s a fundamental point on this issue that I think most people agree with, which is that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling women what to do with their body.  If she chooses, she will consult with — with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam.  But it’s not for the government to tell her what she can and cannot do with her own body.

Q    And so, what do you see as your role on this issue?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  My role is to do what I just did, which is to articulate exactly these points and to continue to articulate them and to organize folks around what I know is an issue that is impacting more people than you’ll ever really know, who, as I said earlier, are silently suffering.

And so, we who have the ability to have a bouquet of microphones in front of us, as I do, I take on then the responsibility of uplifting these stories and reminding people — with some belief, by the way, when I do it, that the vast majority of Americans do have empathy and that, even if they don’t agree that this would be the best decision for them,
would agree that other people should not be suffering the way they are.

AIDE:  Thank you, Vice President.  We have one more question right here from Patricia —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

AIDE:  — at Bloomberg.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  Hi.

Q    Madam Vice President, Roe was always an imperfect vessel.  What exactly would you like to see replace it?  What form should it take?  What should the scope of it be?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  What we want is to put back in place the protections that the Supreme Court took away, which is to codify, put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade.  That’s what we want.

AIDE:  Madam Vice President, thank you so much. 

                               END           

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris and Doctor Sarah Traxler During the Nationwide “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” Tour | St. Paul, MN appeared first on The White House.

It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers. I told our steel workers I have their backs, and I meant it. U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.

###

The post Statement from President Biden on US Steel appeared first on The White House.

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

• Jennifer Lynn Homendy, Nominee for Chair and Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
• Kelly Adams-Smith, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Moldova
• Jeremey Neitzke, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Lesotho
• Peter W. Lord, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Senegal and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as the Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Jennifer Lynn Homendy, Nominee for Chair and Member of the National Transportation Safety Board

Jennifer Lynn Homendy is the 15th Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). She is the fourth woman to serve as Chair since the agency was created in 1967. As Chair, Homendy is the agency’s chief executive, managing an annual budget of $140 million and more than 440 full-time employees across the country. Homendy has also served as the NTSB’s 44th Board Member since 2018. She has presided over numerous public meetings to deliberate and finalize NTSB investigations in all modes of transportation, provided expert testimony at the federal and state levels on a wide range of transportation safety issues, and launched with the NTSB “Go Team” on myriad investigations. She is a staunch advocate for improving safety across all modes of transportation.

From 2004 to 2018, Homendy served as the Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to that, she held positions with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, American Iron and Steel Institute, and National Federation of Independent Business.

Homendy is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and is pursuing a Master of Transportation Safety Administration degree at the Institute for Global Road Safety and Security at Clemson University. Homendy is a native of Plainville, Connecticut, and currently resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with her husband, their daughter, and two dogs.

Kelly Adams-Smith, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Moldova

Kelly Adams-Smith, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is currently Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the European Union. Prior to that, Adams-Smith was the Senior Coordinator for National Security Affairs in the Office of the Vice President. Previously, she served as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim. and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. She has also served as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London, as Deputy Executive Secretary of the White House National Security Council, and as a faculty member at the National War College. Other overseas assignments include Sofia, Bulgaria; Tallinn, Estonia; and Moscow, Russia. Washington assignments include operations officer at the State Department’s Operations Center.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Adams-Smith was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Commerce. A New Jersey native, Adams-Smith holds a B.A. from American University and an A.M. from Harvard University. She is the recipient of a Presidential Distinguished Service Award. Her languages include Russian, Bulgarian, Estonian and Czech.

Jeremey Neitzke, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Lesotho

Jeremey Neitzke, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor, is currently Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. Prior to that, Neitzke served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi. Other assignments include Management Counselor in both Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bridgetown, Barbados. In Washington, Neitzke served in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, where he oversaw a wide variety of conflict response efforts. Other overseas assignments include Maputo, Durban, and Panama City. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya.

Son of parents from Illinois and South Dakota, Neitzke holds a B.S. from Truman State University and a Masters in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

Peter W. Lord, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Senegal and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as the Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Peter W. Lord, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan in the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State. He has previously served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia and the U.S. Mission to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as well as the Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs, Deputy Director of the Office of East African Affairs, and Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Other diplomatic postings include Malawi, Syria, Iraq, and the United Kingdom. A native of Florida, he holds a B.A. in philosophy and French literature from Furman University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He speaks French and some Arabic.

 

###

The post President Biden Announces Key Nominees appeared first on The White House.

Jill and I are heartbroken by the recent loss of Nex Benedict. Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are, and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities. Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today. 

Nonbinary and transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know. But nobody should have to be brave just to be themselves. In memory of Nex, we must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children. Bullying is hurtful and cruel, and no one should face the bullying that Nex did. Parents and schools must take reports of bullying seriously. My prayers are with Nex’s family, friends, and all who loved them – and to all LGBTQI+ Americans for whom this tragedy feels so personal, know this: I will always have your back.

To LGBTQI+ young people across the country – you are loved exactly as you are. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or alone, you can call or text 988, the National Crisis Hotline, and dial the number ‘3’ to talk to a counselor who has been specifically trained to support LGBTQI+ youth.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Nex Benedict appeared first on The White House.

On Tuesday, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) virtually convened nearly 300 leaders from across the nation to provide further details and answer questions related to the President’s budget proposals to keep communities safe from gun violence. The attendees included state and local leaders, public safety officials, and organizations focused on reducing community violence.

During the virtual briefing, OGVP Deputy Directors Gregory Jackson and Rob Wilcox highlighted key parts of the President’s budget proposal including, but not limited to:

• $7.3 billion to replenish the Crime Victims Fund to better support survivors and families of those lost to gun violence;
• $5 billion to expand Community Violence Intervention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the next 10 years;
• $17.7 billion for DOJ law enforcement, including $2 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which represents an increase of more than 30 percent since 2021;
• $800 million in increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act programs to combat gender-based violence;
• $10.9 billion in support of the President’s goal to recruit, train, support, and hire 100,000 additional police officers for effective, accountable community policing;
• $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund to give federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement the dedicated, seasoned support they need to focus on violent crime;
• $60 million to expand research on the causes, impacts and solutions to gun violence; and
• $51 million to support the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) implementation of the enhanced background checks for attempted buyers of firearms under 21, which was created by the BSCA.

During the briefing, OGVP also discussed how communities are already seeing the positive impacts of the President’s strategy to prevent and reduce crime and gun violence nationwide. Cities around the country are experiencing historic declines in violent crime, and homicides are estimated to be down nationally 12% from 2022 to 2023. By comparison, during the final year of the prior administration in 2020, the United States saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded. Key provisions created by the BSCA are starting to deliver results to protect communities from gun violence, including enhanced background check provisions that have enabled the DOJ to stop more than 600 illegal gun purchases by prohibited persons under 21 years old and the first-ever federal gun trafficking and straw purchasing law.

More information on the President’s budget to reduce crime and make our communities safer can be found here.

###

The post Readout of White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention Briefing with Local Leaders, Public Safety Officials and Violence Intervention Organizations on President Biden’s Budget Proposals Aimed at Reducing Gun Violence and Violent Crime appeared first on The White House.

In 2022, the President and First Lady reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goals of reducing the cancer death rate in the United States by at least half by 2047—preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths—and improving the experience of people who are touched by cancer. The President also established a Cancer Cabinet to mobilize the entire Biden-Harris Administration in pursuit of these ambitious goals.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing a critical action to bring us closer to achieving these goals and advance President Biden’s historic commitment to environmental justice. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final rule that will significantly strengthen and update Clean Air Act standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) emitted into the air from commercial sterilizing facilities. EtO is a highly potent carcinogen that can be particularly harmful to children and communities that are already overburdened by pollution. The new rule will safeguard public health by cutting emissions of EtO from these facilities by over 90 percent. This represents an important step to advance the Biden Cancer Moonshot’s efforts to prevent cancer before it starts by protecting communities around the country from cancer risk from EtO emitted at these facilities.

One of the uses of EtO is for medical device sterilization, a critical function that ensures a safe supply of medical devices for patients and hospitals. The Biden-Harris Administration believes securing our supply of medical devices is essential, and EPA worked closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a final rule that protects communities located near sterilizing facilities while also mitigating and managing the potential risk of medical device shortages, or other unintended supply disruptions, to products Americans need to support positive health outcomes as sterilizing facilities adjust to the new standards in an orderly way.

The Clean Air Act authorizes the President to provide a compliance exemption for a facility subject to this type of emission standard for a period of up to two years “if the President determines that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so.” The risk of unintended disruption to the supply of critical medical devices would implicate the national security interests of the United States; therefore, it would be appropriate to exercise this authority if a sterilizer of medical devices was working in good faith to come into compliance with the rule, but the technology to implement these standards was not available for installation in the facility. 

The federal government will provide more information in the coming months about how such compliance exemptions from EPA’s commercial sterilization rule may be made available, if necessary. 

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Protect Communities from Dangers of Ethylene Oxide Pollution and Secure America’s Medical Supply Chains appeared first on The White House.

In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that halted access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the state, Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council, and Tom Perez, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, convened legislative leaders to discuss their efforts to protect access to fertility care across the country.

Legislative leaders spoke about the devastating impact that the Alabama Supreme Court decision had on women and families across the state, as well as its implications for other states. Legislators discussed strategies to combat extreme legislation restricting reproductive freedom, including  access to IVF and other fertility services, and also discussed efforts to improve access to fertility care, including through comprehensive insurance coverage.

White House senior officials thanked the legislators for their leadership and reaffirmed the importance of state partners in responding to attacks on reproductive freedom, as well as the President and Vice President’s ongoing commitment to protecting access to reproductive health care, including IVF, and calling on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law.

Speakers at the convening included:

• Alabama State House Democratic Leader Anthony Daniels
• Florida State Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book
• Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade
• Washington State Senator Noel Frame

###

The post Readout of White House State Legislative Convening on Access to Fertility Care appeared first on The White House.

Today, in support of President Biden’s Unity Agenda efforts to beat the overdose crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. The Challenge is a nationwide call-to-action to stakeholders across all sectors to save lives by committing to increase training on and access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medications.

An overdose can happen anywhere, to anyone. That’s why President Biden has worked to strengthen not only the whole-of-government response, but also the whole-of-society response to this public health and public safety crisis. Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action to address the overdose crisis, including investing over $100 billion to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs and expand access to treatment. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved naloxone—a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication—for non-prescription, over-the-counter use for the first time ever.

Today, we’re calling on organizations and businesses—big and small, public and private—across the country to help ensure all communities are ready to use this life-saving tool to reduce opioid deaths. As the drug supply has gotten more dangerous and lethal, we’re asking allies to join us because we all must do our part to keep communities safe.

To help more Americans save lives, the Biden-Harris Administration is encouraging leaders to commit to take simple measures that work, including training employees on opioid overdose reversal medications, keeping the medications in first aid kits, and distributing the medications to employees and customers so they might save a life at home, work, or in their communities.

Organizations may make a commitment here and share a story of how their efforts saved a life here. Several organizations and businesses are already stepping up across industries by taking the following actions and making the following commitments:

Air Travel

• Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) announced in February that naloxone is available in Automated External Defibrillator (AED) cabinets at pre-security and post-security locations at O’Hare and Midway International Airports. There are 196 AED cabinets with naloxone at O’Hare and 32 at Midway. CDA has trained approximately 390 aviation security officers and airport-based Chicago Police Department officers on naloxone, and plans to offer training to more airport personnel in coming months.

• Seventeen US-based airlines are voluntarily equipping their aircraft with opioid overdose reversal medications. For example, Southwest Airlines has naloxone in emergency medical kits aboard 65% of aircraft, with intentions to stock 100% by end-of-year, and has already saved a life. American Airlines has naloxone aboard every plane. The company trains flight attendants on the medications, where to access them, and how to administer doses guided by on-call physicians.

Entertainment

• Insomniac Events, experience-creators behind large music festivals and live events, commits to ensuring naloxone access at all of their festivals and events nationwide in partnership with End Overdose, which provides voluntary overdose education to attendees. Together, they trained more than 100,000 festival attendees on overdose response and provided over 1.8 million with overdose resources.

Hospitality

• Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association (OHLA) partners with state and local agencies and health departments to provide naloxone to Ohio’s hotels. Currently, 20% of hotels have naloxone onsite; OHLA’s goal is 100% adoption. OHLA also produced a naloxone training video for hotel professionals to respond to overdose, resulting in lives saved.

Labor Worksites

• The Alliance for Naloxone Safety in the Workplace, a collaboration of 23 construction organizations nationally, is committed to providing overdose prevention education and training to construction workers. They recently released a free toolkit containing free training, organizational policy templates, comprehensive FAQs, and more.

• Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit that works to improve the lives and livelihoods of commercial fishermen and their families, employs Community Health Workers to offer overdose training to fishermen and coastal community members in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. As a result, over 2,000 people in the East Coast fishing community carry naloxone. 

• Massachusetts Building Trades Unions and the Building Trades Employers Association partner to distribute naloxone to contractors at construction sites. They have distributed at least 600 doses to date.

• Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), and The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) represent over 10,000 union contractors, providing employment for hundreds of thousands of skilled trade workers in the United States. These organizations, in collaboration with union partners, trained thousands of workers on substance use disorder and overdose prevention, and distributed a limited quantity of naloxone. MCAA, NECA, SMACNA, and TAUC endorse having naloxone at all construction sites and urge employers to make the lifesaving medication available to their workforce.

• Meredith Management and John Moriarty & Associates partnered with the Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative to become Recovery Friendly Worksites, which offers onsite overdose reversal kits and training on overdose prevention to building trades employees. Just weeks after launching, a person’s life was saved at work. Now, over 1,000 tradespersons in Boston are trained to respond to an overdose and can access free naloxone.  

• Ryan Companies, a national commercial real estate services provider, commits to distribute naloxone and provide overdose response training to its nearly 2,000 employees, as well as place naloxone in each first aid kit at over 300 construction sites and offices, in partnership with SAFE Project, a national nonprofit that has trained 10,000 people nationwide.

Schools & Other Places of Learning

• American Library Association and the Public Library Association provide resources to public libraries to address the overdose crisis, including support for training library staff, distributing naloxone and overdose aid kits to the public, and hosting public education programs. For example, Michigan’s Lyon Township Public Library partners with Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities and South Lyon Community Coalition to provide naloxone and overdose education and training to staff and the public.

• Arlington Public Schools’ (APS) is increasing awareness of and access to naloxone. APS trained over 2,000 staff members, most of whom now carry the medication daily, and installed naloxone boxes on every floor at all middle and high schools. APS policy now permits students, grades 9 to 12, to carry naloxone at school with parent or guardian consent; 422 high schoolers have such consent.

• Houston Independent School District (HISD) serves 185,000 students across 274 schools. HISDPolice trains officers on naloxone, which they carry to treat any student, employee, or community member who may be experiencing overdose.

• Los Angeles Unified School District, America’s second largest school district, has naloxone at all K-12 schools, early education centers, and adult education centers. School site and health care staff are trained on naloxone. Recently, District policy allows all students to carry naloxone at school. Since January 2023, the District has used naloxone approximately 50 times to save lives.

• The University of Texas at Austin (UT) leads an opioid overdose prevention program that has equipped residence hall staff, campus police, and campus libraries with naloxone and overdose response training. Naloxone is also available for free and anonymously to UT Austin’s entire community. As of March 2024, UT Austin has trained 3,412 students, staff, and faculty on overdose response and distributed 2,280 naloxone doses.

State & Local Transit Systems

• Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD)¸ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), New Jersey Transit Police Department, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train and equip officers and safety staff with naloxone so they can help people on trains and at stations. MBTA is working to make naloxone available at all Red Line Heavy Rail Stations. Collectively, these transit systems have administered over 2,000 doses of naloxone to save lives.

Expanding access to opioid overdose reversal medications is a key part of the National Drug Control Strategy, and the Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments and taken historic action over the past three years to deliver on this priority. This includes:

• Making naloxone available over-the-counter. For the first time ever, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, for non-prescription, over-the-counter purchase at grocery stores and pharmacies across the country. In addition, the FDA is making it easier for harm reduction organizations to obtain naloxone directly from manufacturers and distributors to increase the public’s access to this lifesaving medicine.

• Delivering support to states and Tribes. The Biden-Harris Administration has invested historic amounts of funding in the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant program to make opioid overdose reversal medications available at no cost to residents of states and Tribes. Using SOR funds, states and Tribes have purchased nearly 10 million opioid overdose reversal medication kits and helped to reverse more than 600,000 overdoses. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is supporting states and Tribes with technical assistance, policy academies, and convenings to ensure SOR funds are used to help saturate hard-hit communities with opioid overdose reversal medications.

• Increasing awareness of opioid overdose reversal medications. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Ad Council, launched a social media campaign, Real Deal on Fentanyl, to reach young people with critical messaging about the dangers of fentanyl and the life-saving effect of opioid overdose reversal medications. Its Spanish-language companion site, La Realidad sobre el Fentanilo, launched in March 2024.

• Increasing education on opioid overdose reversal medications. Last month, the Biden-Harris Administration marked two years of advancements in the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy by releasing the updated Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit. The toolkit provides updated guidance on preventing overdoses and responding to opioid- or stimulant-involved overdoses, and offers population-specific guidance to people who use drugs, people who take prescription opioids, first responders, healthcare practitioners, and other audiences. This builds on many bold actions that HHS has taken to beat the overdose crisis, including updated federal regulations for opioid treatment programs to expand access to treatment for the first time in two decades, and the announcement that HHS grant funds may now be used to purchase xylazine test strips, where permitted by law.

• Investing in harm reduction services. Evidence-based harm reduction services, including the distribution of opioid overdose reversal medications, save lives. In President Biden’s FY2024 budget request, he calls for an additional $100 million for harm reduction services—funding that will help distribute more opioid overdose reversal medications.

• Increasing access to life-saving medications in federal facilities. HHS and the General Services Administration (GSA) issued new guidance that encourages all federal facilities to include life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications in their safety stations for use during overdose emergencies.

• Strengthening a whole-of-society response:
  • HHS and the  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) called on public health departments and health care systems to work with housing providers, community development organizations, and other housing agencies to help expand access to opioid overdose reversal medications in the communities they serve. Housing providers play a critical role in ensuring that all public spaces have life-saving medications available and that more people are prepared to use the medications during emergencies.

• The White House and the U.S. Department of Education called on schools, colleges, and universities to have opioid overdose reversal medications on-site and ensure that students and employees are prepared to use these medications to save a life on or near their campuses.

In addition to expanding access to lifesaving overdose reversal medication, the Biden-Harris Administration has also invested more funding and broken more barriers to treatment than any previous administration. The Biden-Harris Administration has not only taken historic policy actions, but also invested historic amounts of funding to help make these policy changes a reality. President Biden is investing $83 billion in treatment, which is 42% more than was made under the previous Administration.

Saving lives is the North Star of the National Drug Control Strategy, and this effort requires more than just federal resources. We must come together. In memory of those we have lost and to protect those at risk of overdose, the Administration is refocusing the Nation’s attention on the devastation caused by illicit fentanyl, reaffirming our collective commitment to beating this crisis, and doubling down on efforts to empower all Americans to save lives.

Join us at whitehouse.gov/SaveLivesFromOverdose.

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Launches the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to announce $3.3 billion to reconnect and rebuild communities in more than 40 states, including  those that were divided by transportation infrastructure decades ago and have long been overlooked. These projects will increase access to health care, schools, jobs, places of worship, and other essential services and opportunities, and will strengthen communities by covering highways with public spaces, creating new transit routes, adding sidewalks, bridges, bike lanes, and more.

Coming off President Biden’s State of the Union Address, today’s announcement is part of the President’s broader vision to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and leave no community behind. To date, the President’s Investing in America agenda has mobilized 47,000 infrastructure projects across the nation and $650 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments that are revitalizing communities, creating good-paying jobs, and improving the health and safety of families across the country. President Biden is building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down – that means investing in all of America to make sure everyone has a fair shot and to ensure a comeback story for thousands of communities.

At its best, transportation infrastructure connects people to opportunity and spurs economic growth. But historically, some of our nation’s infrastructure investments and decisions have done the opposite.  The Department of Transportation estimates that at least one million people and businesses were displaced by decades of harmful urban renewal projects and legacy policy decisions in the buildout of the Federal highway system. Highways and rail lines have disproportionately torn through Black and other communities of color and low-income communities, displacing residents and businesses, stifling economic development, and cutting communities off from essentials such as groceries, jobs, transportation, and health care.

Through the Department of Transportation’s first-of-its-kind Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program, funded by both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris Administration will help rectify the damage done by past transportation projects and drive economic growth in communities in every corner of the country. This program is a key component of the Administration’s commitment to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities as defined in President Biden’s executive order. This program also advances the President’s commitment to delivering a convenient, efficient, and clean transportation system, including in proximity to affordable housing. Additionally, this program is a key component of the Administration’s commitment to environmental justice, including to deliver for disadvantaged communities as part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.

In Milwaukee, President Biden will announce $36 million for the 6th Street Complete Streets Project.

In the 1960s, the construction of I-94/I-43 in Milwaukee led to the demolition of roughly 17,000 homes and 1,000 businesses, as neighborhoods in the path of the highway were displaced and surrounding roads like 6th Street were widened to accommodate interstate traffic. This resulted in the creation of a street that prioritized fast-moving car traffic over the people who live, walk, work, and shop in these neighborhoods. The 6th Street Complete Streets Project will reconnect communities along more than two and a half miles of the 6th Street corridor, providing wider sidewalks for children walking to school, safe bike lanes for residents and visitors, dedicated bus lanes for faster transit, new trees to provide shade, and green infrastructure to prevent sewage from flowing into the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. These improvements will make the roadway and surrounding communities safer, greener, and more welcoming.

Other projects across the country that will benefit from the funding announced today include the following:

• “The Stitch” in Atlanta, Georgia is receiving $158 million to reconnect midtown to downtown Atlanta. When constructed, I-75 and I-85—now called the Downtown Connector—sliced through Sweet Auburn, cutting it off from Downtown and displacing hundreds of homes and businesses in the working-class neighborhoods. The project will create a 14-acre mixed-use development cap on three-quarters of the Downtown Connector—increasing access to jobs, housing, education, and healthcare and creating public parks, plazas, and surface streets for walking and biking.
• The Chinatown Stitch in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is receiving $159 million to construct a cap over the Vine Street Expressway in Chinatown, which has been home to a Chinese-American immigrant community since the mid-1800s. The Expressway was constructed in the late 1980s and 1990s, demolishing significant portions of the neighborhood and displacing residents and businesses. The Chinatown Stitch project will cover about two and a half blocks of Expressway, creating new public green space, improving neighborhood connections, and creating equitable mixed-use development opportunities and inclusive mobility options.
• The I-5 Rose Corridor Project in Portland, Oregon, is receiving $450 million to construct a highway cover and a pedestrian and bicycle-only bridge. The project will reconnect the predominantly Black neighborhood of Albina and improve safety and congestion along the interstate corridor with the highest crash rate in the state while supporting new community space and future development.
• The RIVER East Toledo project in Toledo, Ohio is receiving $29 million to reconnect residents of Toledo’s historic east side with the downtown riverfront. Decades of disinvestment and deindustrialization have turned this once thriving working-class immigrant community into one of the city’s most disadvantaged communities, with high poverty rates, heavy environmental burdens, and disproportionate barriers to safe transportation access. This project will make safety improvements along the roadway, add bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and add trees and streetscaping.
• The I-81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse, New York is receiving $180 million to reconnect residents with a community grid that will disperse traffic among a network of neighborhood streets. A key feature of the community grid is the Business Loop, which will connect residents, including residents in low-income housing on either side of Almond Street, with economic opportunities. The project will also add active transportation – including sidewalks, bike paths, new shared use paths, and enhanced and new parks and public spaces – which will further reconnect and reinvigorate the neighborhoods.
• The Reconnecting 4th Ave N. in Birmingham, Alabama, is receiving $15 million to redesign Birmingham’s Black Main Street to convert the one-way road to a two-way road, reconnecting downtown neighborhoods and businesses that were divided by the construction of Interstate 65 in the 1960s. The project encompasses the Historic 4th Avenue Business District, a once thriving hub of Black businesses and community in Birmingham.
• Removing Barriers and Creating Legacy – A Multimodal Approach in Los Angeles County, California is receiving $139 million to create 14 miles of bus priority lanes on four corridors and implement mobility hubs. Los Angeles County has the greatest concentration of roadway fatalities in the nation, with almost double the concentration of fatalities than the second highest county. With the separation of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, the project will reduce collisions by up to an estimated 49%. These investments will directly benefit approximately one million disadvantaged Angelenos.

Today’s announcement builds on other investments the Biden-Harris Administration is making through the President’s Investing in America agenda to reconnect communities across the country. In Buffalo, NY, the Administration is investing $56 million to reconnect the east and west sides of the Kensington Expressway, which cuts through a predominantly Black community – adding safe crossing options, investing in green spaces and parks, and attracting new businesses. In Detroit, MI, the Administration is investing $105 million to replace the sunken I-375 that cuts through the prosperous and vibrant Black neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, replacing it with a new lower-speed boulevard with pedestrian walkways. In New York City, NY, the Administration is investing $150 million to reconnect communities divided by the Cross Bronx Expressway between the Harlem River and the Hutchinson River Parkway, which is one of the most congested stretches of interstate in the U.S. with some of the highest rates of traffic, air pollution, and collisions. And in Pelham, AL, the Administration is investing $42 million to construct a bridge and eliminate two at-grade crossings on Shelby County Road 52 to ensure that stalled or slow trains do not prevent first responders and other vehicles from crossing the city.  

In addition to the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program, the Biden-Harris Administration has already announced $285 billion in transportation projects across the country, funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These projects advance equity, improve safety, reduce pollution, and connect communities with jobs, school, and health care, and make it easier for families and loved ones to come together. To date, the Administration has launched local roadway safety projects in over 1,000 communities across the country in cities and rural communities – with a focus on improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians, especially benefitting disadvantaged communities that have been historically left behind. The Administration is also investing $108 billion in public transit – the largest investment in public transit in our nation’s history – benefitting low-income communities that are more likely to rely on public transit for access to jobs, education, and health care.

The Biden-Harris Administration has also invested over $150 million to protect fenceline communities from harmful air pollution, and made available nearly $3 billion via the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at the Environmental Protection Agency to help local organizations engage meaningfully in infrastructure and other investment decisions that impact their communities, increasing access for local voices and participation for historically underserved and overburdened populations.  

###

The post FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Over $3 Billion to Reconnect Communities That Have Been Left Behind and Divided by Transportation Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

 
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. welcomed President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland for a joint meeting at the White House on March 12.  This historic visit marked the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO and underscores our two nations’ ironclad commitment to the NATO Alliance, which makes us all safer.  The leaders committed to ensuring continued support of Ukraine’s self-defense against Russia’s war of aggression.  They also discussed the strong U.S.-Polish energy security partnership and the enduring importance of democratic values.
 
At the meeting, President Biden shared the United States will move forward with a new $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan to Poland to bolster its security and support its defense modernization using previously appropriated congressional funds. This loan will enable Poland’s purchase of additional U.S. defense equipment, further  supporting U.S. jobs and our deepening security relationship. The President also shared that the United States will offer to sell Poland 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters.  This is a major step to provide Poland’s armed forces with cutting-edge capability to defend itself, strengthen NATO interoperability, and further bolster the U.S. defense industry.

###

The post Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland appeared first on The White House.

Today, on Equal Pay Day, we celebrate how far we have come—and how far we have yet to go—in closing the gender pay gap.  Under the Biden-Harris Administration, America has seen an unprecedented—and equitable—economic recovery, building back an economy that is the strongest in the world. Women’s labor force participation is the highest it has been in decades, and the gender pay gap is the narrowest it has ever been on record.

At the same time, President Biden recognizes we still have work left to do. Women workers are still paid on average only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. And the disparities are even greater for many women of color. These inequities cost women more than $1 trillion every year, and add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars lost over the course of a career for individual workers.

President Biden and Vice President Harris remain committed to closing gender and racial wage gaps and ensuring all people have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the labor force and support their families. Closing wage gaps is critical to strengthening and growing the economy. This Equal Pay Day, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirms its commitment to tackling pay gaps and announces new efforts to continue to build our understanding of pay disparities, address inequities, and support women’s economic security.

These actions will:

• Promote equitable access to good-paying jobs. Last week, the President signed the Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships, which will expand and diversify Registered Apprenticeship programs, benefitting women and other underrepresented workers by increasing access to high-quality pathways to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs.
• Support equal pay and further understanding of pay inequities. Today, for the first time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is making available aggregate pay data from 2017 and 2018—collected from private employers and Federal contractors with 100 or more employees—via a user-friendly interactive tool, allowing researchers, stakeholders, and the public to better understand pay disparities based on sex, race/ethnicity, geography, industry, job category, and more.
• Address occupational segregation. Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing an update to the Bearing the Cost report, analyzing the impact of “occupational segregation” on women’s economic security, particularly for Black and Hispanic women. Occupational segregation—the overrepresentation of women and people of color in occupations and industries that pay less, and their underrepresentation in occupations and industries that pay more—is a key contributor to pay inequity. DOL found that, over the course of a year, Black women lost $42.7 billion and Hispanic women lost $53.3 billion in wages compared to white men due to the impacts of occupational segregation.

Today’s announcements follow recent actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to further pay equity and transparency. On Equal Pay Day 2022, the President issued an Executive Order that committed to eliminate discriminatory pay practices in the Federal government and Federal contracting workforces. In January 2024, the Administration made good on that promise by committing to:

• Advance pay equity for Federal workers. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule ensuring that more than 80 Federal agencies will no longer consider an individual’s non-Federal current or past pay when determining the salaries of Federal employees.  Ending the consideration of salary history in pay-setting decisions is a proven way to curb pay discrimination that often follows workers from job to job.
• Promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Federal contracting by advancing pay equity and pay transparency laws. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued a proposal to prohibit Federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history for employment decisions for personnel working on or in connection with a government contract. In addition, the proposal would require Federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings, a policy shown to reduce pay inequities. These proposals will also help Federal contractors recruit, diversify, and retain talent; improve job satisfaction and performance; and reduce turnover—all factors associated with promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Federal contractor workforce.
• Affirm equal pay obligations for Federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued new guidance clarifying existing protections against discrimination in hiring or pay decisions. The guidance will help Federal contractors and employees understand when reliance on an individual’s compensation history for hiring or pay decisions may result in unlawful discrimination.

These efforts build upon actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to close gender and racial wage gaps and strengthen women’s economic security, which has led to the lowest unemployment rate among women since 1953. These include:

• Ensuring women have access to good-paying jobs being created by the President’s Investing in America agenda. The Biden-Harris Administration’s investments through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have created thousands of good-paying jobs in industries of the future. The Administration has taken steps to ensure increased access to these jobs, including for women, people of color, and members of other communities currently underrepresented in these growing sectors have equitable access to these careers. These steps include:
  
  • Launching the Good Jobs Initiative. DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative provides critical information to workers, employers, and government agencies to improve job quality, empower workers, and ensure workers, especially those from underserved communities, can access good union jobs free from discrimination and harassment. The Initiative is dedicated to advancing the Departments of Labor and Commerce’s Good Jobs Principles, which address recruitment and hiring; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and pay. Key implementing agencies have signed memoranda of understanding with DOL to support the Good Jobs Initiative, promote equitable workforce development, and ensure workers have what they need to deliver on the President’s once-in-a-generation Investing in America agenda. 
  • Expanding access to good-paying construction jobs. To ensure women can access the almost 200,000 new construction jobs expected from the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments, the Department of Commerce launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, which calls on chip manufacturers, construction companies and unions to bring one million women into the construction industry over the next decade, roughly doubling women’s representation in the industry. DOL also launched the Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, which fosters equal employment opportunity on designated BIL- and CHIPS-funded construction projects through intensive on-the-ground assistance to remove hiring barriers and promote consideration of a diverse pool of qualified workers, including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities.
  • Improving access to child care for the semiconductor workforce through CHIPS and Science Act implementation requirements. The Department of Commerce’s implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act included a historic requirement that applicants requesting over $150 million in direct funding submit plans to provide accessible, affordable, high-quality child care. 
• Increasing access to affordable care and supporting caregivers. Access to affordable, high-quality care is essential to ensuring parents, especially moms, can participate fully in the workforce. From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has focused on ways to lower child care costs for hardworking families and improve wages for child care workers. The ARP Child Care Stabilization program delivered historic support to over 225,000 child care programs serving as many as 10 million children across the country. Over 90% of the child care programs that have received assistance are women-owned. The Council of Economic Advisors found that this stabilization funding supported savings for families with young children, raised the real wages of child care workers, and helped hundreds of thousands of women with young children enter or re-enter the workforce.

In addition, in April 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order with more than 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to increase access to affordable, high-quality care and boost job quality for early educators and long-term care workers, who are disproportionately women of color. Among the many actions agencies have taken, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule strengthening the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and lowering child care costs for more than 100,000 families. 

• Increasing the minimum wage. The President issued Executive Orders directing the Administration to work toward ensuring that employees working on Federal contracts and Federal employees earned at least a $15 per hour minimum wage. Those directives went into effect in January 2022, raising the wages of about 370,000 Federal employees and employees of Federal contractors. In addition to helping the government do its work more efficiently, these directives take a step towards narrowing racial and gender disparities in income, as many low paid workers are women and people of color. The order also eliminates the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities on Federal contracts. The President has called on Congress to raise the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, so that American workers can have a job that delivers dignity and to make greater strides towards pay equity.
• Supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Small Business Administration-backed loans to women-owned small businesses are up more than 60 percent, totaling $5.1 billion in lending to women-owned businesses in FY23. And a new report found that from 2019 to 2023, women’s small business formation surged, substantially outpacing overall formation. This Administration has invested $70 million in the Women Business Centers (WBC) network, expanding it for the first time into all 50 states and tripling the number of WBCs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. President Biden is also investing $10 billion through the ARP State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to help States, territories, and Tribal governments leverage tens of billions more in matching public and private dollars to support small businesses across the United States, with a particular focus on historically underserved entrepreneurs, including women business owners. The ARP Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 40,000 women-owned restaurants and bars—thanks in part to steps taken by the Administration to ensure that women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses were able to access assistance.

###

The post FACT SHEET: On Equal Pay Day, the Biden-Harris Administration Announces Actions to Continue Advancing Pay Equity and Women’s Economic Security appeared first on The White House.

My top economic priority is lowering costs and today’s report shows we continue to make progress on that front. Inflation is down two-thirds from its peak and annual core inflation is the lowest since May 2021. Wages are rising faster than prices over the last year and since the pandemic. Prices for key household purchases like gas, milk, eggs, and appliances are lower than a year ago. Inflation is down while unemployment has remained below 4% for the longest stretch in more than 50 years.

But as I said in my State of the Union, we have more to do to lower costs and give the middle class a fair shot. The Budget I put forward yesterday would take on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs. It would lower rents by building or preserving two million homes. It would lower costs for health care, child care, and education. And it would cut taxes for hardworking families while making billionaires pay their fair share. Congressional Republicans have no plan to lower costs—their only plan is more tax giveaways for big corporations and the wealthy while cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I won’t let them.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the February Consumer Price Index appeared first on The White House.

Today, our hearts are heavy. Jill and I are devastated to learn that American Itay Chen was killed by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on October 7.
 
In December, Itay’s father and brother joined me at the White House, to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through. At the end of our meeting, they gave me a menorah—a solemn reminder that light will always dispel the darkness, and evil will not win.
 
Today, as we join Itay’s parents, brothers, and family in grieving this tragic loss, we keep this reminder close to our hearts. And I reaffirm my pledge to all the families of those still held hostage: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Itay Chen appeared first on The White House.