Statements and Releases

On March 25, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) hosted a convening with mothers affected by gun violence, who are also leading victim service organizations and survivor support efforts in their communities.

During the convening, panelists shared their personal stories related to gun violence, the work they are doing to help survivors and victims, challenges they have faced in securing resources, and what else is needed to help all those affected by the epidemic of gun violence. White House officials briefed attendees on resources that are available to victims following a shooting or other violent crime, and discussed ways to improve access to these resources.

The convening featured mothers from organizations active in victim services, including Not Another Child, Mothers in Charge, R.O.A.R., Mothers Against Gang Violence, Guns Down Friday, Black Men Deserve to Grow Old, Hustle Mommies and more.

Yesterday’s convening comes on the heels of Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Parkland, Florida, on Saturday, where the Vice President and OGVP met with families whose loved ones were killed during the 2018 mass shooting that took the lives of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. In Parkland, the Vice President called on states to pass red flag laws and announced the launch of the first-ever national resource center to support the implementation of these laws, which allow courts to remove firearms from those at risk of harming themselves or others.

Yesterday’s convening  highlighted the actions of the Biden-Harris Administration to prevent crime and promote public safety, including the President’s American Rescue Plan, which helped states and one thousand cities, towns, and counties across the country to invest over $15 billion in public safety and violence prevention.  Communities have invested those funds to expand community violence prevention and intervention, add crisis responders and police officers, and more. And in addition to key investments for schools to expand mental health services and violence intervention programs, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) provides $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives. 

We are already seeing the positive impacts of the President’s actions to prevent and reduce crime and gun violence nationwide. Cities around the country are experiencing historic declines in violent crime, and preliminary data show murders down nationally 13% from 2022 to 2023. By comparison, during the final year of the prior administration in 2020, the United States saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded. We have also seen key provisions of the BCSA begin to deliver results in making communities safer, including enhanced background check provisions that have enabled the Department of Justice to stop more than 600 illegal gun purchases by prohibited persons under 21 years old, and the first ever federal gun trafficking and straw purchasing law.

These are just a few examples of the progress that is being made under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris to protect our communities, schools and children, and end the epidemic of gun violence. 

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During a visit to North Carolina, the President and Vice President will lay out their plan to make health care more affordable

For years, Republican elected officials—including the previous Administration—have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which gives millions of Americans access to quality, affordable health coverage. Just last week, House Republicans released another extreme budget that would rip coverage away from millions of Americans while doing Big Pharma’s bidding to drive up prescription drug costs.

The budget from the Republican Study Committee—which represents 100% of House Republican leadership and 80% of House Republicans—would:

• Slash $4.5 trillion from the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These devastating cuts would take health care away from millions of Americans.

• Ripping away coverage for more than 45 million people enrolled in ACA coverage and Medicaid expansion. The Republican budget completely strips funding from the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace and Medicaid expansion—programs that cover 45 million people.

• Turning Medicaid into block grants that would threaten coverage and care for an additional over 60 million Americans with Medicaid.  States would be forced to make it harder to qualify and enroll in coverage, cut critical benefits, or both, threatening coverage for millions of children and families.

• Threatening care for seniors and people with disabilities. Over seven million seniors and people with disabilities relying on Medicaid home care services could see it cut or taken away altogether, with ballooning wait lists for those who still need care. Hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents would be at risk of lower quality care if Medicaid had to cut nursing home payments.

• Eliminate critical consumer protections. Millions of consumers are protected from insurance company abuses by the ACA, but the Republican budget sides with insurance companies to roll back these critical protections.

• Over 100 million people with pre-existing conditions could be denied or charged more for coverage.

• Older adults could face higher premiums. Health insurance premiums would skyrocket, especially for people in their 50s and 60s.

• Insurance companies would be allowed to rip off Americans with junk insurance products. The Republican budget promotes the sale of junk insurance products, which can scam consumers and leave on them on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses.

• Slash Medicare by turning it into a “premium support” program. In contrast with the President’s plan to protect and strengthen Medicare by lowering drug prices and making the wealthy pay their fair share, the House Republican budget would convert Medicare to a “premium support” program that would raise premiums for millions of seniors.

• Raise prescription drug prices for seniors and give massive handouts to Big Pharma. The Republican Budget would side with Big Pharma to increase drug prices and seniors’ out-of-pocket costs by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Medicare would no longer be able to negotiate lower drug prices. Big Pharma would once again be allowed to set whatever price they want, leaving seniors and taxpayers on the hook and facing higher prices.

• Big Pharma would no longer pay Medicare back when they increase drug prices faster than inflation, allowing them to jack up prices with no accountability.

• Seniors would go back to paying up to $400 for insulin, instead of the $35 price cap per monthly insulin prescription they have today.

• Seniors would face higher costs if the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on drug costs is eliminated.

If Republican elected officials get their way, these proposals would become the law of the land and Americans would pay the price.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have a different vision, which they will lay out in North Carolina today. They believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that we must protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act to continue lowering health care and prescription drug costs and expanding coverage to more Americans.

Under the President and Vice President’s leadership, more Americans have health insurance than ever before, with a record-breaking 21 million Americans signing up for ACA coverage this year—9 million more than when they took office. The President and Vice President have fought to protect and strengthen the ACA and Medicaid with critical health care protections, like free preventative care and guaranteed coverage regardless of health status or gender.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have also made health care under the ACA more affordable than ever, saving millions of Americans an average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums. And after decades of failed attempts, and without a single Republican vote in Congress, President Biden beat Big Pharma by passing the Inflation Reduction Act—which for the first time in history is giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, capping insulin at $35 per a month per prescription for seniors and people with disabilities, and capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare enrollees at $2,000 a year starting in 2025.

The President and Vice President are not done lowering health care costs and improving health care for the American people. They want to build on the progress they have made to further lower prescription drug costs and health insurance premiums; expand access to care, especially mental health care; and protect Americans from getting ripped off by corporations. While Republicans officials try to rip Americans’ health care away, President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to:

• Lower Health Insurance Premiums Permanently. Make permanent the expanded premium tax credits that were last extended by the Inflation Reduction Act so millions of Americans do not see their net health insurance premiums spike by hundreds or thousands of dollars starting in 2026.

• Close the Coverage Gap. Provide Medicaid-like coverage to people in the 10 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion.

• Keep Kids Covered. Provide States the option to avoid children losing coverage due to red tape from birth through age 6, and cut red tape for families on Medicaid.

• Make Home Care More Available. Invest billions more in home care so the hundreds of thousands of older adults and individuals with disabilities on Medicaid home care waiting lists get the care they need in their homes.

• Ensure Access to Mental Health Care. Increase access to mental health care by expanding coverage in Medicare and private insurance, applying the mental health parity requirements to Medicare beneficiaries, and extending Medicare incentive programs to address mental health provider shortages.

• Prevent More Surprise Medical Bills. Protect consumers by applying surprise billing protections to ground ambulance providers so people do not have to worry about an unexpected bill for their ambulance ride.

• Crack Down on Junk Facility Fees. Eliminate unwarranted “facility” fees on telemedicine and other outpatient health care services for consumers.

• Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices for at least 50 Drugs Every Year. Expand the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate from 20 to at least 50 per year, cutting prices for major drugs that seniors rely on, like those used to treat heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Alongside other reforms, this will reduce the deficit by an additional $200 billion over the next ten years.

• Cap Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs for Everyone. Expand the $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cap to people with private insurance so that all Americans have the peace of mind that comes with not being forced to choose between filling their prescription or putting food on the table.

• Cap Medicare Cost-Sharing at $2 for Common Generic Drugs. Establish a new permanent Medicare benefit limiting monthly Medicare Part D cost-sharing for certain high-value generic drugs to $2, such as for those used to treat hypertension and high cholesterol.

• Protect and Strengthen Medicare for Generations. The President will block Republican efforts to dismantle Medicare and instead will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for generations by making the wealthy pay their fair share toward Medicare and dedicating savings from Medicare prescription drug reforms to the Hospital Insurance trust fund.

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Vice President Kamala Harris convened Central America Forward (CAF) stakeholders today at the White House. CAF is a public-private partnership created in response to the Vice President’s 2021 Call to Action to the private sector to deepen investment in northern Central America. CAF is expanding economic opportunity and promoting good governance in northern Central America, which helps reduce irregular migration.

The Vice President announced that CAF has now generated more than $5.2 billion in private sector commitments for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including $1 billion of new commitments announced today. These private sector investments have already created more than 70,000 jobs in the region, provided skills training for more than 1 million people, brought more than 2.5 million people into the formal financial economy, and connected more than 4.5 million people to the internet.

The Vice President convened leaders from government, the private sector, and civil society to discuss next steps for CAF. Vice President Harris was also joined by special guest President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, marking the first time a foreign head of state has joined one of these convenings. She thanked partners for their ongoing support and underscored that, while this a long-term development effort, we are making progress and giving people hope and economic opportunity. The Vice President discussed the need to continue to advance good governance efforts, create good paying jobs, reduce violence, empower women, and promote labor rights.  

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President Biden met with President Arévalo to congratulate him on his inauguration in January and reiterate our commitment to a strong partnership between the United States and Guatemala.  The two leaders, whose meeting followed President Arévalo’s meeting with Vice President Harris, discussed good governance, effective migration management, the importance of upholding democracy, and other issues of mutual interest. President Biden thanked President Arévalo for his leadership in hosting the next Los Angeles Declaration for Protection and Migration Summit planned for later this spring and emphasized the importance of continuing to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Strategy For Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America. 

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President Biden has stood with law enforcement his entire career, and worked to ensure law enforcement serves all communities his entire career. And he has the results to show for it.

The President inherited a violent crime rate that surged under the prior administration. After taking office, President Biden immediately took action and signed the American Rescue Plan – which led to the largest federal investment in public safety in history, giving state and local governments resources to reduce crime and prevent violence. Even though leaders on the ground sided with the President, the Plan passed without a single Republican vote. 

The President also signed one of the most significant gun violence prevention reforms in 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which has helped keep guns out of the hands of individuals with felony convictions, and those who have a serious mental illness and are a danger to themselves or others.

These swift actions paid off. FBI 2023 data shows that the prior administration’s crime wave has turned around under President Biden, resulting in a record drop in crime.

In his State of the Union, President Biden described how cities across the country have used the American Rescue Plan to make historic investments in public safety and urged Congress to build on that progress, including by hiring over 100,000 new police officers accountable to the public, investing in mental health workers and community violence intervention programs across the country, and cracking down on gun crime.

But the Republican Study Committee – which speaks for 100% of House Republican leadership and 80% of its members – just released a dangerous plan that would defund law enforcement:

• The Republican Study Committee is proposing defunding the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program on top of other efforts to undermine law enforcement. President Biden voted to create COPS while a Senator, and the COPS Hiring Program is one of the primary ways the federal government supports local law enforcement. Each year, communities seek funding they need to hire officers to engage in community policing and crime prevention, and during this Administration, nearly 500 communities have received awards that put more than 3,700 officers on the beat.

• The Republican Study Committee budget would also gut the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and take steps that prioritize gun industry profits over the lives of the American people.

• Numerous House Republicans also support abolishing the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Although the Border Patrol Union endorses President Biden’s tough bipartisan border security deal, congressional Republicans are blocking it, to the detriment of law enforcement and the benefit of fentanyl traffickers.

By contrast, President Biden backs law enforcement and supports programs that reduce crime:

• Through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, more than 1,000 communities across the country have invested over $15 billion to keep their communities safe and prevent crime. These include investments to avoid cuts to police budgets, hire more police officers for safe, effective, and accountable community policing, ensure first responders have the equipment they need to do their jobs, and expand community violence intervention and prevention programs.

• President Biden’s budget includes $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund.

• The President’s budget also funds his Safer American Plan, including providing for hiring 100,000 additional police officers for effective, accountable community policing.

• President Biden wants to deploy $17.7 billion for DOJ law enforcement, including $2.0 billion, an increase of over 30 percent since 2021, for the ATF.

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Vice President Kamala Harris met with President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala today to strengthen the U.S.-Guatemala bilateral relationship and make progress on addressing the root causes of migration. They discussed the importance of good governance, economic opportunity, security, and migration management and how the United States can work with Guatemala to support these goals. 

The Vice President expressed support for President Arévalo’s efforts to combat corruption in Guatemala and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to good governance and the rule of law. The Vice President underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to hold corrupt actors accountable in Guatemala and to support Guatemala’s efforts to strengthen democratic institutions by involving more stakeholders, including representatives of indigenous communities. The Vice President also commended Guatemala’s support for other democracies around the world.

On migration, the two leaders discussed the importance of creating conditions for safe and orderly migration in the region, including by providing lawful pathways to migrants, increasing cooperation on border enforcement, and through U.S. support for Guatemala’s migration management efforts.

The Vice President and President Arévalo agreed on the urgent need to address the drivers of irregular migration from northern Central America and to continue cooperation under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Root Causes Strategy. The Vice President discussed progress made under her leadership of the Root Causes Strategy, including civilian security, good governance, human rights and labor protections, gender-based violence, and economic opportunity. Both leaders also discussed commitments made through Central America Forward, the public-private partnership that was created in response to the Vice President’s Call to Action in May 2021 and which has mobilized more than $5.2 billion in private sector commitments for northern Central America. 

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Today, the White House and Small Business Administration (SBA) announced new actions to support small businesses that offer child care for millions of working families.  These announcements were made at a roundtable discussion with small business owners, lenders, and resource partners hosted at the White House by Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman. The new actions include: 

• Funding Opportunities to Support Small Businesses in the Child Care Sector. In the coming months, SBA will make available new funding opportunities to support small businesses in the child care sector through SBA’s Women Business Center (WBC) program.  WBCs are a part a national network of entrepreneurship centers designed to assist women in starting and growing small businesses. The additional funds will support the expansion of child care delivery systems, increase child care slots, and improve child care access, affordability, and quality.
   
• Development of a Child Care Guide. SBA announced it will make funding available to create a child care business development guide, which would provide resources on starting and running a business throughout the child care business life cycle, including information on accessing capital, licensing requirements, and tax considerations. 
   
• Lender Campaign. SBA is launching a lender campaign to highlight the resources SBA has available to support small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses, including child care businesses.  As part of this campaign, SBA will discuss with stakeholders the potential for additional reforms to support the growth of child care capacity across the country, including the expansion of eligibility to nonprofit child care providers under the signature 7(a) loan program, which supports financing to small businesses for working capital and a range of other uses, and the 504 loan program, which provides financing for major fixed asset purchases.

The roundtable kicks off the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Month of Action on Care” in April, which the President designated Care Worker Recognition Month last April when he signed a historic Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, directing nearly every cabinet-level agency to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and provide increased support for care workers and family caregivers.  As the cabinet-level agency dedicated to supporting small businesses, SBA plays a critical role in these efforts.  Under the Biden-Harris Administration, SBA lending for child care businesses has increased by more than $200 million and is up nearly 10% compared to the same period in the previous Administration.

The announcements made today are part of President Biden’s economic agenda to address challenges in the care economy and answer the call for investments in the fragile child care industry, which faces numerous challenges impacting the country’s child care supply.  Those interested in starting a child care business—95% of which are small businesses—often struggle to access credit and find the significant start-up capital necessary to begin operating.  And once up and running, many child care businesses struggle to break even and keep their doors open—as most child care facilities operate on profit margins less than 1%. 

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Record on Child Care
Since day one of the Administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have been committed to addressing the structural challenges within the child care ecosystem, including low wages for workers, high costs for families, and inadequate supply of high-quality care. The President’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) not only helped keep over 225,000 child care providers open, but had a significant impact on the economy.  According to the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, that investment alone brought hundreds of thousands of women with young children into the workforce, lowered child care costs per child by $1,250, and increased wages for child care workers by 10%. 

Pursuant to the Care Executive Order, this Administration has taken a broad range of actions across different agencies to make child care more accessible and support child care workers. These historic actions include: steps to lower child care costs for military families; a proposal to increase pay for Head Start teachers; sample employment agreements to ensure domestic care workers and their employers understand their rights and responsibilities; and a final rule that will lower child care costs for over 100,000 families that rely on federal child care assistance.

Finally, the President’s commitment to care is reflected in his most recent budget.  The Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, released earlier this month, proposes major investments to increase accessibility and reduce child care costs, guaranteeing affordable, high-quality child care from birth until kindergarten, with most families paying no more than $10 a day and the lowest income families paying nothing at all.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland today to recognize his seven years of service as Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Having recently celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at the White House, they reflected on their cooperation over the years on shared priorities, particularly deepening U.S.-Ireland ties between our people and our economies. They noted recent progress in Northern Ireland with the restoration of its Executive and Assembly, reaffirming the critical role these institutions play in preserving the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The President conveyed that he looks forward to continuing to build a vibrant future for U.S.-Irish relations with the new Taoiseach, once elected by the Dáil.  

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March 2024

Vice President Harris continues to lead the implementation of the Root Causes Strategy, which tackles the drivers of irregular migration by improving conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras so people do not feel compelled to leave their homes.  This includes addressing economic, governance, and security challenges through five pillars: 1) Addressing economic insecurity and inequality; 2) Combating corruption and strengthening democratic governance; 3) Promoting human rights and labor rights; 4) Countering and preventing violence; and 5) Combating sexual and gender-based violence.  These efforts provide hope and opportunity to the people of Central America, affirming that a secure and prosperous future lies in their home communities.  

The Administration is on track to meet its commitment in the 2021 Root Causes Strategy to provide $4 billion to the region over four years.  Through new and ongoing programming, the Strategy is having far-reaching impacts throughout the region. 

Highlights of Biden-Harris Administration initiatives include:

• Creating Opportunities:  U.S. government support for as many as 23,000 private sector firms in northern Central America has helped create and sustain up to an estimated 250,000 jobs.

• Supporting Education:  The U.S. government has reached as many as 3 million youth through support for primary and secondary education in areas of high out-migration in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

• Investing in Entrepreneurs to Create Jobs:  Since July 2021, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has invested over $325 million in 19 projects in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras across sectors, including financial inclusion, healthcare, climate finance, and affordable housing.  This includes a $45 million loan to a financial institution to increase lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a focus on women and rural borrowers; an $80 million loan to financial institutions to expand financing for SMEs, particularly for women entrepreneurs in Honduras; a $60 million loan to a financial institution in El Salvador to increase lending to small businesses and expand its climate finance portfolio; and a $7.5 million equity investment in a fund that will provide growth capital to sustainable agribusiness, digital connectivity, and health businesses, with an emphasis on women-owned and managed businesses in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

• Enhancing Food Security, Agricultural Productivity, and Finance:  Through USAID’s Feed the Future programs, an estimated 63,000 farmers in Guatemala and Honduras utilized innovative technologies intended to increase production and income on more than 75,000 acres of farmland. The U.S. government helped unlock more than $57 million in private sector agricultural finance. This helps create greater income security and resilience to environmental and economic shocks. 

• Ensuring Labor Rights:  Since 2021, 11 Department of Labor projects totaling $76 million supported labor capacity-building and training programs across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These projects increased the capacity of approximately 2,800 labor rights actors, including government officials, employers, workers, and civil society, and provided training on the topics of child labor, forced labor, collective bargaining, safety and health, and other labor rights. 

• Combating Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking:  Since Vice President Harris announced Joint Task Force Alpha, led by the Department of Justice, in June 2021, interagency efforts have led to over 220 U.S. convictions of members of human trafficking organizations; more than 275 arrests, including against leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators; more than 150 U.S. defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed; substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; multiple indictments and successful extradition requests against foreign leadership targets; as well as myriad indictments, arrests, and convictions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to make progress on new and existing initiatives across all five pillars of the Root Causes Strategy.

Pillar I: Addressing economic insecurity and inequality.

• Investing in Entrepreneurs in the Region:  DFC will provide an equity investment of up to $2.5 million in a $10 million venture capital fund investing in early-stage technology entrepreneurs that provide solutions to underserved populations and to micro and small businesses in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  Additionally, DFC will provide an additional equity investment of up to $4 million to a woman-led $20 million venture capital fund investing across the Western Hemisphere, including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

• Launching a Textiles and Apparel Supply Chain Directory:  The Office of theU.S. Trade Representative and Central American Trade Agencies and textiles and apparel industry stakeholders will work together under the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), with support from the Inter-American Development Bank, to build a directory with detailed profiles of manufacturing and sourcing companies in the region, including information on business practices and production capabilities, to facilitate transparent sourcing, and bolster the region’s supply chain.  This will support inclusive trade to strengthen the U.S.-Central America supply chain, promote resiliency and nearshoring, and bolster labor and environment standards in the region’s textiles and apparel sector. 

• Strengthening Food Security:  The Department of State will launch two $6 million soil mapping projects through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Guatemala and Honduras to boost efforts to address degraded soils by providing on the ground tools for farmers to grow crops more efficiently and improve soil health to support regional food security and climate resilience.

• Supporting Repatriated Migrants:  USAID supported national governments to receive and support nearly 150,000 returned migrants in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which promotes sustainable reintegration of these migrants into their communities, helping to reduce repeat migration.  USAID also provided post-arrival humanitarian assistance (such as hygiene kits, food, clothing, and transportation) to nearly 78,000 returned migrants, and reintegration services (such as training, job placement, and psychosocial support) for nearly 27,000 returned migrants.

• Empowering Women Entrepreneurs:  Through the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) exchange program, the Department of State is helping women build sustainable businesses and strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem across Central America, where there are now well over 1350 AWE alumni.  The Department of State also supported the establishment of a Women’s Business Resource Center in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, reaching more than 550 women entrepreneurs with entrepreneurship-support services, including information on their legal rights.  The Center provided 3,500+ hours of individual business advisory services, daycare services for over 100 children of women entrepreneurs, and supported the launch of 30 new businesses. 

• Increasing Access to Quality Education and Vocational Skills:  USAID helped more than 3,600 teachers successfully transition from pandemic-era remote learning in 2021 to in-person schooling in 2023.  Since 2021, about 30,000 youth from high out-migration municipalities have completed USAID-supported vocational training programs that reflect local labor market needs.  More than 12,000 young people from the program were employed in new jobs after completing their vocational training.

Pillar II: Combating corruption, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing rule of law.

• Imposing Consequences for Corrupt Actors:  Since 2021, the U.S. Government has promoted accountability through visa restrictions for over 1,200 individuals involved in acts of corruption or undermining democracy in Central America, rendering them generally ineligible for visas to the United States.  In addition, the Department of the Treasury has sanctioned 16 individuals and entities in El Salvador and Guatemala for their role in, among other things, serious human rights abuse and corruption.

• Training Justice Sector and Government Personnel:  From FY 2021 to 2023, the Department of State and USAID conducted trainings for up to 27,000 justice sector personnel, government officials, and NGO staff aimed at strengthening partner governments’ judicial systems to more effectively manage accountability systems and processes, take action against corrupt acts, and raise awareness of ethical standards and legal obligations.

Pillar III: Promoting respect for human rights, labor rights, and a free press.

• Organizing a Good Jobs Summit:  In summer 2024, the Department of Labor will organize a Central America Good Jobs Summit to reinforce the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting labor rights, respect for the rule of law, and economic inclusion while creating high quality jobs in the region.  The Summit will include worker organizations, private sector participation from U.S., multinational, and Central America companies, and civil society stakeholders.

• Building Civil Society Capacity for Inclusive Growth:  For FY 2024, the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) plans to announce new funding of $6 million, matched by grantee co-investment of $5.2 million, for a total value of $11.2 million.  These funds will develop the capacity of organizations to address the drivers of migration.  IAF grants in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have benefitted more than 800,000 people since FY 2022 via community-led initiatives that each focus on multiple drivers of migration by creating economic opportunities, improving food security, protecting human rights, preventing and recovering from violence, and improving government accountability through civic engagement. IAF currently supports 107 organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  

• Defending Civil Society:  Since 2021, Department of State assistance helped nearly 500 members of civil society in Central America return to work following threats and attacks on them for their civic work.  The Department of State also supported over 140 journalists and more than 25 news outlets from Central America to improve investigative reporting on issues of public interest.  Separately, USAID also supported more than 500 human rights defenders to report human rights violations and advocate for their protection.

Pillar IV: Countering and preventing violence, extortion, and other crimes perpetrated by criminal gangs, trafficking networks, and other organized criminal organizations.

• Countering Firearms Trafficking:  In El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the U.S. government has provided $7.5 million to improve security and disrupt the diversion and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons resulting in the destruction of over 17 metric tons of unserviceable ammunition and over 4,000 small arms and light weapons since July 2021.

• Imposing Consequences for Narcotics Trafficking:  U.S.-supported narcotics and asset seizures in Central America remain at historic highs.  Since 2021, more than $11 billion in illegal drugs and $472 million in illegal assets were seized through support from the Departments of Justice and State. 

• Training Police:  Since 2021, the Department of State provided professional training for up to 18,000 civilian police across Central America.

• Preventing Youth Violence:  Through USAID support, more than 90,000 at-risk youth in northern Central America accessed training and services, including leadership coaching, psychosocial support, conflict management, and employment and livelihoods training.

Pillar V: Combating sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence.

• Assisting Victims of Gender-Based Violence:  With State Department support, the Guatemalan Police Department of Victim’s Attention significantly expanded its reach by inaugurating 19 new Offices of Victims Attention in the Western Highlands, a region home to several vulnerable indigenous communities.  This expansion already enabled the provision of culturally sensitive services to over 1,000 domestic and gender-based violence victims.

• Increasing Awareness of Gender-Based Violence in the Region:  In FY 2023, USAID reached more than 27,000 through programs that help prevent or combat gender-based violence in northern Central America.  USAID supported a multi-media anti-violence campaign in Guatemala that reached more than 10 million people through posters, videos, and comic books.

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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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