Statements and Releases

More than $1 billion in new commitments announced today will create economic opportunity and help address the root causes of migration in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Vice President Kamala Harris and the Partnership for Central America (PCA) today announced more than $1 billion in new private sector commitments, as part of Central America Forward (CAF), a public-private partnership that was created in response to the Vice President’s Call to Action for Northern Central America.

Today’s announcement brings the overall total of new commitments to more than $5.2 billion since May 2021.

To date, CAF and other PCA partners include more than 50 companies and organizations that have made commitments to support inclusive economic growth in the region. These entities represent the financial services, textiles and apparel, agriculture, technology and telecommunications, and nonprofit sectors, among others.

These investments are creating jobs, connecting people to the digital economy, expanding access to financing for small businesses, providing training and education for youth, women and workers, and improving economic livelihoods for people in the region.

These investments are materializing into tangible opportunities for families and communities across integrated supply chains in Central America and the United States – benefiting students, employees, entrepreneurs, and families – and shaping a model for mobilizing private sector commitments through collective action to drive economic development. 

NEW COMMITMENTS
The following companies and organizations announced major new commitments today:

• Acceso is a global social enterprise committed to creating fundamental and lasting economic change in the lives of rural smallholder farming families. From 2023 to 2028, Acceso will invest $3.6 million directly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as part of a larger $30 million program to scale its proven seed-to-market model to strengthen local food systems, improve incomes and livelihoods, and increase women’s economic security. Over 10,000 producers in the agricultural, aquaculture, and artisanal fishing sectors will benefit directly from this investment, with an additional 30,000 benefiting from parallel collaborative efforts. The project will begin in El Salvador in partnership with USAID and the launch of the “Sustainable Market Access Project.”
• Banco Cuscatlan, the second-largest bank in El Salvador, has committed to invest more than $30 million in El Salvador over the next five years, primarily in financial inclusion initiatives. These initiatives will enable 600,000 individuals to manage their money within the formal economy, providing access to more financial services, promoting investment in assets, increasing their savings, and fostering entrepreneurship. These initiatives are designed to create opportunities and promote sustainable development for future generations.
• Corporación AG, the largest steel producer in Central America, plans to invest more than $150 million in Guatemala over the next three years to increase its production and distribution capacity and anticipates generating more than 500 full-time jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs.
• Ficohsa, a leading provider of financial services in the region, committed to increasing their small and medium enterprise (SME) loan portfolio by $490 million over the next five years, prioritizing the growth of women-led businesses through preferential loans, insurance, and financial education. Additionally, Ficohsa will invest $50 million in digital services to expand financial inclusion and ensure that a greater share of remittances are banked and invested in assets, savings, and businesses. 
• JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs, will commit $3.6 million through an impact consortium that will provide labor skills training and technical certifications to over 1,800 vulnerable girls in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The initiative aims to reduce gender inequality by promoting women’s employment in the technology industry, facilitate access to employment and self-employment, with the goal of reducing migration due to lack of economic opportunities. 
• Meta will make a 3-year commitment to train 250,000 youth, entrepreneurs and small business owners in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras by July 2025.  Additionally, Meta is supporting an initiative to help over 9,000 women from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras including women who lead small and medium-sized enterprises to establish their online presence, seize the opportunities afforded by immersive technologies such as augmented reality, access financial services, and expand their operations to international markets.
• Pearson is committed to helping improve workforce development through lifelong learning solutions focused on upskilling and reskilling the young adult population needed in the productive sectors. Pearson commits to providing free access to various Pearson programs and tools for 3,000 high achieving, low income, young adult English language learners in El Salvador.
• Pantaleon, an agro-industrial organization, completed the first phase of urbanization for the Synergy Industrial Park and will soon have its official inauguration. Pantaleon has invested over $11M in the construction of the industrial park in Guatemala, generating 430 construction jobs. The Park has attracted $40M to date in new investment to Central America. As part of the new phases of Synergy, Pantaleon will commit an additional $42 million, including $15M toward workforce development with a special focus on women and indigenous communities; $25M in additional investment in the construction of the industrial park; and $1.5M to support the “Guatemala No Se Detiene” initiative to bring more foreign investment into Guatemala.
• Conecta, the platform that incorporates the investments of Grupo Energía Bogotá in Guatemala, committed to invest over $260 million in Guatemala for six electrical power transmission projects, estimated to create over 3,000 direct and 7,600 indirect jobs. The projects will help connect thousands of people who lack access to electricity and have a positive impact on the local economy, generating employment, and contributing to improved well-being.

IMPACT OF PREVIOUS COMMITMENTS

• Financial Inclusion and Access to Capital: Strengthening access to the formal financial sector allows businesses and individuals to save, invest, and access credit—fundamental building blocks to growth. Central America Forward investments have brought more than 2.5 million people into the formal economy, which is continued progress from 1 million financially announced in February 2023. Additionally, partners have provided more than $160 million in new access to capital for families and entrepreneurs to purchase a home, buy a car to get to work, and start new businesses, including more than $1.3 million in catalytic funding specifically for vulnerable populations and women in a region that has suffered from one of the highest rates of femicide globally.
• Skilling and Workforce Development: CAF investments have reached over 1 million learners with training programs on entrepreneurship, digital and financial literacy, skills for employment, and women’s empowerment. 60,000 learners have been reached with programs that lead to certification or employment. Skill and workforce development efforts are critical enablers of access to opportunity and human development.
• Job Creation: CAF investments have generated more than 70,000 new jobs across Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In a region where only one quarter of the labor force is formally employed, these investments are critical. The new jobs include more than 15,000 in manufacturing sectors to strengthen supply chains in critical sectors across the Americas and more than 30,000 in integrated textile production supply chains between the United States and Central America that support quality jobs in both regions.
• Digital Access: In May 2021, PCA mobilized commitments to expand digital access to 3 million people across the region. In record pace, by December 2022, 2 million of this goal had been reached and in July 2022 the original goal of 3 million was achieved. Going beyond that original goal, as of today, CAF investments have expanded digital access to more than 4.5 million people—surpassing the goal set at the launch of this initiative. Investing in connectivity supports individuals to access educational, employment opportunities, and grows new markets that create inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
• Food Security and Climate Adaptation: Partners have invested and procured more than $253 million in new products, services, and production capacity across the agricultural sector to increase the region’s agricultural capacity, production, and exports to provide food security to families in Central America and across the world and in a region where more than 40% of the workforce depends on a sustainable agricultural sector for their livelihoods.
• Advancing Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: Partner organizations have supported over 350,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and partner organizations across the region, which has connected small business owners to new markets and grow their businesses by improving their management, financial, digital capabilities, and provided new lending and access to capital.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES ON CAF INITIATIVES

• Good Governance, Good Jobs Declaration: PCA operationalized CAF’s Good Governance, Good Jobs Declaration, by announcing in June 2023 a Corporate Pledge on the Rule of Law, with ten company signatories.  PCA and Transparency International also launched the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Initiative (or “ACT Project”) in September 2023 to help companies fulfill their commitments to the pledge and improve their capabilities for transparent and legal business practices. The ACT Project, self-funded by companies who volunteer to join, holds them accountable for operating responsibly in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.
• CAF Investment Facilitation Team: A 12-member U.S. interagency delegation completed an extensive visit to Honduras in February 2024 to further explore the development of an economic corridor in Honduras. This strategic infrastructure project, led by Honduras and supported by the international community, multilateral development banks, and private sector, could potentially benefit the entire region, attracting investment, creating jobs, and providing social benefits to people throughout northern Central America. Other Investment Facilitation Team visits will take place to northern Central America in the months ahead.
• Central America Service Corps: USAID has entered into agreements with six partners to work together to develop Central America Services Corps (CASC) activities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. USAID, together with host-country governments and private sector partners, will work with over 60,000 vulnerable youth and offer them alternatives to irregular migration through community service projects and technical assistance to match youth to potential jobs, training and mentoring, facilitating financial inclusion efforts, and direct financial support through stipends. CASC activities have commenced in Honduras. After a successful pilot, USAID and the government of Guatemala will officially launch CASC in May of 2024, and El Salvador will launch its program soon after.      USAID coordinates activities with the U.S. Peace Corps, the Inter-American Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Partnership for Central America.
• Civil Society Coordination: In 2023, PCA launched the Regional Civil Society Council, which aims to provide a critical platform for civil society in Northern Central America in shaping and advising on the coordination of PCA’s financial inclusion, capital access, diversity, digital access, and cross-cutting programs. Members of the Council include a diverse coalition of civil society, academia, and policy makers from the region, including indigenous groups.  
• Financial Inclusion Consortium for Central American Remittances: The Financial Inclusion Consortium for Central American Remittances (FICCAR), an initiative of PCA in support of CAF, aims to boost people-to-people remittance to account transfers by at least 20 percentage points in the next five years. This collective commitment will result in digitizing nearly $14 billion in remittance transactions, resulting in safer, more secure, and lower-cost transactions that provide an opportunity to increase savings, thereby building assets and helping small businesses to grow.
• In Her Hands (IHH): On June 7, 2022, Vice President Harris launched In Her Hands (IHH), a women’s economic security initiative with the goals of connecting more than 1.4 million women and their communities to the financial system and digital economy, accelerating women’s participation in the agroindustry, training more than 500,000 women and girls in core job skills, promoting gender parity, and elevating women within companies across the region. To date, PCA has mobilized $113 million to directly support new programs for women that includes skills training programs; English language learning; and access to financial inclusion tools such as bank accounts, credit, and digital platforms. Today, PCA is formally launching the IHH Gender Pledge with the following signatories: Accion, Bancolombia, Corporación AG, Davivienda, Grupo Mariposa, Meta, Millicom, Nespresso, Pantaleon, and Technoserve. The pledge focuses on the inclusion of women in the procurement and development plans for government, non-profits, and the private sector. 

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Vice President Kamala Harris will welcome President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala to the White House on March 25, 2024 to recognize the enduring friendship and strategic partnership between Guatemala and the United States. During the visit, the leaders will take stock of the progress we have made to address the drivers of irregular migration, including creating good jobs, responsive governance, and opportunities for Guatemalans to invest in their own communities. In demonstrating U.S. support to the people of Guatemala, the Vice President is announcing the United States pledges to provide an additional $170 million for development, economic, health, and security assistance, subject to congressional notification. 

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment under the Root Causes Strategy, the Vice President is also announcing the following:

• Transforming Security and Justice Institutions: Through a $50 million “Guatemala Se Transforma” Initiative, the Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will partner with Guatemala to bolster the rule of law in security and justice institutions.  Working with Congress, INL intends to commit funds now and additional resources in the future to this new initiative.

• Central American Service Corps:  Vice President Harris announced the creation of the Central American Service Corps (CASC) at the Summit of Americas in 2022. After a successful pilot in Guatemala, the CASC program will expand in May, during an event featuring Guatemalan First Lady Lucrecia Peinado. This expanded program, funded by USAID, and partnering with the Peace Corps, and the Inter-American Foundation, will reach 2,800 young people in the first year who are most at risk of migrating by engaging them with volunteer, training, and employment opportunities in Guatemala. CASC could reach up to 25,000 young people in Guatemala over the next five years. 

• Technical Assistance for Regulatory Reforms:  The Commerce Law Development Program (CLDP) will support legal and regulatory reforms to facilitate new infrastructure and public-private partnerships. These reforms will also promote workers’ rights. CLDP will provide technical assistance to improve Guatemala’s proposed port authority law, which would counter extortion and the use of maritime ports and airports by organized criminal organizations.  

• Building Trade and Customs Capacity for Secure Textiles and Apparel Trade:  The Office of the United States Trade Representative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will launch a Trade Capacity Building program to advance secure trade in textiles and apparel between the United States and Guatemala by encouraging engagement, including with existing government-to-industry stakeholder partnerships such as CBP’s Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program and the Superintendence of Tax Administration of Guatemala’s Authorized Economic Operator Program.

• Investment Facilitation Team Visit:  A United States Investment Facilitation Team, composed of relevant U.S. government agencies, will visit Guatemala in the next six months to support clean energy and infrastructure development, facilitate private sector operations, and promote sustainable economic development. 

• Scaling of Agricultural Technologies:  USAID will implement a new Feed the Future program that will strengthen the capacity of existing research and education entities and based on their priorities, opportunities, and commitments, mainly to scale agricultural technologies. It will support research, education, extension, and advice related to “Climate Smart” agriculture.

• Guatemala Biodiversity Conservation:  USAID will implement this new program to promote the conservation of biodiversity and strengthen the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas focusing on the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, and areas of ecological importance along the Pacific Coast.

• Women’s Economic Empowerment Legal Reform Fund Project:  This project in Guatemala will support key congressional, governmental, and civil society partners to advance legislation and policy that reduces barriers to women competing in the workforce, while enhancing protection of women’s access and rights in the workplace. 

• Indigenous and Civil Society Engagement:  The Department of State intends to provide $1.5 million to support multi-stakeholder engagements among the Government of Guatemala, private sector actors, civil society, and people from marginalized communities, including indigenous leaders, to ensure public policies are inclusive and to promote greater accountability to public interests. 

• Advancing Women, Peace, and Security Opportunities Globally:  In 2024, the Department of State will add Guatemala as a focus country for the Supporting Her Empowerment Women for Inclusive New Security (SHE WINS) project. The effort will focus on advancing indigenous women’s meaningful civic participation through targeted capacity building and support for community initiatives through Plataforma de Mujeres Indígenas. Launched in 2022, SHE WINS supports the U.S. Strategy and National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security Strategy by advancing the leadership of local women leaders and women-led civil society organizations to address peace and security challenges in areas of conflict and crisis.  

These new programs will build upon the success of the early stages of the Root Causes Strategy in Guatemala.  Some of these successes include:

• Guatemala Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (GEDI):   Launched by Vice President Harris in 2021, GEDI is fostering a robust business ecosystem in Guatemala by supporting over 3,500 entrepreneurs (including over 1,600 women and 1,700 indigenous people) through investment readiness and technical services.  In its first two years, GEDI facilitated $30 million in new investments, of which $4 million is for clean energy investments. GEDI has also directly created 1,500 new jobs and generated $7.5 million in new sales for small and growing businesses. This strategic collaboration with the private sector is instrumental in amplifying business growth, and includes notable partners PriceSmart, MasterCard, Argidius Foundation, Pomona Impact, Cargill, and many others.

• Young Women’s Empowerment Initiative (YWEI):  Launched by Vice President Harris, YWEI has enhanced women’s employment opportunities and conditions, reducing gender-based violence, and closing the gender gap across sectors. Since 2021, nearly 19,000 youth have increased their capacity through re-engaging in secondary education and strengthening their soft skills, over 9,000 young women completed workforce training programs, and 27,000 young women have gained jobs and experienced better employment conditions. Just over 1,500 women have received support services after experiencing gender-based crimes. More than 32,000 women have improved their agricultural management and 29,000 women have increased access to economic resources such as credit, assets, and income.  

• Creating Jobs:  In fiscal year 2023, Guatemalan businesses created more than 26,000 jobs in areas of high out-migration through U.S. support, helping thousands to build wealth for themselves and their families close to home.

• Enhancing the Agriculture Sector:  Through extensive support from the United States government, more than 35,000 Guatemalan farmers have utilized innovative technologies to increase production and income on more than 33,000 acres of farmland, creating greater income security and resilience to shocks, including environmental shocks.

• Boosting Education:  USAID reached nearly 69,000 learners in high out-migration municipalities in Guatemala, with programs aiming to improve math and reading skills, keep youth in school, and boost completion rates. 

• Countering Gender-Based Violence:  Nearly 1,200 survivors of gender-based violence have received access to protection services in Guatemala, allowing them to put an end to the violence, and begin the healing process, and retake control of their lives.

• Supporting Labor Pathways:  More than 13,000 Guatemalans were issued employment-based visas through the H-2 visa program to work temporarily in the United States, providing them with increased economic opportunity while supporting the demands of the U.S. labor market.

• Reuniting Families:  More than 5,000 invitations have been issued on behalf of eligible Guatemalans that would allow those with a pending family-based immigration visa to travel to the United States and reunite with their family in a safe, orderly, and lawful way.

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The United States strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. We extend our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones and to those who were injured or affected by these unconscionable attacks against innocent civilians. ISIS is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.

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The bipartisan funding bill I just signed keeps the government open, invests in the American people, and strengthens our economy and national security. This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted. But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border that my Administration successfully fought to include. That’s good news for the American people.

But I want to be clear: Congress’s work isn’t finished. The House must pass the bipartisan national security supplemental to advance our national security interests. And Congress must pass the bipartisan border security agreement—the toughest and fairest reforms in decades—to ensure we have the policies and funding needed to secure the border. It’s time to get this done.

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During her visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Vice President Harris is announcing two solutions to keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis.

Keeping students safe from gun violence in their school communities is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration. According to the Washington Post, there have been 394 school shootings that exposed more than 360,000 students to gun violence since the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to preventing gun violence. President Biden and Vice President Harris worked to enact the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. Following this, the President created the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is being overseen by Vice President Harris. The unprecedented Office is accelerating the implementation of BSCA, identifying new executive actions, partnering with state and local officials, and coordinating the first ever federal interagency response to mass shootings and concentrations of community violence. The President has also taken more executive actions on preventing gun violence than any other President.

The Biden-Administration has invested more resources in school safety and taken significant steps to keeps firearms out of school. The strategy has focused on (1) stopping people in crisis and juveniles from accessing firearms, (2) implementing evidence-based school-based preventative solutions, and (3) addressing the mental health needs of students, particularly those impacted by gun violence.

During her visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the Vice President is announcing two solutions to keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis:

First, Vice President Harris is announcing the launch of the first-ever National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, which will support the effective implementation of state red flag laws.

• The Resource Center will assist states, local governments, law enforcement, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, victim service providers, and behavioral health and other social service providers in optimizing the usage of red flag laws – laws that allows a family member or law enforcement to seek a court order to temporarily take away access to guns if they feel a gun owner may harm themselves or others.
• The Resource Center will provide training and technical assistance, which will include developing and disseminating educational opportunities and workshops for a wide variety of stakeholders, providing implementation support, supporting peer-to-peer engagements with model learning sites, performing site assessments, and developing presentations and webinars that will advance states and localities’ knowledge in key areas related to ERPOs.
• The Resource Center is funded by a Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance grant made possible by BSCA, and is run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Second, the Vice President is calling on states to pass red flag laws and to use BSCA funding to help implement laws already enacted.

• The Biden-Harris Administration made $750 million in federal funding to implement state crisis intervention programs, which includes red flag programs, mental health courts, drug courts, and veteran treatment courts. In February 2023, DOJ awarded over $238 million (covering FY22 and FY23) to 51 states, territories, and the District of Columbia that applied to use the funds to implement state crisis intervention programs. DOJ anticipates making up to an additional $141 million in awards in FY24.
• When it comes to red flag programs, this funding can be used to train (1) judiciary and court staff on red flag proceedings, (2) what family members can do when they see warning signs, and (3) first responders on recognizing signs of crisis. The funding can also be used to raise public awareness about red flag laws, distribute written and multimedia materials (including in multiple languages), and publish best practices.
• Of the 21 states and territories with red flag laws, only 6 are accessing the BSCA funding to implement their red flag laws. The remaining 15 states with red flag laws are strongly encouraged to use BSCA’s funding to implement their red flags laws.
• The 29 states without red flag laws should enact those laws and ensure effective implementation, supported by this BSCA funding.

Extreme Risk Protection Order or “Red Flag” Laws Can Prevent Shootings

The Department of Homeland Security’s National Threat Assessment Center conducted a systematic review of targeted school violence incidents and found that there were often warning signs. The review, which is corroborated by other analysis, found that these incidents were often preceded by observed warning signs, including instances where the individual told other about their plan ahead of time.

ERPO or “red flag” laws generally create a civil process for law enforcement (and often times family members) to seek a judicial order that a person is a danger to themselves or others and should temporarily lose the ability to purchase and possess firearms. The laws have due process protections that ensure people’s rights are respected, but also enable a concrete way to intervene.

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred after there were clear warning signs, but there were no tools to remove the shooter’s firearm. The survivors of the shooting advocated for passage of a red flag law in Florida, and the tragedy helped to inspire the passage of red flag laws in other states across the country. Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws on the books. These laws have been shown to prevent mass shootings and suicides, but the tools made available under these laws are only effective if people are aware of them and can properly invoke them.

Additional Biden-Harris Administration Actions to Keep Schools Safe:

Addressing Access to Firearms by People in Crisis or Under 21

The National Threat Assessment Center found that 76 percent of incidents of targeted school shootings are committed with guns from the home. There are approximately 4.6 million children living in homes with unsecured firearms, so the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized raising awareness about how safe gun storage can keep schools and young people safe. For example, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona sent a letter and template to school principals across the country explaining the importance of safe storage and encouraging them to communicate with parents, families, caregivers, and the broader community about how safe storage can protect students in school and in their communities.

The DOJ released a comprehensive guide to safe storage of firearms in order to provide subject matter expertise on different types of storage devices and best practices for safely storing firearms. This is the most comprehensive guide on safe storage ever released by the federal government. In addition, DOJ’s Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program made grant funds available for law enforcement to acquire gun locks and storage devices that can be distributed to individuals and businesses.

The Biden-Harris Administration has quickly implemented BSCA to enhance background check for individuals under 21 who seek to purchase a firearm at a licensed gun dealer. Federal law has long-prohibited firearms dealers from selling handguns to  persons under 21 . The BSCA requires enhanced background checks before any sale or transfer of a firearm to a person under the age of 21. Since implementing BSCA’s enhanced background checks in October 2022, DOJ has conducted enhanced background checks on more than 230,000 transactions. Those checks have kept more than 2,300 firearms out of the hands of dangerous and prohibited persons, and over a quarter of those denials — 667 as of this month — were based solely on information received through the additional BSCA-enabled outreach. Just a few of the transactions denied under the new background check illustrate how important this new tool is working:

• A sheriff’s office responded to the NICS Section with an incident report indicating that the U21 firearm purchaser had been arrested for attempted murder and other offenses. The NICS Section obtained court documentation showing that the U21 purchaser was released on bond with court-ordered firearm restrictions pending the resolution of those charges. The transaction was denied based on a state prohibitor for active court-ordered firearm restrictions.
• During BSCA-mandated outreach, a juvenile court provided documentation establishing that a U21 firearm purchaser was found to be mentally ill and involuntarily committed for mental-health treatment. The transaction was denied based on the federal firearm prohibitor relating to mental-health adjudications.
• During BSCA-mandated outreach, a county court provided the NICS Section with documentation that the U21 firearm purchaser had sustained juvenile adjudications for sexual battery, possession of a knife at school, and intimidation. The transaction was denied based on a state prohibitor for disqualifying juvenile adjudications.

Lastly, untraceable ghost guns that could be ordered online and easily completed at home were starting to show up in school shootings. The Biden-Harris Administration cracked down on ghost guns by making clear that businesses manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, including “buy-build-shoot” kits, must comply with federal firearm laws requiring background checks, a federal license, and inclusion of serial numbers.

Largest Dedicated Effort on Evidence-Based School-Based Solutions

The Biden-Harris Administration provided $1 billion to schools through the Stronger Connections Grant program, which helps provide students with safe and supportive learning opportunities and environments that are critical for their success and overall well-being. Stronger Connections funding is allocated to underserved school districts (including those that have a high rate of community or school violence) on a competitive basis and may be used for a variety of strategies, including school-based mental health services, safety and violence prevention and intervention programs, and physical security measures. 

Over the past 3 years, the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded nearly $500 million for schools to invest in evidence-based solutions through the STOP School Violence Program, with funding supplemented by BSCA. The program is designed to improve K-12 school security by providing schools, students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence and ensure a positive school climate. This includes developing and operating anonymous reporting systems and training school personnel on preventing school violence. The DOJ anticipates approximately $160 million in additional funding opportunities for the STOP program this year.

The Biden Harris Administration has established the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse pursuant to the Luke and Alex School Safety Act that was part of BSCA. The Clearinghouse, located at SchoolSafety.gov, provides evidence-based practices and recommendations to improve school safety for use by states, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, state and local law enforcement agencies, health professionals, and the general public.

Historic Investment in Student Mental Health

The Biden-Harris Administration awarded $122 billion in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to help schools reopen and recover, and experts indicate more than $2 billion has been directed to hire more school psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals in K-12 schools. With the help of these funds, the number of school social workers, school counselors, school nurses, and school psychologists have all increased over pre-pandemic levels.

The Biden-Harris Administration will invest more than $1 billion to help underserved school districts hire and train school-based mental health professionals over the next five years. To date, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has awarded $571 million across 264 grantees in 48 states and the District of Columbia to boost the training, hiring, and diversity of mental health professionals in schools. The funding was made available through BSCA, and grantees estimate that these funds will collectively support the training and hiring of more than 14,000 new mental health professionals to serve America’s school children. ED anticipates making approximately $38 million of new funding available for new applicants his year.

The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to take action to ensure that our schools and our communities are safe from gun violence.

At the same time President Biden and Vice President Harris call on Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law, an assault weapons ban, and a secure storage law; to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which gives gun dealers and manufactures special immunity from certain liability for their products; and to increase appropriations to support youth mental health and violence prevention strategies.

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On March 14, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Office of Public Engagement hosted 35 local elected officials and community leaders from across the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as part of its “Communities in Action” event series.

During the half-day forum, senior Biden-Harris Administration officials highlighted the impacts of the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act on communities across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Participants included local elected officials, educators, businesses owners, disability advocates, and community organizers who work to leverage the historic investments from the President’s Investing in America vision to create and expand opportunities for working families.

The forum was the twenty-eighth in a series of “Communities in Action” events that the White House hosts with state and local leaders to demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering critical progress for the American people.

Administration officials included Second Gentlemen of the United States Doug Emhoff, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Vermont Senator Peter Welch, Implementation Coordinator of the American Rescue Plan Gene Sperling, Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation Samantha Silverberg, Deputy Directors of Gun Violence Prevention Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox.

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Today, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten met with members of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s education agenda; hear from K-12 state education chiefs from across the country on academic achievement and acceleration efforts and how to sustain high-impact programs established with American Rescue Plan funds; and discuss the Administration’s historic investments in education.
 
In the meeting, Director Tanden and Deputy Secretary Marten reaffirmed President Biden’s commitment to improving student achievement and ensuring that children are equipped to compete in the 21st century. Earlier this year, the Administration announced its Improving Student Achievement Agenda using all of its tools—including accountability, reporting, grants, and technical assistance—to intensify and sustain State and local adoption of three evidence-based strategies that improve student learning: (1) increasing student attendance; (2) providing high-dosage tutoring; and (3) increasing summer learning and out-of-school time learning. 
 
Also today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) highlighted that it issued a Dear Colleague Letter, sharing more ideas and resources on improving student attendance and engagement.
 
Director Tanden noted that President Biden and the entire Administration have been laser focused on academic achievement and acceleration since coming into office. And school systems around the nation are focused on improving academic outcomes and accelerating results from the disruptions students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Deputy Secretary Marten highlighted the Department’s efforts to secure historic investments in Title I funding, increase access to mental health services for students, invest in Full-Service Community Schools, expand pathways to college and careers, and make access to higher education more affordable and accessible.
 
During the discussion, state chiefs and CCSSO Chief Executive Officer Carissa Moffat Miller addressed the important investments that ARP funds have had in schools across the country, including but not limited to, high-dosage tutoring, extended learning programming in literacy and mathematics, and programs to increase educator recruitment and retention. In addition, state leaders highlighted ways in which they plan to sustain high-impact programs beyond September 2024.
 
Among participants in today’s meeting included:

• Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council
• Cindy Marten, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education 
• Carissa Moffat Miller, CCSSO CEO
• Margie Vandeven, CCSSO Board President and Missouri Commissioner
• Eric Mackey, CCSSO Board President-Elect and Alabama Superintendent
• Kirsten Baesler, CCSSO Past President and North Dakota Superintendent

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to serve in key roles:

• Mark A. Milley, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Martin L. Adams, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• David J. Grain, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Kurt A. Summers, Jr., to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Karl Eikenberry, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• M. Osman Siddique, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Rory M. Brosius, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Jeffrey L. Bleich, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Patrick Mendis, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

National Infrastructure Advisory Council

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) advises the White House on how to reduce physical and cyber risks and improve the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure sectors. The four new members will join 26 members previously announced by the President in August 2022. Since its establishment in 2001, the NIAC has conducted dozens of studies to address issues such as improving intelligence information sharing across government and industry, identifying and reducing complex cyber risks, better preparing for and responding to disruptions that can ripple across multiple infrastructure systems, facilitating cooperative decision-making among senior executives and federal leaders during imminent threats and disaster responses, and addressing the skill gaps and loss of institutional knowledge in key national workforces.

Mark A. Milley, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

General Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army, Retired, served as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2019 to September 2023. Prior to becoming Chairman, Milley served as the 39th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Milley has held multiple command and staff positions in six divisions and a Special Forces Group throughout the last 44 years to include command of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division; the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division; Deputy Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division; Commanding General, III Corps; and Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command.

While serving as the Commanding General, III Corps, Milley deployed as the Commanding General, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Forces Afghanistan. Milley’s joint assignments also include the Joint Staff operations directorate and as Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. His operational deployments include the Multi-National Force and Observers Task Force, Sinai, Egypt; Operation JUST CAUSE, Panama; Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, Haiti; Operation JOINT FORGE, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq; and three tours during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan. He also deployed to Colombia, Somalia, and served two years on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the Republic of Korea.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree in political science from Princeton University, Milley has a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is also a graduate of the MIT Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program. A native of Massachusetts, Milley graduated from Princeton University in 1980, where he received his commission from Army ROTC.

Martin Lewis Adams, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Martin L. Adams is the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipally-owned water and power utility. Beginning his LADWP career in 1984, Adams served as both the Senior Assistant General Manager of Water and as Chief Operating Officer overseeing the Water and Power systems before taking the helm at LADWP in July 2019. A seasoned engineer and recognized industry leader, Adams brings a wealth of practical, hands-on experience spanning 40 years, centering on a unique combination of creative planning and problem solving combined with years of direct operational experience.

Adams currently oversees a $7+ billion annual budget and a workforce of more than 11,000 employees dedicated to delivering water and power to the four million residents of Los Angeles. He has spearheaded the infrastructure investments needed to meet the agency’s ambitious transition to a carbon-free energy future and led the planning and implementation of sweeping changes to the city’s water storage, conveyance, and treatment facilities to meet evolving water quality regulations and post-911 security concerns. Adams has been a driving force behind Los Angeles’s investment in a green hydrogen future.

A native of the greater Los Angeles area, Adams resides in Burbank, California, with his family, where he previously served for nine years on that city’s Water and Power board. He continues to serve on a number of industry-related and community boards. Adams earned his degree in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

David J. Grain, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

David J. Grain is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Grain Management, LLC. Prior to founding Grain Management in 2007, Grain led Pinnacle Towers (later renamed Global Signal), transforming it into one of the largest independent wireless communication tower companies in the world. Grain previously served as Senior Vice President of AT&T Broadband’s New England Region and was an Executive Director in the High Yield Finance Department at Morgan Stanley.

Grain is the Lead Independent Director of Southern Company’s Board of Directors, Independent Director of Dell Technologies, Director of New Fortress Energy, Fiduciary Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Advisory Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Vice Chair of the Board of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. He is also a Lifetime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees.

Kurt A. Summers, Jr., to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Kurt A. Summers is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Public-Private Partnership Investments and ESG Strategy at Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. He is responsible for investment strategies in partnership with governments, public entities, civic and labor organizations, and broader stakeholders to help advance local infrastructure priorities and advancing Blackstone Infrastructure’s Environmental, Social and Governance efforts. Prior, he served as Senior Advisor to Blackstone. Summers was elected and served as Chicago’s 70th City Treasurer until 2019. He also served as both Chairman of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, where he led the largest lighting retrofit project in North America, and Chairman of the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund, a first-of-its-kind $100 million local investment fund focused on private investments in Chicago neighborhoods. Prior to becoming Treasurer, Summers served as a Senior Vice President and member of the Office of the Chairman for GCM Grosvenor.

Summers began his career at McKinsey & Company and later worked as an investment banker in both the leveraged finance and industrials groups at Goldman Sachs. Summers received a BSBA with Management Distinction High Honors in Finance and International Business with a minor in East Asian Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

National Security Education Board

The 14-member National Security Education Board (NSEB) provides strategic guidance and oversight for the National Security Education Program. The National Security Education Program administers multiple fellowships and awards including the David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships with the aim of increasing the national capacity to understand and interact effectively with foreign cultures and languages. The NSEB is comprised of six Presidential appointees, including experts from non-profit organizations and academia who provide valuable assistance to the National Security Education Program.

Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, a 30-year diplomat, is the former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Department of State. Through her career, she has held a series of senior positions including Ambassador to the Republic of Malta from 2012 until 2016, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. Cyber Forces, and Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism where she grew counterterrorism partners and programs. Additionally, she coordinated the largest evacuation of American citizens from a war zone since WWII.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Abercrombie-Winstanley served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Oman. She began her formal work in teaching and leadership development as Chairwoman for Middle East Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute where U.S. diplomats are trained. Earlier in her career, she served in Baghdad, Jakarta, and Cairo before taking on the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. She is a strong proponent of excellence through inclusion across organizations and strives to break down barriers to the full participation of women and minorities. She currently serves as President of the Middle East Policy Council, the organization’s first woman and African American president.

Abercrombie-Winstanley, a Cleveland native, has degrees from George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. She was a co-Founder of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security and an active board member for several organizations, including the International Career Advancement Program — ICAP committed to excellence in education and leadership development. In 2019, she was voted into the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Karl Eikenberry, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Karl Eikenberry is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center. He is also Senior Advisor to the United States Institute of Peace and faculty member of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University.

His almost four decades of national service culminated as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011. Before his appointment as Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Eikenberry had a 35-year career in the United States Army, retiring in 2009 with the rank of Lieutenant General. His military operational posts included commander and staff officer with mechanized, light, airborne, and ranger infantry units in the continental U.S., Hawaii, Korea, Italy, and in Afghanistan as the Commander of the American-led Coalition Forces. He held various policy and political-military positions ranging from Deputy Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, Director for Strategic Planning and Policy for U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith, Hawaii, U.S. Security Coordinator and Chief of the Office of Military Cooperation in Kabul, Afghanistan, Senior Country Director for China and Taiwan, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Assistant Army and later Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China.

Eikenberry is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, serves on the boards of The Asia Foundation and American Councils for International Education, and is the Chair of the Alumni Advisory Council of the Regional Studies East Asia Program at Harvard University.

M. Osman Siddique, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

M. Osman Siddique served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji Islands with concurrent accreditations to the Kingdom of Tonga and the Governments of Tuvalu and Nauru from 1999 until 2001. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he was the first American Muslim U.S. Ambassador to serve as a Chief of Mission anywhere. After receiving his MBA degree from the Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, Siddique started his professional career with a fortune 500 company, but soon emerged as a successful entrepreneur and a prolific businessman in the nation’s capital. Under the tutelage of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), he became very active in the Democratic Party and national politics.

In 2011, President Obama appointed Siddique as a trustee to the Board of Governors of the East West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Today, in addition to being a strategic advisor to several multinational organizations, Siddique serves on multiple boards including the Atlantic Council as a non-resident senior fellow. Born in Bangladesh, Siddique currently lives with his wife Catherine, in McLean, Virginia. He recently authored his memoir Leaps of Faith… an immigrant’s odyssey of struggle, success and service to his country.

Rory M. Brosius, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Rory M. Brosius is a partner at Cicero Group, a data-driven management consulting firm, where she helps to lead social sector projects. Prior to joining Cicero, Brosius served as the Special Assistant to the President for Military Families and the Executive Director of Joining Forces at the White House, where she oversaw a policy portfolio that included economic opportunity, military child education, and health and wellbeing for the families, caregivers, and survivors of service members and veterans. A veteran of the Biden Presidential Transition Team and 2020 Presidential Campaign, she previously served as the Deputy Director of Joining Forces during the Obama-Biden Administration.

A social worker by training and a military family member, Brosius has more than a decade of public service, working in roles supporting institutions of higher education, the United States military, federal government, and two Presidential Administrations. Over the course of her career, she has worked to identify and amplify innovative solutions to pressing national security problems, specifically, retention and recruitment of the Force through the lens of personnel and family readiness. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Clemson University, and after entering the workforce, earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California. Born in Lockport, Illinois, she now resides in Washington, District of Columbia.

Jeffrey L. Bleich, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Jeffrey L. Bleich chairs the board of the Jeff Bleich Centre on Democracy and Disruptive Technologies at Flinders University. He previously served as a Special Master for the U.S. Courts, arbitrator, and as the Chair of the boards of PG&E Co. and Nuix, Ltd. He formerly served as Special Counsel to President Obama in the White House, and as the 24th U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2009 to 2013.

After receiving his B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, Bleich earned an M.P.P. from Harvard with highest honors in 1986, and a J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law with highest honors in 1989. At Berkeley, he served as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. He clerked for Judge Abner Mikva on the D.C. Circuit and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court, before clerking at the International Tribunal in the Hauge, Netherlands.

Prior to joining the Obama-Biden Administration, Bleich was a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson for 17 years where he handled significant pro bono civil rights matters. He has also served as Chief Legal Officer at Cruise, and as a partner and Group CEO at Dentons LLP. He has held several leadership positions including as Chair of the Fulbright Board, Chair of the California State University Board of Trustees, President of the California State Bar, President of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and President of the Barristers Club of San Francisco. In 1998, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve as director of the White House Commission on Youth Violence following the tragic Columbine, Colorado shootings. Bleich holds honorary degrees from San Francisco State University, Griffith University, and Flinders University in Adelaide, which in 2019 established the Jeff Bleich Centre in his honor.

Patrick Mendis, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Patrick Mendis is a former American diplomat and military professor in the North Atlantic Trading Organization (NATO) and Indo-Pacific Commands during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations. Mendis has held many senior government positions in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State. He is currently located in Washington, District of Columbia, while serving as a distinguished visiting professor of transatlantic relations at the University of Warsaw in Poland as well as a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Until recently, Mendis served two terms as a commissioner to the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at the Department of State. Previously, he worked as the Secretariat Director of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as the Chairman of the U.S. Interagency Policy Working Group on Science and Technology in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. He also served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, an advisor to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, and a consultant to the World Bank. Mendis also served in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mendis is an alumnus of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has authored over 200 books, journal articles, newspaper columns, and government reports. Mendis has taught at more than 25 Chinese universities and academies and worked in and travelled to more than 130 countries.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President-elect Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia to congratulate him on his election victory.  The President and President-elect commended the United States and Indonesia for celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations grounded in shared values of democracy and pluralism.  President Biden pledged to expand cooperation with Indonesia under the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and to work together towards an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, prosperous, and secure.   

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On April 15, President Joe Biden will welcome Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’a Al-Sudani of Iraq to the White House to coordinate on common priorities and reinforce the strong bilateral partnership between the United States and Iraq.  The leaders will reaffirm their commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement and deepen their shared vision for a secure, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq fully integrated into the broader region.  President Biden and Prime Minister Sudani will consult on a range of issues during the visit, including our shared commitment to the lasting defeat of ISIS and evolution of the military mission nearly ten years after forming the successful Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. They will also discuss ongoing Iraqi financial reforms to promote economic development and progress towards Iraq’s energy independence and modernization.

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This week, Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Director of the White House Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, Deputy Undersecretary of International Labor Affairs Thea Lee, Deputy Assistant to the President Samantha Silverberg and the White House Office of Public Engagement hosted a group of women labor leaders and organizers at the White House. The event, held in partnership with the AFL-CIO and moderated by White House Senior Labor Advisor Erika Dinkel-Smith, was a celebration of women in labor in honor of Women’s History Month and highlighted how the Biden-Harris Administration is putting women and girls at the heart of the Administration’s economic agenda, and promoting and defending women workers’ rights both domestically and abroad.

Since President Biden took office, the economy has created nearly 15 million jobs and women have seen the lowest unemployment rate in more than five decades. President’s Investing in America Agenda is prioritizing increased access in sectors where women have historically been underrepresented, like manufacturing, construction, and clean energy, and is championing equal pay and ensuring women have access to the resources they need to enter and remain in the workforce, including high-quality, affordable child care.

Participants included AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO State Federation and Central Labor Council leaders, as well as young women organizers on the front lines of organizing new workplaces and expanding the benefits of unionization to women in their states. Collectively, attendees represented union members in the 14 states they represent.

Biden-Harris Administration Participants:

• Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative
• Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council
• Thea Lee, Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor
• Samantha Silverberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation
• Erika Dinkel-Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Labor Advisor

Roundtable Participants:

• Liz Shuler, President, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
• AFL-CIO State Federation Leaders
• AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and Area Labor Federation Leaders
• Young Women Organizers

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President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that every person should have access to clean drinking water and a healthy environment. On World Water Day, the Biden-Harris Administration is building on historic progress to secure clean water for all by announcing new actions to protect our vital freshwater resources and ensure every community can count on clean water when they turn on the faucet.

Rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other freshwater resources are fundamental to the health, prosperity, and resiliency of the nation, and sacred to many Tribes. Through the America the Beautiful Initiative and the global Freshwater Challenge, the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering on the first-ever national conservation goal to protect at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 – accelerating locally-led efforts to tackle the world’s intertwined water, climate, and nature crises.

To ensure that clean water reaches communities across the country, the Biden-Harris Administration is harnessing historic resources from the President’s Investing in America agenda to replace lead pipes and other drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, build resilience to drought, and conserve and restore our rivers, wetlands, lakes, and ponds. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone includes more than $50 billion to help ensure every community has access to clean water.

While the Biden-Harris Administration delivers on a national commitment to protect clean water, this week Congressional Republicans are continuing attempts to weaken the Clean Water Act. These attacks are part of a decades-long effort to undermine Clean Water Act safeguards, which culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision last year – one of the largest judicial rollbacks of environmental protections in U.S. history. A report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today reveals that from 2009-2019, the wetlands loss rate increased 50 percent over the prior decade, further showing the urgent need to use all the tools and resources available at the national, State, Tribal, and local level to protect and conserve America’s waters.

This World Water Day, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions and resources to advance the most ambitious clean water agenda in history:

• The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing a new memorandum outlining ways it will support the protection, restoration, and enhancement of waters and wetlands that are more vulnerable following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.
   
• The White House Council on Environmental Quality is releasing a Wetland and Water Protection Resource Guide for Tribes, States, Territories, local governments, private land owners, and non-governmental organizations to advance water resource protection. The Resource Guide highlights technical assistance and funding opportunities available across the federal government.
   
• NOAA is announcing $60 million from the President’s Investing in America agenda for fish hatcheries to produce salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. This builds on a historic agreement the Biden-Harris Administration secured in partnership with Tribes and States in the Pacific Northwest to restore wild salmon and steelhead populations.
   
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the Understanding Water Affordability Across Contexts, LIHWAP Water Utility Affordability Survey Report, which highlights the differences in water affordability across the country. President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget provides $4.1 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), helping families access home energy and weatherization assistance, and proposes to allow States the option to use a portion of those funds to provide water bill assistance to low-income households.

Today’s announcements build on a series of landmark investments and actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to protect and restore the nation’s freshwater resources by advancing conservation, building resilience, and expanding access to clean drinking water.

Protecting more than 26 million acres of lands and waters, putting President Biden on track to conserve more lands and waters than any President in history. Highlights of the Biden-Harris Administration’s water conservation accomplishments, driven by the America the Beautiful Initiative, include:

• Safeguarding the Colorado River watershed by creating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, protecting nearly one million acres of greater Grand Canyon landscape. President Biden’s designation honors Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples by protecting sacred ancestral places and their historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands, protecting wildlife habitat and clean water, and supporting local economies. President Biden has also designated additional national monuments that protect freshwater resources, including the freshwater springs of Castner Range National Monument and the high alpine lakes of Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument.
   
• Protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding watershed from mining, which would have harmed the area’s watershed, fish and wildlife, Tribal and treaty rights, and outdoor recreation economy. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a spectacular network of rivers, lakes, and forests in northeastern Minnesota that comprise the most heavily visited wilderness area in the United States. By withdrawing these lands from future mineral leasing, the Biden-Harris Administration is keeping the iconic area intact for future generations.
   
• Addressing threats to Alaska’s Bristol Bay, the most productive wild salmon ecosystem in the world and home to 25 Tribal Nations. Six rivers meet in Bristol Bay, traveling through 40,000 miles of tundra, wetlands, and lakes. EPA acted to help protect these waters and the communities dependent upon them from contamination associated with developing the Pebble Mine.
   
• Tackling transboundary water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed to protect the people and species that depend on this vital river system. For over a decade, the Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples within the Elk-Kootenai watershed have requested that the U.S. and Canadian governments address pollution that has impaired downstream communities, fish populations, and ecosystems. Under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. and Canadian governments have taken a key step with Ktunaxa Nation to achieve transboundary cooperation to protect clean water.
   
• Restoring the flow of rivers and streams by investing $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to remove, repair, and redesign infrastructure that impede water flow. The first round of grants will fix or remove almost 170 fish culverts and improve approximately 550 miles of stream habitat across the country – with a total of $196 million awarded to Tribal, state, and local governments. Reconnecting these waterways reconnects communities to their rivers, increases ecological functions of the rivers and streams, and ensures that goods – traveling along these rural roads from farms to urban areas – make their way to market.

Making unprecedented investments and leading collaborative efforts to increase the resilience of our water ecosystems. Highlights of the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to build the resilience of our communities and waters include:

• Delivering the largest single federal investment in the Everglades through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Years of human development have isolated portions of the Florida Everglades and altered natural flow patterns for freshwater, and the Everglades are already feeling the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. The Army Corps of Engineers has invested $1.1 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help restore the ecosystems and water flows of the Everglades’ two million acres of wetlands. Thriving wetlands will also filter out pollution to improve water quality for the one-third of Floridians who rely on the Everglades for drinking water, and will help improve resilience to flooding that impacts the state.  In addition, this month the Department of the Interior established the Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area, a four-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge, where tools like voluntary conservation easements can be used to protect wildlife corridors, enhance outdoor recreation access, and bolster climate resilience.
   
• Leading a comprehensive effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and ongoing megadrought by harnessing the full resources of President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda. As climate change has accelerated over the past two decades, the Colorado River Basin experienced the driest period in the region in over one thousand years. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide the largest investment in climate resilience in our nation’s history, including $15.4 billion for western water to enhance the West’s resilience to drought and deliver unprecedented resources to protect the Colorado River System for all whose lives and livelihoods depend on it. Following extensive engagement with States, Tribes, and water users, the Administration announced a historic agreement to conserve at least 3 million-acre-feet of water in the Colorado River Basin through the end of 2026.
   
• Restoring wild salmon, steelhead and other native fish, in the Columbia River Basin. Building on President Biden’s direction to Federal agencies, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a historic agreement to work in partnership with Pacific Northwest Tribes and States to restore wild salmon populations, facilitate the development of Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System. The Administration committed more than $1 billion to the effort, which will, among other things, be used to restore freshwater habitat.
   
• Restoring the Klamath River Basin ecosystem and building drought resilience. With the removal of four dams underway, the Klamath Basin Drought Resilience Keystone Initiative is reestablishing wetlands and their functions, and advancing post-fire restoration efforts. The Department of the Interior, working in a whole of government approach, has leveraged funding from additional federal agencies as well as from Tribal, state, and other partners to restore the ecological function of the river and its associated river systems. The dam removals alone will open access to more than 400 miles of habitat for salmon and steelhead trout, help restore Tribal food sovereignty, and improve the health and water quality of the river.
   
• Providing rapid-response American expertise to international partners on critical water and climate adaptation challenges. Through the Ambassador’s Water Experts Program (AWEP), the Department of State and the Department of the Interior have deployed over 30 U.S. experts to support more than 20 technical and capacity building engagements since 2019, and already have six AWEP engagements underway in 2024. AWEP works through U.S. diplomatic posts to respond to time sensitive requests for support on a broad range of water and climate resilience topics and promotes long-term collaboration on water security.
   
• Strengthening data for decision-making and early warning systems to protect communities worldwide. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and USAID are working with over 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas through the SERVIR Initiative, which uses satellite data to address critical challenges in food security, water resources, weather and climate, land use, and water-related disasters. NASA is also working with the U.S. Department of State to provide advanced remote-sensing, modeling, and capacity building activities through the Strategic Hydrologic and Agricultural Remote-sensing for Environments Program, which brings data and technical resources to end-users in some of the most complex hydrologic domains in the world. These efforts are supported by the launch of NASA’s Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a new satellite that will establish the first-ever global survey of Earth’s surface water. This innovation will improve our understanding of how water bodies change over time and will aid in freshwater management around the world.

Expanding access to clean drinking water and wastewater by investing more than $50 billion from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – the largest investment in clean water in American history. Highlights of this effort and other steps to address water pollution include:

• Removing all lead service lines. Over 9 million homes, schools, and businesses receive their drinking water through a lead pipe. Exposure to lead can cause irreversible brain damage in children, even knocking off several IQ points. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $15 billion in dedicated funding for lead pipe replacement, in support of President Biden’s goal of replacing all lead pipes within a decade.
  
• Combatting toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water and wastewater. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $10 billion to address harmful PFAS pollution in drinking water and wastewater. EPA has also proposed the first-ever national standard to address these “forever chemicals” in drinking water. This builds on President Biden’s action plan to combat PFAS pollution, safeguarding public health and advancing environmental justice.
  
• Ensuring no community is left behind. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly half of these clean drinking water and wastewater investments will be provided as grants or forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities, advancing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative. In addition, EPA has launched several initiatives to partner with underserved communities nationwide to provide the support and technical assistance they need to access clean water funding. EPA will partner with 200 communities to help them replace lead pipes, while the initiative will help an additional 150 communities execute wastewater and sanitation projects. For example, in Lowndes County, Alabama, roughly 90 percent of households have failing wastewater systems and many children and families are exposed to raw sewage in their own backyards. EPA and USDA have worked with the Lowndes County community of White Hall to secure over $500,000 in federal funding for wastewater projects. In nearby Hayneville, EPA has awarded a 100% forgivable $8.7 million loan to address failing or non-existent wastewater systems in 650 homes.
   
• Investing more than $1 billion to restore the Great Lakes, a vital economic engine that supplies drinking water for more than 20 million Americans, supports more than 1.3 million jobs, and sustains life for thousands of species. With the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is cleaning up and restoring the Great Lakes’ most environmentally degraded sites, including the Milwaukee Estuary in Wisconsin and the Cuyahoga River in Ohio.
   
• Delivering clean water to Tribal Nations. For years, Tribal Nations have been left without access to safe, clean water for drinking and sanitation; today, approximately 48% of Tribal communities go without this human right. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has delivered $4.2 billion to date to provide safe, clean water for Tribal Nations and secure historic Tribal water rights. This includes over $8 million to remediate arsenic contamination that has been in the Hopi Tribe’s water supply since the 1960s. The Hopi Arsenic Management Project will make necessary infrastructure improvements to provide clean drinking water to over 5,000 people.
   
• Increasing access to safe and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) recent annual report shows that since the passage of the Water for the World Act ten years ago, USAID’s water, sanitation, and hygiene investments have resulted in more than 42 million people gaining access to sustainable drinking water and 38 million gaining access to sustainable sanitation services. With a focus on climate resilience, inclusivity and gender equality, locally-led development, and private-sector engagement, these investments are contributing to progress toward UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 to achieve universal access to clean water and sanitation. 

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Jobs and People are Returning to Puerto Rico Thanks to Over $140 billion in Federal Obligations Since President Biden and Vice President Harris Took Office

Today, during the Vice President’s visit to Puerto Rico, she will emphasize the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to supporting the island’s recovery and renewal. Vice President Harris will highlight how Puerto Rico’s economic turnaround has begun thanks to more than $140 billion in Federal obligations for the island supported by unprecedented whole-of-government partnerships through the Puerto Rico Economic Dialogue.[1]

Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, Puerto Rico has added more than 100,000 new jobs. [2] This includes construction employment, which is up by close to 30 percent. [3] Unemployment is now at a historic low of under six percent, [4] and labor force participation is growing to the highest level in more than a decade. [5] And in 2023, Puerto Rico had its first year of positive net migration since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. [6]

The beginning of Puerto Rico’s economic turnaround has come as the Biden-Harris Administration launched the Puerto Rico Economic Dialogue in December 2022, an unprecedented whole of government approach across 17 Departments that was organized in close collaboration with the Government of Puerto Rico. It is being led by Commerce’s Deputy Secretary Graves, the Puerto Rico Economic Recovery Coordinator. President Biden and Vice President Harris have long been reliable champions for Puerto Rico as they have fought for the health, wellbeing, and economic success of those who call the island home.

Infrastructure Investments are Creating Jobs and Rebuilding Communities in Puerto Rico

Construction employment has one of the fastest growth rates of any sector of the Puerto Rico economy – with 7,800 more jobs since January 2021.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials have collaborated with Puerto Rico government officials to facilitate an efficient deployment of reconstruction funds. FEMA adopted a new island-wide method (the Island-Wide Benefit Cost Analysis) to provide a holistic approach to accelerate the completion of Hurricane Maria related resilience projects. 

As of March 2024, Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resiliency (COR3) reports that there are 2,725 projects with FEMA funding currently in the construction phase totaling $1.39 billion in project costs. Another 1,769 projects with a total projected cost of $814.3 million are in the procurement pipeline for construction. [7]

These investments are starting to rebuild communities.

• In San Juan, at Mirador Las Casas, new construction on the 294-unit apartment complex started in April 2023 and is funded by an investment of $96.2 million from a combination of permanent tax-exempt bonds, 4% Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits generating $26 million in equity and deferred developer fees, plus $66.9 million from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.
   
• In Carolina, CDBG-DR funds are being used for the renovation and remodeling of Sánchez Osorio and Galicia avenues.  The $43.4 million project will include improvements to the existing storm water system and replacing the lighting system.  The project which launched in January 2023 is creating 520 direct jobs according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  
• When Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, Cataño lost more than 600 of its homes.  With a $44.1 million investment – including $29.2 million in CDBG-DR funds – the Bahia Apartments are rising in Cataño.  The new apartments will provide more than 100 new affordable housing units in the municipio of just over 20,000 residents.
   
• Under the CDBG-DR funded R3 Program, Puerto Rico’s Department of Housing is providing assistance to eligible homeowners to repair damaged homes or rebuild substantially damaged homes in non-hazardous areas. Priority is provided to “blue roof” homes, elderly applicants, disabled applicants and low to moderate income applicants.  As of March 2024, more than 6,100 homes have been repaired or reconstructed.

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that Vice President Harris helped make possible with her tie-breaking vote in the Senate, more than $2.1 billion in projects have been announced. This includes $754.3 million in announced transportation projects.[8]  With support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority is managing the expansion of Rafael Hernández International Airport and the PR-10 and PR-2 highways.  Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation will receive $51.4 million to install fast EV charging ports at 10 locations along a major roadway designated as an Alternative Fuel Corridor. All charging stations will be within one mile of highway exits and less than 30 miles from each other.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to award and implement key construction contracts for four major projects:

• San Juan Harbor Improvements includes the widening and deepening of the inner San Juan Harbor channels to improve efficiency of cruise ships, container vessels, and petroleum tanker operations. This project also federalized an additional 1000-ft of the San Antonio channel making it more competitive for Oasis class cruise ships. Overall, this project sustains vital tourism, strengthens supply chains, and increases energy resilience on the island.
   
• Caño Martin Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project will re-establish the tidal connection between the San Jose Lagoon and San Juan Bay. The restoration project is critical for the revitalization of eight impoverished communities with a population of over 26,000 residents settled along the Martín Peña tidal channel.
   
• Rio Puerto Nuevo Flood Control Project will reduce the impact of flooding to over 150,000 residents and businesses in the metropolitan San Juan basin.
   
• Rio de La Plata Flood Control Project will provide flood reduction benefits to the municipalities of Dorado and Toa Baja.

Clean Energy, Broadband and Resilience Investments Position Puerto Rico for Sustainable Growth

• Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm has traveled to Puerto Rico to convene stakeholders in support of Puerto Rico’s energy grid modernization; established an interagency Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team to accelerate the rebuilding of and upgrades to the island’s electrical infrastructure; and commissioned a 2-year study (PR-100) – funded by FEMA – analyzing stakeholder driven pathways to Puerto Rico’s clean energy future. 
   
• In December 2022, President Biden signed the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law, which included $1 billion for the establishment of the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (“PR-ERF”) to drive key investments in renewable and resilient energy infrastructure in Puerto Rico.  In November 2023, companies and non-profits were selected by DOE to negotiate awards of up to $440 million of the PR-ERF for the installation of solar systems in low-income houses across the island. 
   
• In April 2023, DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment to a private operator to make distributed energy resources including rooftop solar, battery storage, and virtual power plant-ready software available to more American homeowners.  The project is expected to prioritize providing up to 20% of installed systems through its loans to homeowners in Puerto Rico.
   
• With Inflation Reduction Act funds, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has helped small businesses and farmers to obtain renewable energy systems and energy-efficient equipment, which enable them to have power consistently and at lower costs.

• Close to $1 billion in funding from National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s BEAD Program, The American Rescue Plan (ARP) ’s Capital Projects Fund, and the Federal Communications Commission’s Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund will support the Smart Island program vision of building a new submarine cable to ensure network resilience and enabling programs that create equitable access to the Internet, including rural communities. Under the Smart Island program, the goal is to provide connectivity for all residential, commercial and government structures in Puerto Rico, so that every resident of the island has access to high speed Internet through the right infrastructure.
   
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invested $1.6 million across four municipalities in Puerto Rico (Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Corozal, and Las Piedras) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support brownfield cleanup, the first step in redeveloping land to support climate change mitigation and leveraging the land for projects such as solar farms.
   
• The Federal Transit Administration has awarded a total of $471 million in American Rescue Plan – which the Vice President helped make possible by casting the tie-breaking vote to advance the legislation in the Senate – and BIL funding to Puerto Rico since FY 2021 to support cleaner buses, train and ferry service. An additional $20 million has been awarded for the purchase of low and no emission buses.
   
• The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommended $34.4 million in funding across eight projects partnering with non-government organizations s in Puerto Rico to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events, support coastal and marine research, improve safety in the marine and coastal environment, and ensure sustainable fisheries.

Workforce Investments Ensure Puerto Rico’s Long-Term Competitiveness

• Through the American Rescue Plan’s Good Jobs Challenge, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested $6.7 million in a partnership with UnidosUS and Puerto Rico’s One Stop Career Center  aimed at creating workforce development programs in the construction and aerospace industries. This innovative project was competitively selected as one of 32 winners out of more than 500 applicants.
   
• As of the end of 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor, in coordination with the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce, has introduced 24 new registered apprenticeship programs, and registered approximately 770 new apprentices, providing practical training and skills for workers.
   
• To help meet Puerto Rico’s need for a workforce to support reconstruction, the Government of Puerto Rico has discretion to use up to $225 million in BIL funds for workforce development. BIL provides that activities related to workforce development are funded at 100% federal share. Recent Federal Highway Administration guidance clarifies which federal-aid formula funds can be used by state departments of transportation and U.S. territories to support workforce development

• In a joint effort between Education Secretary Cardona and Governor Pierluisi, the decentralization of the Puerto Rico Department of Education has begun. This significant transformation aims to make schools more responsive to the needs of school communities, potentially impacting workforce development by aligning education more closely with labor market requirements.  The first three decentralization pilot zones will take effect later in 2024.
   
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established an MOU in March 2023 between the University of Puerto Rico and the PR Department of the Family, providing $12.5 million of Title IV-E funding for 5 years in support of hiring and training social workers, implementing retention strategies and mitigating high-caseloads. The first cohort of social work students began their studies in August 2023.

Economic Development Investments Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship

• EDA designated the PRBio Tech Hub as one of 31 inaugural Tech Hubs in the U.S., a consortium led by the Puerto Rico Science and Technology and Research Trust that will advance the region as a global leader in biotechnology.  
   
• The Department of Defense (DoD), in collaboration with the Government of Puerto Rico, invested close to $4 million to launch a LIFT satellite facility to enhance advanced manufacturing technology and talent development opportunities. LIFT is the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) for Advanced Materials, one of nine DoD MIIs and one of 17 national MIIs under the Manufacturing USA network.  In addition, the Navy announced an additional $1 million DoD investment in LIFT Puerto Rico for manufacturing ecosystem development.
   
• DoD continues to provide funding and assistance to renovate the infrastructure of Roosevelt Roads and lay the ground work for space commerce, tourism, and commercial marine operations.
   
• The American Rescue Plan’s State Small Business Credit Initiative is investing up to $109 million so that the PR Economic Development Bank can provide capital to small businesses such as Biosimilar who acquired specialized equipment to strengthen its production capacity while contributing to the pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico.   Additionally, the University of Sagrado Corazon received a Capital Readiness grant from Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency to prepare entrepreneurs to launch and scale businesses. The Small Business Administration conducted over 200 small business-focused events during 2023 and according to the Government of Puerto Rico, the Federal government granted over $500 million in contracts to Puerto Rico businesses in 2023.
   
• USDA established the Rural Partners Network to help communities navigate and access federal resources, while supporting long-term economic stability on their own terms with initiatives in sustainable energy, entrepreneurship, housing and healthcare, among others. The network supports communities in the central, eastern and southwest regions of the island.

Investments Continue to Support Puerto Rico Families and Children and Reduce Poverty

• President Biden and Vice President Harris have spent their careers fighting for the wellbeing of children and families. To support Puerto Rico’s families, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) broadened tax benefits at an historic scale by expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Puerto Rico to all families with at least one child, permanently bringing CTC benefits into parity with the mainland. As a result, 225,00 families in Puerto Rico are now eligible for the credit—as opposed to just 20,000 families in 2019. A historic expansion in the American Rescue Plan and strong working partnership between the White House, the Government of Puerto Rico and countless community-based organizations also ensured that Puerto Rican families saw significant benefits from ARP’s expansion of the CTC in 2021, dramatically cutting child poverty. The average annual benefit was $4,700 per family in 2021, with more than $1.2 billion disbursed to families in Puerto Rico for 2021. The American Rescue Plan’s changes to the CTC for Puerto Rico will continue to cut child poverty in Puerto Rico – and ensure a fairer tax system – for years to come.
   
• ARP also made historic investments in the Earned Income Tax Credit for Puerto Rico workers. It provided substantial funding to expand Puerto Rico’s version of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This investment will quadruple the EITC for Puerto Rican workers and narrow longstanding disparities in access to the EITC between Puerto Rico and the mainland. These two expansions of the CTC and EITC will continue to reduce child poverty in Puerto Rico by about 11% in future years, and the President continues to fight to restore the additional expansions that cut child poverty nearly in half in 2021.
   
• And with many struggling to make ends meet, ARP provided a permanent, annual increase of over $463 million for its food assistance block grant going forward, in addition to nearly $1 billion in emergency food assistance for Puerto Rico to help them recover from the pandemic.
   
• President Biden has called on Congress to pass legislation to transition Puerto Rico from the current capped NAP federal nutrition block grant, which is insufficient to meet the island’s needs, to the SNAP program used by other states. To prepare for a transition, the USDA arranged six in-person and virtual state exchange visits for Puerto Rico officials to learn about SNAP operations; contracted for translation of handbooks, guides, and relevant SNAP materials into Spanish; and supported Puerto Rico’s efforts to give NAP participants access to job training and support services similar to what is required under SNAP. USDA will continue to work closely with Puerto Rico officials to support a successful transition from NAP to SNAP once Congress opens up this pathway. 

The Biden-Harris Administration will continue its focus on reconstruction and efforts to advance the full and long-term economic recovery of Puerto Rico – with active engagement with residents, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, unions, academia and local elected officials. 

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[1] Data is from USAspending.gov.

[2] Seasonally Adjusted Total Nonfarm Employment in Puerto Rico increased from 851.1 in January 2021 to 956.4 in January 2024 (employment in thousands).  Data for January 2024 is Preliminary.  Data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment database. 

[3] Seasonally Adjusted Total Construction Employment in Puerto Rico increased from 27.9 in January 2021 to 35.7 in January 2024 (employment in thousands). Data for January 2024 is Preliminary.  Data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment database.

[4] Unemployment Rate in Puerto Rico (PRUR) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org)

[5] Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate) – Puerto Rico | Data (worldbank.org) and PRMEI_ENG.pdf

[6] U.S. Population Trends Return to Pre-Pandemic Norms (census.gov)

[7] Puerto Rico Disaster Recovery Transparency Portal – COR3 (pr.gov)

[8] Data last updated on February 6, 2024 and accessed from www.build.gov.

The post FACT SHEET: During Visit, Vice President Kamala Harris to Highlight Biden-Harris Administration’s Historic Investments and Partnerships That Have Helped Lead to Puerto Rico’s Economic Comeback appeared first on The White House.

This week, the Republican Study Committee, which represents 100% of House Republican leadership and nearly 80% of their members, released a budget that—among its many other anti-choice restrictions—endorses a national abortion ban with zero exceptions for rape or incest.

The Republican Study Committee budget:

• Supports eliminating reproductive freedom for all women in every state and puts IVF treatment squarely on the chopping block through House Republicans’ support for the Life at Conception Act.

• Endorses banning mifepristone – an FDA-approved, safe and effective medication that has been on the market for more than 20 years.

• Supports rolling back policies that help ensure our Nation’s veterans have access to abortion care when their health or lives are at risk or in cases of rape or incest.

• Guts funding for contraception—which is supported by the vast majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle—for low-income and uninsured women. This would further erode access to essential health care, from cancer screening to primary care, at a time when state abortion bans have already forced health clinics that provide contraception and other critical health services to close.

If House Republicans get their way, all of these proposals would become the law of the land.

When the Supreme Court – enabled by justices nominated by Donald Trump – overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed politicians to intrude in the most personal decisions women and families can make, it paved the road for Republican elected officials to pursue their extreme agenda. Their latest budget advances that extreme agenda.

Republican elected officials have already imposed abortion bans in 21 states and last year, they introduced more than 380 state bills attacking access to reproductive health care. And, as the Republican Study Committee budget makes clear, they won’t stop until a national abortion ban is in place.

President Biden has been clear: he will do everything in his power to fight back and protect reproductive health from these extreme attacks and he will continue to call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law so that women can make their own health care decisions.

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This week, the White House Office of Public Engagement convened a roundtable on President Biden’s efforts to support Black men’s mental health. This event was moderated by Charisse Jones of USA Today and featured actor, Courtney B. Vance; recording artist, Raheem DeVaughn; actor, Lamman Rucker; Best-Selling Author and Licensed Psychologist, Dr. Robin L. Smith; and Public Health Analyst from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Dr. Walker Tisdale.

Since the beginning of his Administration, President Biden has prioritized tackling the mental health crisis in America, including advancing health equity in communities of color. In 2022, he released a comprehensive mental health strategy designed to strengthen system capacity, connect more people to care, and create healthier environments. To support this work and help advance how we transform mental health in the United States, the Administration launched 988, expanded community mental health centers, and established new Centers of Excellence to help promote mental health with a goal to provide culturally competent and quality care.

The Biden-Harris Administration has and will continue to invest critical resources to expand mental health and substance use support to Americans, including through the President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025.

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

• Michael Sulmeyer, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, Department of Defense
• Christopher T. Hanson, Nominee to be Member and Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Michael Sulmeyer, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, Department of Defense

Michael Sulmeyer is the Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of the Army. He is responsible for advising the Secretary on all cyber matters, including issues of readiness, capabilities, and strategy. Prior to his appointment with the U.S. Army, Sulmeyer served in a variety of roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and at U.S. Cyber Command.

Outside of government, Sulmeyer was the Director of the Cybersecurity Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He has also taught at the University of Texas School of Law and was a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

Christopher T. Hanson, Nominee to be Member and Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Christopher T. Hanson was designated Chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by President Joe Biden in 2021. He was sworn in as a Commissioner on June 8, 2020, and is filling the remainder of a five-year term ending on June 30, 2024.

Hanson has more than two decades of government and private-sector experience in the fields of nuclear energy. Prior to joining the NRC, he served as a staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he oversaw civilian and national security nuclear programs. Before working in the Senate, Hanson served as a Senior Advisor in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. He also served in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, where he oversaw nuclear and environmental cleanup programs, and managed the department’s relationship with congressional appropriations committees.

Prior to joining the department, he served as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led multiple engagements for government and industry in the energy sector.

Hanson earned master’s degrees from Yale Divinity School and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where he focused on ethics and natural resource economics. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana.

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The United States welcomes the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution setting out principles for the deployment and use of artificial intelligence (AI). President Biden and I are committed to establishing and strengthening international rules and norms on emerging technology – because technology with global impact, such as AI, requires global action, and when it comes to the challenges of the 21st century, we believe all nations must be guided by a common set of understandings. This resolution proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by more than 100 nations, is a historic step toward establishing clear international norms for AI and for fostering safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems.

As I said in London last year, AI must be in the public interest – it must be adopted and advanced in a way that protects everyone from potential harm and ensures everyone is able to enjoy its benefits.  And we must also address the full spectrum of risk, from catastrophic risks to all of humanity to the harms felt by individuals and communities, such as bias. Too often, in past technological revolutions, the benefits have not been shared equitably, and the harms have been felt by a disproportionate few. This resolution establishes a path forward on AI where every country can both seize the promise and manage the risks of AI.

This resolution reflects extensive consultation and input from countries all around the world. Together we have set a path whereby AI can be harnessed for sustainable development, all nations gain access to AI resources and expertise, and all nations understand the need to protect the safety, privacy, and human rights of their citizens. And the resolution makes clear that protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms must be central to the development and use of AI systems.

As this technology continues to evolve, the United States will continue to lead and work with partners throughout the international community to build on the important foundational principles adopted by the UN General Assembly today.

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Today, the UN General Assembly in New York adopted by consensus a resolution establishing principles for the deployment and use of artificial intelligence (AI). This resolution, proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, is a historic step in fostering safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems.
 
The resolution adopted today lays out a comprehensive vision for how countries should respond to the opportunities and challenges of AI. It lays out a path for international cooperation on AI, including to promote equitable access, take steps to manage the risks of AI, protect privacy, guarding against misuse, prevent exacerbated bias and discrimination. Developed in consultation with civil society and private sector experts, the resolution squarely addresses the priorities of many developing countries, such as encouraging AI capacity building and harnessing the technology to advance sustainable development. Critically, the resolution makes clear that protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms must be central to the development and use of AI systems.
 
From the time he took office, President Biden has prioritized restoring our American leadership at the United Nations and on the world stage. For this reason, the United States turned to the UN General Assembly to have a truly global conversation on how to manage the implications of this fast-advancing technology. While it took nearly four months and countless hours of negotiations, the world now has a baseline set of principles to guide next steps in AI’s development and use.
 
We now look forward to building off of this landmark achievement. As this technology swiftly evolves, we will continue to strengthen

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My dad had an expression, “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” The Republican Study Committee budget shows what Republicans value. This extreme budget will cut Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act. It endorses a national abortion ban. The Republican budget will raise housing costs and prescription drugs costs for families. And it will shower giveaways on the wealthy and biggest corporations. Let me be clear: I will stop them.

My budget represents a different future. One where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks. A future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms, not take them away. A future where the middle class finally has a fair shot, and we protect Social Security so the working people who built this country can retire with dignity. I see a future for all Americans and I will never stop fighting for that future.

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In his State of the Union Less than two weeks ago, President Biden laid out his vision for an economy that gives the middle class a fair shot. He also warned that congressional Republicans “will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy,” that they continue to oppose the Affordable Care Act, and that they are siding with Big Pharma over hardworking families.     

On Wednesday, the Republican Study Committee – which represents 100% of House Republican leadership and nearly 80% of their members – just proposed yet another budget that would cut Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act , as well as increase prescription drug, energy, and housing costs – all while forcing tax giveaways for the very rich onto the country. Their plan would even raise the Social Security retirement age.

Like President Biden promised in the Capitol, “If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them.”

He’s keeping that promise by standing against this new House Republican budget. He knows the last thing we should do is raid Medicare and Social Security while giving more giant tax cuts to the wealthy and big corporations.

What’s more, House Republicans’ plan would raise energy costs and send our new manufacturing jobs back overseas by gutting other crucial elements of the Inflation Reduction Act, raise housing costs, and allow big companies to rip off consumers with junk fees.  

President Biden has a different vison for how we move into the future: make the wealthy, big corporations, and special interests pay their fair share while protecting and strengthening Medicare and Social Security. Extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits he delivered to lower health care costs and cover more Americans than any time in history. Making the economy work for the middle class by investing in America and the industries of the future, while lowering key costs that working families face. And expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug costs.

80% of House Republicans released a Budget that:

Cuts Medicare and Social Security while putting health care at risk for millions

1. Calls for over $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, including an increase in the retirement age to 69 and cutting disability benefits.
2. Raises Medicare costs for seniors by taking away Medicare’s authority to negotiate prescription drug costs, repealing $35 insulin, and the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap in the Inflation Reduction Act
3. Transitions Medicare to a premium support system that CBO has found would raise premiums for many seniors.
4. Cuts Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by $4.5 trillion over ten years, taking coverage away from millions of people, eroding care for seniors, children, and people with disabilities, and taking us back to the days where people could be denied care for pre-existing conditions and charged more for health insurance simply for being a woman.   

Rigs the economy for the wealthy and large corporations against middle class families

5. Passes $5.5 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and large corporations, including permanently extending tax cuts in the Trump tax law, repealing the minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations the President signed into law, eliminating the estate tax for the wealthiest Americans, providing a massive tax cut for billionaire investors, and making it easier for the wealthy and large corporations to get away with cheating on their taxes.
6. Kills jobs and investment in communities throughout the country – including Red States – by eliminating the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.
7. Makes it easier for companies and banks to rip consumers off with unfair and hidden junk fees by eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
8. Raises housing costs by cutting funding for rental assistance, cutting funding for programs that help build housing, and raising mortgage costs for first-time homebuyers.

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