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 10:35 A.M. EDT
 
MODERATOR:  Hey, everyone.  Thanks for bearing with us for the last couple minutes.  Kirby has a few words here at the top, and then we’ll go into questions, as always.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Hey, good morning.  Thank you for joining us here again, but there are a few things that we do want to announce.
 
First, in the Western Hemisphere.  As I think you may have seen, in partnership with partners in the Western Hemisphere, early this morning, the United States government secured the release of 135 Nicaraguan political prisoners, including Catholic lay people, human rights defenders, students, and others who the government of Nicaragua consider a threat to their authoritarian rule. 
 
In coordination with President Arévalo of Guatemala and his democratically elected government, the United States helped facilitate the transport of all 135 Nicaraguans to Guatemala, and they should be arriving there as we speak.
 
To our partners in Guatemala, we will help provide them with medical and trauma care, a place to stay, clothing and hygiene kits, along with other immediate support.  And I think it’s important that we don’t forget these are people who have been unjustly detained for months, some of them for years, without access to basic needs.
 
Thanks to President Biden’s Safe Mobility Offices initiative, one of which is located in Guatemala, these Nicaraguan citizens will be able to seek lawful pathways to migrate to a new country, and they’ll — and to rebuild their lives.  So it’s a real tangible example of what democracies can do working together to help people.
 
Turning to Gaza, if I might: Last Sunday, with strong support from the United States, the United Nations, led by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, began a campaign to vaccinate more than half a million children against polio.  The first reports of a polio outbreak in Gaza emerged in late July.  Immediately thereafter, the President directed his team to support WHO and UNICEF’s efforts and to help develop a comprehensive and efficient vaccination plan, recognizing that children under 10 were the most at risk. 
 
We’ve worked closely with the government of Israel to facilitate the necessary access and safety of the vaccination campaign, including securing pauses in military operations and a commitment to timely deconfliction mechanisms.  And we’ve underscored the importance of reaching a critical threshold among children under 10 years old to help prevent the disease from spreading within Gaza and, quite frankly, across the region.
 
We are grateful for this cooperation and for the U.N. and other humanitarian workers who are doing this lifesaving work under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions. 
 
So far, with just three days into the campaign, the estimate is that 189,000 children in Gaza have been vaccinated, and we look forward to continuing to do more over coming days. 
 
The strong turnout that we have seen we believe is a testament to the superb planning that went into this campaign; the strong coordination between us, Israeli authorities, and the U.N.; as well as, quite frankly, the commitment of Palestinian families who don’t — like all families, they want to protect their kids. 
 
In the coming days, this campaign must continue unimpeded throughout Gaza, and we are committed to that.  I want to be crystal clear, though, on one thing: The single most effective way to address this particular urgent challenge of polio and all the humanitarian challenges in Gaza is to reach an immediate ceasefire, enabling the release of all the hostages but also creating the conditions for additional lifesaving assistance to reach Palestinian civilians who are so much in need.  Their suffering simply must stop. 
 
And as we’ve seen certainly in many other ways, but including the threat of polio: Real lives — and, in this case, in polio, real young lives — are hanging in the balance. 
 
Finally, if I can — turning to Africa.
 
Yesterday, Prosper Africa, which is a presidential-level national security initiative, released data that highlighted the Biden-Harris’s — the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to promoting sustainable commercial partnerships and shared prosperity between the United States and the continent. 
 
Since January of 2021, we have closed 1,695 private sector deals valued at 63 and a half billion dollars in some 41 African countries, all of them designed to help improve transparent and credible investment opportunities. 
 
The number of U.S. government-supported deals increased from 262 in 2021 to 401 in just the first six months of this year.  And the estimated value of these deals increased dramatically from 3.1 billion in 2021 to 32 and a half billion dollars. 
 
We’re also responding, of course, to the crisis in Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people live in famine conditions, 25 million of them are facing acute hunger, and more than 10 million have been forced to flee their homes.  That work includes pushing for ceasefire talks between the RSF and the SAF; securing humanitarian commitments from the warring parties to allow safe, unhindered humanitarian access; and reopening the Adré border crossing from Chad, through which some humanitarian supplies have now crossed. 
 
Now, much more needs to be done, of course; we’re mindful of that.  And the RSF and the SAF need to uphold their commitments and expand.  We are doing everything we can to secure humanitarian access and to save lives and to help bring an end to the fighting.
 
And with that, I’ll take some questions. 
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our first question will go to Steve with Reuters.
 
Q    Hey, John.  You know, Jon Finer was in Ukraine yesterday getting briefed on various things.  Do you now have a better understanding of the peace plan that Zelenskyy is talking about proposing, I think it’s later this month?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Hey, Steve.  I’ll certainly let President Zelenskyy speak to this peace initiative that he’s been talking about. 
 
As you know, we have helped the Ukrainians to move his just peace proposal forward internationally, and it has garnered quite a bit of international support.  And as we have long maintained, if this war is going to end through some sort of negotiation, we want to make sure that President Zelenskyy is in the best possible position to make decisions about what that negotiation looks like, and that’s what we’re focused on right now. 
 
We are absolutely focused on making sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself and to put them in that position of strength should, if, and when a negotiation occurs.  And I would add that that includes this week, as the Secretary of Defense is heading over to Ramstein, Germany, to host yet another contact group meeting where our coalition partners will again revisit ways they can continue to support Ukraine.
 
Q    And if I could add, on Gaza: We had a briefing yesterday, and it described the latest update on where things stand.  When do you expect to present this next ceasefire proposal?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Well, all the parties are in communication right now, Steve.  I don’t have a meeting, necessarily, in the region that I can point to at this particular point in time, like we had last week in Cairo and Doha.  But Brett McGurk, our Middle East Coordinator, is actively engaging his counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, Israel to see what we can do to try to move this forward. 
 
I want to be clear that just because I’m not announcing, you know, another meeting, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be one, but it also doesn’t mean that there actually will be one or that there needs to be one.  That’ll be something that, you know, Brett and his interlocutors will try to figure out. 
 
But, again, we believe that these differences can be resolved.  And what the next step looks like in terms of resolving them, I think we just don’t know right now.
 
Q    Thanks, John.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Yes, sir.

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question will go to Zeke
with the AP.
 
Q    Thanks, John, for doing this.  I was hoping that you could speak to how the execution of the hostages last week has complicated the prisoner swap part of the phase one agreement with fewer hostages who would meet that initial release date.  Is there — has there been any indication that Hamas is dropping the number of prisoners it wants to see released by Israel as part of phase one of that deal?  Or is that — how big of a sticking point is that?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Well, I mean, obviously it’s — it was just a horrific slaughter and shocking to everybody.  But we don’t believe that it necessarily — let me say it a different way.  We believe that the discussions to try to get to a ceasefire deal can and should continue.  And as I think you heard from an administration official last night, we’re very much focused on doing exactly that. 
 
I can’t speak to the motivation to murder those hostages, but we still believe that as tragic as that was, and it certainly was tragic, that the ceasefire negotiations can and should continue.  I think that’s the best way I could put it.
 
Q    Thanks.  And then just separately, I was hoping you might be able to take a swing at Putin’s comments, I guess late last night or early this morning our time, reportedly saying he’s shown a preference for the outcome of the presidential race for the Vice President.  Is there anything you can say on that?  Thank you.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Mr. Putin ought to stop talking about our elections, period.  He shouldn’t be favoring anybody one way or another.  The only people who should get to determine who the next president of the United States is is the American people.  And we would greatly appreciate it if Mr. Putin would, A, stop talking about our election and, B, stop interfering in it.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question will go to Andrea Mitchell with NBC.
 
Q    Hi.  Thank you so much, John and everyone.  So, following up, I know you can’t discuss the negotiations, but it’s unclear what the U.S. role would be, if any, if there were a way to work with Egypt, on the Egypt side, to somehow secure that border, but how that could be done without Israeli cooperation if the talks are continuing without Israel. 
 
So could you try to explain how the talks could possibly continue if the Prime Minister is, as certainly has been widely reported, is absolutely dead set against yielding on some of the key issues? 
 
Obviously, there can be no release of Palestinian prisoners that Hamas would want, but is there a smaller group of American and other endangered — they’re all endangered, but critically endangered hostages that could be released, and doing it with the other partners and securing that border area?  And how would that involve negotiating with Hamas? 
 
If you could, you know, clarify that at all, I’d really appreciate it.  Thank you so much.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Yeah, let me back up just a second and make clear what’s happening versus what’s not happening. 
 
What’s not happening is, you know, formal, set peace negotiations and mediation, like we saw in the last couple of weeks in Doha and Cairo.  So there’s no formal negotiation going on at this time. 
 
What is going on is communication, sort of point-to-point communication between us and our counterparts in Qatar and Egypt and, of course, Israel to try to still see if we can move this thing forward. 
 
And I’ve heard what the Prime Minister said.  I’m not going to get into a back-and-forth with him here in a public setting.  He can speak for his comments, and he can speak for where he is. 
 
But what I can assure you is our communication with our Israeli counterparts continue.  And we still believe that though this is incredibly difficult, that we can, in fact — if there’s compromise, if there’s leadership, that we can still get there, we can still get this deal.  And that’s what we’re focused on right now, is trying to hammer out the differences that still exist between what Hamas says it wants and what Israel says it needs. 
 
So we’re still working our way through that, but we’re doing that, Andrea, right now in a more informal way.  And I think — you know, you were asking about presence on the border and all that, and I think that gets into the details of the horse trading here that I just am not comfortable engaging in a public conversation on, because those are exactly the kinds of issues that we’re speaking to the Israelis about and our Qatari and Egyptian friends too.
 
Q    Well, but I know you can’t speak for Israel, and I’m not asking you to, when you speak of the Prime Minister, but given the months and months of investment of time, effort, energy, and the risk to the hostages that has gone on, with nine trips by the Secretary of State and countless others by the DCI and other White House officials, can you speak to the feeling in the administration about the unyielding public statements of the Prime Minister and how much of an obstacle that is to the welfare of the hostages who were so close to being released and were brutally killed, murdered by Hamas, which could have (inaudible)?
 
MR. KIRBY:  I certainly understand the — I certainly understand the intent of the question.  Let me tackle it this way, if I might.  And if I am unsatisfying, I’m sure you’ll let me know. 
 
Number one, the biggest obstacle to getting a ceasefire deal is Hamas.  No question about it.  They took the damn hostages in the first place, and they violated a ceasefire.
 
Q    I’m not questioning that. 
 
MR. KIRBY:  No, no — no, no, just let me get there.  Let me get there, please.  There was a ceasefire in place on the 6th of October, which Mr. Sinwar decided to break.  The hostages should be released now.  There should be no reason for them to be held in the first place. 
 
With each passing day, as sadly we have seen over the course of last weekend, the danger to their lives increase.  And that’s why we’re working with such a great sense of urgency here. 
 
On the larger point of what you’re asking about, I won’t get into — I’m just not going to get into a public back-and-forth, through all of you in the press, with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
 
I will just say that this process has at times been cumbersome.  We have faced setbacks and setbacks and more setbacks.  And without question, we here in the administration are frustrated that we still haven’t been able to conclude this deal.  And there’s lots of reasons for that.  But I’m not going to lie to you and say that we haven’t been frustrated.  Of course we have.  We want to see the hostages home as soon as possible. 
 
But I would also say that as frustrating as it has been at times, and as unhelpful as not just public comments, but even private machinations in the negotiation process have been to closure of the deal, it has not dimmed one bit President Biden’s commitment to trying to see this through.  And that is why, as I said earlier, Brett McGurk, Jake Sullivan, Tony Blinken, the entire national security team remains committed to seeing if we can’t move this forward and get it to closure.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question will go to Alex with CNN.
 
Q    Thanks, guys.  John, I appreciate you not wanting to get into a back-and-forth, but it really does sound like you and the Israelis are not at all on the same page.  We just heard an interview with Netanyahu this morning on another network, and he said very clearly, “There is not a deal in the making.  Unfortunately, it’s not close.”  He was asked about your colleague’s estimation yesterday that the deal is 90 percent done.  He said, “It’s exactly inaccurate.” 
 
The President, on Sunday, said that we’re on the “verge of… an agreement.”  That was after the bodies had been found. 
 
So what do you make of the Prime Minister’s rejection, not just of your characterization of the deal being 90 percent done, but saying, point blank, there is not a deal in the making?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Yeah, I think — first of all, my colleague that you’re referring to also was very clear that while much of the text has been agreed to, the exchange of prisoners has not been agreed to.  And that really comes — that’s the heart of this deal, is the exchange.  And it’s not been agreed to.  As we talked about before, it’s the implementation of the framework.  The framework itself has been agreed to.  And, of course, Hamas executed hostages over the weekend and also, in fact, changed some of the terms of the exchange.
 
So, as I said earlier, while that execution absolutely, certainly dramatically — I shouldn’t say “dramatically” — certainly changed the pool of hostages that could be available, and absolutely created a sense of even greater urgency to get the deal, it also underscores how difficult it is to negotiate with a guy like Mr. Sinwar. 
 
And I think I want to come back to what I’ve said before.  When we talk about obstacles to the deal here, it’s Mr. Sinwar.  But my colleague was not overly rosy or optimistic.  We still believe that it can be done.  We’re not Pollyannaish about the difficulty in getting there. 
 
Q    No, I understand, John.  But 90 percent sounds pretty optimistic.  And the President himself saying “on the verge of… an agreement” is certainly optimistic.  So is it on the verge of an agreement, or is it not close, as the Prime Minister said?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Well, I just —
 
Q    Is there a deal on the table or not?  Because he’s saying there’s no deal in the making, and you guys have persistently said there is a deal to be had.
 
MR. KIRBY:  So, first of all, “90 percent,” “verge of a deal” — you call that optimistic, I call that accurate.  That’s how close we believe we are.  That’s where we have gotten to.  The basic framework of the deal has been agreed to.  What we’re talking about now is the implementing details and, specifically, the exchange of prisoners.  And now that calculus is different because of what happened over the weekend.  It’s not guaranteed that Mr. Sinwar is ever going to accept the deal.  We’ve all said that. 
 
So I’m just going to take issue with the premise of the question and the way it was characterized on television, that it was overly optimistic or rosy.  We have been nothing but pragmatic about talking about this. 
 
Now, have we been hopeful?  Yeah, you bet.  And as I said yesterday, no apologies for that.  Not one bit.  We’d rather get caught trying than not try at all.  And we’re trying. 
 
So I’m just going to take issue with the idea that we’re somehow pulling the wool over your guys’ eyes or being overly optimistic.  We’re being pragmatic about it, and we do believe that we have made an immense amount of progress in the last few months in terms of getting the structure of the deal in place.
 
But nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated.  And the things that are still in play right now are very, very detailed, data-driven issues, and that’s when things get difficult.  That’s when it gets hard.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  For our next question we’ll go to Alex with the Wall Street Journal. 
 
Q    Thanks.  Very quick, a quick follow-up on the Finer meeting.  Is there — obviously, Finer went there with a — thinking about the agenda of energy security.  I mean, did he come away with any sort of assurances that the Ukrainians will be able to protect their energy grid over this coming winter?  And if there are any sort of specifics on this military planning, did he get an update on Kursk or anything like that?
 
And then, on Gaza, I guess I just want to be clear also about one thing.  We do have — you guys keep saying that, you know, the Philadelphi Corridor, it’s about the densely populated areas, but then at the same time noting, well, that’s actually more of an issue for phase two, in which case I’m wondering why Philadelphi is one of the complications to this deal when it’s a phase two issue, not really a phase one issue.  Thank you.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Look, I’m not going to get into negotiating here in public with you guys on all the details.  I addressed this the other day.  Phase one requires them to leave densely populated areas.  There are parts of the Philadelphi Corridor that don’t qualify for that because they’re not densely populated areas.  And so, I’ve already addressed this. 
 
The Israelis said that they needed locations among Philadelphi Corridor.  That’s not — you know, that is not a — that is not, nor should it be or needs to be, some sort of a deal closer.
 
I’m sorry, and I lost my train of thought.  What was your other question?
 
Q    Just a little bit more on Finer’s meeting in Ukraine. 
 
MR. KIRBY:  Oh, Finer’s visit.  Sorry.  Sorry.
 
Yeah, look, Jon was grateful for the time that Ukrainian officials, including President Zelenskyy, afforded him while he was there.  He had a chance to hear directly from the president and from his staff about their view of the battlefield and what’s going on in the northeast part of the country and, frankly, yes, what’s going on in their Kursk operations.  I’m not going to publicly disclose the details of those conversations, but he did get an update on what they’re doing. 
 
They absolutely had a chance to talk about the energy grid and the threat that that grid continues to come under from Russian air attacks.  And Jon made clear to President Zelenskyy how committed the United States is to not only improving their air defense capabilities to protect that grid, but also to continuing to provide infrastructure support, to repair and to make that grid a little bit more resilient.  And the United States is leading the way on that, and Jon made clear that we’ll continue to do that.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question will go to Zolan with the New York Times. 
 
Q    Hey there.  Thanks so much for doing this and for taking my question.  I wanted to turn back to Nicaragua just quickly.  Could you just outline for me, John, a bit more about the administration’s involvement in securing this release of folks on humanitarian grounds, and then specifically, also, the Vice President’s involvement too?  This would seem to be kind of in her, sort of, portfolio of dealing with, sort of, democracy issues in Central America.  So if you could just describe her involvement.  And also, if she wasn’t involved, why?  Given this is an assignment in her portfolio.  Thanks.
 
MR. KIRBY:  This was an administration-wide effort to work with partners, as I said in my opening statement, obviously in the region and specifically with Guatemala.  But, you know, this was an effort by both the President and the Vice President to work through the appropriate channels to help secure the release of these individuals.  And as I said, we also help facilitate their transport through charter aircraft coming from the United States to get them to Guatemala. 
 
And we are working, again, across the administration, with our partners, to make sure that as they arrive in Guatemala, they have a place to stay, they’ve got food, they’ve got medical care, and if they need it, they have clothing, as well as now an opportunity to pursue legal pathways to migration to another country. 
 
So this is very much in keeping with the efforts that the Vice President started on root causes.  I mean, this idea of this initiative for legal pathways is very much all about giving people, who are living in places where there are real threats to their existence, opportunities to migrate to other countries.    So, again, all that stemmed right from the work that the Vice President did on root causes. 
 
But, again, it was across the administration, and we were proud to be able to help facilitate this and, quite frankly, very grateful to our international partners who helped make it happen.
 
Sorry about that.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question will go to Asma with NPR.
 
Q    Hi.  Thanks for doing this.  I just wanted to square some of the characterizations we’ve had of where we are again in the hostage space, John.  I am confused.  So, yesterday, we heard from a senior administration official.  I believe their words were that the killing of the hostages has changed the character of that discussion.  And what I’m trying to understand is: Has that character of the discussion become more urgent, as we heard earlier this week from the administration, or has it become more difficult?  And could you help us understand where things are?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Yeah, I think — I think both, Asma.  And certainly it increased the sense of urgency; I talked about that the other day.  And, yes, as my colleague indicated, it has made it more difficult. 
 
But as I said earlier in this conversation, it doesn’t lessen — in fact, quite the contrary — it increases our desire to move this forward and to try to get it to closure, which is why I didn’t — maybe didn’t do a great job with one of the previous answers about the effect here.  But the point I was trying to make, and I’ll make it again right now, is that the tragic murder and slaughter of those six hostages didn’t wipe away, didn’t eliminate or decrease our desire to see this ceasefire deal in place.  And it didn’t — it didn’t make us believe that we couldn’t still or shouldn’t still have the conversations that we already were having. 
 
But did it increase the sense of urgency?  Yeah, of course it did.  And has it made it — has it made it more difficult, as my colleague said?  Yes, of course it has.  But not impossible. 
 
And I recognize that you all are seeing comments out there in the public.  I recognize that, you know, we’ve suffered yet another huge setback here.  But don’t misconstrue our hopefulness for ignorance.  We know what we’re up against, and in Sinwar —
 
Q    John, can I ask —
 
MR. KIRBY:  In Sinwar, we know who we’re up against.  But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to keep trying. 
 
Q    John, can I ask one related question — which is that earlier this week, you know, the President was asked about presenting a final hostage deal by the end of the week.  We are here at Thursday.  He said that we are very close to that.  That doesn’t sound — that doesn’t sound likely, based on what you’ve been saying.  I just want to confirm that.
 
MR. KIRBY:  I go back to what I said before.  We’re still having active communications with all sides, and we have a sense of urgency, and we’re acting on that sense of urgency.
 
MODERATOR:  Thank you.  And unfortunately, we only have time for one more quick question, which will go to Missy Ryan with the Washington Post.
 
Q    Thank you.  Hey, John.  Just wanted to follow up on the Ukraine questions.  Can you all hear me?
 
MR. KIRBY:  Yes, ma’am. 
 
Q    Okay, great.  And ask if you can comment at all, excuse me, on the request that the Ukrainians have been making for new longer-range weapons, for looser restrictions on the American-made weapons they currently have.  Is it accurate to say that the U.S. is evaluating those requests?  There are some reports out there that the U.S. is preparing to provide new capabilities that would allow them to strike deeper into Russian territory.  Thanks.
 
MR. KIRBY:  I would make two points, Missy.  Number one, there’s been no change in our policy with respect to long-range missile capabilities and where and what and how Ukraine can use those capabilities.  No change in our policy to speak to today.
 
I would also tell you that we are, as we have been every day, including while Jon was in Kyiv, having a conversation with our Ukrainian counterparts about what they need, what’s going on on the battlefield, and what support they require to continue to have success on the battlefield. 
 
So those conversations are iterative, as they always have been, and, in fact, will continue at a higher level at the end of this week when the Secretary of Defense holds his next iteration of the Ramstein group.  So you’ll see that for yourself in Germany here today and tomorrow. 
 
But, again, no change to our policies one way or another to speak to. 
 
MODERATOR:  One more thing before we leave you all today.
 
MR. KIRBY:  Today is a sad day at NSC, particularly in the — on the press team, as we say goodbye to Kate Waters, who’s leaving us and heading off to new ventures in the private sector.  Well deserved.  And we’re very proud of her and happy for her as she also gets ready to welcome her little one.  And we’re all going to miss her greatly. 
 
She’s been an incredible talent, a terrific teammate, a leader, a friend.  And the hole that she’s going to leave is going to be very, very deep.  Very, very deep. 
 
My grandfather used to say — when he found out I was joining the Navy, he said, “If you want to know how important anyone is to the United States Navy, put your fist in a bucket of water and pull it out, see what kind of hole you leave.” Well, when Kate pulls her fist out of the bucket, maybe there won’t be a hole, but the water is going to be a little bit colder.  And we’re going to miss you.  So, thanks very much.  Appreciate you, Kate.
 
That’s it for me today, guys.  Thanks.
 
MODERATOR:  On that note, we’re all crying. 
 
But if you — we weren’t able to get to your question, feel free to reach out and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.  Thanks, everyone.
 
11:10 A.M. EDT

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Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer traveled to Kyiv on September 4 and 5 to coordinate on U.S. plans to support Ukraine over the remainder of President Biden’s term in office. 

Finer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine’s military, energy system, and economy, among other areas, and to consult on Ukraine’s strategy in its fight against Russian aggression. Finer expressed condolences on behalf of the United States for the casualties caused by Russia’s recent missile attacks and emphasized the President’s steadfast commitment to stand with Ukraine until they prevail in this war. 

Finer met with Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office, and Ukrainian military officials to discuss the state of Ukraine’s operations across the front lines. Finer briefed the Ukrainian officials on the ongoing provision of U.S. security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself.

Finer joined Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and senior officials from across the Ukrainian government, including regional representatives from Kharkiv and other regions in Ukraine in a conversation to review Ukraine’s energy security. Finer received updates on Ukraine’s recovery efforts following recent Russian strikes and discussed U.S. assistance to help Ukraine repair its energy system. Additionally, Finer visited a critical energy site in Ukraine to see first-hand the efforts underway to harden these sites ahead of the winter. 

Finer participated in-person in Ukraine’s conference on food security as part of the peace formula process, which representatives from more than 75 countries attended virtually. In his remarks at the conference, Finer emphasized U.S. support for Ukraine’s pursuit of a just and lasting peace to end this war. 

Finer also met with First Deputy Prime Minisyer Yuliia Svyrydenko to discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia and with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to review Ukraine’s efforts to rally global opposition to Russia’s war of aggression. 

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Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer traveled to Kyiv on September 4 and 5 to coordinate on U.S. plans to support Ukraine over the remainder of President Biden’s term in office. 

Finer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine’s military, energy system, and economy, among other areas, and to consult on Ukraine’s strategy in its fight against Russian aggression. Finer expressed condolences on behalf of the United States for the casualties caused by Russia’s recent missile attacks and emphasized the President’s steadfast commitment to stand with Ukraine until they prevail in this war. 

Finer met with Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office, and Ukrainian military officials to discuss the state of Ukraine’s operations across the front lines. Finer briefed the Ukrainian officials on the ongoing provision of U.S. security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself.

Finer joined Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and senior officials from across the Ukrainian government, including regional representatives from Kharkiv and other regions in Ukraine in a conversation to review Ukraine’s energy security. Finer received updates on Ukraine’s recovery efforts following recent Russian strikes and discussed U.S. assistance to help Ukraine repair its energy system. Additionally, Finer visited a critical energy site in Ukraine to see first-hand the efforts underway to harden these sites ahead of the winter. 

Finer participated in-person in Ukraine’s conference on food security as part of the peace formula process, which representatives from more than 75 countries attended virtually. In his remarks at the conference, Finer emphasized U.S. support for Ukraine’s pursuit of a just and lasting peace to end this war. 

Finer also met with First Deputy Prime Minisyer Yuliia Svyrydenko to discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia and with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to review Ukraine’s efforts to rally global opposition to Russia’s war of aggression. 

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Administration approves 10th offshore wind project; previous Administration approved none

With this approval, Nation has permitted 15 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, as progress continues toward President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts by 2030

President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership has catalyzed the nation’s offshore wind industry which is creating good-paying and union jobs, establishing and growing new industries in the United States, providing reliable clean power for homes and businesses, strengthening Made in America supply chains, tackling the climate crisis, and helping lower costs for families.

The Biden-Harris Administration has built the offshore wind industry from the ground up. Right now, American workers across manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, and other sectors are building this new industry. The Administration continues to use every tool available —including leveraging historic resources from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda — to seize near- and long-term offshore wind opportunities across America that will create new jobs for our communities.  

At the beginning of this Administration, there were no approved commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters in the United States. Recognizing the urgency of catalyzing this industry to generate clean energy and combat climate change, President Biden set an ambitious goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the United States by 2030, while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing the 10th approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind project. With this approval, the nation has now approved more than 15 gigawatts of offshore wind projects – enough to power 5.25 million homes, and equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve the 30 gigawatt goal.  

US Wind’s project offshore Maryland – approved today by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – will provide up to 2,200 megawatts of clean, reliable renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula and power up to 770,000 homes. The development and construction phases of the project are estimated to support up to an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.

Overall, successfully deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind will help power 10 million homes with clean energy, support 77,000 jobs, avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and spur $12 billion per year in private investment in offshore wind projects.

Today’s announcement builds on significant progress that the Biden-Harris Administration has made to accelerate project reviews while protecting communities and our environment. Recent data demonstrates that the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering more projects, more quickly than the previous Administration.

Today’s milestones build on the Administration’s progress to grow our nation’s offshore wind industry, including:

Advancing Offshore Wind off Every Coast

Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior has held five offshore wind lease auctions providing more than 1.3 million new acres for development – including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey that generated more than $4 billion in winning bids. The Department of the Interior also held first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf Coasts; held the first sale in the Central Atlantic region in a decade; and announced the first-ever sales offshore Oregon and in the Gulf of Maine. Earlier this year, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced a new five-year offshore wind leasing schedule that aims to hold up to 12 potential offshore wind sales through 2028, including potential first-ever sales in HawaiˋI and a U.S. Territory. Because of the Administration’s progress on permitting the nation’s first offshore wind projects and leasing new areas, the total U.S. offshore wind project pipeline now exceeds 80 gigawatts, enough to power more than 26 million homes if fully developed.

Investing in Workers and Communities 

The Administration is advancing offshore wind development in a way that will maximize benefits for local communities and create good-paying jobs for American workers, including by harnessing a range of clean energy tax credits from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and federal financing programs across the Departments of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, and Transportation. The Department of the Interior has also introduced innovative provisions in lease sales supporting workforce training and union-built projects, domestic supply chain development, and community benefit agreements —including with Tribes and stakeholder groups. The Energy Department has charted a path to grow and train an American workforce to fill tens of thousands of jobs across the offshore wind industry. The Administration’s Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership is working to strengthen regional collaboration on offshore wind supply chain development, to unlock more American job opportunities. With these efforts driving progress, offshore wind investments announced during the Biden-Harris Administration now include more than $6.9 billion across 19 manufacturing facilities and 15 ports, as well as 25 new offshore wind vessels being built in 8 different states, totaling thousands of new jobs.

Accelerating Offshore Wind Permitting

Today’s tenth offshore wind project approval, reflecting collaboration across federal agencies, is part of comprehensive Administration efforts to improve the federal permitting process, including: investing over $1 billion through Inflation Reduction Act funds to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews; passing the first reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act for the first time in 50 years; and using executive authorities, wherever possible, to improve permitting and environmental review processes. Earlier this year, the Department of the Interior finalized a rule that is expected to save offshore wind developers about $1.9 billion over 20 years by modernizing regulations for offshore renewable energy development. The Department of the Interior is also developing programmatic environmental impact statements for the New York Bight and California offshore wind lease areas to create efficiencies for individual project reviews. Additionally, BOEM and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a joint strategy to protect and promote the recovery of endangered North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy. These agencies are also deploying Inflation Reduction Act funding and working with industry and environmental stakeholders to advance whale detection and monitoring technologies.

Strengthening Transmission and Port Infrastructure for Offshore Wind

The Departments of the Interior and Energy released An Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. Atlantic Region, a set of bold actions that will catalyze grid upgrades to boost offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union jobs. Similar efforts are underway along the West and Gulf coasts. These efforts are funded from the Inflation Reduction Act for offshore wind and interregional transmission analyses and convenings. This summer, the Department of Energy announced federal transmission investments that will help connect 4,800 megawatts of offshore wind to the New England grid and provide economic development grants to several communities that will host offshore wind transmission infrastructure. To help build out the port capacity needed for offshore wind manufacturing and project construction, the Department of Transportation has awarded more than $675 million in grants for East Coast and West Coast ports to support offshore wind activities.

Advancing Floating Offshore Wind Innovation and Deployment

Deep-water areas that require floating platforms are home to two-thirds of America’s offshore wind energy potential, including along the West Coast and in the Gulf of Maine. To seize these opportunities, the Department of the Interior set a goal to deploy 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035—enough to power over five million American homes. And the Administration launched an interagency Floating Offshore Wind Shot, which seeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70 percent by 2035. The Departments of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, and Transportation have already achieved over 50 milestones and dedicated over $950 million to advance the Floating Offshore Wind Shot and American competitiveness on floating offshore wind turbine design, development, and manufacturing. Last month, the Department of the Interior announced the execution of the nation’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease offshore Maine.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Hits Offshore Wind Milestone, Continues to Advance Clean Energy Opportunities appeared first on The White House.

When I came into office, the United States had zero approved offshore wind projects in federal waters, and the industry was struggling to gain a foothold. But now, following my Administration’s investments in our clean energy future, the private sector has mobilized and the federal government has approved ten offshore wind projects – enough to power more than five million homes and equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve our goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. From manufacturing and shipbuilding to port operations and construction, this industry will support tens of thousands of good-paying and union jobs, provide reliable clean power to homes and businesses, strengthen our power grid against outages, and help reduce pollution – all while protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems. We will continue to partner with industry, Tribes, ocean users, and other stakeholders to support supply chains that are Made in America, incentivize union-built projects, and continue seizing opportunities for additional clean energy technologies.

###

The post Statement from President Biden on Offshore Wind Progress appeared first on The White House.

Administration approves 10th offshore wind project; previous Administration approved none

With this approval, Nation has permitted 15 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, as progress continues toward President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts by 2030

President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership has catalyzed the nation’s offshore wind industry which is creating good-paying and union jobs, establishing and growing new industries in the United States, providing reliable clean power for homes and businesses, strengthening Made in America supply chains, tackling the climate crisis, and helping lower costs for families.

The Biden-Harris Administration has built the offshore wind industry from the ground up. Right now, American workers across manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, and other sectors are building this new industry. The Administration continues to use every tool available —including leveraging historic resources from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda — to seize near- and long-term offshore wind opportunities across America that will create new jobs for our communities.  

At the beginning of this Administration, there were no approved commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters in the United States. Recognizing the urgency of catalyzing this industry to generate clean energy and combat climate change, President Biden set an ambitious goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the United States by 2030, while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing the 10th approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind project. With this approval, the nation has now approved more than 15 gigawatts of offshore wind projects – enough to power 5.25 million homes, and equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve the 30 gigawatt goal.  

US Wind’s project offshore Maryland – approved today by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – will provide up to 2,200 megawatts of clean, reliable renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula and power up to 770,000 homes. The development and construction phases of the project are estimated to support up to an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.

Overall, successfully deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind will help power 10 million homes with clean energy, support 77,000 jobs, avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and spur $12 billion per year in private investment in offshore wind projects.

Today’s announcement builds on significant progress that the Biden-Harris Administration has made to accelerate project reviews while protecting communities and our environment. Recent data demonstrates that the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering more projects, more quickly than the previous Administration.

Today’s milestones build on the Administration’s progress to grow our nation’s offshore wind industry, including:

Advancing Offshore Wind off Every Coast

Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior has held five offshore wind lease auctions providing more than 1.3 million new acres for development – including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey that generated more than $4 billion in winning bids. The Department of the Interior also held first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf Coasts; held the first sale in the Central Atlantic region in a decade; and announced the first-ever sales offshore Oregon and in the Gulf of Maine. Earlier this year, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced a new five-year offshore wind leasing schedule that aims to hold up to 12 potential offshore wind sales through 2028, including potential first-ever sales in HawaiˋI and a U.S. Territory. Because of the Administration’s progress on permitting the nation’s first offshore wind projects and leasing new areas, the total U.S. offshore wind project pipeline now exceeds 80 gigawatts, enough to power more than 26 million homes if fully developed.

Investing in Workers and Communities 

The Administration is advancing offshore wind development in a way that will maximize benefits for local communities and create good-paying jobs for American workers, including by harnessing a range of clean energy tax credits from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and federal financing programs across the Departments of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, and Transportation. The Department of the Interior has also introduced innovative provisions in lease sales supporting workforce training and union-built projects, domestic supply chain development, and community benefit agreements —including with Tribes and stakeholder groups. The Energy Department has charted a path to grow and train an American workforce to fill tens of thousands of jobs across the offshore wind industry. The Administration’s Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership is working to strengthen regional collaboration on offshore wind supply chain development, to unlock more American job opportunities. With these efforts driving progress, offshore wind investments announced during the Biden-Harris Administration now include more than $6.9 billion across 19 manufacturing facilities and 15 ports, as well as 25 new offshore wind vessels being built in 8 different states, totaling thousands of new jobs.

Accelerating Offshore Wind Permitting

Today’s tenth offshore wind project approval, reflecting collaboration across federal agencies, is part of comprehensive Administration efforts to improve the federal permitting process, including: investing over $1 billion through Inflation Reduction Act funds to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews; passing the first reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act for the first time in 50 years; and using executive authorities, wherever possible, to improve permitting and environmental review processes. Earlier this year, the Department of the Interior finalized a rule that is expected to save offshore wind developers about $1.9 billion over 20 years by modernizing regulations for offshore renewable energy development. The Department of the Interior is also developing programmatic environmental impact statements for the New York Bight and California offshore wind lease areas to create efficiencies for individual project reviews. Additionally, BOEM and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a joint strategy to protect and promote the recovery of endangered North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy. These agencies are also deploying Inflation Reduction Act funding and working with industry and environmental stakeholders to advance whale detection and monitoring technologies.

Strengthening Transmission and Port Infrastructure for Offshore Wind

The Departments of the Interior and Energy released An Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. Atlantic Region, a set of bold actions that will catalyze grid upgrades to boost offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union jobs. Similar efforts are underway along the West and Gulf coasts. These efforts are funded from the Inflation Reduction Act for offshore wind and interregional transmission analyses and convenings. This summer, the Department of Energy announced federal transmission investments that will help connect 4,800 megawatts of offshore wind to the New England grid and provide economic development grants to several communities that will host offshore wind transmission infrastructure. To help build out the port capacity needed for offshore wind manufacturing and project construction, the Department of Transportation has awarded more than $675 million in grants for East Coast and West Coast ports to support offshore wind activities.

Advancing Floating Offshore Wind Innovation and Deployment

Deep-water areas that require floating platforms are home to two-thirds of America’s offshore wind energy potential, including along the West Coast and in the Gulf of Maine. To seize these opportunities, the Department of the Interior set a goal to deploy 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035—enough to power over five million American homes. And the Administration launched an interagency Floating Offshore Wind Shot, which seeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70 percent by 2035. The Departments of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, and Transportation have already achieved over 50 milestones and dedicated over $950 million to advance the Floating Offshore Wind Shot and American competitiveness on floating offshore wind turbine design, development, and manufacturing. Last month, the Department of the Interior announced the execution of the nation’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease offshore Maine.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Hits Offshore Wind Milestone, Continues to Advance Clean Energy Opportunities appeared first on The White House.

When I came into office, the United States had zero approved offshore wind projects in federal waters, and the industry was struggling to gain a foothold. But now, following my Administration’s investments in our clean energy future, the private sector has mobilized and the federal government has approved ten offshore wind projects – enough to power more than five million homes and equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve our goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. From manufacturing and shipbuilding to port operations and construction, this industry will support tens of thousands of good-paying and union jobs, provide reliable clean power to homes and businesses, strengthen our power grid against outages, and help reduce pollution – all while protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems. We will continue to partner with industry, Tribes, ocean users, and other stakeholders to support supply chains that are Made in America, incentivize union-built projects, and continue seizing opportunities for additional clean energy technologies.

###

The post Statement from President Biden on Offshore Wind Progress appeared first on The White House.

The Biden-Harris Administration today secured the release of 135 unjustly detained political prisoners in Nicaragua, on humanitarian grounds.  No one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association, and practicing their religion.  The 135 Nicaraguan citizens released today included 13 members of the Texas-based Mountain Gateway organization, along with Catholic laypeople, students, and others who Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consider a threat to their authoritarian rule.  
 
The United States welcomes the leadership and generosity of the Government of Guatemala for graciously agreeing to accept these Nicaraguan citizens.  Once in Guatemala, these individuals will be offered the opportunity to apply for lawful ways to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries through President Biden’s Safe Mobility Office initiative.  President Biden and Vice President Harris are grateful to President Arévalo for his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and championing democratic freedom. 
 
The United States again calls on the Government of Nicaragua to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms.

###

The post Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the Release of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua appeared first on The White House.

The Biden-Harris Administration today secured the release of 135 unjustly detained political prisoners in Nicaragua, on humanitarian grounds.  No one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association, and practicing their religion.  The 135 Nicaraguan citizens released today included 13 members of the Texas-based Mountain Gateway organization, along with Catholic laypeople, students, and others who Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consider a threat to their authoritarian rule.  
 
The United States welcomes the leadership and generosity of the Government of Guatemala for graciously agreeing to accept these Nicaraguan citizens.  Once in Guatemala, these individuals will be offered the opportunity to apply for lawful ways to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries through President Biden’s Safe Mobility Office initiative.  President Biden and Vice President Harris are grateful to President Arévalo for his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and championing democratic freedom. 
 
The United States again calls on the Government of Nicaragua to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms.

###

The post Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the Release of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

12:04 P.M. EDT

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining today’s press call ahead of President Biden’s trip to Wisconsin to discuss investments in rural electrification from his Investing in America agenda.

This call will begin with on-the-record remarks from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Afterwards, there will be a question-and-answer period.  It will be on background and attributable to “senior administration officials.”

As a reminder, the contents of the call and related materials that you will receive after the call will be embargoed until tomorrow, September 5th, at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

With that, I will turn it over to Natalie.

MS. QUILLIAN:  Thanks, Angelo.  Hi, everybody, and thanks for joining us today to talk about President Biden’s visit to Wisconsin tomorrow to discuss how his Investing in America agenda continues to benefit communities across the country.

Taking a step back, President Biden and Vice President Harris came to office inheriting a series of cascading challenges — from a once-in-a-generation pandemic and isolation on the world stage, crime being up, and the s- — middle class being sidelined.

But the president and the vice president rejected conventional wisdom that trickle-down economics was the best path for America.  Instead, President Biden built the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, and made sure that instead of providing tax breaks for companies that shipped jobs overseas, he invested here in America and in Americans.

The president has promised to be a president for all Americans — from small towns to big cities; blue, red, purple states; and places that, for too long, have been overlooked and left out. 

And over the last three and a half years, he’s followed through on that promise.

Today, because of the president’s historic Investing in America agenda — which includes the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act — opportunity is growing in communities across this country.

Wages are up, inflation is down, this administration has had the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years, and manufacturing is making a comeback in communities across the country.

His agenda has spurred over $910 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments.  We’re building a clean energy economy that is lowering costs for millions of families and businesses.  And we are making the most inv- –ambitious investments in our infrastructure — including high-speed Internet, clean water, and clean electricity — in a generation.

Because of the president’s actions and his vision, Americans all across the country are seeing and feeling a better, more prosperous future on the horizon and a future of possibilities.

When the president travels to Wisconsin tomorrow, he will visit a community near La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he visited about three years ago.  And when he was there in 2021, he laid out his plans for a better future.  And when he returns tomorrow, he will have delivered on so many of those promises.

For example, in 2021 when he visited, he talked about repairing roads and bridges and other infrastructure.  And he’s returning with having passed the infrastructure law and launching 350 projects across Wisconsin.

In 2021, he talked about eradicating lead pipes.  He’s returning after announcing $9 billion to do just that, including $200 million in Wisconsin.

And in 2021, he talked about dangerous chemicals — PFAS. And he’s returning after having created the first-ever national PFAS standard.

And importantly, in 2021, he talked about the need for good-paying jobs and opportunities in rural America and the need to address our climate crisis.  And tomorrow, he will announce $7.3 billion from his Inflation Reduction Act for clean, affordable, reliable electricity. 

It’s the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR’s administration and will spur economic development and lower costs for millions of American, and it will create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs.

He will hear from people on the ground about how these and other investments from his agenda are changing their lives for the better.  And it’s part of a broader effort that we’ve launched to hear directly from different communities across the country who are benefitting from the president’s Investing in America agenda and, as a result, have peace of mind and more hope for the future.

The president kicked off this push yesterday when he spoke directly to four local, community, and Tribal leaders and other Americans who are seeing the tangible benefits of his agenda.  And his trips to Wisconsin and Michigan this week will continue to highlight those stories.

And now I’d like to turn it over to Secretary Vilsack to talk more about this historic investment in rural America. 

Secretary?

SECRETARY VILSACK:  Natalie, thank you very much.  I appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you today. 

Looking very much forward to the announcement tomorrow.  It’s an exciting announcement with a massive impact across 23 states to bring the promise of clean energy and lower costs to approximately 5 million rural households, representing 20 percent of the nation’s entire rural household, as well as farms and businesses that are located in those 23 states. 

As Natalie indicated, as part of the president’s Investing in America agenda, and as a result of the passage of the president’s Inflation Reduction Act, USDA will be committing $7.3 billion to 16 awardees, rural electric cooperatives, in those 23 states. 

This resource will leverage an additional $29 billion of private investment, which, as Natalie indicated, is the largest investment in rural electrification since 1936 and the New Deal. 

The impact of — of this investment cannot be overstated. 

Natalie referenced the 4,500 permanent jobs and the 16,000 construction jobs, all of which will have good middle-class wages associated with them.  But it’s also about clean energy: ten gigawatts of clean energy, 37- — over 3,700 megawatts of wind power, over 4,700 megawatts of solar power, nearly 800 and — over 800 megawatts of nuclear power, and 357 watts of hydropower. 

All of this is designed not only to provide more reliant elec- — electricity for those rural communities but will also result in a 43.7-million-ton annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the clean energy future the president envisioned. 

In addition to all of the — the clean energy, there will also be nearly 1,900 megawatts of battery storage, which means greater resiliency within the system. 

The president w- — specifically will have the opportunity to talk about the New ERA funding of the Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin.  This is a $573 million commitment that the USDA is making with the Inflation Reduction Act resources in the form of a grant of nearly $471 million and a loan of nearly $102 million. 

This is going to establish an opportunity for this particular cooperative to purchase — to — to finance eight power purchase agreements, four solar installations, four wind power installations across their service territory in Wisconsin.  This is an opportunity, over the next 10 years, to lower the costs of electricity for the customers of the Dairyland Cooperative by nearly 42 percent.

What is really interesting about this opportunity, in addition to the investment USDA is making, is that the — the cooperative will also put its own resources into this.  The total cost of the project will be a little over $2 billion.

In addition, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the — the cooperative will enter into a community benefit plan.  These benefit plans are designed to provide direct assistance and — and help to farmers who will benefit from this clean energy as well as connecting to employment opportunities.  You’ll see the opportunity for apprenticeships and training programs in order to build the workforce of the future.

The New ERA program, which is the program that USDA is providing these resources, has a companion program.  The New ERA program is available only to the RECs, rural electric cooperatives.  But the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program, the PACE program, is available to municipal utilities as well as RECs. 

And the USDA has already made 19 awards of $665 million in that program as well.  In addition, the USDA is also, as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investing in America effort of the Biden-Harris administration, we’ve invested in over 7,200 REAP grants.  About 4,500 of those REAP grants are being financed directly from Inflation Reduction Act resources.  This is allowing farmers and ranchers and producers and small-business owners to have an individual benefit of clean renewable energy. 

I think it’s important that — to — to point out that this is all a result of the funding that is being provided in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

There are some in Congress who are suggesting that we need to condense the timeframe in which these projects need to be completed and to — and to essentially take some resources away from the Inflation Reduction Act in order to reinvest in — in other farm bill programs.  Really deeply concerned about that, because you can see the power of the New ERA program and the PACE program and the opportunity for us to — over the course of the next several years, to make investments in rural job growth and in rural economic opportunity.

Excited about this opportunity, looking forward to the president’s visit, and I think it’s an opportunity, as well, to talk about the extraordinary investment that’s been made in rural America by the Biden-Harris administration as part of the president’s Investing in America initiative.

So, really, really important day.  I’m looking forward to it and excited about the opportunity that this presents for — for rural places.

With that, I’ll turn it back to Angelo for any questions.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you, Secretary.  And thank you, Natalie. 

Now we will move to the question-and-answer portion of the call.  As a reminder, this will be on background and attributable to “senior administration officials.”  Please use the “raise hand” function on Zoom so that we may call on you.  When you are called on, please identify yourself and your outlet. 

Okay.  We will start with Rachel.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Hi.  Thanks for taking my question.  I was wondering, do you guys know whether, you know, this power — this clean power would have otherwise been generated without this award?  And can you detail more about that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I’ll take a first stab at that but maybe ask [senior administration official], who’s on the call, to amplify. 

I think it’s fair to say that the extent and nature of the investment that’s being made is — would be unlikely to have occurred but for the significant investment that the USDA and the Biden-Harris administration is making in these projects. 

The fact that the Dairyland project, for example, is receiving a significant grant — a grant that basically funds $471 million of the project — would suggest that this is a — the impetus and this is the opportunity that we’ve created for a large — large-scale investment. 

There may very well have been other investments made by the Dairyland Power Cooperative, but I don’t think to the extent that they — that they are currently now prepared to do so with the help and assistance that USDA is providing.

[Senior administration official], you want to add anything to that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official] is exactly right.  What I’ve heard directly from Cooperative executives is that New ERA is transforming their business.  Dairyland CEO, for example, said they’re going to be a different organization after Thursday than they were before because of the transformative effect of New ERA.

There’s no doubt that while some of this might have occurred and there — these co-ops were making investments in clean energy, this is making sure that it’s of a different scale, and, importantly, it’s being done at a cost that is affordable for rural Americans.

Q    And so, when you talked about some of these being, you know, power purchase agreements, that’s not just purchasing power that already exists; that’s creating — that’s new wind turbines in the ground and new solar panels?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  To qualify for our funding, it has to be power that either was not built before or was not purchased by the particular co-op before.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Erik now.  You should be unmuted. 

Erik?

Q    Yeah, what’s full total timeframe for all of this to be built out fully to fully recognize the entire investment that’s being made here? 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], is it 2031?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, sir.  Under the Inflation Reduction Act, everything has to be built and validated and dispersed by September 30th, 2031.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Fatima next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Hi.  Thank you for taking this call.  How is the White House balancing these electrification and other projects with the IRA with the protests and lawsuits to mining the materials needed for this infrastructure, especially as projects encroach on culturally significant lands, especially for Tribes?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICAL:  So, I can — I can start there, Fatima, and our USDA colleagues may want to speak a bit more about the — the design of this particular program. 

I’m not sure which — what kinds of mining or other facilities that you have in mind.  But here, as elsewhere across the Investing in America agenda, USDA has built community benefits agreements into the design of this program, and so the co-ops that are being selected for these awards have done and will continue to do extensive community consultations in their service areas and in the project areas to ensure that these projects are being built according to high labor standards, that they are delivering benefits directly to communities, and, consistent with all federal projects that fall under NEPA permitting processes, that those public consultations and any Tribal consultations that are — that are required by the project service area are fully — fully pursued.

But, [senior administration official], I don’t know if there’s anything else you want to add about the community benefits agreement approach here.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official] is right on.  We are making sure that each of these co-ops does extensive community engagement with the areas that are — that will be affected by the — by New ERA funding.  We expect that this funding will result in tremendous benefits beyond just the clean power.  That particularly applies to farmers seeing benefits and the job growth that Natalie mentioned earlier.  And part of that is a robust engagement of the people who are there. 

The last piece I’ll just say about this is that co-ops are owned by the members, so the people who live and work in rural America are the people who own the co-ops.  There’s no utility that’s more sensitive to what the people who live in its service territory are thinking about and worried about than co-ops, and that puts them a step ahead when it comes to this community engagement.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will to Sean next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Thank you.  Thank you for hosting this.  My two questions really are a little bit more about logistics.  First one is, will Secretary Vilsack be joining the president?  Will there be people available to comment tomorrow from the co-op? 

And when the president visited here two years ago, we were allowed to walk with him as he inspected some of the EV equipment that the city was investing in.  Is that part of the plan for tomorrow?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I can assure you — this is Tom Vilsack. I can assure you that I’ll be there in Wisconsin with the President.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  And, Sean, on some of your logistical questions, we’re happy to follow up with you on those.

Okay.  We will go to Larry next.  You should be unmuted now.

Larry?

Q    There we go.  I think it’s working now.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Yep.  There you go.

Q    Larry Lee at Brownfield Ag News. 

First of all, are all the grants going to cooperatives.  And secondly, the $471 million to Dairyland Power Co-Op, does that include bringing the Genoa nuclear plant back online or perhaps building a new reactor?  I believe [senior administration official] mentioned that might not be able to use it on stuff built before this, but there may be something else in the works.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], I’m going to let you answer the last part of Larry’s question, but it’s my understanding that the New ERA program is specifically designed and only available to rural electric cooperatives.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, sir.  And then I just want to be clear about the total amount.  So, the $471 million that you mentioned, Larry, that’s just for the grants.  There’s another $101-plus million that is going for loan refinancing. 

The co-ops will see significant savings from these financings that they can then plow back into new clean energy.  Again, that makes the end result more affordable for these co-ops.  So, there is a tremendous advantage in both products.  And the total is $573 million just for Dairyland.

As for the nuclear plant, Dairyland is building — is buying power from four new solar projects and four new wind projects.  Their particular plan does not involve any new nuclear.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Kelsey next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Can you hear me?

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Yes.

Q    Hi.  This is Kelsey Reichmann from Courthouse News.

A lot of the administration’s efforts with clean energy have been challenged at the Supreme Court, and, in particular, there’s a challenge to the power plant rules for lowering emissions.  And some of the industry groups claim that adopting these new emission standards would impact the energy grid because they would have to close down plants and they wouldn’t be able to adjust to the rules.  So, I guess I’m wondering how these investments address those problems and if they do.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I can — I can take that, or at least start, and if [senior administration official] wants to add.

This is an entirely voluntary initiative.  The co-ops were invited to submit letters of interest that detailed what they wanted their future to look like with regard to clean energy.  So, there’s — there was no regulatory piece to this whatsoever. 

These are co-ops who understand that the clean energy is going to make their systems more reliable and more resilient to extreme weather.  The — by ensuring that we are helping with upfront costs, that keeps the entire — all the projects more affordable.  And we know that each of the 16 selectees are excited for wh- — for this opportunity.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  That’s right, [senior administration official]. 

And all I’ll just add there is that, you know, this is part — you know, a major program under the president’s Inflation Reduction Act, under the Investing in America agenda, which is putting money directly into communities to help build the clean energy projects that they want to build to achieve all of those goals that [senior administration official] has in mind.

This is a — you know, this is a program that was authorized and appropriated by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and we’re very excited about tomorrow’s milestone. 

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We have time for one more question.  And we will go to Hope.  You should be unmuted now. 

Q    Thank you.  Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio.  I’m wondering if there is something about this project in Westby that, you know, caused the president to want to highlight this project out of all the 16.  You know, is there — there something about this project in Wisconsin that represents, you know, kind of the goals of the Investing in America agenda? 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I’m happy to take a initial stab on this. 

You know, I think this is a project that in which all aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act are sort of underscored.  The notion that not only are you going to essentially leverage private investment, not only are you going to create clean energy that will make the systems providing energy to rural Wisconsin more reliable and more resilient, but you’re also providing an opportunity where it’s expected that costs will be lower over time than they would have otherwise been because of the source of this energy.  And you also have the benefit of the community benefit agreements and arrangements. 

This project, I think, is exemplary of the 16 projects that are being awarded.  And this is just the beginning.  There will be additional awards in the New ERA program.  And, of course, we — I mentioned that — the PACE program as well. 

And this is also, I think, an opportunity to point out that when you combine this investment with the REAP investments to farmers and ranchers and producers who are capable of producing their own electricity, reducing their costs, but also potentially producing some excess that there opens up the opportunity in the future for farmers to work collaboratively together with their RECs, which could (audio drops) another revenue stream for farmers, which is extremely important. 

So, this particular project sort of brings everything to a head, and the good relationship that the Dairyland has with the unions that will probably be responsible for some of the jobs that will be created in this project. 

I just recently visited the pipefitters training s- — school in Wisconsin.  They’re excited about the opportunities that the Inflation Reduction Act is providing for new jobs.  They’re seeing an increase in apprenticeships.  They’re seeing an increased interest on the part of folks to be pipefitters and steamfitters.  And so, this is a project that will also create really good-paying jobs in Wisconsin and in rural places.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  If I can just add to what [senior administration official] just said, he’s exactly right.  This is representative of what New ERA is going to do all around the country. 

It — the baseline for Dairyland is that they now emit about 4.6 million tons of greenhouse gasses.  By the time that these programs have come to fruition and they’ve completed these projects, that number is going to be down to about 1.4 million tons.  What that is is about a 70 percent decrease in their carbon emissions, an incredible amount.  And New ERA funding will be responsible for about 85 percent of that.

On top of that, as you all know from the press release, Dairyland is — expects that about — their rates will be about 42 percent lower than they otherwise would have been as a result of the New ERA funding once this is complete, and that is representative of what we are seeing all around the country when it comes to the recipients of these New ERA funds.

The Inflation Reduction Act is transforming this entire industry.  It’s an industry that is purely owned by and for rural America.  When we invest in that, we are literally putting equity into rural America.  And as [senior administration official] notes, these projects are indicative of what’s going to happen in the other 15 awardees and then eventually to the other funding that we will be announcing as the time goes on.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  And if I could just add — this is [senior administration official] — just to pick up on what [senior administration official] said — you know, the president will go to — this week, he will have gone to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. 

And this is, as I mentioned earlier, part of the big push we’re doing to make sure the president is in communities, meeting with folks who are benefiting from his Investing in America agenda — that’s urban communities, that’s rural communities, and otherwise — to just demonstrate the tangible impacts that this agenda is already having across the country.  And I think Wisconsin and Dairyland is a great example of that.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you, [senior administration official], and thank you, everyone.  Thank you for joining us.  This will end our press call. 

As a reminder, the contents of this call and the materials that you will receive over email will be embargoed until 5:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

Thank you for joining us.

12:32 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call by Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Previewing President Biden’s Trip to Wisconsin appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden will travel to Westby, Wisconsin to announce $7.3 billion for clean, affordable, reliable electricity for rural America, funded by his Inflation Reduction Act – this is part of his series designed to demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is improving the lives of Americans across the country and planting the seeds of a better future for decades to come. The investment announced today is the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal and is part of the President’s Investing in America agenda, which is lowering costs, creating jobs and bringing new opportunity to communities and families across the country.

The President will announce the first round of rural electric cooperatives selected and the first award for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. This program helps rural electric cooperatives transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy and distribute that power to communities, businesses, farms, and families across Rural America. These investments will lower energy costs by up to hundreds of dollars per year for millions of homes and businesses, tackle the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and create thousands of jobs and new economic opportunities in rural America.

President Biden to Announce $7.3 Billion from the New ERA Program

Today, USDA announced that 16 rural electric cooperatives are being selected to receive up to $7.3 billion in clean energy financing that will deliver clean, more affordable and more resilient electricity to approximately 5 million rural co-op members representing 20 percent of rural households, farms, businesses and schools. These 16 cooperatives will benefit rural residents across 23 states, serving farmers, small businesses, and rural communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

These first 16 co-ops will leverage $7.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act into a total investment of more than $29 billion in rural communities across the nation. Thanks to the New ERA program, co-ops will build or purchase over 10 gigawatts of clean energy and make enabling investments in areas including transmission, substation upgrades, and distributed energy resource management software that will lower energy costs for rural Americans and enhance grid performance, resiliency, and reliability.

This financing will reduce electricity bills for rural families and businesses, who for too long have faced higher energy costs than the rest of the country due to the challenges of providing electricity in rural and remote areas. The New ERA program is helping rural cooperatives overcome barriers to upgrading infrastructure and investing in newer, lower cost electricity projects.

These New ERA investments will support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and over 16,000 construction jobs. They will also prevent at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution annually, equivalent to removing pollution from more than 10 million gas-powered cars every year.

In Wisconsin, Dairyland Power Cooperative is receiving the first New ERA award of nearly $573 million, which they will leverage for a total project investment of $2.1 billion. Dairyland plans to procure 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy through eight wind and solar power purchase agreements, four solar installations, and four wind power installations across rural portions of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. Dairyland estimates that electric rates for their members will be 42% lower over 10 years than they would have been without New ERA funding.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Lowering Costs, Making the Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal

The Inflation Reduction Act invests nearly $13 billion in rural electrification across multiple programs—the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. In addition to today’s New ERA announcement:

• The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, funds new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural America. The program provides low-interest loans with up to 60% loan forgiveness to renewable energy developers, rural electric cooperatives and other rural energy providers for renewable energy storage and projects that use wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. By using renewable energy, PACE projects will make it more affordable for people to heat their homes, run their businesses and power cars, schools, hospitals and more. To date, USDA has announced more than $665 million of investments selected to proceed under the PACE program.

• The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which was expanded through the Inflation Reduction Act, provides grant and loan financing to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems – like solar panels – or to make energy efficiency improvements. During the Biden Administration, REAP has invested $2.2 billion across over 7,600 projects across the country. 

These investments in rural electrification will help build new electricity generation projects and meet growing demand, which will help power the manufacturing renaissance driven by the Investing in America agenda.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Ensuring a Brighter Future for Wisconsin Communities and Families

Today’s announcement builds on historic progress all around Wisconsin thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda. Since the President and Vice President took office, the Administration has announced $7.2 billion in federal funding, which has catalyzed an additional $5.1 billion in private sector commitments to invest in manufacturing and clean energy across the state. The Investing in America agenda is rebuilding roads and bridges using Made in America materials and American workers. It is bringing back jobs in industries that spent decades outsourcing. And it’s reaching communities in every corner of the state, including those that have too often been left behind.

At the beginning of his term, President Biden traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin – just down the road from Westby – to sell Americans on his plans for a better future. Now, three years later, the President has delivered on the vision he outlined laying the groundwork for a better future for all Wisconsinites for decades into the future:

• The President talked about the need to repair roads and bridges to enhance safety and to save time and money for Americans. Since then, the Administration has announced over $4 billion for transportation investments for over 350 specific projects, including the construction of three new roundabouts on US 14 and South Avenue, and the County Highway M bridge over the La Crosse River being replaced right now in West Salem.
• The President talked about the need to eradicate lead pipes. Since then, we’ve announced $9 billion nationwide, including over $200 million in Wisconsin, to replace lead pipes. That funding is already accelerating efforts in cities like Milwaukee, which is now on track to replace all lead pipes within 10 years instead of 60 years thanks to funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We also issued a proposed rulemaking to achieve 100% Lead Pipe Replacement nationwide within a decade.
• The President talked about the need to expand high-speed internet so that kids can do their homework from home, and farmers can grow their business with easy access to internet. Since then, 72,000 additional homes and small businesses have been connected (nearly 30% of the total unserved in the state) and the state has been awarded $1.6 billion for high-speed internet to finish the job and connect all remaining unserved homes and small businesses by 2030.
• The President talked about the need to address dangerous chemicals, known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”—that plagued communities like La Crosse’s French Island. Since then, President Biden created the first-ever National Standard to Address PFAS in Drinking Water and through his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has made $9 billion available nationwide to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
• The President talked about the need to bring good paying jobs to rural communities so that families can build wealth and opportunity in rural hometowns and their children don’t have to leave to get a job. Since then, we’ve expanded the Rural Partners Network to better deliver federal resources to five community networks in rural Wisconsin. By hiring federal staff from within the communities to work with local leaders, over $320 million of federal investments are now helping to build strong and vibrant rural economies.
• The President talked about the need for investments to propel America into the future and bringing economic opportunity to every region of the country. Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has designated 31 Tech Hubs across the country, including the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, which received $49 million to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine while expanding support to workers and entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

The progress in Wisconsin is just one example of the progress being made across every state in the nation. For more information about the progress of the President’s Investing in America Agenda, please visit invest.gov. 

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The post FACT SHEET: President Biden Visits Westby, Wisconsin, Announces $7.3 Billion for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Electricity for Rural America; The Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

12:04 P.M. EDT

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining today’s press call ahead of President Biden’s trip to Wisconsin to discuss investments in rural electrification from his Investing in America agenda.

This call will begin with on-the-record remarks from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Afterwards, there will be a question-and-answer period.  It will be on background and attributable to “senior administration officials.”

As a reminder, the contents of the call and related materials that you will receive after the call will be embargoed until tomorrow, September 5th, at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

With that, I will turn it over to Natalie.

MS. QUILLIAN:  Thanks, Angelo.  Hi, everybody, and thanks for joining us today to talk about President Biden’s visit to Wisconsin tomorrow to discuss how his Investing in America agenda continues to benefit communities across the country.

Taking a step back, President Biden and Vice President Harris came to office inheriting a series of cascading challenges — from a once-in-a-generation pandemic and isolation on the world stage, crime being up, and the s- — middle class being sidelined.

But the president and the vice president rejected conventional wisdom that trickle-down economics was the best path for America.  Instead, President Biden built the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, and made sure that instead of providing tax breaks for companies that shipped jobs overseas, he invested here in America and in Americans.

The president has promised to be a president for all Americans — from small towns to big cities; blue, red, purple states; and places that, for too long, have been overlooked and left out. 

And over the last three and a half years, he’s followed through on that promise.

Today, because of the president’s historic Investing in America agenda — which includes the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act — opportunity is growing in communities across this country.

Wages are up, inflation is down, this administration has had the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years, and manufacturing is making a comeback in communities across the country.

His agenda has spurred over $910 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments.  We’re building a clean energy economy that is lowering costs for millions of families and businesses.  And we are making the most inv- –ambitious investments in our infrastructure — including high-speed Internet, clean water, and clean electricity — in a generation.

Because of the president’s actions and his vision, Americans all across the country are seeing and feeling a better, more prosperous future on the horizon and a future of possibilities.

When the president travels to Wisconsin tomorrow, he will visit a community near La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he visited about three years ago.  And when he was there in 2021, he laid out his plans for a better future.  And when he returns tomorrow, he will have delivered on so many of those promises.

For example, in 2021 when he visited, he talked about repairing roads and bridges and other infrastructure.  And he’s returning with having passed the infrastructure law and launching 350 projects across Wisconsin.

In 2021, he talked about eradicating lead pipes.  He’s returning after announcing $9 billion to do just that, including $200 million in Wisconsin.

And in 2021, he talked about dangerous chemicals — PFAS. And he’s returning after having created the first-ever national PFAS standard.

And importantly, in 2021, he talked about the need for good-paying jobs and opportunities in rural America and the need to address our climate crisis.  And tomorrow, he will announce $7.3 billion from his Inflation Reduction Act for clean, affordable, reliable electricity. 

It’s the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR’s administration and will spur economic development and lower costs for millions of American, and it will create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs.

He will hear from people on the ground about how these and other investments from his agenda are changing their lives for the better.  And it’s part of a broader effort that we’ve launched to hear directly from different communities across the country who are benefitting from the president’s Investing in America agenda and, as a result, have peace of mind and more hope for the future.

The president kicked off this push yesterday when he spoke directly to four local, community, and Tribal leaders and other Americans who are seeing the tangible benefits of his agenda.  And his trips to Wisconsin and Michigan this week will continue to highlight those stories.

And now I’d like to turn it over to Secretary Vilsack to talk more about this historic investment in rural America. 

Secretary?

SECRETARY VILSACK:  Natalie, thank you very much.  I appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you today. 

Looking very much forward to the announcement tomorrow.  It’s an exciting announcement with a massive impact across 23 states to bring the promise of clean energy and lower costs to approximately 5 million rural households, representing 20 percent of the nation’s entire rural household, as well as farms and businesses that are located in those 23 states. 

As Natalie indicated, as part of the president’s Investing in America agenda, and as a result of the passage of the president’s Inflation Reduction Act, USDA will be committing $7.3 billion to 16 awardees, rural electric cooperatives, in those 23 states. 

This resource will leverage an additional $29 billion of private investment, which, as Natalie indicated, is the largest investment in rural electrification since 1936 and the New Deal. 

The impact of — of this investment cannot be overstated. 

Natalie referenced the 4,500 permanent jobs and the 16,000 construction jobs, all of which will have good middle-class wages associated with them.  But it’s also about clean energy: ten gigawatts of clean energy, 37- — over 3,700 megawatts of wind power, over 4,700 megawatts of solar power, nearly 800 and — over 800 megawatts of nuclear power, and 357 watts of hydropower. 

All of this is designed not only to provide more reliant elec- — electricity for those rural communities but will also result in a 43.7-million-ton annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the clean energy future the president envisioned. 

In addition to all of the — the clean energy, there will also be nearly 1,900 megawatts of battery storage, which means greater resiliency within the system. 

The president w- — specifically will have the opportunity to talk about the New ERA funding of the Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin.  This is a $573 million commitment that the USDA is making with the Inflation Reduction Act resources in the form of a grant of nearly $471 million and a loan of nearly $102 million. 

This is going to establish an opportunity for this particular cooperative to purchase — to — to finance eight power purchase agreements, four solar installations, four wind power installations across their service territory in Wisconsin.  This is an opportunity, over the next 10 years, to lower the costs of electricity for the customers of the Dairyland Cooperative by nearly 42 percent.

What is really interesting about this opportunity, in addition to the investment USDA is making, is that the — the cooperative will also put its own resources into this.  The total cost of the project will be a little over $2 billion.

In addition, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the — the cooperative will enter into a community benefit plan.  These benefit plans are designed to provide direct assistance and — and help to farmers who will benefit from this clean energy as well as connecting to employment opportunities.  You’ll see the opportunity for apprenticeships and training programs in order to build the workforce of the future.

The New ERA program, which is the program that USDA is providing these resources, has a companion program.  The New ERA program is available only to the RECs, rural electric cooperatives.  But the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program, the PACE program, is available to municipal utilities as well as RECs. 

And the USDA has already made 19 awards of $665 million in that program as well.  In addition, the USDA is also, as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investing in America effort of the Biden-Harris administration, we’ve invested in over 7,200 REAP grants.  About 4,500 of those REAP grants are being financed directly from Inflation Reduction Act resources.  This is allowing farmers and ranchers and producers and small-business owners to have an individual benefit of clean renewable energy. 

I think it’s important that — to — to point out that this is all a result of the funding that is being provided in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

There are some in Congress who are suggesting that we need to condense the timeframe in which these projects need to be completed and to — and to essentially take some resources away from the Inflation Reduction Act in order to reinvest in — in other farm bill programs.  Really deeply concerned about that, because you can see the power of the New ERA program and the PACE program and the opportunity for us to — over the course of the next several years, to make investments in rural job growth and in rural economic opportunity.

Excited about this opportunity, looking forward to the president’s visit, and I think it’s an opportunity, as well, to talk about the extraordinary investment that’s been made in rural America by the Biden-Harris administration as part of the president’s Investing in America initiative.

So, really, really important day.  I’m looking forward to it and excited about the opportunity that this presents for — for rural places.

With that, I’ll turn it back to Angelo for any questions.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you, Secretary.  And thank you, Natalie. 

Now we will move to the question-and-answer portion of the call.  As a reminder, this will be on background and attributable to “senior administration officials.”  Please use the “raise hand” function on Zoom so that we may call on you.  When you are called on, please identify yourself and your outlet. 

Okay.  We will start with Rachel.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Hi.  Thanks for taking my question.  I was wondering, do you guys know whether, you know, this power — this clean power would have otherwise been generated without this award?  And can you detail more about that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I’ll take a first stab at that but maybe ask [senior administration official], who’s on the call, to amplify. 

I think it’s fair to say that the extent and nature of the investment that’s being made is — would be unlikely to have occurred but for the significant investment that the USDA and the Biden-Harris administration is making in these projects. 

The fact that the Dairyland project, for example, is receiving a significant grant — a grant that basically funds $471 million of the project — would suggest that this is a — the impetus and this is the opportunity that we’ve created for a large — large-scale investment. 

There may very well have been other investments made by the Dairyland Power Cooperative, but I don’t think to the extent that they — that they are currently now prepared to do so with the help and assistance that USDA is providing.

[Senior administration official], you want to add anything to that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official] is exactly right.  What I’ve heard directly from Cooperative executives is that New ERA is transforming their business.  Dairyland CEO, for example, said they’re going to be a different organization after Thursday than they were before because of the transformative effect of New ERA.

There’s no doubt that while some of this might have occurred and there — these co-ops were making investments in clean energy, this is making sure that it’s of a different scale, and, importantly, it’s being done at a cost that is affordable for rural Americans.

Q    And so, when you talked about some of these being, you know, power purchase agreements, that’s not just purchasing power that already exists; that’s creating — that’s new wind turbines in the ground and new solar panels?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  To qualify for our funding, it has to be power that either was not built before or was not purchased by the particular co-op before.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Erik now.  You should be unmuted. 

Erik?

Q    Yeah, what’s full total timeframe for all of this to be built out fully to fully recognize the entire investment that’s being made here? 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], is it 2031?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, sir.  Under the Inflation Reduction Act, everything has to be built and validated and dispersed by September 30th, 2031.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Fatima next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Hi.  Thank you for taking this call.  How is the White House balancing these electrification and other projects with the IRA with the protests and lawsuits to mining the materials needed for this infrastructure, especially as projects encroach on culturally significant lands, especially for Tribes?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICAL:  So, I can — I can start there, Fatima, and our USDA colleagues may want to speak a bit more about the — the design of this particular program. 

I’m not sure which — what kinds of mining or other facilities that you have in mind.  But here, as elsewhere across the Investing in America agenda, USDA has built community benefits agreements into the design of this program, and so the co-ops that are being selected for these awards have done and will continue to do extensive community consultations in their service areas and in the project areas to ensure that these projects are being built according to high labor standards, that they are delivering benefits directly to communities, and, consistent with all federal projects that fall under NEPA permitting processes, that those public consultations and any Tribal consultations that are — that are required by the project service area are fully — fully pursued.

But, [senior administration official], I don’t know if there’s anything else you want to add about the community benefits agreement approach here.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official] is right on.  We are making sure that each of these co-ops does extensive community engagement with the areas that are — that will be affected by the — by New ERA funding.  We expect that this funding will result in tremendous benefits beyond just the clean power.  That particularly applies to farmers seeing benefits and the job growth that Natalie mentioned earlier.  And part of that is a robust engagement of the people who are there. 

The last piece I’ll just say about this is that co-ops are owned by the members, so the people who live and work in rural America are the people who own the co-ops.  There’s no utility that’s more sensitive to what the people who live in its service territory are thinking about and worried about than co-ops, and that puts them a step ahead when it comes to this community engagement.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will to Sean next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Thank you.  Thank you for hosting this.  My two questions really are a little bit more about logistics.  First one is, will Secretary Vilsack be joining the president?  Will there be people available to comment tomorrow from the co-op? 

And when the president visited here two years ago, we were allowed to walk with him as he inspected some of the EV equipment that the city was investing in.  Is that part of the plan for tomorrow?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I can assure you — this is Tom Vilsack. I can assure you that I’ll be there in Wisconsin with the President.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  And, Sean, on some of your logistical questions, we’re happy to follow up with you on those.

Okay.  We will go to Larry next.  You should be unmuted now.

Larry?

Q    There we go.  I think it’s working now.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Yep.  There you go.

Q    Larry Lee at Brownfield Ag News. 

First of all, are all the grants going to cooperatives.  And secondly, the $471 million to Dairyland Power Co-Op, does that include bringing the Genoa nuclear plant back online or perhaps building a new reactor?  I believe [senior administration official] mentioned that might not be able to use it on stuff built before this, but there may be something else in the works.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], I’m going to let you answer the last part of Larry’s question, but it’s my understanding that the New ERA program is specifically designed and only available to rural electric cooperatives.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, sir.  And then I just want to be clear about the total amount.  So, the $471 million that you mentioned, Larry, that’s just for the grants.  There’s another $101-plus million that is going for loan refinancing. 

The co-ops will see significant savings from these financings that they can then plow back into new clean energy.  Again, that makes the end result more affordable for these co-ops.  So, there is a tremendous advantage in both products.  And the total is $573 million just for Dairyland.

As for the nuclear plant, Dairyland is building — is buying power from four new solar projects and four new wind projects.  Their particular plan does not involve any new nuclear.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We will go to Kelsey next.  You should be unmuted now.

Q    Can you hear me?

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Yes.

Q    Hi.  This is Kelsey Reichmann from Courthouse News.

A lot of the administration’s efforts with clean energy have been challenged at the Supreme Court, and, in particular, there’s a challenge to the power plant rules for lowering emissions.  And some of the industry groups claim that adopting these new emission standards would impact the energy grid because they would have to close down plants and they wouldn’t be able to adjust to the rules.  So, I guess I’m wondering how these investments address those problems and if they do.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I can — I can take that, or at least start, and if [senior administration official] wants to add.

This is an entirely voluntary initiative.  The co-ops were invited to submit letters of interest that detailed what they wanted their future to look like with regard to clean energy.  So, there’s — there was no regulatory piece to this whatsoever. 

These are co-ops who understand that the clean energy is going to make their systems more reliable and more resilient to extreme weather.  The — by ensuring that we are helping with upfront costs, that keeps the entire — all the projects more affordable.  And we know that each of the 16 selectees are excited for wh- — for this opportunity.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  That’s right, [senior administration official]. 

And all I’ll just add there is that, you know, this is part — you know, a major program under the president’s Inflation Reduction Act, under the Investing in America agenda, which is putting money directly into communities to help build the clean energy projects that they want to build to achieve all of those goals that [senior administration official] has in mind.

This is a — you know, this is a program that was authorized and appropriated by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and we’re very excited about tomorrow’s milestone. 

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you.  We have time for one more question.  And we will go to Hope.  You should be unmuted now. 

Q    Thank you.  Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio.  I’m wondering if there is something about this project in Westby that, you know, caused the president to want to highlight this project out of all the 16.  You know, is there — there something about this project in Wisconsin that represents, you know, kind of the goals of the Investing in America agenda? 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I’m happy to take a initial stab on this. 

You know, I think this is a project that in which all aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act are sort of underscored.  The notion that not only are you going to essentially leverage private investment, not only are you going to create clean energy that will make the systems providing energy to rural Wisconsin more reliable and more resilient, but you’re also providing an opportunity where it’s expected that costs will be lower over time than they would have otherwise been because of the source of this energy.  And you also have the benefit of the community benefit agreements and arrangements. 

This project, I think, is exemplary of the 16 projects that are being awarded.  And this is just the beginning.  There will be additional awards in the New ERA program.  And, of course, we — I mentioned that — the PACE program as well. 

And this is also, I think, an opportunity to point out that when you combine this investment with the REAP investments to farmers and ranchers and producers who are capable of producing their own electricity, reducing their costs, but also potentially producing some excess that there opens up the opportunity in the future for farmers to work collaboratively together with their RECs, which could (audio drops) another revenue stream for farmers, which is extremely important. 

So, this particular project sort of brings everything to a head, and the good relationship that the Dairyland has with the unions that will probably be responsible for some of the jobs that will be created in this project. 

I just recently visited the pipefitters training s- — school in Wisconsin.  They’re excited about the opportunities that the Inflation Reduction Act is providing for new jobs.  They’re seeing an increase in apprenticeships.  They’re seeing an increased interest on the part of folks to be pipefitters and steamfitters.  And so, this is a project that will also create really good-paying jobs in Wisconsin and in rural places.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  If I can just add to what [senior administration official] just said, he’s exactly right.  This is representative of what New ERA is going to do all around the country. 

It — the baseline for Dairyland is that they now emit about 4.6 million tons of greenhouse gasses.  By the time that these programs have come to fruition and they’ve completed these projects, that number is going to be down to about 1.4 million tons.  What that is is about a 70 percent decrease in their carbon emissions, an incredible amount.  And New ERA funding will be responsible for about 85 percent of that.

On top of that, as you all know from the press release, Dairyland is — expects that about — their rates will be about 42 percent lower than they otherwise would have been as a result of the New ERA funding once this is complete, and that is representative of what we are seeing all around the country when it comes to the recipients of these New ERA funds.

The Inflation Reduction Act is transforming this entire industry.  It’s an industry that is purely owned by and for rural America.  When we invest in that, we are literally putting equity into rural America.  And as [senior administration official] notes, these projects are indicative of what’s going to happen in the other 15 awardees and then eventually to the other funding that we will be announcing as the time goes on.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  And if I could just add — this is [senior administration official] — just to pick up on what [senior administration official] said — you know, the president will go to — this week, he will have gone to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. 

And this is, as I mentioned earlier, part of the big push we’re doing to make sure the president is in communities, meeting with folks who are benefiting from his Investing in America agenda — that’s urban communities, that’s rural communities, and otherwise — to just demonstrate the tangible impacts that this agenda is already having across the country.  And I think Wisconsin and Dairyland is a great example of that.

MR. FERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ:  Thank you, [senior administration official], and thank you, everyone.  Thank you for joining us.  This will end our press call. 

As a reminder, the contents of this call and the materials that you will receive over email will be embargoed until 5:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

Thank you for joining us.

12:32 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call by Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Previewing President Biden’s Trip to Wisconsin appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden will travel to Westby, Wisconsin to announce $7.3 billion for clean, affordable, reliable electricity for rural America, funded by his Inflation Reduction Act – this is part of his series designed to demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is improving the lives of Americans across the country and planting the seeds of a better future for decades to come. The investment announced today is the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal and is part of the President’s Investing in America agenda, which is lowering costs, creating jobs and bringing new opportunity to communities and families across the country.

The President will announce the first round of rural electric cooperatives selected and the first award for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. This program helps rural electric cooperatives transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy and distribute that power to communities, businesses, farms, and families across Rural America. These investments will lower energy costs by up to hundreds of dollars per year for millions of homes and businesses, tackle the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and create thousands of jobs and new economic opportunities in rural America.

President Biden to Announce $7.3 Billion from the New ERA Program

Today, USDA announced that 16 rural electric cooperatives are being selected to receive up to $7.3 billion in clean energy financing that will deliver clean, more affordable and more resilient electricity to approximately 5 million rural co-op members representing 20 percent of rural households, farms, businesses and schools. These 16 cooperatives will benefit rural residents across 23 states, serving farmers, small businesses, and rural communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

These first 16 co-ops will leverage $7.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act into a total investment of more than $29 billion in rural communities across the nation. Thanks to the New ERA program, co-ops will build or purchase over 10 gigawatts of clean energy and make enabling investments in areas including transmission, substation upgrades, and distributed energy resource management software that will lower energy costs for rural Americans and enhance grid performance, resiliency, and reliability.

This financing will reduce electricity bills for rural families and businesses, who for too long have faced higher energy costs than the rest of the country due to the challenges of providing electricity in rural and remote areas. The New ERA program is helping rural cooperatives overcome barriers to upgrading infrastructure and investing in newer, lower cost electricity projects.

These New ERA investments will support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and over 16,000 construction jobs. They will also prevent at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution annually, equivalent to removing pollution from more than 10 million gas-powered cars every year.

In Wisconsin, Dairyland Power Cooperative is receiving the first New ERA award of nearly $573 million, which they will leverage for a total project investment of $2.1 billion. Dairyland plans to procure 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy through eight wind and solar power purchase agreements, four solar installations, and four wind power installations across rural portions of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. Dairyland estimates that electric rates for their members will be 42% lower over 10 years than they would have been without New ERA funding.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Lowering Costs, Making the Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal

The Inflation Reduction Act invests nearly $13 billion in rural electrification across multiple programs—the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. In addition to today’s New ERA announcement:

• The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, funds new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural America. The program provides low-interest loans with up to 60% loan forgiveness to renewable energy developers, rural electric cooperatives and other rural energy providers for renewable energy storage and projects that use wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. By using renewable energy, PACE projects will make it more affordable for people to heat their homes, run their businesses and power cars, schools, hospitals and more. To date, USDA has announced more than $665 million of investments selected to proceed under the PACE program.

• The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which was expanded through the Inflation Reduction Act, provides grant and loan financing to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems – like solar panels – or to make energy efficiency improvements. During the Biden Administration, REAP has invested $2.2 billion across over 7,600 projects across the country. 

These investments in rural electrification will help build new electricity generation projects and meet growing demand, which will help power the manufacturing renaissance driven by the Investing in America agenda.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Ensuring a Brighter Future for Wisconsin Communities and Families

Today’s announcement builds on historic progress all around Wisconsin thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda. Since the President and Vice President took office, the Administration has announced $7.2 billion in federal funding, which has catalyzed an additional $5.1 billion in private sector commitments to invest in manufacturing and clean energy across the state. The Investing in America agenda is rebuilding roads and bridges using Made in America materials and American workers. It is bringing back jobs in industries that spent decades outsourcing. And it’s reaching communities in every corner of the state, including those that have too often been left behind.

At the beginning of his term, President Biden traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin – just down the road from Westby – to sell Americans on his plans for a better future. Now, three years later, the President has delivered on the vision he outlined laying the groundwork for a better future for all Wisconsinites for decades into the future:

• The President talked about the need to repair roads and bridges to enhance safety and to save time and money for Americans. Since then, the Administration has announced over $4 billion for transportation investments for over 350 specific projects, including the construction of three new roundabouts on US 14 and South Avenue, and the County Highway M bridge over the La Crosse River being replaced right now in West Salem.
• The President talked about the need to eradicate lead pipes. Since then, we’ve announced $9 billion nationwide, including over $200 million in Wisconsin, to replace lead pipes. That funding is already accelerating efforts in cities like Milwaukee, which is now on track to replace all lead pipes within 10 years instead of 60 years thanks to funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We also issued a proposed rulemaking to achieve 100% Lead Pipe Replacement nationwide within a decade.
• The President talked about the need to expand high-speed internet so that kids can do their homework from home, and farmers can grow their business with easy access to internet. Since then, 72,000 additional homes and small businesses have been connected (nearly 30% of the total unserved in the state) and the state has been awarded $1.6 billion for high-speed internet to finish the job and connect all remaining unserved homes and small businesses by 2030.
• The President talked about the need to address dangerous chemicals, known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”—that plagued communities like La Crosse’s French Island. Since then, President Biden created the first-ever National Standard to Address PFAS in Drinking Water and through his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has made $9 billion available nationwide to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
• The President talked about the need to bring good paying jobs to rural communities so that families can build wealth and opportunity in rural hometowns and their children don’t have to leave to get a job. Since then, we’ve expanded the Rural Partners Network to better deliver federal resources to five community networks in rural Wisconsin. By hiring federal staff from within the communities to work with local leaders, over $320 million of federal investments are now helping to build strong and vibrant rural economies.
• The President talked about the need for investments to propel America into the future and bringing economic opportunity to every region of the country. Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has designated 31 Tech Hubs across the country, including the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, which received $49 million to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine while expanding support to workers and entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

The progress in Wisconsin is just one example of the progress being made across every state in the nation. For more information about the progress of the President’s Investing in America Agenda, please visit invest.gov. 

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The post FACT SHEET: President Biden Visits Westby, Wisconsin, Announces $7.3 Billion for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Electricity for Rural America; The Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal appeared first on The White House.

Throwback Brewery
North Hampton, New Hampshire

3:05 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  Hi.  (Applause.)

Good afternoon, North Hampton!  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness. 

Can we hear it for Nicole and Throwback Brewery?  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Hi, guy- — thank you.  Thank you, thank you.  Wow.  (Applause.)  Thank you, all.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

It’s so good to be back in New Hampshire.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

And Doug sends his love to everyone as well.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

Oh, thank you, everyone.  Nicole, thank you.  You guys are just so extraordinary, and I applaud the way you do the business that you do and the love that you do in giving community.  I love our small-business owners.  It is what you do — I’m going to talk a bit about you in a minute, but you are part of the fabric — the essential fabric of a community that cares about one another.

Thank you for everything.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.

And thank you to the outstanding congressional delegation: Senators Shaheen, Hassan — (applause); Representatives Pappas and Kuster — (applause); and all the leaders who are here today.  Thank you all.  Thank you all for — for taking the time to be here this afternoon.  Thank you, everyone.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

So, before I begin, I do want to say a few words about this tragic shooting that took place this morning in Winder, Georgia.  We’re still gathering information about what happened, but we know that there were multiple fatalities and injuries.  And, you know, our hearts are with all the students, the teachers, and their families, of course, and we are grateful to the first responders and the law enforcement that were on the scene.

But this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies.  And it’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.  It’s senseless.  It — it is — we’ve got to stop it.  (Applause.)

And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.  You know, it doesn’t have to be this way.  It doesn’t have to be this way. 

So, we will continue, of course, to — to send our prayers and our thoughts to the families and all those who were affected, including, you know — I — I’m going off script right now, but, listen.  I mean, you know, at — at the — last year, at — I — I started a college tour, and I — I traveled our country, meeting with our young leaders, right?  And so, it was college-aged young leaders.  So, I did trade schools, colleges, universities, community colleges.

By the way, I love Gen Z.  I just love Gen Z.  (Laughter.)  (Applause.)  Right? 

But I’ll tell you one of the things — one of the things that I asked every time I went to the auditorium — and it would be filled with these young leaders, students — and I’d ask them, “Raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade you had to endure an active shooter drill.”  And the — for the — for the young leaders who are here who are raising their hand, I’m telling you, every time, the auditorium was packed, and almost every hand went up.

You know, a lot of us — I’ll tal- — I’ll speak about myself.  You know, we had — well, I grew up in California — earthquake drills; we had fire drills.  But our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of the classroom. 

It does not have to be this way.  (Applause.)  It does not have to be this way.  And, you know, this is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election.

So, New Hampshire, look, we have 62 days to go — (applause) — 62 days to go.  And I’m going to tell you what you already know: This race is going to be tight until the very end. 

So, please, let’s not pay too much attention to the polls, because we are running as the underdog.  We know what they’re capable of on the other side.  The only thing we can take for granted is the love that we as Americans have for each other, knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us.  (Applause.) 

And we’ve got some hard work ahead, but we like hard work.  Hard work is good work.  (Applause.)  Hard work can be joyful work.  And so, we are up for the task.  And with your help, we will win in November.  (Applause.)  We will win in November.

And that, in large part, is because we know what we stand for, and when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.  (Applause.) 

We love our country, and we believe in the promise of America.  That’s so much of what I think brings us all together this afternoon.  We believe in the promise of America, and that includes a topic we’re going to discuss today, which is what I call an “opportunity economy” — building an opportunity economy.  (Applause.)

And my vision of an opportunity economy is one where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed; where everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, can build wealth, including intergenerational wealth; where workers are treated with dignity, and everyone has the freedom to join a union if they choose — (applause); where we remove barriers to opportunity, so anyone who wants to start a business can have access to the tools and the resources they need to do that.

I believe — and I said it before to Nicole — I believe America’s small businesses are an essential foundation to our entire economy.  Think about it.  (Applause.)  Think about it.  Small businesses in our country employ half of all private-sector workers.  Half of all private-sector workers own or run a small business or work for a small business.  They do trillions of dollars of business every year.  They generate revenue that helps repair our roads and pay our teachers. 

And, you know — (applause) — for all of those who are or know of small-business owners, the thing I love about you is that you’re not only leaders in business, you are civic leaders, you are community leaders, you are mentors, you hire locally, you believe in the community, and you’re part of the glue of the fabric that holds communities together. 

You provide the local meeting space.  You are the types of folks where you know who your regulars are, and when someone is walking in the door and you can tell they’ve had a bad day, you know exactly what they need.  Isn’t that the best of who we are?  (Applause.)  Isn’t that the best of who we are?

And I’ve met so many entrepreneurs across the country who take the incredible leap of faith that is required to start a small business — folks who put their life’s savings on the line and work through the weekends and holidays because they aren’t just building a business, they’re pursuing a dream.  They’re building a better future for their employees and for the people they love and their communities.  And by extension, they’re building a stronger middle class and a stronger America for us all.  (Applause.)

And so, all of this is why, as president, one of my highest priorities will be to strengthen America’s small businesses.  (Applause.)  And here I am in New Hampshire to announce a few elements of my plan to do that.  (Applause.)

So, first, we’re going to help more small businesses and innovators get off the ground.  Okay?  (Applause.)  Now I’m setting what some, I’m sure, are going to call a very ambitious goal.  But you know what?  I think we should admire ambition in each other.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.) 

So, I want to see 25 million new small-business applications by the end of my first term.  (Applause.)  And to help achieve this, we will lower the cost of starting a new business.

So, here’s the thing, on average, it costs about $40,000 to start a new business in America.  That is a great financial barrier for a lot of folks, and it can hold entrepreneurs back.  And the current tax deduction for a start-up is just $5,000.  Okay?  So, then you got to make up the delta there; you got to figure out how you’re going to do that.  Not everyone has access to that kind of wealth and capital.

So, part of my plan is we will expand the tax deduction for start-ups to $50,000.  (Applause.)  It’s essentially a tax cut for starting a small business.

Second, my plan will help existing small businesses grow.  We will provide low- and no-interest loans to small businesses that want to expand, and we will — and this is very important — cut the red tape that can make starting and growing a small business more difficult than it needs to be — more difficult than it needs to be.  (Applause.)

For example, we will make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to file their taxes, similar — (applause) — similar to how individuals can take a standard deduction.  You know, I said to my team, kind of like — now, I’m going to date myself again, because they no longer do it — but kind of like — you remember the 1040EZ?  Like, that kind of idea, right?  Like, let’s just take away some of the bureaucracy in the process to make it easier for people to actually do something that’s going to benefit our entire economy.

Third — (applause) — third, my plan will invest in small businesses and innovators throughout America, and here’s why.  We know that talent exists everywhere in our country, from rural towns to city centers.  But not everyone has access to the financing, to venture capital, or expert advice.  It’s not that they don’t have the skills, it’s not that they don’t have the work ethic; it’s access to these resources.

So, under my plan, we will expand access to venture capital.  We will support innovation hubs and business incubators.  (Applause.)  And we will increase federal contracts with small businesses.  (Applause.)  And we will have a particular focus on small businesses in rural communities, like right here in New Hampshire.  (Applause.)

Finally, my plan will make our tax code more fair, while also prioritizing investment and innovation. 

So, let us be clear: Billionaires and big corporations must pay their fair share in taxes.  (Applause.)  Because here is the thing — here is the thing.  It’s just not right that those who can most afford it are often paying a lower tax rate than our teachers and our nurses and our firefighters.  (Applause.)  It’s just not right.  It’s just not right.

So, that’s why I support a billionaire minimum tax and corporations paying their fair share.  (Applause.)  And while we ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, we will tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America’s innovators, founders, and small businesses.  (Applause.)

So, here’s the detail.  If you earn a million dollars a year or more, the tax rate on your long-term capital gains will be 28 percent under my plan, because we know when the government encourages investment, it leads to broad-based economic growth and it creates jobs, which makes our economy stronger.  (Applause.) 

Now compare that to what Donald Trump plans.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He intends to cut off federal programs that give loans to small businesses.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts and to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  His plans will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt, and that is on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he gave them when he was president and when he exploded the deficit.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We know how to count.  (Laughter.)  We know how to count.

And now he also wants to impose what, in effect, is a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities, which will skyrocket the cost for families and small businesses. 

And, New Hampshire, on top of all of this, if Donald Trump were to win in November, he intends to end the Affordable Care Act —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which would significantly increase costs on small businesses, as we know —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Lock him up!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and — well, you know what?  The courts are going to handle that, and we will handle November.  How about that?  (Applause.)  How about that?  (Laughs.) 

That’s how we’ll handle that.  How about that?  (Applause.)

But think about it.  He wants to end the Affordable Care Act, taking us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was?  Children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes. 

So, yeah, look, we are here to tell him and them: We are not going back.  (Applause.)  We’re not going back.

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re not going back.  We’re not going back.

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No, we are not, and we will move forward, because ours is a fight for the future.  (Applause.)  And — and it is a fight for freedom.  (Applause.)  And it is a fight for freedom.

Now, I don’t have to tell the folks of New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state.  (Applause.)  You know the importance of individual freedoms, fundamental freedoms.  You know how hard people fought for these freedoms and that they are foundational to who we are and what we stand for as America, including the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

And understand how we got here.  Understand how we got here.  And, of course, we’re not going to fall for the gaslighting he’s pushing, right?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  When he was president, Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And as he intended, they did.  And now, in more than 20 states in our nation, there is a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral — immoral.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let us agree, and I know we do: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.) 

And if he wins — and if he wins, you can be sure Donald Trump will go further, and he will sign a national abortion ban.  And — and you know Project 2025, which I just —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I mean, can you believe they put that thing in writing?  (Laughter.) 

And under Project 2025, he would create a national antiabortion coordinator, which would force states — I mean, this is unbelievable, right? — which would force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know what they are making really quite clear?  They just don’t trust women.  They just don’t trust women. 

But we trust women.  (Applause.)  We trust women.

And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.) 

Across our nation —

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  (Inaudible.) 

Across our nation — across our nation — and I’ve been traveling for many, many mo- — well, years, actually, and certainly months, most recently.  Across our nation, I’m telling you, we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights, including the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence —

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water —

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  (Applause.) 

And so, here’s what I don’t have to tell the folks of New Hampshire, because you know it so well, it’s part of your DNA.  Generations of Americans before us, they fought for freedom and they led the fight for freedom in our country.  And now the baton is in our hands.  The baton is in our hands.

So, let us understand, which we do, our purpose at this very moment.  Let us remember the broad shoulders upon which we stand and the traditions of this very fight that have led to what we have been able to accomplish. 

And let us understand, then, that when we say “fight,” it is a fight for something, not against something.  It is for something.  (Applause.)  That’s what we’re talking about when we talk about a new way forward.  This is for something. 

And so, as an example, let us finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.  (Applause.)  Let us finally pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks and red flag laws — (applause) — because we are clear, on that point, it is a false choice to say you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.  I’m in favor of the Second Amendment, and I know we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country.  (Applause.)

And there’s another point that I’d like to stress about this election in ‘24.  This is not 2016 or 2020.  The stakes are even higher this time for a number of reasons, but I’m going to mention one, in particular: what the Supreme Court recently did when they basically just told the former president that, going forward, he will effectively be immune, no matter what he does in the White House.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But let’s take this seriously and understand what it means.  Before, at least, there might have been the threat that there would be consequence and accountability.  With that ruling, what this means is that almost explicitly, he has been told no consequence. 

And imagine — just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.  Just imagine with no guardrails. 

He has openly vowed to be a dictator on day one.  He has said he would end the independence of the Department of Justice — the United States Department of Justice —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — so he could have the unchecked power to seek vengeance against people who disagree with him. 

He even called for — I’m going to quote now — the “termination” of the Constitution of the United States of America.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let us be very clear: Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States of America should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.  (Applause.)  Never again.

So, I’ll end where I started.  When it comes down to it, we are all here together because we love our country.  We love our country, and we know the privilege — the privilege and pride that comes with being an American. 

And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country.  That is how we realize the promise of America.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right. 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so, with that being said, I ask: New Hampshire, are you ready to have your voices heard?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in freedom?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in opportunity?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.)

And when we fight —

AUDIENCE:  We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win!

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

                     END                3:33 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event| North Hampton, NH appeared first on The White House.

Throwback Brewery
North Hampton, New Hampshire

3:05 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  Hi.  (Applause.)

Good afternoon, North Hampton!  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness. 

Can we hear it for Nicole and Throwback Brewery?  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Hi, guy- — thank you.  Thank you, thank you.  Wow.  (Applause.)  Thank you, all.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

It’s so good to be back in New Hampshire.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

And Doug sends his love to everyone as well.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

Oh, thank you, everyone.  Nicole, thank you.  You guys are just so extraordinary, and I applaud the way you do the business that you do and the love that you do in giving community.  I love our small-business owners.  It is what you do — I’m going to talk a bit about you in a minute, but you are part of the fabric — the essential fabric of a community that cares about one another.

Thank you for everything.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.

And thank you to the outstanding congressional delegation: Senators Shaheen, Hassan — (applause); Representatives Pappas and Kuster — (applause); and all the leaders who are here today.  Thank you all.  Thank you all for — for taking the time to be here this afternoon.  Thank you, everyone.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

So, before I begin, I do want to say a few words about this tragic shooting that took place this morning in Winder, Georgia.  We’re still gathering information about what happened, but we know that there were multiple fatalities and injuries.  And, you know, our hearts are with all the students, the teachers, and their families, of course, and we are grateful to the first responders and the law enforcement that were on the scene.

But this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies.  And it’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.  It’s senseless.  It — it is — we’ve got to stop it.  (Applause.)

And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.  You know, it doesn’t have to be this way.  It doesn’t have to be this way. 

So, we will continue, of course, to — to send our prayers and our thoughts to the families and all those who were affected, including, you know — I — I’m going off script right now, but, listen.  I mean, you know, at — at the — last year, at — I — I started a college tour, and I — I traveled our country, meeting with our young leaders, right?  And so, it was college-aged young leaders.  So, I did trade schools, colleges, universities, community colleges.

By the way, I love Gen Z.  I just love Gen Z.  (Laughter.)  (Applause.)  Right? 

But I’ll tell you one of the things — one of the things that I asked every time I went to the auditorium — and it would be filled with these young leaders, students — and I’d ask them, “Raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade you had to endure an active shooter drill.”  And the — for the — for the young leaders who are here who are raising their hand, I’m telling you, every time, the auditorium was packed, and almost every hand went up.

You know, a lot of us — I’ll tal- — I’ll speak about myself.  You know, we had — well, I grew up in California — earthquake drills; we had fire drills.  But our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of the classroom. 

It does not have to be this way.  (Applause.)  It does not have to be this way.  And, you know, this is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election.

So, New Hampshire, look, we have 62 days to go — (applause) — 62 days to go.  And I’m going to tell you what you already know: This race is going to be tight until the very end. 

So, please, let’s not pay too much attention to the polls, because we are running as the underdog.  We know what they’re capable of on the other side.  The only thing we can take for granted is the love that we as Americans have for each other, knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us.  (Applause.) 

And we’ve got some hard work ahead, but we like hard work.  Hard work is good work.  (Applause.)  Hard work can be joyful work.  And so, we are up for the task.  And with your help, we will win in November.  (Applause.)  We will win in November.

And that, in large part, is because we know what we stand for, and when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.  (Applause.) 

We love our country, and we believe in the promise of America.  That’s so much of what I think brings us all together this afternoon.  We believe in the promise of America, and that includes a topic we’re going to discuss today, which is what I call an “opportunity economy” — building an opportunity economy.  (Applause.)

And my vision of an opportunity economy is one where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed; where everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, can build wealth, including intergenerational wealth; where workers are treated with dignity, and everyone has the freedom to join a union if they choose — (applause); where we remove barriers to opportunity, so anyone who wants to start a business can have access to the tools and the resources they need to do that.

I believe — and I said it before to Nicole — I believe America’s small businesses are an essential foundation to our entire economy.  Think about it.  (Applause.)  Think about it.  Small businesses in our country employ half of all private-sector workers.  Half of all private-sector workers own or run a small business or work for a small business.  They do trillions of dollars of business every year.  They generate revenue that helps repair our roads and pay our teachers. 

And, you know — (applause) — for all of those who are or know of small-business owners, the thing I love about you is that you’re not only leaders in business, you are civic leaders, you are community leaders, you are mentors, you hire locally, you believe in the community, and you’re part of the glue of the fabric that holds communities together. 

You provide the local meeting space.  You are the types of folks where you know who your regulars are, and when someone is walking in the door and you can tell they’ve had a bad day, you know exactly what they need.  Isn’t that the best of who we are?  (Applause.)  Isn’t that the best of who we are?

And I’ve met so many entrepreneurs across the country who take the incredible leap of faith that is required to start a small business — folks who put their life’s savings on the line and work through the weekends and holidays because they aren’t just building a business, they’re pursuing a dream.  They’re building a better future for their employees and for the people they love and their communities.  And by extension, they’re building a stronger middle class and a stronger America for us all.  (Applause.)

And so, all of this is why, as president, one of my highest priorities will be to strengthen America’s small businesses.  (Applause.)  And here I am in New Hampshire to announce a few elements of my plan to do that.  (Applause.)

So, first, we’re going to help more small businesses and innovators get off the ground.  Okay?  (Applause.)  Now I’m setting what some, I’m sure, are going to call a very ambitious goal.  But you know what?  I think we should admire ambition in each other.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.) 

So, I want to see 25 million new small-business applications by the end of my first term.  (Applause.)  And to help achieve this, we will lower the cost of starting a new business.

So, here’s the thing, on average, it costs about $40,000 to start a new business in America.  That is a great financial barrier for a lot of folks, and it can hold entrepreneurs back.  And the current tax deduction for a start-up is just $5,000.  Okay?  So, then you got to make up the delta there; you got to figure out how you’re going to do that.  Not everyone has access to that kind of wealth and capital.

So, part of my plan is we will expand the tax deduction for start-ups to $50,000.  (Applause.)  It’s essentially a tax cut for starting a small business.

Second, my plan will help existing small businesses grow.  We will provide low- and no-interest loans to small businesses that want to expand, and we will — and this is very important — cut the red tape that can make starting and growing a small business more difficult than it needs to be — more difficult than it needs to be.  (Applause.)

For example, we will make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to file their taxes, similar — (applause) — similar to how individuals can take a standard deduction.  You know, I said to my team, kind of like — now, I’m going to date myself again, because they no longer do it — but kind of like — you remember the 1040EZ?  Like, that kind of idea, right?  Like, let’s just take away some of the bureaucracy in the process to make it easier for people to actually do something that’s going to benefit our entire economy.

Third — (applause) — third, my plan will invest in small businesses and innovators throughout America, and here’s why.  We know that talent exists everywhere in our country, from rural towns to city centers.  But not everyone has access to the financing, to venture capital, or expert advice.  It’s not that they don’t have the skills, it’s not that they don’t have the work ethic; it’s access to these resources.

So, under my plan, we will expand access to venture capital.  We will support innovation hubs and business incubators.  (Applause.)  And we will increase federal contracts with small businesses.  (Applause.)  And we will have a particular focus on small businesses in rural communities, like right here in New Hampshire.  (Applause.)

Finally, my plan will make our tax code more fair, while also prioritizing investment and innovation. 

So, let us be clear: Billionaires and big corporations must pay their fair share in taxes.  (Applause.)  Because here is the thing — here is the thing.  It’s just not right that those who can most afford it are often paying a lower tax rate than our teachers and our nurses and our firefighters.  (Applause.)  It’s just not right.  It’s just not right.

So, that’s why I support a billionaire minimum tax and corporations paying their fair share.  (Applause.)  And while we ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, we will tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America’s innovators, founders, and small businesses.  (Applause.)

So, here’s the detail.  If you earn a million dollars a year or more, the tax rate on your long-term capital gains will be 28 percent under my plan, because we know when the government encourages investment, it leads to broad-based economic growth and it creates jobs, which makes our economy stronger.  (Applause.) 

Now compare that to what Donald Trump plans.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He intends to cut off federal programs that give loans to small businesses.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts and to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  His plans will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt, and that is on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he gave them when he was president and when he exploded the deficit.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We know how to count.  (Laughter.)  We know how to count.

And now he also wants to impose what, in effect, is a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities, which will skyrocket the cost for families and small businesses. 

And, New Hampshire, on top of all of this, if Donald Trump were to win in November, he intends to end the Affordable Care Act —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which would significantly increase costs on small businesses, as we know —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Lock him up!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and — well, you know what?  The courts are going to handle that, and we will handle November.  How about that?  (Applause.)  How about that?  (Laughs.) 

That’s how we’ll handle that.  How about that?  (Applause.)

But think about it.  He wants to end the Affordable Care Act, taking us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was?  Children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes. 

So, yeah, look, we are here to tell him and them: We are not going back.  (Applause.)  We’re not going back.

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re not going back.  We’re not going back.

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No, we are not, and we will move forward, because ours is a fight for the future.  (Applause.)  And — and it is a fight for freedom.  (Applause.)  And it is a fight for freedom.

Now, I don’t have to tell the folks of New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state.  (Applause.)  You know the importance of individual freedoms, fundamental freedoms.  You know how hard people fought for these freedoms and that they are foundational to who we are and what we stand for as America, including the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

And understand how we got here.  Understand how we got here.  And, of course, we’re not going to fall for the gaslighting he’s pushing, right?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  When he was president, Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And as he intended, they did.  And now, in more than 20 states in our nation, there is a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral — immoral.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let us agree, and I know we do: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.) 

And if he wins — and if he wins, you can be sure Donald Trump will go further, and he will sign a national abortion ban.  And — and you know Project 2025, which I just —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I mean, can you believe they put that thing in writing?  (Laughter.) 

And under Project 2025, he would create a national antiabortion coordinator, which would force states — I mean, this is unbelievable, right? — which would force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know what they are making really quite clear?  They just don’t trust women.  They just don’t trust women. 

But we trust women.  (Applause.)  We trust women.

And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.) 

Across our nation —

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  (Inaudible.) 

Across our nation — across our nation — and I’ve been traveling for many, many mo- — well, years, actually, and certainly months, most recently.  Across our nation, I’m telling you, we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights, including the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence —

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water —

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  (Applause.) 

And so, here’s what I don’t have to tell the folks of New Hampshire, because you know it so well, it’s part of your DNA.  Generations of Americans before us, they fought for freedom and they led the fight for freedom in our country.  And now the baton is in our hands.  The baton is in our hands.

So, let us understand, which we do, our purpose at this very moment.  Let us remember the broad shoulders upon which we stand and the traditions of this very fight that have led to what we have been able to accomplish. 

And let us understand, then, that when we say “fight,” it is a fight for something, not against something.  It is for something.  (Applause.)  That’s what we’re talking about when we talk about a new way forward.  This is for something. 

And so, as an example, let us finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.  (Applause.)  Let us finally pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks and red flag laws — (applause) — because we are clear, on that point, it is a false choice to say you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.  I’m in favor of the Second Amendment, and I know we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country.  (Applause.)

And there’s another point that I’d like to stress about this election in ‘24.  This is not 2016 or 2020.  The stakes are even higher this time for a number of reasons, but I’m going to mention one, in particular: what the Supreme Court recently did when they basically just told the former president that, going forward, he will effectively be immune, no matter what he does in the White House.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But let’s take this seriously and understand what it means.  Before, at least, there might have been the threat that there would be consequence and accountability.  With that ruling, what this means is that almost explicitly, he has been told no consequence. 

And imagine — just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.  Just imagine with no guardrails. 

He has openly vowed to be a dictator on day one.  He has said he would end the independence of the Department of Justice — the United States Department of Justice —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — so he could have the unchecked power to seek vengeance against people who disagree with him. 

He even called for — I’m going to quote now — the “termination” of the Constitution of the United States of America.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let us be very clear: Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States of America should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.  (Applause.)  Never again.

So, I’ll end where I started.  When it comes down to it, we are all here together because we love our country.  We love our country, and we know the privilege — the privilege and pride that comes with being an American. 

And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country.  That is how we realize the promise of America.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right. 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so, with that being said, I ask: New Hampshire, are you ready to have your voices heard?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in freedom?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in opportunity?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.)

And when we fight —

AUDIENCE:  We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win!

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

                     END                3:33 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event| North Hampton, NH appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

4:04 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Eduardo here.  Thanks so much for joining today’s call.  As a reminder, this call is on background, attributable to a senior administration official.

For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official]. 

The goal of this call is to provide an overview of our efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages. 

I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] for a few words at the top, and then we’ll take your questions. 

Over to you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, everybody.  Thanks.  Thanks for joining. 

We wanted to just, to the extent we can — and it’s always risky in the middle of a negotiation — but given that there’s just so much out there about this process, and after just the horrific events of the weekend which we’ve all been grappling with, just to provide the opportunity to bring you all a little bit more inside the actual negotiation and what’s actually on the table, what has been worked out, and what is still being discussed. 

So, if you could just indulge me here for about five minutes, I thought it’d be useful for me and us to go through just where we are and try to help clarify, you know, any outstanding questions and what we’re trying to do. 

So let me just — obviously, this has been a negotiation that’s been going on for many months.  As I think we’ve said before, it is a complex arrangement. 

There are three primary components.  One is the humanitarian and the benefits for Gazans that are kind of woven throughout this deal.  That’s one part.  The second part is a prisoner exchange; that is the hostages for Palestinian prisoners.  And the third part are the ceasefire arrangements for what those arrangements will look like and including some redeployment of Israeli forces and the phasing, which I think you’re familiar with.  But those are basically the three components of the deal.

The deal has 18 total paragraphs.  Fourteen of those paragraphs are finished and, I have to say, are identical.  You’ll sometimes hear Hamas say they agreed to a deal on July 2nd.  Let me just explain that.  There’s 18 paragraphs; 14 paragraphs are identical.  One paragraph has a very technical fix, and the other three paragraphs have to do with the exchange of prisoners to hostages, which even Hamas’s own text of July 2nd explicitly says it has to still be negotiated. 

So, basically, 90 percent of this deal has been agreed, and it’s been agreed on terms that even Hamas had in their own proposal.

On the humanitarian benefits — and I just — I wanted to go through this, what is already in the agreement, because I think this is somewhat lost in the debate of, if this deal goes forward, if Hamas agrees to release hostages, just what happens in Gaza. 

So what is in the deal?  You might remember the November deal.  There was a requirement of 200 trucks of aid a day getting into Gaza.  Again, this can happen because a ceasefire enables the movement of humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers in a ceasefire condition.  Obviously much different than

conditions that you have with an ongoing conflict. 

So in the November deal, the target of 200 trucks a day.  In this deal — and again, this is all explicit in the deal and ready to go, because we’ve done an extraordinary amount of work to get ready for this — 600 trucks of aid a day.  That would include about 50 trucks of fuel.  So just over the first 42 days of the deal in phase one, if you do the math, you’re talking 25,000 trucks of assistance and aid for Gazans. 

Also in the deal:

• The immediate entry of equipment to clear rubble, as well as rehabilitation of hospitals, medical centers, bakeries across the Gaza Strip.
• The rehabilitation of infrastructure, electricity, water, sewage, communications, and roads in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
• The entry of supplies to support the internally displaced.  That includes no less than 60,000 temporary homes, 200,000 tents.
• Freedom of movement for civilians internally displaced.  Full access for U.N. and other humanitarian organizations in all areas of the Gaza Strip.

I go through that because I was struck by some news stories

today kind of interviewing Gazans about how they feel about the Philadelphi Corridor, without any context of what is actually, like, in this deal and immediate relief for Gazans.  And I’ll get to the Philadelphi Corridor in a second.

But just the provisions in this deal, interwoven throughout — which have been agreed and are ready to go if, again, hostages will be released — and the relief for Gazans, who are undergoing this hell on Earth, as we’ve called it, which is very true, is extraordinary, it would be immediate, and it’s ready to go.

The second component of the deal, which is quite complicated, is the prisoner exchange.  And we have now — we really spent most of last week on this issue in Doha.  And the terms of the deal — you would have hundreds of Palestinian prisoners coming out in exchange for the hostages, give or take 800 or so, including some very significant prisoners, including some with life sentences.  I won’t go into all the details of that. 

But, basically, what Hamas has been demanding here, the Israelis have come forward to meet the terms as best they can.  And Hamas, frankly, on this issue, we’ve had a pretty frustrating process.  And until that is worked out, you’re not going to have a deal, because that is a component — central component of the deal. 

And I have to say, as we were negotiating last week off a list of hostages, we now have fewer hostages because six hostages were executed.  And I just think that is something that we have to take full account of and why we have always been focused on the accountability for Hamas.  It’s something that is obviously urgent in all of our efforts but is even more so after what happened over this weekend.  It’s totally outrageous the execution of hostages that we were negotiating to release

in a tunnel underneath Rafah.

But that is the prisoner exchange component of the deal, which is central to it, which has been under negotiation, and which, you know, there was some progress on last week, but is difficult and requires Hamas to engage on it.  Otherwise, you just can’t move forward. 

There’s also a provision for the exit of wounded, not only civilians, but the exit of wounded Hamas militants — that is a part of the deal — for treatment and aid.  Can get out of Gaza for that.  That is in the deal; something they demanded.  And it’s in the deal. 

Let’s talk about the ceasefire arrangements.  The ceasefire arrangements I think you’re familiar with, if you follow this. It is a three-phase process.  First phase is 42 days, but that can continue.  As the President laid out in May, that is still very much in the deal.  So long as after 42 days there are talks going on to set the conditions for phase two, all the ceasefire conditions, all the humanitarian conditions I just mentioned all remain in place.

So, as soon as this deal starts, you have a full and complete stop to the war.  You have a commitment from the mediators to help support those indirect talks to get to phase two.  And phase two is a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. 

Now, in phase one, it is not a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and it never has been.  It is a withdrawal of all Israeli forces out of densely populated areas.  And you have — maps have been produced.  There are really two maps, one of which is agreed, on the Wadi — what’s known as the Wadi Gaza corridor in the north; that is very much mapped out in the agreement. 

Nothing in the agreement mentions the Philadelphi Corridor.  What the agreement says is they withdraw from all densely populated areas.  And a dispute emerged whether the Philadelphi Corridor, which is effectively a road on the border of Gaza and Egypt, is a densely populated area.  So, based on that dispute, the Israelis, over the course of the last couple weeks, produced a proposal by which they would significantly reduce their presence on the corridor — and I think John Kirby addressed this a little bit yesterday — a fairly significant reduction, but outside densely populated areas, which is technically consistent with the deal.  But, of course, you don’t have a deal until there’s an agreement. 

So that’s an issue that has remained in dispute and then has become a bit of a political debate in Israel.  So that is an issue that’s in dispute, and there’s the issue of the prisoner exchange that’s in dispute.  Other than that, that’s about it. 

So, that is basically where this negotiation stands.

Now, before the events of this weekend, we had been working together with Egypt and Qatar on, kind of, the — particularly the arrangements of the prisoner exchange and putting together a package by which you would basically have everything worked out, the nuts and bolts of the deal, as I think Jake called it very accurately last week.  And we were working through that, and then, of course, we had the execution over the weekend, which has kind of changed the character of some of that discussion, to say the least. 

But that is basically where we’ve been.  It’s where we are.  We still see this deal, this very complex but necessary arrangement, as really the most viable, perhaps the only viable option for saving the lives of the hostages, stopping the war, bringing immediate relief to Gazans, and also making sure we fully account for Israel’s security.  We think this deal does all that.  We are still committed to doing all we can to try to get it done.  But again, I’m not going to make any predictions on this call.

And the execution of hostages over the weekend is something that, as I said, is basically coloring the discussions.  I think that’s true.  It has brought a sense of urgency to the process, but it’s also called into question Hamas’s readiness to do a deal of any kind. 

So, with that, I will turn it over to questions. 

But I just wanted to kind of take some time, given I know you’re all reporting on this in various ways and there’s so much out there, to just kind of go through a little bit more what is actually in this deal, what’s not in the deal, and what we’re trying to do. 

So, I’ll turn it over to questions. 

MODERATOR:  Thanks, [senior administration official].  We’ve got time for a few questions. 

First up, we’ll go to the line of Aamer.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Can you hear me all right?  Hey.  So, the — 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.

Q    On — you mentioned before the events of the weekend.  I just wanted to clarify: Is essentially the Israelis saying because there are just fewer hostages left, what Hamas will get in return has to be less? 

And then secondly, I was hoping you could just address: Is capacity a concern on how the U.S. can help Israel in the long term on this if this just continues to go on and on?  And has that been conveyed?  You know, there’s other parts — there’s (inaudible) of hotspots, and you have two aircraft carrier battle groups now in the Mediterranean.  How long can that go on?  And has any of that, sort of, sense of “capacity won’t last forever” been conveyed to the Israelis?  Thank you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  On your second question: No, we’re very much we can have a sustainable forward posture in the Middle East.  We can shift to other parts of the world when we need to.  We have a very dynamic — one thing our military does that is extraordinary: its ability to move fast, quickly, in a very dynamic way, together with partners.  That’s something I think we’ve demonstrated throughout this crisis; we’ve demonstrated in other theaters. 

And now we are — one of our primary aims at the beginning of this was to contain this conflict to Gaza.  That remains the case.  I have to say, many enemies of Israel, the Iranians and others, that was not their intent in the beginning and have still been looking for ways to potentially expand the conflict. 

But I think we’ve done a pretty good job here through diplomacy, a lot of back-channel diplomacy and deterrence — because without the deterrence, the diplomacy is not going to work — to try to ensure that we — as we work for the ceasefire, which, you know, I think everyone wants to see, and the hostage release, we’re also maintaining a deterrent posture.  That deterrent posture will adjust, then go up and down over time depending on events and also depending on other circumstances.  But we are ready and able to sustain what we’re doing.

On the number of hostages, you know, it’s a good question.  I mean, having been involved in these negotiations, there’s a list of hostages, and we all have it, and Hamas has had it, and all the parties have had it, and there’s now fewer names on the list.  And, you know, it’s horrific.  And Hamas is threatening to execute more hostages. 

So, I just — this cannot be lost in what we’re dealing with here.  We all knew who we’re dealing with; we’re dealing with a terrorist group.  But, you know, it does mean, in terms of the exchange, obviously, I just mentioned there’s — you know, for each hostage, there’s a certain number of Palestinian prisoners that will come out, so you just have fewer hostages as part of the deal in phase one.  It’s tragic and awful, and, you know, it’s affecting all of us.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Julian Barnes. 

Q    Hi.  Thanks for taking the question.  When do you think Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. will be able to submit a bridging proposal on the corridor and the prisoners?

And in the prisoner case, how much is the veto over people with life sentences an issue?  Or do you have a way forward to resolve or find a place on the veto?

And with the Philadelphi Corridor, is it really just about phase one, because subsequent phases would have no presence?  Or is this really both about the phase one drawdown and longer-term presence in phase two?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Julian.  So, on the first, let me kind of put that into context.  So you asked about the veto for life sentences.  So there are, give or take,

500 life sentences in Palestinian and Israeli prisons. Obviously, the number that would come out in phase one will be a fraction of that.  That number had more or less been agreed to many months ago, including in a part of an agreement that Hamas put out many months ago.  And the Israelis, obviously, will have some say and will have — in determining who those prisoners will be in the first phase. 

So they have what’s called a veto, for lack of a better word, just in terms of certain prisoners will not come out, particularly in this first phase.  And also, you need — that’s important because in phase two — again, just to rewind this a little bit: Phase one we’re talking about all women hostages will come out — that includes a number of women soldiers; all men over 50; and all ill and wounded hostages. 

And I don’t want to get into numbers, but there’s not a significant number of those hostages who are still alive and need to get out of Gaza.  So there will be a subset of the total number of life sentences, and that has been part of the negotiation for some time.  There’s not — the principle of the veto is not an issue.  It’s kind of the numbers and how you categorize.

So I don’t see that as a major stumbling block.  However, Hamas has been putting some things on the table.  Obviously, there have been complete non-starters when it comes to the exchange, and they’re different than what has been agreed months ago.

So, on the Philadelphi Corridor, as I mentioned, phase one, what the agreement says is out of densely populated areas.  Phase two is — over the course of phase two, a full Israeli withdrawal, and the conditions of that would be negotiated over phase one.  So we’re really talking here about phase one, about what that configuration will look like.  And the Israelis put an offer down on the table a couple weeks ago, and, you know, we’re still continuing to work through that. 

I have to say, we’re not at the — it’s not like there’s basically an agreement to be had.  It’s done but for that issue.  I mean, sometimes I’ve seen it characterized that way.  That’s not — that’s not where we are.  That’d be an easier problem to have.  That’s not where we are.  Because the prisoner exchange issue is — also has to be worked out. 

So there’s a couple things here that we still need to conclude to have a deal.  But I just — the discussion of the configuration on the Philadelphi Corridor has been a phase one discussion.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Trevor Hunnicutt.

Q    Thanks for doing this.  Could you talk a little bit about what kind of timing we’re looking at for new language being put on the table and what that new language will look like in terms of the Philadelphi Corridor?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, the whole — the packet — the package deal is a text, which, as I mentioned up front, is basically done other than, really, down to two paragraphs; is a annex of the prisoner exchange; and two maps showing redeployment of forces over the course of phase one.  That’s what the package is.

Our bridging proposal of August 16th basically tried to put this together in a way, particularly bridging the gaps on the prisoner exchange, and I think went pretty far in that direction and finally opened up the actual discussion of names and how that would go, including a list of hostages, which is fundamental here.  We need agreement on who the hostages are and who’s coming out. 

So that’s what we’ve been working on, and so that’s what the package will have.  I don’t want to get in — just the timing and everything else, I’m not going to make a prediction here.  We’re going to try to get this right.  We all feel the urgency, but we also, and especially after what happened last weekend, you know, it just — as I mentioned it, it changed the character of the discussion. 

But we do want to try to get something together and in consultation with our fellow mediators, who are still consulting with Hamas on a daily basis, and, of course, in our discussions with the Israelis.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Alex Marquardt.

Q    Thank you, guys.  And thanks for all this detail — it really does help out — especially on the Philadelphi Corridor, which, of course, Netanyahu has really been focused on in the past few days.  And, in turn, that had seemed like the major sticking point.  As you’ve laid out, it’s not as much.  Phase one is not a full withdrawal. 

But generally speaking, do you think that the Prime Minister’s focus on this maximalist position of never leaving Philadelphi is getting in the way of getting at least phase one off the ground, getting at least some of the hostages out? 

And then, if I could: When the mediators are speaking with Hamas and they submit their answers and responses, do you know to what extent those are coming from Sinwar himself?  Can you characterize his involvement in the most recent negotiations?  Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll be careful with how I characterize the — I’ve never been involved in a negotiation where, basically, every day there’s a public statement about the details of the negotiation, because it makes it difficult, especially in a hostage negotiation.

You know, so in my view, the less is said about particular issues, the better, as we work through it.  And, you know, staking out concrete positions in the middle of a negotiation isn’t always particularly helpful.

But I do want to clarify that — and as I think I’ve tried to do — that it’s not like that’s the only issue.  And what the agreement says — there’s a legitimate debate about densely populated areas and what that looks like.  Okay? 

So — and I will also say: However this agreement comes out, and if we’re fortunate enough to get this done and see the hostages coming home, we, as the United States of America, are going to make sure and certain that Israel’s security is a primary interest in this deal.  I have seen some Israeli ministers say this deal somehow would sacrifice Israel’s security.  That is just fundamentally, totally untrue. 

We have taken account of Israel’s security concerns in this negotiation.  And, if anything, I would argue that not getting into this deal is more of a threat to Israel’s long-term security than actually concluding the deal.  And, frankly, that includes on the issues of the Philadelphi Corridor and the border with Egypt and everything else. 

So, I started going so long with it.  I think it’s just important context.

Yeah, and you’ve raised another difficult issue.  Sinwar is — you know, as we know, Hamas leaders are living deep underground, in tunnels, as the civilians in Gaza are not allowed in the tunnels.  So they’re living in tunnels.  Hostages are in tunnels.  And I think just provides a context to this awful conflict and the nature of Hamas and also the nature of a negotiation like this, because, ultimately, the final decision-maker is Sinwar.  That was true before Haniyeh; it’s true now. 

So, that means things have to go in to him.  It also means that you don’t want to go in issue by issue; that’d take forever.  It’s kind of the package.  So, you submit the package.  So that’s what we’re trying to get to so you can get a final answer of whatever the — you know, we did that with the bridging proposal.  Done that a couple other times.  And we’ll probably do that here in the — as we kind of make some adjustments.

MODERATOR:  Last question will go to Karen DeYoung. 

Karen, you should be able to unmute yourself.  All right, we’ll —

Q    I’m sorry, (inaudible).  I didn’t recognize he was picking my name.

Hi, [senior administration official].  Thank you.  Did I understand you correctly where you said that the Philadelphi Corridor, or at least parts of it, are outside the densely populated areas, as they are described in the original framework?  That’s first of all. 

And has that — is what you’re saying is that you believe, therefore, that certain parts of the corridor could — Israeli troops could remain there?  And has that always been the U.S. position, or is it just since late July when Israel specified that it wanted to stay there?

And also, does — that seems contrary to what other officials have said here, you know, that — the State Department, they said yesterday, all densely populated areas includes the Philadelphi Corridor.  So I wonder if you could clarify that. 

And also, if you could address the question of the possibility of a U.S.-trained Palestinian force or any other force with EU monitors, or any other way, being used to address some of Israel’s concerns along the border.  Is that on the table?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, so the — it’s a road.  There are areas in which the Rafah city kind of juts up against it.  This has been an extensive part of the negotiation of what is densely populated and what’s not.  And so, yeah, there are configurations.  And, in fact, I think what the Israelis put on the table a couple weeks ago is a significant reduction in the force that’s there now.  And we have a map that kind of lays that out.  And I think it’s consistent with the agreement.  However, actually, we’re, as the U.S. position, not going to — our position is we need a deal.  And so, until you have a deal, you don’t have a deal.

So, you know, if Israel has to make some additional adjustments on whatever issue to try to get a deal, and it’s within reason and doesn’t jeopardize Israel’s security, I think they should get a deal.  Same thing on the Hamas side.  There are things Hamas needs to do to deliver a deal here, and it’s on Qatar and Egypt to work with them to do that. 

So, you know, I just want to be very clear: The agreement says what it says.  There is a proposal from Israel that was put on the table a couple weeks ago.  It’s a significant reduction in forces along the corridor.  Kind of maps it out where Israeli forces would be, would not be, in what I think anyone would consider a densely populated area.  It’s got a significant reduction of forces.

At the same time, until you have an agreement, you don’t have an agreement.  Until you have an agreement, the hostages are not coming home and the war doesn’t stop.  So, you know, I think that’s the reality that we’re all grappling with, or we’re trying to find a formula that can ultimately work, which also gets to your second question.

We feel pretty confident about the security arrangements around the corridor.  And, obviously, this is Egypt’s border as well.  We have had deep discussions with the Egyptians on the security of their border.  They want that border to be secure.  They do not want any smuggling across that border.  There are things, obviously, the United States can do to support Egypt as we support our other partners.  So, we have done a lot of work here over the last four to five months, particularly on this question. 

And so, we think we can fully account for Israel’s security needs on that corridor in ways that would be almost unprecedented, and that does not require some alternative security force just because of the nature of the border.  Kind of west of the — west of the Rafah crossing, you have a very secure — pretty secure border.  You have to have arrangements in place to detect against tunnels and other things, but you have a very secure border. 

Again, at the Rafah crossing, we believe we have worked out arrangements at the Rafah crossing for phase one, arrangements that allow the effective operation of that crossing for purposes of the deal.  And then east of the Rafah crossing is from Rafah to Kerem Shalom.  It’s kind of a different situation, and there’s really not densely populated areas there. 

So, in any case, that’s kind of where we are on the issue care.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, everyone.  That’s all the time we have for today.  I know there are some remaining questions.  Feel free to reach out to the team, and we’ll get back to you. 

Thanks to [senior administration official] and everyone for joining.  We’ll talk again soon.

4:33 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call on Efforts to Secure the Release of Hostages in Gaza appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

4:04 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Eduardo here.  Thanks so much for joining today’s call.  As a reminder, this call is on background, attributable to a senior administration official.

For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official]. 

The goal of this call is to provide an overview of our efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages. 

I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] for a few words at the top, and then we’ll take your questions. 

Over to you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, everybody.  Thanks.  Thanks for joining. 

We wanted to just, to the extent we can — and it’s always risky in the middle of a negotiation — but given that there’s just so much out there about this process, and after just the horrific events of the weekend which we’ve all been grappling with, just to provide the opportunity to bring you all a little bit more inside the actual negotiation and what’s actually on the table, what has been worked out, and what is still being discussed. 

So, if you could just indulge me here for about five minutes, I thought it’d be useful for me and us to go through just where we are and try to help clarify, you know, any outstanding questions and what we’re trying to do. 

So let me just — obviously, this has been a negotiation that’s been going on for many months.  As I think we’ve said before, it is a complex arrangement. 

There are three primary components.  One is the humanitarian and the benefits for Gazans that are kind of woven throughout this deal.  That’s one part.  The second part is a prisoner exchange; that is the hostages for Palestinian prisoners.  And the third part are the ceasefire arrangements for what those arrangements will look like and including some redeployment of Israeli forces and the phasing, which I think you’re familiar with.  But those are basically the three components of the deal.

The deal has 18 total paragraphs.  Fourteen of those paragraphs are finished and, I have to say, are identical.  You’ll sometimes hear Hamas say they agreed to a deal on July 2nd.  Let me just explain that.  There’s 18 paragraphs; 14 paragraphs are identical.  One paragraph has a very technical fix, and the other three paragraphs have to do with the exchange of prisoners to hostages, which even Hamas’s own text of July 2nd explicitly says it has to still be negotiated. 

So, basically, 90 percent of this deal has been agreed, and it’s been agreed on terms that even Hamas had in their own proposal.

On the humanitarian benefits — and I just — I wanted to go through this, what is already in the agreement, because I think this is somewhat lost in the debate of, if this deal goes forward, if Hamas agrees to release hostages, just what happens in Gaza. 

So what is in the deal?  You might remember the November deal.  There was a requirement of 200 trucks of aid a day getting into Gaza.  Again, this can happen because a ceasefire enables the movement of humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers in a ceasefire condition.  Obviously much different than

conditions that you have with an ongoing conflict. 

So in the November deal, the target of 200 trucks a day.  In this deal — and again, this is all explicit in the deal and ready to go, because we’ve done an extraordinary amount of work to get ready for this — 600 trucks of aid a day.  That would include about 50 trucks of fuel.  So just over the first 42 days of the deal in phase one, if you do the math, you’re talking 25,000 trucks of assistance and aid for Gazans. 

Also in the deal:

• The immediate entry of equipment to clear rubble, as well as rehabilitation of hospitals, medical centers, bakeries across the Gaza Strip.
• The rehabilitation of infrastructure, electricity, water, sewage, communications, and roads in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
• The entry of supplies to support the internally displaced.  That includes no less than 60,000 temporary homes, 200,000 tents.
• Freedom of movement for civilians internally displaced.  Full access for U.N. and other humanitarian organizations in all areas of the Gaza Strip.

I go through that because I was struck by some news stories

today kind of interviewing Gazans about how they feel about the Philadelphi Corridor, without any context of what is actually, like, in this deal and immediate relief for Gazans.  And I’ll get to the Philadelphi Corridor in a second.

But just the provisions in this deal, interwoven throughout — which have been agreed and are ready to go if, again, hostages will be released — and the relief for Gazans, who are undergoing this hell on Earth, as we’ve called it, which is very true, is extraordinary, it would be immediate, and it’s ready to go.

The second component of the deal, which is quite complicated, is the prisoner exchange.  And we have now — we really spent most of last week on this issue in Doha.  And the terms of the deal — you would have hundreds of Palestinian prisoners coming out in exchange for the hostages, give or take 800 or so, including some very significant prisoners, including some with life sentences.  I won’t go into all the details of that. 

But, basically, what Hamas has been demanding here, the Israelis have come forward to meet the terms as best they can.  And Hamas, frankly, on this issue, we’ve had a pretty frustrating process.  And until that is worked out, you’re not going to have a deal, because that is a component — central component of the deal. 

And I have to say, as we were negotiating last week off a list of hostages, we now have fewer hostages because six hostages were executed.  And I just think that is something that we have to take full account of and why we have always been focused on the accountability for Hamas.  It’s something that is obviously urgent in all of our efforts but is even more so after what happened over this weekend.  It’s totally outrageous the execution of hostages that we were negotiating to release

in a tunnel underneath Rafah.

But that is the prisoner exchange component of the deal, which is central to it, which has been under negotiation, and which, you know, there was some progress on last week, but is difficult and requires Hamas to engage on it.  Otherwise, you just can’t move forward. 

There’s also a provision for the exit of wounded, not only civilians, but the exit of wounded Hamas militants — that is a part of the deal — for treatment and aid.  Can get out of Gaza for that.  That is in the deal; something they demanded.  And it’s in the deal. 

Let’s talk about the ceasefire arrangements.  The ceasefire arrangements I think you’re familiar with, if you follow this. It is a three-phase process.  First phase is 42 days, but that can continue.  As the President laid out in May, that is still very much in the deal.  So long as after 42 days there are talks going on to set the conditions for phase two, all the ceasefire conditions, all the humanitarian conditions I just mentioned all remain in place.

So, as soon as this deal starts, you have a full and complete stop to the war.  You have a commitment from the mediators to help support those indirect talks to get to phase two.  And phase two is a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. 

Now, in phase one, it is not a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and it never has been.  It is a withdrawal of all Israeli forces out of densely populated areas.  And you have — maps have been produced.  There are really two maps, one of which is agreed, on the Wadi — what’s known as the Wadi Gaza corridor in the north; that is very much mapped out in the agreement. 

Nothing in the agreement mentions the Philadelphi Corridor.  What the agreement says is they withdraw from all densely populated areas.  And a dispute emerged whether the Philadelphi Corridor, which is effectively a road on the border of Gaza and Egypt, is a densely populated area.  So, based on that dispute, the Israelis, over the course of the last couple weeks, produced a proposal by which they would significantly reduce their presence on the corridor — and I think John Kirby addressed this a little bit yesterday — a fairly significant reduction, but outside densely populated areas, which is technically consistent with the deal.  But, of course, you don’t have a deal until there’s an agreement. 

So that’s an issue that has remained in dispute and then has become a bit of a political debate in Israel.  So that is an issue that’s in dispute, and there’s the issue of the prisoner exchange that’s in dispute.  Other than that, that’s about it. 

So, that is basically where this negotiation stands.

Now, before the events of this weekend, we had been working together with Egypt and Qatar on, kind of, the — particularly the arrangements of the prisoner exchange and putting together a package by which you would basically have everything worked out, the nuts and bolts of the deal, as I think Jake called it very accurately last week.  And we were working through that, and then, of course, we had the execution over the weekend, which has kind of changed the character of some of that discussion, to say the least. 

But that is basically where we’ve been.  It’s where we are.  We still see this deal, this very complex but necessary arrangement, as really the most viable, perhaps the only viable option for saving the lives of the hostages, stopping the war, bringing immediate relief to Gazans, and also making sure we fully account for Israel’s security.  We think this deal does all that.  We are still committed to doing all we can to try to get it done.  But again, I’m not going to make any predictions on this call.

And the execution of hostages over the weekend is something that, as I said, is basically coloring the discussions.  I think that’s true.  It has brought a sense of urgency to the process, but it’s also called into question Hamas’s readiness to do a deal of any kind. 

So, with that, I will turn it over to questions. 

But I just wanted to kind of take some time, given I know you’re all reporting on this in various ways and there’s so much out there, to just kind of go through a little bit more what is actually in this deal, what’s not in the deal, and what we’re trying to do. 

So, I’ll turn it over to questions. 

MODERATOR:  Thanks, [senior administration official].  We’ve got time for a few questions. 

First up, we’ll go to the line of Aamer.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Can you hear me all right?  Hey.  So, the — 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.

Q    On — you mentioned before the events of the weekend.  I just wanted to clarify: Is essentially the Israelis saying because there are just fewer hostages left, what Hamas will get in return has to be less? 

And then secondly, I was hoping you could just address: Is capacity a concern on how the U.S. can help Israel in the long term on this if this just continues to go on and on?  And has that been conveyed?  You know, there’s other parts — there’s (inaudible) of hotspots, and you have two aircraft carrier battle groups now in the Mediterranean.  How long can that go on?  And has any of that, sort of, sense of “capacity won’t last forever” been conveyed to the Israelis?  Thank you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  On your second question: No, we’re very much we can have a sustainable forward posture in the Middle East.  We can shift to other parts of the world when we need to.  We have a very dynamic — one thing our military does that is extraordinary: its ability to move fast, quickly, in a very dynamic way, together with partners.  That’s something I think we’ve demonstrated throughout this crisis; we’ve demonstrated in other theaters. 

And now we are — one of our primary aims at the beginning of this was to contain this conflict to Gaza.  That remains the case.  I have to say, many enemies of Israel, the Iranians and others, that was not their intent in the beginning and have still been looking for ways to potentially expand the conflict. 

But I think we’ve done a pretty good job here through diplomacy, a lot of back-channel diplomacy and deterrence — because without the deterrence, the diplomacy is not going to work — to try to ensure that we — as we work for the ceasefire, which, you know, I think everyone wants to see, and the hostage release, we’re also maintaining a deterrent posture.  That deterrent posture will adjust, then go up and down over time depending on events and also depending on other circumstances.  But we are ready and able to sustain what we’re doing.

On the number of hostages, you know, it’s a good question.  I mean, having been involved in these negotiations, there’s a list of hostages, and we all have it, and Hamas has had it, and all the parties have had it, and there’s now fewer names on the list.  And, you know, it’s horrific.  And Hamas is threatening to execute more hostages. 

So, I just — this cannot be lost in what we’re dealing with here.  We all knew who we’re dealing with; we’re dealing with a terrorist group.  But, you know, it does mean, in terms of the exchange, obviously, I just mentioned there’s — you know, for each hostage, there’s a certain number of Palestinian prisoners that will come out, so you just have fewer hostages as part of the deal in phase one.  It’s tragic and awful, and, you know, it’s affecting all of us.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Julian Barnes. 

Q    Hi.  Thanks for taking the question.  When do you think Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. will be able to submit a bridging proposal on the corridor and the prisoners?

And in the prisoner case, how much is the veto over people with life sentences an issue?  Or do you have a way forward to resolve or find a place on the veto?

And with the Philadelphi Corridor, is it really just about phase one, because subsequent phases would have no presence?  Or is this really both about the phase one drawdown and longer-term presence in phase two?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Julian.  So, on the first, let me kind of put that into context.  So you asked about the veto for life sentences.  So there are, give or take,

500 life sentences in Palestinian and Israeli prisons. Obviously, the number that would come out in phase one will be a fraction of that.  That number had more or less been agreed to many months ago, including in a part of an agreement that Hamas put out many months ago.  And the Israelis, obviously, will have some say and will have — in determining who those prisoners will be in the first phase. 

So they have what’s called a veto, for lack of a better word, just in terms of certain prisoners will not come out, particularly in this first phase.  And also, you need — that’s important because in phase two — again, just to rewind this a little bit: Phase one we’re talking about all women hostages will come out — that includes a number of women soldiers; all men over 50; and all ill and wounded hostages. 

And I don’t want to get into numbers, but there’s not a significant number of those hostages who are still alive and need to get out of Gaza.  So there will be a subset of the total number of life sentences, and that has been part of the negotiation for some time.  There’s not — the principle of the veto is not an issue.  It’s kind of the numbers and how you categorize.

So I don’t see that as a major stumbling block.  However, Hamas has been putting some things on the table.  Obviously, there have been complete non-starters when it comes to the exchange, and they’re different than what has been agreed months ago.

So, on the Philadelphi Corridor, as I mentioned, phase one, what the agreement says is out of densely populated areas.  Phase two is — over the course of phase two, a full Israeli withdrawal, and the conditions of that would be negotiated over phase one.  So we’re really talking here about phase one, about what that configuration will look like.  And the Israelis put an offer down on the table a couple weeks ago, and, you know, we’re still continuing to work through that. 

I have to say, we’re not at the — it’s not like there’s basically an agreement to be had.  It’s done but for that issue.  I mean, sometimes I’ve seen it characterized that way.  That’s not — that’s not where we are.  That’d be an easier problem to have.  That’s not where we are.  Because the prisoner exchange issue is — also has to be worked out. 

So there’s a couple things here that we still need to conclude to have a deal.  But I just — the discussion of the configuration on the Philadelphi Corridor has been a phase one discussion.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Trevor Hunnicutt.

Q    Thanks for doing this.  Could you talk a little bit about what kind of timing we’re looking at for new language being put on the table and what that new language will look like in terms of the Philadelphi Corridor?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, the whole — the packet — the package deal is a text, which, as I mentioned up front, is basically done other than, really, down to two paragraphs; is a annex of the prisoner exchange; and two maps showing redeployment of forces over the course of phase one.  That’s what the package is.

Our bridging proposal of August 16th basically tried to put this together in a way, particularly bridging the gaps on the prisoner exchange, and I think went pretty far in that direction and finally opened up the actual discussion of names and how that would go, including a list of hostages, which is fundamental here.  We need agreement on who the hostages are and who’s coming out. 

So that’s what we’ve been working on, and so that’s what the package will have.  I don’t want to get in — just the timing and everything else, I’m not going to make a prediction here.  We’re going to try to get this right.  We all feel the urgency, but we also, and especially after what happened last weekend, you know, it just — as I mentioned it, it changed the character of the discussion. 

But we do want to try to get something together and in consultation with our fellow mediators, who are still consulting with Hamas on a daily basis, and, of course, in our discussions with the Israelis.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Alex Marquardt.

Q    Thank you, guys.  And thanks for all this detail — it really does help out — especially on the Philadelphi Corridor, which, of course, Netanyahu has really been focused on in the past few days.  And, in turn, that had seemed like the major sticking point.  As you’ve laid out, it’s not as much.  Phase one is not a full withdrawal. 

But generally speaking, do you think that the Prime Minister’s focus on this maximalist position of never leaving Philadelphi is getting in the way of getting at least phase one off the ground, getting at least some of the hostages out? 

And then, if I could: When the mediators are speaking with Hamas and they submit their answers and responses, do you know to what extent those are coming from Sinwar himself?  Can you characterize his involvement in the most recent negotiations?  Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll be careful with how I characterize the — I’ve never been involved in a negotiation where, basically, every day there’s a public statement about the details of the negotiation, because it makes it difficult, especially in a hostage negotiation.

You know, so in my view, the less is said about particular issues, the better, as we work through it.  And, you know, staking out concrete positions in the middle of a negotiation isn’t always particularly helpful.

But I do want to clarify that — and as I think I’ve tried to do — that it’s not like that’s the only issue.  And what the agreement says — there’s a legitimate debate about densely populated areas and what that looks like.  Okay? 

So — and I will also say: However this agreement comes out, and if we’re fortunate enough to get this done and see the hostages coming home, we, as the United States of America, are going to make sure and certain that Israel’s security is a primary interest in this deal.  I have seen some Israeli ministers say this deal somehow would sacrifice Israel’s security.  That is just fundamentally, totally untrue. 

We have taken account of Israel’s security concerns in this negotiation.  And, if anything, I would argue that not getting into this deal is more of a threat to Israel’s long-term security than actually concluding the deal.  And, frankly, that includes on the issues of the Philadelphi Corridor and the border with Egypt and everything else. 

So, I started going so long with it.  I think it’s just important context.

Yeah, and you’ve raised another difficult issue.  Sinwar is — you know, as we know, Hamas leaders are living deep underground, in tunnels, as the civilians in Gaza are not allowed in the tunnels.  So they’re living in tunnels.  Hostages are in tunnels.  And I think just provides a context to this awful conflict and the nature of Hamas and also the nature of a negotiation like this, because, ultimately, the final decision-maker is Sinwar.  That was true before Haniyeh; it’s true now. 

So, that means things have to go in to him.  It also means that you don’t want to go in issue by issue; that’d take forever.  It’s kind of the package.  So, you submit the package.  So that’s what we’re trying to get to so you can get a final answer of whatever the — you know, we did that with the bridging proposal.  Done that a couple other times.  And we’ll probably do that here in the — as we kind of make some adjustments.

MODERATOR:  Last question will go to Karen DeYoung. 

Karen, you should be able to unmute yourself.  All right, we’ll —

Q    I’m sorry, (inaudible).  I didn’t recognize he was picking my name.

Hi, [senior administration official].  Thank you.  Did I understand you correctly where you said that the Philadelphi Corridor, or at least parts of it, are outside the densely populated areas, as they are described in the original framework?  That’s first of all. 

And has that — is what you’re saying is that you believe, therefore, that certain parts of the corridor could — Israeli troops could remain there?  And has that always been the U.S. position, or is it just since late July when Israel specified that it wanted to stay there?

And also, does — that seems contrary to what other officials have said here, you know, that — the State Department, they said yesterday, all densely populated areas includes the Philadelphi Corridor.  So I wonder if you could clarify that. 

And also, if you could address the question of the possibility of a U.S.-trained Palestinian force or any other force with EU monitors, or any other way, being used to address some of Israel’s concerns along the border.  Is that on the table?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, so the — it’s a road.  There are areas in which the Rafah city kind of juts up against it.  This has been an extensive part of the negotiation of what is densely populated and what’s not.  And so, yeah, there are configurations.  And, in fact, I think what the Israelis put on the table a couple weeks ago is a significant reduction in the force that’s there now.  And we have a map that kind of lays that out.  And I think it’s consistent with the agreement.  However, actually, we’re, as the U.S. position, not going to — our position is we need a deal.  And so, until you have a deal, you don’t have a deal.

So, you know, if Israel has to make some additional adjustments on whatever issue to try to get a deal, and it’s within reason and doesn’t jeopardize Israel’s security, I think they should get a deal.  Same thing on the Hamas side.  There are things Hamas needs to do to deliver a deal here, and it’s on Qatar and Egypt to work with them to do that. 

So, you know, I just want to be very clear: The agreement says what it says.  There is a proposal from Israel that was put on the table a couple weeks ago.  It’s a significant reduction in forces along the corridor.  Kind of maps it out where Israeli forces would be, would not be, in what I think anyone would consider a densely populated area.  It’s got a significant reduction of forces.

At the same time, until you have an agreement, you don’t have an agreement.  Until you have an agreement, the hostages are not coming home and the war doesn’t stop.  So, you know, I think that’s the reality that we’re all grappling with, or we’re trying to find a formula that can ultimately work, which also gets to your second question.

We feel pretty confident about the security arrangements around the corridor.  And, obviously, this is Egypt’s border as well.  We have had deep discussions with the Egyptians on the security of their border.  They want that border to be secure.  They do not want any smuggling across that border.  There are things, obviously, the United States can do to support Egypt as we support our other partners.  So, we have done a lot of work here over the last four to five months, particularly on this question. 

And so, we think we can fully account for Israel’s security needs on that corridor in ways that would be almost unprecedented, and that does not require some alternative security force just because of the nature of the border.  Kind of west of the — west of the Rafah crossing, you have a very secure — pretty secure border.  You have to have arrangements in place to detect against tunnels and other things, but you have a very secure border. 

Again, at the Rafah crossing, we believe we have worked out arrangements at the Rafah crossing for phase one, arrangements that allow the effective operation of that crossing for purposes of the deal.  And then east of the Rafah crossing is from Rafah to Kerem Shalom.  It’s kind of a different situation, and there’s really not densely populated areas there. 

So, in any case, that’s kind of where we are on the issue care.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, everyone.  That’s all the time we have for today.  I know there are some remaining questions.  Feel free to reach out to the team, and we’ll get back to you. 

Thanks to [senior administration official] and everyone for joining.  We’ll talk again soon.

4:33 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call on Efforts to Secure the Release of Hostages in Gaza appeared first on The White House.

Today the White House released visitor log records generated in May 2024. This set includes 87,040 records, bringing the total number of records posted to 1,562,536

These records were posted pursuant to the White House’s policy to voluntarily disclose visitor log records. This release is consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to becoming the first administration to post visitor log records from its first full year in office.

To learn more about the policy, read our voluntary disclosure policy. To view visitor log records, view our disclosure page.

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The post May 2024 Visitor Logs Records Posted appeared first on The White House.

Today the White House released visitor log records generated in May 2024. This set includes 87,040 records, bringing the total number of records posted to 1,562,536

These records were posted pursuant to the White House’s policy to voluntarily disclose visitor log records. This release is consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to becoming the first administration to post visitor log records from its first full year in office.

To learn more about the policy, read our voluntary disclosure policy. To view visitor log records, view our disclosure page.

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The post May 2024 Visitor Logs Records Posted appeared first on The White House.

Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed. What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal. 

We are closely coordinating with officials at the federal, state and local level, and are grateful for the first responders who brought the suspect into custody and prevented further loss of life.

Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal to me. It’s why I signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most meaningful gun safety bill in decades – and have announced dozens of gun safety executive actions. I also established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris. We’ve made significant progress, but this crisis requires even more.

After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia appeared first on The White House.