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New Biden-Harris Administration actions will help close wage gaps and improve pay transparency for workers.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have long championed equal pay as a cornerstone of their commitment to ensuring opportunity and fairness for all workers. Closing gender and racial wage gaps is essential to ensuring that women and people of color can fully participate in the labor force. This past year, the gender pay gap was the lowest on record. Despite the progress we have made, the fight for equal pay continues. Today, women workers are still paid on average 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the disparities are even greater for many women of color. These inequities can add up to millions of dollars lost over the course of a lifetime.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making the federal government a model employer and closing persistent wage gaps to help grow and strengthen our economy. That’s why the President has issued two Executive Orders aimed at advancing pay equity for both the federal workforce and employees of federal contractors. Today, to implement those Executive Orders, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to:

• Advance pay equity for federal workers. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule ensuring that more than 80 federal agencies will no longer consider an individual’s current or past pay when determining the salaries of federal employees. Ending the use of salary history in pay-setting decisions is a proven way to help curb pay discrimination that can follow workers from job to job and ensure that salaries are based on applicants’ skills, experience, and expertise.

• Promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in federal contracting by advancing pay equity and pay transparency. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council is issuing a proposal to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history when hiring or setting pay for personnel working on or in connection with a government contract. In addition, the proposal would require federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings, a policy that has been shown to reduce pay secrecy, help workers negotiate, and reduce pay gaps. These proposed policies would help federal contractors recruit, diversify, and retain talent; improve job satisfaction and performance; and reduce turnover—all factors associated with promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal contractor workforce.

• Affirm equal pay obligations for federal contractors. The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is issuing guidance clarifying existing protections against discrimination in hiring or pay decisions. The new guidance will help federal contractors and current and prospective contractor employees understand when reliance on an individual’s compensation history for hiring or pay decisions may result in unlawful discrimination.

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

• Ensuring women have access to good-paying jobs being created by the President’s Investing in America agenda. Biden-Harris Administration investments through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have increased access to good-paying jobs, including for women, people of color, and members of other communities currently underrepresented in the sectors where these jobs are being created, such as clean energy, construction, and manufacturing. These include:
  • Launching the Good Jobs Initiative. DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative provides critical information to workers, employers, and government to improve job quality, empower workers, and ensure workers, especially those from underserved communities, can access good union jobs free from discrimination and harassment. The Initiative is dedicated to advancing the Departments of Labor and Commerce’s Good Jobs Principles, which address recruitment and hiring, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and pay. The Departments of Transportation, Energy, Commerce, and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and General Services Administration, have signed memoranda of understanding with DOL to support the Good Jobs Initiative, promote equitable workforce development, and ensure workers have what they need to deliver on the once-in-a-generation Investing in America agenda.
  • Expanding access to good-paying construction jobs. To ensure women can access the almost 200,000 new construction jobs expected from the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments, the Department of Commerce launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, which calls on chip manufacturers, construction companies and unions to bring one million women into the construction industry over the next decade, roughly doubling women’s representation in the industry. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs also launched the Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, which fosters equal opportunity on designated BIL- and CHIPS-funded construction projects through intensive on-the-ground assistance to remove hiring barriers and promote consideration of a diverse pool of qualified workers, including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities.
  • Improving access to child care for the semiconductor workforce through CHIPS and Science Act implementation requirements. The Department of Commerce’s implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act included a historic requirement that applicants requesting over $150 million in direct funding submit plans to provide accessible, affordable, high-quality child care.

• Increasing access to affordable care and supporting caregivers. Access to affordable, high-quality care is essential to ensuring parents, especially moms, can participate fully in the workforce. From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has focused on ways to lower child care costs for hardworking families and improve wages for child care workers. The ARP Child Care Stabilization program delivered historic support to over 225,000 child care programs serving as many as 10 million children across the country. Over 90% of the child care programs that have received assistance are women-owned. The Council of Economic Advisors found that this stabilization funding supported savings for families with young children, raised the real wages of child care workers, and helped hundreds of thousands of women with young children enter or re-enter the workforce.

In addition, in April 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order with more than 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to increase access to affordable, high-quality care and boost job quality for early educators and long-term care workers, who are disproportionately women of color. Among the many actions agencies have taken, the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed key changes to federal child care assistance to reduce child care payments for nearly 80,000 working families.

• Increasing the minimum wage. The President issued Executive Orders directing the Administration to work toward ensuring that employees working on federal contracts and federal employees earned a $15 per hour minimum wage. Those directives went into effect in January 2022, raising the wages of about 370,000 federal employees and employees of federal contractors. In addition to helping the government do its work more efficiently, these directives take a step towards narrowing racial and gender disparities in income, as many low-wage workers are women and people of color. The order also eliminates the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities on federal contracts. The President has called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, so that American workers can have a job that delivers dignity and to make greater strides towards pay equity.

• Supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Small Business Administration-backed loans to women-owned small businesses are up more than 60 percent, totaling $5.1 billion in lending to women-owned businesses in FY23.And a new report out this month found that from 2019 to 2023, women’s small business formation surged, substantially outpacing overall formation. This Administration has invested nearly $70 million in the Women Business Centers (WBC) network, expanding it for the first time into all 50 states and tripling the number of WBCs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. President Biden also invested $10 billion through the ARP State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to help States, territories, and Tribal governments leverage tens of billions more in matching public and private dollars to support small businesses across the United States, with a particular focus on historically underserved entrepreneurs, including women business owners. The ARP Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 40,000 women-owned restaurants and bars—thanks in part to steps taken by the Administration to ensure that women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses were able to access assistance.

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The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Advance Pay Equity on the 15th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act appeared first on The White House.

Three months ago, President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). The Order directed sweeping action to strengthen AI safety and security, protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more.

Today, Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed will convene the White House AI Council, consisting of top officials from a wide range of federal departments and agencies. Agencies reported that they have completed all of the 90-day actions tasked by the E.O. and advanced other vital directives that the Order tasked over a longer timeframe.  

Taken together, these activities mark substantial progress in achieving the EO’s mandate to protect Americans from the potential risks of AI systems while catalyzing innovation in AI and beyond. Visit ai.gov to learn more.

Managing Risks to Safety and Security

The Executive Order directed a sweeping range of actions within 90 days to address some of AI’s biggest threats to safety and security. These included setting key disclosure requirements for developers of the most powerful systems, assessing AI’s risks for critical infrastructure, and hindering foreign actors’ efforts to develop AI for harmful purposes. To mitigate these and other risks, agencies have:

• Used Defense Production Act authorities to compel developers of the most powerful AI systems to report vital information, especially AI safety test results, to the Department of Commerce. These companies now must share this information on the most powerful AI systems, and they must likewise report large computing clusters able to train these systems.

• Proposed a draft rule that proposes to compel U.S. cloud companies that provide computing power for foreign AI training to report that they are doing so. The Department of Commerce’s proposal would, if finalized as proposed, require cloud providers to alert the government when foreign clients train the most powerful models, which could be used for malign activity.

• Completed risk assessments covering AI’s use in every critical infrastructure sector. Nine agencies—including the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services—submitted their risk assessments to the Department of Homeland Security. These assessments, which will be the basis for continued federal action, ensure that the United States is ahead of the curve in integrating AI safely into vital aspects of society, such as the electric grid.

Innovating AI for Good

To seize AI’s enormous promise and deepen the U.S. lead in AI innovation, President Biden’s Executive Order directed increased investment in AI innovation and new efforts to attract and train workers with AI expertise. Over the past 90 days, agencies have:

• Launched a pilot of the National AI Research Resource—catalyzing broad-based innovation, competition, and more equitable access to AI research. The pilot, managed by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is the first step toward a national infrastructure for delivering computing power, data, software, access to open and proprietary AI models, and other AI training resources to researchers and students. These resources come from 11 federal-agency partners and more than 25 private sector, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners.

• Launched an AI Talent Surge to accelerate hiring AI professionals across the federal government, including through a large-scale hiring action for data scientists. TheAI and Tech Talent Task Force created by President Biden’s E.O. has spearheaded this hiring action and is coordinating other key initiatives to facilitate hiring AI talent. The Office of Personnel Management has granted flexible hiring authorities for federal agencies to hire AI talent, including direct hire authorities and excepted service authorities. Government-wide tech talent programs, including the Presidential Innovation Fellows, U.S. Digital Corps, and U.S. Digital Service, have scaled up hiring for AI talent in 2024 across high-priority AI projects. More information about the AI Talent Surge is available at ai.gov/apply.
  
• Began the EducateAI initiative to help fund educators creating high-quality, inclusive AI educational opportunities at the K-12 through undergraduate levels. The initiative’s launch helps fulfill the Executive Order’s charge for NSF to prioritize AI-related workforce development—essential for advancing future AI innovation and ensuring that all Americans can benefit from the opportunities that AI creates.

• Announced the funding of new Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines), including with a focus on advancing AI. For example, with an initial investment of $15 million over two years and up to $160 million over the next decade, the Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine will tap the world’s largest regenerative medicine cluster to create and scale breakthrough clinical therapies, including by leveraging AI.  The announcement supports the Executive Order’s directive for NSF to fund and launch AI-focused NSF Engines within 150 days.

• Established an AI Task Force at the Department of Health and Human Services to develop policies to provide regulatory clarity and catalyze AI innovation in health care. The Task Force will, for example, develop methods of evaluating AI-enabled tools and frameworks for AI’s use to advance drug development, bolster public health, and improve health care delivery. Already, the Task Force coordinated work to publish guiding principles for addressing racial biases in healthcare algorithms.

The table below summarizes many of the activities federal agencies have completed in response to the Executive Order.

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The post Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Key AI Actions Following President Biden’s Landmark Executive Order appeared first on The White House.

Fifteen years ago today, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the law of the land, in a landmark victory in the fight for equal pay. Lilly worked hard, with dignity and pride, only to find that for years she had been paid less than her male coworkers. This needed to change. This law, the first bill signed during the Obama-Biden Administration, expanded important protections against pay discrimination, and was named after her in recognition of her long fight for equal pay.

Despite this progress, the fight for equal pay continues. Women workers are still paid on average 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the disparities are even greater for many women of color. Today, my Administration is taking new actions to advance pay equity for the federal workforce and employees of federal contractors. These new actions adopt commonsense policies that will help pay millions of workers fairly, close gender and racial wage gaps, and yield tangible benefits for the federal government and federal contractors. These policies are good for workers, our economy, and for families.

In addition, my Administration will continue to call on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, to increase pay transparency and strengthen our tools to fight sex-based pay discrimination. Today and every day, Vice President Harris and I remain committed to building on the promise of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and strengthening the economic security of women across the country.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the 15th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act appeared first on The White House.

New Biden-Harris Administration actions will help close wage gaps and improve pay transparency for workers.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have long championed equal pay as a cornerstone of their commitment to ensuring opportunity and fairness for all workers. Closing gender and racial wage gaps is essential to ensuring that women and people of color can fully participate in the labor force. This past year, the gender pay gap was the lowest on record. Despite the progress we have made, the fight for equal pay continues. Today, women workers are still paid on average 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the disparities are even greater for many women of color. These inequities can add up to millions of dollars lost over the course of a lifetime.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making the federal government a model employer and closing persistent wage gaps to help grow and strengthen our economy. That’s why the President has issued two Executive Orders aimed at advancing pay equity for both the federal workforce and employees of federal contractors. Today, to implement those Executive Orders, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to:

• Advance pay equity for federal workers. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule ensuring that more than 80 federal agencies will no longer consider an individual’s current or past pay when determining the salaries of federal employees. Ending the use of salary history in pay-setting decisions is a proven way to help curb pay discrimination that can follow workers from job to job and ensure that salaries are based on applicants’ skills, experience, and expertise.

• Promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in federal contracting by advancing pay equity and pay transparency. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council is issuing a proposal to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history when hiring or setting pay for personnel working on or in connection with a government contract. In addition, the proposal would require federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings, a policy that has been shown to reduce pay secrecy, help workers negotiate, and reduce pay gaps. These proposed policies would help federal contractors recruit, diversify, and retain talent; improve job satisfaction and performance; and reduce turnover—all factors associated with promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal contractor workforce.

• Affirm equal pay obligations for federal contractors. The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is issuing guidance clarifying existing protections against discrimination in hiring or pay decisions. The new guidance will help federal contractors and current and prospective contractor employees understand when reliance on an individual’s compensation history for hiring or pay decisions may result in unlawful discrimination.

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

• Ensuring women have access to good-paying jobs being created by the President’s Investing in America agenda. Biden-Harris Administration investments through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have increased access to good-paying jobs, including for women, people of color, and members of other communities currently underrepresented in the sectors where these jobs are being created, such as clean energy, construction, and manufacturing. These include:
  • Launching the Good Jobs Initiative. DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative provides critical information to workers, employers, and government to improve job quality, empower workers, and ensure workers, especially those from underserved communities, can access good union jobs free from discrimination and harassment. The Initiative is dedicated to advancing the Departments of Labor and Commerce’s Good Jobs Principles, which address recruitment and hiring, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and pay. The Departments of Transportation, Energy, Commerce, and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and General Services Administration, have signed memoranda of understanding with DOL to support the Good Jobs Initiative, promote equitable workforce development, and ensure workers have what they need to deliver on the once-in-a-generation Investing in America agenda.
  • Expanding access to good-paying construction jobs. To ensure women can access the almost 200,000 new construction jobs expected from the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments, the Department of Commerce launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, which calls on chip manufacturers, construction companies and unions to bring one million women into the construction industry over the next decade, roughly doubling women’s representation in the industry. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs also launched the Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, which fosters equal opportunity on designated BIL- and CHIPS-funded construction projects through intensive on-the-ground assistance to remove hiring barriers and promote consideration of a diverse pool of qualified workers, including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities.
  • Improving access to child care for the semiconductor workforce through CHIPS and Science Act implementation requirements. The Department of Commerce’s implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act included a historic requirement that applicants requesting over $150 million in direct funding submit plans to provide accessible, affordable, high-quality child care.

• Increasing access to affordable care and supporting caregivers. Access to affordable, high-quality care is essential to ensuring parents, especially moms, can participate fully in the workforce. From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has focused on ways to lower child care costs for hardworking families and improve wages for child care workers. The ARP Child Care Stabilization program delivered historic support to over 225,000 child care programs serving as many as 10 million children across the country. Over 90% of the child care programs that have received assistance are women-owned. The Council of Economic Advisors found that this stabilization funding supported savings for families with young children, raised the real wages of child care workers, and helped hundreds of thousands of women with young children enter or re-enter the workforce.

In addition, in April 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order with more than 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to increase access to affordable, high-quality care and boost job quality for early educators and long-term care workers, who are disproportionately women of color. Among the many actions agencies have taken, the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed key changes to federal child care assistance to reduce child care payments for nearly 80,000 working families.

• Increasing the minimum wage. The President issued Executive Orders directing the Administration to work toward ensuring that employees working on federal contracts and federal employees earned a $15 per hour minimum wage. Those directives went into effect in January 2022, raising the wages of about 370,000 federal employees and employees of federal contractors. In addition to helping the government do its work more efficiently, these directives take a step towards narrowing racial and gender disparities in income, as many low-wage workers are women and people of color. The order also eliminates the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities on federal contracts. The President has called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, so that American workers can have a job that delivers dignity and to make greater strides towards pay equity.

• Supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Small Business Administration-backed loans to women-owned small businesses are up more than 60 percent, totaling $5.1 billion in lending to women-owned businesses in FY23.And a new report out this month found that from 2019 to 2023, women’s small business formation surged, substantially outpacing overall formation. This Administration has invested nearly $70 million in the Women Business Centers (WBC) network, expanding it for the first time into all 50 states and tripling the number of WBCs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. President Biden also invested $10 billion through the ARP State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to help States, territories, and Tribal governments leverage tens of billions more in matching public and private dollars to support small businesses across the United States, with a particular focus on historically underserved entrepreneurs, including women business owners. The ARP Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 40,000 women-owned restaurants and bars—thanks in part to steps taken by the Administration to ensure that women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses were able to access assistance.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Advance Pay Equity on the 15th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act appeared first on The White House.

3:28 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, Rev.  Thank you all so much.  Please, sit down, if you have a seat.  (Laughter.)
 
I once said that — I said, “Sit down” — “That Biden doesn’t know what he’s doing; there’s no chairs.”  (Laughter.)
 
But thank you —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, tha- — (laughs).
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very, very much.  Thank you. 
 
By the way, I want you to know, for the first time in American history, the Divine Nine has an office in the White House.  (Applause.)  I know where the power is.  I know where the power is. 
 
It’s — well, let me say — I want to say very much thank you to Robin.  Robin and my wife, Jill, became prayer partners — for real.  And I think they became even more than that.  They became good friends.  Where — where are you, Robin?  There you are.  (Applause.) 
 
And thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you.
 
And I know you know — know this guy — this guy named Clyburn, you know him here?  (Laughter and applause.)  I am President of the United States of America for one reason — not a joke — Jim Clyburn.  (Applause.)  We hit rock bottom — and all of you.  He came down, and he said we’re going to win South Carolina, and we won in the primary in every single county.  Well, Jim, thank you very, very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.
 
And, by the way, you know, I — I know — I see — I know talent when I see it, and I — soon as he — his term as mayor came up, I stole him.  You know this guy right here — (applause) — Benjamin — Steve Benjamin. 
 
Well, look, folks, you know, I — I came, basically, to say — start off say “Thank you.”  You’ve had my back.  You’ve had my back.  And I believe — I hope I’ve had yours.  And — and — (applause).
 
You know, when I ran for president in 2020, what made me do it was there — remember that situation down in Charlottesville, Virginia, with those folks coming out of the fields carrying torches and Nazi flags?  I mean, for real — Nazi banners and — and white supremacists, and — and they were — and they were marching in the night.  And a young woman was killed.  A young woman who was a witness was killed.  I spoke to her mom.
 
And the guy I’m running against this time was asked — the sitting President — he said, what — he said — was asked, “What did you think?”  He said, “There are very good people on both sides.” 

Some things are not debatable.  No, I mean it. 
 
And when I ran, I realized I got criticized for saying that one of the main reasons I was running was — and I meant it sincerely — to restore the soul of America — (applause) — no, I mean it — and to bring us back together.
 
Look, folks, one of the things we don’t talk a lot about — but I’ve been talking a lot about, and I think most people are observing it — Black, white, Hispanic, no matter what — is that, you know, our democracy is at stake.  No, it re- — it really is at stake for the first time in a long time. 
 
Jim knows and read a lot and spoken a lot about de Tocqueville, who wrote about America early on and why America was so strong.  And he didn’t say it was strong because of our military.  He — I’ll get — I’ll get right to it: He said it was strong because of our churches, because of our faith.  No, I mean it.  I’m — I’m sincere.
 
He talked about how our voices — that, you know, we’re unyielding and we were a people who believed in integrity, believed in decency.
 
My dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, at the dinner ta- — my dad was a hard-working guy, never got a chance to go to college, but my dad was a really decent, honorable man, a well-read man.  And the dinner table was a place where we — we had conversation and, incidentally, ate — (laughs) — before my dad would go back to work.  He’d come home and then go back to work.
 
And he’d say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about a person’s dignity.  It’s about respect.”  This — I swear to God, this is what he would say — my word as a Biden.  “It’s about dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being about to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.’”
 
But it’s only okay if our system is adhered to; if we abide by our democratic principles; if we, in fact, don’t try to undermine the very Constitution.  And the fellow I’m running against has — has made no bones about it: He thinks we should be able to rip it apart — not — not a joke.  He talked about being able to even ignore the Constitution.
 
By the way, I love his one thing that he should be able to use his special forces to kill somebody if he thought it was a problem.  (Laughter.)  In my church, we say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”  (The President makes the sign of the cross.)  What the — (laughter).
 
But all kidding aside, there’s a great deal at stake.  I’m not going to take a lot of your time.  But, you know, the Bible teaches that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  Well, I think we do know the truth.  We do know the truth.  We do know what the choice is here.  It’s pretty stark.  And it’s about dignity, respect; it’s about whether we believe —
 
You know, we’re the — I’ll get right to it.  We’re the most unique nation in the world.  Now, everybody says those kinds of things about their country, but every other country is organized based on ethnicity, based on geography, based on religion.  But we’re the only nation in the world based on an idea — literally, an idea — an idea contained in our Constitution that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera. 
 
We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it.  Every generation, we get closer; until now, it’s at stake.  It literally is at stake.
 
And, folks, it’s important, not just for the African American community but for every community in this country.  It’s about who we are.  It’s about what — think about it — how the world looks at us.
 
I’ve been doing foreign policy for a long, long time.  I was a chairman of those committees and the like.  And that’s why Barack asked me be on his ticket.  And I know every one of those heads of state, and I’ve known them for a while.  And every meeting I go to internationally, I — as they’re walking out — this is the God’s truth; I can say this in front of the press — virtually every one of them pull me aside and say, “You’ve got to win.  We can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.”
 
Folks, this is about a — the campaign is a lot bigger than me, you, and all of us.  It’s about who we are as a country. 
 
And, by the way, you know, what we — we’re — the thing about us is we believe in those basic principles.  We don’t always practice them as a nation, but we — we do believe in honesty and decency.  We do believe that people should be treated with respect.  We don’t live up to it.  We don’t live up to it all the time, but we don’t walk away from it. 
 
And f- — you know, a question I have — and I want to cut through all these notes I have here to get to the end because I don’t want to keep you. 
 
Look, one of the things in my church — I spent an awful lot of time in African American churches — Black churches.  I come from a state that, like South Carolina, had the shame of being a slave state — Delaware.  Although it fought on the side of the North, it was a slave state.  We have all the vestiges of what that — all — all still living that down.  That’s why I got involved in public life.
 
And — and what I used to do, I used to go to 7- — I’m a practicing Catholic, and I used to go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, and then I’d go to Reverend Beaman’s church at 10:30, be — and we’d prepare for going out and marching and doing the things we were going to do.  And — and it really — it really taught me that — I’m — I’m not trying to be overly religious here, but I think the elements of our faith really matter as to what we believe, what — what we do.
 
And, you know, as I said, the Bible teaches us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  And we got to focus on it.  We got to focus on it.
 
And we — in my church, we’ve taken the 21st Psalm, and we’ve turned it into a refrain in one of the hymns we sing.  You know the Psalm.  And it’s my — this is my wish for all of you.  The Psalm goes, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make the sun to shine on you and hold you in the palm of his hand.” 

That’s my prayer for you.  Because you are — you are and every other religious organization in this country is about saving people, about caring about people.  It’s hard to do, but we know we should do it.  And my prayer for you is that — that we’re able to do that.
 
And one last thing.  I — I want to point out that we had a tough day last night in — in the Middle East.  We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.  And I’d ask you for a moment of silence for all three of those fallen soldiers.
 
(A moment of silence is observed.)
 
And we shall respond.
 
God bless you all.  Thank you for allowing me to be here.  And — and I — I wish I didn’t have to go.  (Laughter.)
 
Thank you all so very, very much.  (Applause.)
 
3:39 P.M. EST
 

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event | West Columbia, SC appeared first on The White House.

3:28 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, Rev.  Thank you all so much.  Please, sit down, if you have a seat.  (Laughter.)
 
I once said that — I said, “Sit down” — “That Biden doesn’t know what he’s doing; there’s no chairs.”  (Laughter.)
 
But thank you —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, tha- — (laughs).
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very, very much.  Thank you. 
 
By the way, I want you to know, for the first time in American history, the Divine Nine has an office in the White House.  (Applause.)  I know where the power is.  I know where the power is. 
 
It’s — well, let me say — I want to say very much thank you to Robin.  Robin and my wife, Jill, became prayer partners — for real.  And I think they became even more than that.  They became good friends.  Where — where are you, Robin?  There you are.  (Applause.) 
 
And thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you.
 
And I know you know — know this guy — this guy named Clyburn, you know him here?  (Laughter and applause.)  I am President of the United States of America for one reason — not a joke — Jim Clyburn.  (Applause.)  We hit rock bottom — and all of you.  He came down, and he said we’re going to win South Carolina, and we won in the primary in every single county.  Well, Jim, thank you very, very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.
 
And, by the way, you know, I — I know — I see — I know talent when I see it, and I — soon as he — his term as mayor came up, I stole him.  You know this guy right here — (applause) — Benjamin — Steve Benjamin. 
 
Well, look, folks, you know, I — I came, basically, to say — start off say “Thank you.”  You’ve had my back.  You’ve had my back.  And I believe — I hope I’ve had yours.  And — and — (applause).
 
You know, when I ran for president in 2020, what made me do it was there — remember that situation down in Charlottesville, Virginia, with those folks coming out of the fields carrying torches and Nazi flags?  I mean, for real — Nazi banners and — and white supremacists, and — and they were — and they were marching in the night.  And a young woman was killed.  A young woman who was a witness was killed.  I spoke to her mom.
 
And the guy I’m running against this time was asked — the sitting President — he said, what — he said — was asked, “What did you think?”  He said, “There are very good people on both sides.” 

Some things are not debatable.  No, I mean it. 
 
And when I ran, I realized I got criticized for saying that one of the main reasons I was running was — and I meant it sincerely — to restore the soul of America — (applause) — no, I mean it — and to bring us back together.
 
Look, folks, one of the things we don’t talk a lot about — but I’ve been talking a lot about, and I think most people are observing it — Black, white, Hispanic, no matter what — is that, you know, our democracy is at stake.  No, it re- — it really is at stake for the first time in a long time. 
 
Jim knows and read a lot and spoken a lot about de Tocqueville, who wrote about America early on and why America was so strong.  And he didn’t say it was strong because of our military.  He — I’ll get — I’ll get right to it: He said it was strong because of our churches, because of our faith.  No, I mean it.  I’m — I’m sincere.
 
He talked about how our voices — that, you know, we’re unyielding and we were a people who believed in integrity, believed in decency.
 
My dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, at the dinner ta- — my dad was a hard-working guy, never got a chance to go to college, but my dad was a really decent, honorable man, a well-read man.  And the dinner table was a place where we — we had conversation and, incidentally, ate — (laughs) — before my dad would go back to work.  He’d come home and then go back to work.
 
And he’d say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about a person’s dignity.  It’s about respect.”  This — I swear to God, this is what he would say — my word as a Biden.  “It’s about dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being about to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.’”
 
But it’s only okay if our system is adhered to; if we abide by our democratic principles; if we, in fact, don’t try to undermine the very Constitution.  And the fellow I’m running against has — has made no bones about it: He thinks we should be able to rip it apart — not — not a joke.  He talked about being able to even ignore the Constitution.
 
By the way, I love his one thing that he should be able to use his special forces to kill somebody if he thought it was a problem.  (Laughter.)  In my church, we say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”  (The President makes the sign of the cross.)  What the — (laughter).
 
But all kidding aside, there’s a great deal at stake.  I’m not going to take a lot of your time.  But, you know, the Bible teaches that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  Well, I think we do know the truth.  We do know the truth.  We do know what the choice is here.  It’s pretty stark.  And it’s about dignity, respect; it’s about whether we believe —
 
You know, we’re the — I’ll get right to it.  We’re the most unique nation in the world.  Now, everybody says those kinds of things about their country, but every other country is organized based on ethnicity, based on geography, based on religion.  But we’re the only nation in the world based on an idea — literally, an idea — an idea contained in our Constitution that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera. 
 
We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it.  Every generation, we get closer; until now, it’s at stake.  It literally is at stake.
 
And, folks, it’s important, not just for the African American community but for every community in this country.  It’s about who we are.  It’s about what — think about it — how the world looks at us.
 
I’ve been doing foreign policy for a long, long time.  I was a chairman of those committees and the like.  And that’s why Barack asked me be on his ticket.  And I know every one of those heads of state, and I’ve known them for a while.  And every meeting I go to internationally, I — as they’re walking out — this is the God’s truth; I can say this in front of the press — virtually every one of them pull me aside and say, “You’ve got to win.  We can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.”
 
Folks, this is about a — the campaign is a lot bigger than me, you, and all of us.  It’s about who we are as a country. 
 
And, by the way, you know, what we — we’re — the thing about us is we believe in those basic principles.  We don’t always practice them as a nation, but we — we do believe in honesty and decency.  We do believe that people should be treated with respect.  We don’t live up to it.  We don’t live up to it all the time, but we don’t walk away from it. 
 
And f- — you know, a question I have — and I want to cut through all these notes I have here to get to the end because I don’t want to keep you. 
 
Look, one of the things in my church — I spent an awful lot of time in African American churches — Black churches.  I come from a state that, like South Carolina, had the shame of being a slave state — Delaware.  Although it fought on the side of the North, it was a slave state.  We have all the vestiges of what that — all — all still living that down.  That’s why I got involved in public life.
 
And — and what I used to do, I used to go to 7- — I’m a practicing Catholic, and I used to go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, and then I’d go to Reverend Beaman’s church at 10:30, be — and we’d prepare for going out and marching and doing the things we were going to do.  And — and it really — it really taught me that — I’m — I’m not trying to be overly religious here, but I think the elements of our faith really matter as to what we believe, what — what we do.
 
And, you know, as I said, the Bible teaches us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  And we got to focus on it.  We got to focus on it.
 
And we — in my church, we’ve taken the 21st Psalm, and we’ve turned it into a refrain in one of the hymns we sing.  You know the Psalm.  And it’s my — this is my wish for all of you.  The Psalm goes, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make the sun to shine on you and hold you in the palm of his hand.” 

That’s my prayer for you.  Because you are — you are and every other religious organization in this country is about saving people, about caring about people.  It’s hard to do, but we know we should do it.  And my prayer for you is that — that we’re able to do that.
 
And one last thing.  I — I want to point out that we had a tough day last night in — in the Middle East.  We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.  And I’d ask you for a moment of silence for all three of those fallen soldiers.
 
(A moment of silence is observed.)
 
And we shall respond.
 
God bless you all.  Thank you for allowing me to be here.  And — and I — I wish I didn’t have to go.  (Laughter.)
 
Thank you all so very, very much.  (Applause.)
 
3:39 P.M. EST
 

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Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Jen Daskal will lead an interagency U.S. delegation to Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on January 30-31, to launch the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group.  The Counternarcotics Working Group is part of ongoing efforts to resume bilateral cooperation to combat global illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, including of synthetic drugs like fentanyl, at the direction of President Biden and President Xi Jinping. 

The U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group will provide a platform to facilitate ongoing coordination designed to tackle the illicit production, financing, and distribution of illicit drugs, and to support bilateral enforcement actions.

The delegation includes high-level officials from the Department of Homeland Security,  Department of Justice, Department of State and the Department of the Treasury.

###

The post Statement from NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group appeared first on The White House.

Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Jen Daskal will lead an interagency U.S. delegation to Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on January 30-31, to launch the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group.  The Counternarcotics Working Group is part of ongoing efforts to resume bilateral cooperation to combat global illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, including of synthetic drugs like fentanyl, at the direction of President Biden and President Xi Jinping. 

The U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group will provide a platform to facilitate ongoing coordination designed to tackle the illicit production, financing, and distribution of illicit drugs, and to support bilateral enforcement actions.

The delegation includes high-level officials from the Department of Homeland Security,  Department of Justice, Department of State and the Department of the Treasury.

###

The post Statement from NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the U.S.-PRC Counternarcotics Working Group appeared first on The White House.

8:05 A.M. EST

MODERATOR:  Good morning, everybody.  Thanks for joining us on a Sunday morning.

Just to go over the ground rules quick, the call will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call.  It’s attributable to senior administration officials.

For awareness, but not for reporting, joining us on today’s call are [senior administration official] and [senior administration official]. 

With that, I’m going to waste no time.  I’m just going to hand it right over to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, [moderator].  And thanks, everybody, for joining this morning.  [Redacted] to be leading the counternarcotics working group meeting that is going to be taking place on the 30th of January. 

I think as everybody knows on this call, President Biden has made beating the overdose epidemic a key priority in his Unity Agenda for the nation, including a focus on cracking down on global illicit drug trafficking and disrupting the flow of illicit fentanyl and its precursors.

And as part of that effort, we are focused on pursuing all avenues to effectively reduce the flow of precursor chemicals that fuel the manufacture and distribution of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. 

And I don’t think I have to tell anybody here that 100,000 people a year die in the United States from fentanyl overdoses.  More people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 49 die from fentanyl than any other cause. 

As all of you also know, for years bilateral cooperation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China on counternarcotics has been suspended, which has hindered our progress.  But that changed during the November 15th meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping at Woodside, California.

At that meeting, the leaders announced the resumption of bilateral cooperation on counternarcotics with a focus on reducing the flow of precursor chemicals that fuel illicit fentanyl and synthetic drug production. 

And so, we are announcing — this is an announcement to say that that first meeting is happening on January 30th.  It will take place in Beijing.  This is a key part of the implementation of the resumption of our bilateral cooperation on this effort. 

The working group is a whole-of-government effort.  It includes a delegation from DOJ, DHS, State, and Treasury.  And it is a platform for ongoing coordination to support concrete enforcement actions with the goal of countering the evolving threat of synthetic drugs and to address the supply and distribution of precursor chemicals and pill presses to those who manufacture and distribute these deadly substances. 

As I said, [redacted] going to be heading the delegation.  We will also be joined by:

• Rob Silvers, who’s the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans at the Department of Homeland Security;
• Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration;
• Troy Miller, who is the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection at the Department of Homeland Security;
• Todd Robinson, the Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement;
• Scott Rembrandt, the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Office of Strategy Policy in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the Department of Treasury;
• Bruce Swartz, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General and DOJ Counselor for International Affairs at the Department of Justice; 
• Katrina Berger.  She is the head of Homeland Security Investigations;
• And Vance Morgan from the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

And through this interagency working group, the United States will pursue a range of efforts across law enforcement actions, efforts to institute precursor chemical controls, monitor emerging front trends, counter illicit finance, and coordinate with other partners to help disrupt the global illicit drug supply chain. 

We also think that this working group is so important because it provides the enduring architecture that will help us continue the coordination and the communication that will allow us to help verify what progress we are making and to continue to push for new progress as time goes on. 

That said, this working group is, as I said, I think a really critical and pivotal moment for our direct diplomacy and the implementation on this issue.  It’s by far not the only marker of progress.  And our working-level officials from U.S. departments and agencies and PRC ministries meet regularly in Beijing and the United States and continue to do so on a quite regular basis to make progress on the commitments that President Biden and President Xi made and to share information to reduce the flow of precursor chemicals. 

I will stop there and, [moderator], turn it back to you.

MODERATOR:  Great.  I think with that, we’ll go ahead and open it up to questions.

Our first question is going to go to Cate Cadell with the Washington Post.

Q    Thank you very much for doing this on a Sunday morning.  I just want to start by asking: Are you going to come into these meetings with any specific outcome in mind? 

And also, Chinese officials who sort of repeatedly indicate that they feel that it’s the U.S.’s own inability to crack down on the fentanyl supply in the U.S., I mean, what is your read on how willing they are to make any major changes at home?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks for that.  Maybe I’ll take the first question — part of the question, [senior administration official], on PRC actions — and then turn it over to you for the asks, if that makes sense. 

Look, I think, as [senior administration official] had mentioned, counternarcotics cooperation has been stalled for quite a number of years.  Immediately, though, after the two presidents met last November, China issued a notice to its domestic chemical industry, advising on the enforcement of laws and regulations related to trade and precursor chemicals.  This essentially is a notice putting their companies — their chemical companies on notice that they will start to take law enforcement action if there’s trade in these precursor chemicals. 

A similar notice to industry that China sent out in 2019 led to a drastic reduction in seizures of fentanyl shipments to the United States from China.  And so, our expectation is that we’ll start to see the same happen in this precursor chemical industry as well. 

In addition, we have information that the PRC started taking action against Chinese synthetic drug and chemical precursor suppliers right around the time of the summit and in the following months.  So we saw companies shut down.  We saw international payment accounts blocked.  And this really is the first law enforcement action against synthetic drug-related chemical sellers by Chinese authorities since 2017. 

In addition, in November of last year after the two presidents met, for the first time in nearly three years China submitted 145 incidents to the International Narcotics Control Board Global Database.  This is the mechanism used to share real-time information internationally about things like shipments and suspected trafficking. 

And this information — our hope is that it will help global law enforcement agencies identify trends and conduct intelligence-driven investigations that disrupt illicit synthetic drug supply chains. 

And again, we’re starting to see reductions in seizures of precursors at some U.S. airports already.  I think the nature of the drug trade means that we can’t just rest on the laurels of this set of actions that happened right after the summit.  The hope is that — and our goal is that we use this working group to drive continued progress.  As the drug trade evolves, as we see these chemicals come online, we’ll need to continue that coordination with Chinese authorities to ensure they’re acting on those new trends and new developments in the drug trade. 

But let me stop there after addressing, again, the Chinese actions and turn it back over to [senior administration official] for our expectations coming out of the working group.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], I think you said it perfectly.  A big goal of this is continued pressure, continued dialogue, ensuring that we continue to push and encourage joint law enforcement actions, that we open up and improve our dialogue on illicit financing, that we continue to maintain communication about new chemicals as they come online, and that we set up robust information-sharing mechanisms for that communication to happen, and to continue to encourage the PRC to continue to submit information about chemicals to the U.N., as [senior administration official] just indicated. 

And so, we are coming in with goals of furthering the work that has already started in very concrete and specific ways.

MODERATOR:  Great.  Our next question will go to Christina Anderson.

Q    Thank you for taking my question.  So, I’m wondering: What’s to stop them from instead of shipping directly to the U.S., shipping via third countries so that they can sort of evade the whole mechanism?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks for the question.  I’ll take a stab at it.

I think what [senior administration official] described and what we’ve seen is actions with respect to the companies as a whole, which is not specific to them shipping to the United States but it is specific to the companies that supply and distribute regardless of where the chemicals go. 

And so, certainly our expectation and our ask and part of our continued dialogue will be to try to ensure that exactly what you’re talking about does not happen.  That would not be consistent with the goals of what we’re trying to achieve here.

MODERATOR:  Next, we’ll go to Demetri with the FT.

Q    Morning.  Thank you.  Two questions.  First, is China having a parallel discussion with Mexico?  Or do you have any kind of trilateral discussions with the U.S., Mexico, and China?

And then separately, is there anything that China is not doing right now that you want them to do?  Because it sounds like they’ve started the progress, but are there things that they’re reluctant to do that you want them to do?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Demetri.  I can take the first part and then turn it over to [senior administration official] to address parts of it. 

Certainly, we know that China has started some conversations with the Mexicans on this.  I think I’d refer to you to either the Mexican or Chinese government to content — or comment on the content of those. 

But certainly, this is a problem that affects multiple different countries.  I think the President and Secretary Blinken have both said there are two kinds of countries: those that have a fentanyl problem and know it and those that have a fentanyl problem and don’t know it, that it’s so quickly spreading. 

So this is going to have to be an issue that goes beyond just the U.S., China, Mexico, Canada.  It will have to be an issue that is addressed globally as well.  And that’s our hope through some of the mechanisms that we have set up.

In terms of what China is doing, I think — you know, our initial ask coming out of this summit, as we discussed back then, was really the notice to companies to start focusing in on precursor chemicals, where they were going, know your customer, better labeling, disruption of financial transactions or specific company operations that we knew and we had passed information to the Chinese on, and we’ve seen that happen. 

And I think the next step — again, to [senior administration official]’s point — is really, as we see that trade continue to evolve, there are going to be new companies of concern that pop up.  The goal is to use these law enforcement-to-law enforcement mechanisms to pass that information and ensure that there’s action and follow-up.  That’ll have to be — that’s not a one-time ask; that is a continual process, I think. 

And then I think on the “know your customer” piece, that will be a big part of conversations as well.  Proper labeling, ensuring that there’s not diversion of some of these dual-use chemicals to cartels and other customers that are known bad actors. 

So, again, I think our hope is, in this working group, that we can really start to dig into the specifics.  This is such a complicated problem.  It’s not one that you can use one summit, you know, get action, and then consider it done.

The fentanyl listing back in 2017 was very different because, you know, it was one drug, and that one listing was able to really shut down the trade.  The precursor chemicals is just such a much more difficult problem to solve.

[Senior administration official], back to you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yep, what [senior administration official] just said was very comprehensive.  I would just add a couple of things.

One, in addition to seeking a situation where the PRC is responsive and acts upon information that we pass to them, I think, ultimately, we’d like to get to a place where the PRC is able to themselves identify and take action with respect to bad actors or actors that are clearly acting in ways that are concerning.  So, for example, chemical companies that are advertising and selling very large numbers of chemicals that we know have very limited commercial value, or as [senior administration official] said, companies that are doing bulk shipping by using pre-printed labels and in ways that are kind of clear triggers of certain kinds of deceptive practices. 

So a big ask of this trip is to encourage independent action as well.

And then, just on the Mexico point, I will — I just wanted to add that I think — I’m sure you also know the United States has a trilateral working group with Canada and Mexico on fentanyl-related issues.  And we have been closely, you know, encouraging and monitoring the conversations that are happening between Mexico and the PRC as well.  And I think it’s, as I said, really important that this is a multilateral issue, and it’s important that all affected nations are engaged in communicating with one another about the scope of the problem.

Q    Can I just get one clarification?  At the moment, is China only acting when it receives information from the U.S., or is it independently finding that information domestically and acting on that, and then telling the U.S.?  Or is it both?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  There is a combination of those things.  As [senior administration official] said, we would like to see more of all of it.

Q    Thank you. 

MODERATOR:  All right.  And it looks like that is our last question.  So, with that, we’ll conclude the call.  Thank you all.

8:23 A.M. EST

The post Background Press Call on the Counternarcotics Working Group Trip to Beijing appeared first on The White House.

8:05 A.M. EST

MODERATOR:  Good morning, everybody.  Thanks for joining us on a Sunday morning.

Just to go over the ground rules quick, the call will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call.  It’s attributable to senior administration officials.

For awareness, but not for reporting, joining us on today’s call are [senior administration official] and [senior administration official]. 

With that, I’m going to waste no time.  I’m just going to hand it right over to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, [moderator].  And thanks, everybody, for joining this morning.  [Redacted] to be leading the counternarcotics working group meeting that is going to be taking place on the 30th of January. 

I think as everybody knows on this call, President Biden has made beating the overdose epidemic a key priority in his Unity Agenda for the nation, including a focus on cracking down on global illicit drug trafficking and disrupting the flow of illicit fentanyl and its precursors.

And as part of that effort, we are focused on pursuing all avenues to effectively reduce the flow of precursor chemicals that fuel the manufacture and distribution of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. 

And I don’t think I have to tell anybody here that 100,000 people a year die in the United States from fentanyl overdoses.  More people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 49 die from fentanyl than any other cause. 

As all of you also know, for years bilateral cooperation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China on counternarcotics has been suspended, which has hindered our progress.  But that changed during the November 15th meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping at Woodside, California.

At that meeting, the leaders announced the resumption of bilateral cooperation on counternarcotics with a focus on reducing the flow of precursor chemicals that fuel illicit fentanyl and synthetic drug production. 

And so, we are announcing — this is an announcement to say that that first meeting is happening on January 30th.  It will take place in Beijing.  This is a key part of the implementation of the resumption of our bilateral cooperation on this effort. 

The working group is a whole-of-government effort.  It includes a delegation from DOJ, DHS, State, and Treasury.  And it is a platform for ongoing coordination to support concrete enforcement actions with the goal of countering the evolving threat of synthetic drugs and to address the supply and distribution of precursor chemicals and pill presses to those who manufacture and distribute these deadly substances. 

As I said, [redacted] going to be heading the delegation.  We will also be joined by:

• Rob Silvers, who’s the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans at the Department of Homeland Security;
• Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration;
• Troy Miller, who is the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection at the Department of Homeland Security;
• Todd Robinson, the Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement;
• Scott Rembrandt, the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Office of Strategy Policy in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the Department of Treasury;
• Bruce Swartz, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General and DOJ Counselor for International Affairs at the Department of Justice; 
• Katrina Berger.  She is the head of Homeland Security Investigations;
• And Vance Morgan from the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

And through this interagency working group, the United States will pursue a range of efforts across law enforcement actions, efforts to institute precursor chemical controls, monitor emerging front trends, counter illicit finance, and coordinate with other partners to help disrupt the global illicit drug supply chain. 

We also think that this working group is so important because it provides the enduring architecture that will help us continue the coordination and the communication that will allow us to help verify what progress we are making and to continue to push for new progress as time goes on. 

That said, this working group is, as I said, I think a really critical and pivotal moment for our direct diplomacy and the implementation on this issue.  It’s by far not the only marker of progress.  And our working-level officials from U.S. departments and agencies and PRC ministries meet regularly in Beijing and the United States and continue to do so on a quite regular basis to make progress on the commitments that President Biden and President Xi made and to share information to reduce the flow of precursor chemicals. 

I will stop there and, [moderator], turn it back to you.

MODERATOR:  Great.  I think with that, we’ll go ahead and open it up to questions.

Our first question is going to go to Cate Cadell with the Washington Post.

Q    Thank you very much for doing this on a Sunday morning.  I just want to start by asking: Are you going to come into these meetings with any specific outcome in mind? 

And also, Chinese officials who sort of repeatedly indicate that they feel that it’s the U.S.’s own inability to crack down on the fentanyl supply in the U.S., I mean, what is your read on how willing they are to make any major changes at home?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks for that.  Maybe I’ll take the first question — part of the question, [senior administration official], on PRC actions — and then turn it over to you for the asks, if that makes sense. 

Look, I think, as [senior administration official] had mentioned, counternarcotics cooperation has been stalled for quite a number of years.  Immediately, though, after the two presidents met last November, China issued a notice to its domestic chemical industry, advising on the enforcement of laws and regulations related to trade and precursor chemicals.  This essentially is a notice putting their companies — their chemical companies on notice that they will start to take law enforcement action if there’s trade in these precursor chemicals. 

A similar notice to industry that China sent out in 2019 led to a drastic reduction in seizures of fentanyl shipments to the United States from China.  And so, our expectation is that we’ll start to see the same happen in this precursor chemical industry as well. 

In addition, we have information that the PRC started taking action against Chinese synthetic drug and chemical precursor suppliers right around the time of the summit and in the following months.  So we saw companies shut down.  We saw international payment accounts blocked.  And this really is the first law enforcement action against synthetic drug-related chemical sellers by Chinese authorities since 2017. 

In addition, in November of last year after the two presidents met, for the first time in nearly three years China submitted 145 incidents to the International Narcotics Control Board Global Database.  This is the mechanism used to share real-time information internationally about things like shipments and suspected trafficking. 

And this information — our hope is that it will help global law enforcement agencies identify trends and conduct intelligence-driven investigations that disrupt illicit synthetic drug supply chains. 

And again, we’re starting to see reductions in seizures of precursors at some U.S. airports already.  I think the nature of the drug trade means that we can’t just rest on the laurels of this set of actions that happened right after the summit.  The hope is that — and our goal is that we use this working group to drive continued progress.  As the drug trade evolves, as we see these chemicals come online, we’ll need to continue that coordination with Chinese authorities to ensure they’re acting on those new trends and new developments in the drug trade. 

But let me stop there after addressing, again, the Chinese actions and turn it back over to [senior administration official] for our expectations coming out of the working group.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], I think you said it perfectly.  A big goal of this is continued pressure, continued dialogue, ensuring that we continue to push and encourage joint law enforcement actions, that we open up and improve our dialogue on illicit financing, that we continue to maintain communication about new chemicals as they come online, and that we set up robust information-sharing mechanisms for that communication to happen, and to continue to encourage the PRC to continue to submit information about chemicals to the U.N., as [senior administration official] just indicated. 

And so, we are coming in with goals of furthering the work that has already started in very concrete and specific ways.

MODERATOR:  Great.  Our next question will go to Christina Anderson.

Q    Thank you for taking my question.  So, I’m wondering: What’s to stop them from instead of shipping directly to the U.S., shipping via third countries so that they can sort of evade the whole mechanism?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks for the question.  I’ll take a stab at it.

I think what [senior administration official] described and what we’ve seen is actions with respect to the companies as a whole, which is not specific to them shipping to the United States but it is specific to the companies that supply and distribute regardless of where the chemicals go. 

And so, certainly our expectation and our ask and part of our continued dialogue will be to try to ensure that exactly what you’re talking about does not happen.  That would not be consistent with the goals of what we’re trying to achieve here.

MODERATOR:  Next, we’ll go to Demetri with the FT.

Q    Morning.  Thank you.  Two questions.  First, is China having a parallel discussion with Mexico?  Or do you have any kind of trilateral discussions with the U.S., Mexico, and China?

And then separately, is there anything that China is not doing right now that you want them to do?  Because it sounds like they’ve started the progress, but are there things that they’re reluctant to do that you want them to do?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Demetri.  I can take the first part and then turn it over to [senior administration official] to address parts of it. 

Certainly, we know that China has started some conversations with the Mexicans on this.  I think I’d refer to you to either the Mexican or Chinese government to content — or comment on the content of those. 

But certainly, this is a problem that affects multiple different countries.  I think the President and Secretary Blinken have both said there are two kinds of countries: those that have a fentanyl problem and know it and those that have a fentanyl problem and don’t know it, that it’s so quickly spreading. 

So this is going to have to be an issue that goes beyond just the U.S., China, Mexico, Canada.  It will have to be an issue that is addressed globally as well.  And that’s our hope through some of the mechanisms that we have set up.

In terms of what China is doing, I think — you know, our initial ask coming out of this summit, as we discussed back then, was really the notice to companies to start focusing in on precursor chemicals, where they were going, know your customer, better labeling, disruption of financial transactions or specific company operations that we knew and we had passed information to the Chinese on, and we’ve seen that happen. 

And I think the next step — again, to [senior administration official]’s point — is really, as we see that trade continue to evolve, there are going to be new companies of concern that pop up.  The goal is to use these law enforcement-to-law enforcement mechanisms to pass that information and ensure that there’s action and follow-up.  That’ll have to be — that’s not a one-time ask; that is a continual process, I think. 

And then I think on the “know your customer” piece, that will be a big part of conversations as well.  Proper labeling, ensuring that there’s not diversion of some of these dual-use chemicals to cartels and other customers that are known bad actors. 

So, again, I think our hope is, in this working group, that we can really start to dig into the specifics.  This is such a complicated problem.  It’s not one that you can use one summit, you know, get action, and then consider it done.

The fentanyl listing back in 2017 was very different because, you know, it was one drug, and that one listing was able to really shut down the trade.  The precursor chemicals is just such a much more difficult problem to solve.

[Senior administration official], back to you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yep, what [senior administration official] just said was very comprehensive.  I would just add a couple of things.

One, in addition to seeking a situation where the PRC is responsive and acts upon information that we pass to them, I think, ultimately, we’d like to get to a place where the PRC is able to themselves identify and take action with respect to bad actors or actors that are clearly acting in ways that are concerning.  So, for example, chemical companies that are advertising and selling very large numbers of chemicals that we know have very limited commercial value, or as [senior administration official] said, companies that are doing bulk shipping by using pre-printed labels and in ways that are kind of clear triggers of certain kinds of deceptive practices. 

So a big ask of this trip is to encourage independent action as well.

And then, just on the Mexico point, I will — I just wanted to add that I think — I’m sure you also know the United States has a trilateral working group with Canada and Mexico on fentanyl-related issues.  And we have been closely, you know, encouraging and monitoring the conversations that are happening between Mexico and the PRC as well.  And I think it’s, as I said, really important that this is a multilateral issue, and it’s important that all affected nations are engaged in communicating with one another about the scope of the problem.

Q    Can I just get one clarification?  At the moment, is China only acting when it receives information from the U.S., or is it independently finding that information domestically and acting on that, and then telling the U.S.?  Or is it both?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  There is a combination of those things.  As [senior administration official] said, we would like to see more of all of it.

Q    Thank you. 

MODERATOR:  All right.  And it looks like that is our last question.  So, with that, we’ll conclude the call.  Thank you all.

8:23 A.M. EST

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11:13 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Please, si- — thank you.  (Applause.)

Thanks for bringing me home.  (Laughter.)  You all think I’m kidding.

For the longest time, when I was a young public defender and a United States Senator, I went to — if you’ll excuse me — an AME church — I apologize — (laughter) — with Reverend Beaman. 

You brought it all back, Rev.

REVEREND GRAHAM:  Amen.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll tell you what, the man can preach, can’t he?  (Applause.)

To the whole congregation, I’m genuinely honored to be here.  I sincerely mean that.

And I’m especially honored to have one of your own working with me, your former mayor running things for me in Washington, D.C.  (Applause.)  And he was baptized here and married here. 

And A’ja Williams [Wilson] is from here.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Can that woman play basketball.  Whoa.  That’s the only reason I was coming.  I thought she was here.  (Laughter.)

I’m only joking.  I know she’s not.  I’m going to get in trouble with my wife if I keep fooling around.  (Laughter.)

But I want to thank Steve for his friendship and his leadership. 

You know, it’s a covenant we have with each other that comes from a — from the commands of scripture: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul.  Love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Easy to say but really hard to do.  Easy to say but hard to do.

But in those commands is the essence of the gospel, is the essence of what I believe to be the American promise.  And I mean that sincerely.

You know, we’re unique in all the world — America.  We’re the only country that is formed not based on ethnicity, based on geography — based on an idea — an idea — and I mean this sincerely — the only country in the world.  An idea we’ve never lived up to, but we’ve never walked away from.  That “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera.

It’s an idea that we can’t abandon.  And some want to see it abandoned.

In my life, I’ve tried to walk my faith.  Like I said — I was kidding with Jim — I — I’d always go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, which is a — a church built — a Catholic church built by indentured serv- — Irish servants working for the DuPont family.  It’s kind of — kind of — it always kind of made me angry.  The head- — the cornerstone of the church, 1848, says, “Built for our Catholics.”  I never figured we were their Catholics.  But any rate —

But all kidding aside, then I’d go to 10:30 mass — 10:30 service at — with Reverend Beamon and — during the Civil Rights era, when I was working hard as a young man as a public defender. 

And, you know, you said it, Rev.  My — my mother would say, “You got to be who you say you are.  You got to do what you say you’re going to do.  Just get up.  Just get up.”  And that’s what I tried to do: tried to walk the — my walk of faith.

But here’s what I learned, as many of you might have learned as well: We’re all imperfect beings — all of us.  And we don’t know where fate is going to take us or when it’s going to take us.  It can, like many of you, sn- — and me, snatch an entire family from your grip with an accident.

But we can do our best to seek the light and the hope and love.  You know, from where I come from, that’s the power of faith.  That’s the power of faith.  That’s the power, as I was saying to the Rev outside when we — when — before he invited me in, that’s what the Black Church has done for American — Black Americans for their — I mean, imagine what would have happened would there been no Black Church all those periods of darkness.

Well, you give us a mountaintop.  You give us a promised land.  You give us a dream and a faith that we shall overcome, we can overcome.  You know, and you push us toward a more perfect union — you really do — to bend the arch of the moral universe toward justice together.  And what a gift to the nation and the world you’ve been.

Your prayers mean everything.  And they’re — we’ve — in my church, we’ve taken the 22nd Psalm and turned it into a — a hymn, basically.  It says, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn, make the light to shine on — upon you.  And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

That’s my wish for all of you. 

Thank you for being so good to me.  (Applause.)  I appreciate it very much.

1:19 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event | Columbia, SC appeared first on The White House.

11:13 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Please, si- — thank you.  (Applause.)

Thanks for bringing me home.  (Laughter.)  You all think I’m kidding.

For the longest time, when I was a young public defender and a United States Senator, I went to — if you’ll excuse me — an AME church — I apologize — (laughter) — with Reverend Beaman. 

You brought it all back, Rev.

REVEREND GRAHAM:  Amen.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll tell you what, the man can preach, can’t he?  (Applause.)

To the whole congregation, I’m genuinely honored to be here.  I sincerely mean that.

And I’m especially honored to have one of your own working with me, your former mayor running things for me in Washington, D.C.  (Applause.)  And he was baptized here and married here. 

And A’ja Williams [Wilson] is from here.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Can that woman play basketball.  Whoa.  That’s the only reason I was coming.  I thought she was here.  (Laughter.)

I’m only joking.  I know she’s not.  I’m going to get in trouble with my wife if I keep fooling around.  (Laughter.)

But I want to thank Steve for his friendship and his leadership. 

You know, it’s a covenant we have with each other that comes from a — from the commands of scripture: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul.  Love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Easy to say but really hard to do.  Easy to say but hard to do.

But in those commands is the essence of the gospel, is the essence of what I believe to be the American promise.  And I mean that sincerely.

You know, we’re unique in all the world — America.  We’re the only country that is formed not based on ethnicity, based on geography — based on an idea — an idea — and I mean this sincerely — the only country in the world.  An idea we’ve never lived up to, but we’ve never walked away from.  That “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera.

It’s an idea that we can’t abandon.  And some want to see it abandoned.

In my life, I’ve tried to walk my faith.  Like I said — I was kidding with Jim — I — I’d always go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, which is a — a church built — a Catholic church built by indentured serv- — Irish servants working for the DuPont family.  It’s kind of — kind of — it always kind of made me angry.  The head- — the cornerstone of the church, 1848, says, “Built for our Catholics.”  I never figured we were their Catholics.  But any rate —

But all kidding aside, then I’d go to 10:30 mass — 10:30 service at — with Reverend Beamon and — during the Civil Rights era, when I was working hard as a young man as a public defender. 

And, you know, you said it, Rev.  My — my mother would say, “You got to be who you say you are.  You got to do what you say you’re going to do.  Just get up.  Just get up.”  And that’s what I tried to do: tried to walk the — my walk of faith.

But here’s what I learned, as many of you might have learned as well: We’re all imperfect beings — all of us.  And we don’t know where fate is going to take us or when it’s going to take us.  It can, like many of you, sn- — and me, snatch an entire family from your grip with an accident.

But we can do our best to seek the light and the hope and love.  You know, from where I come from, that’s the power of faith.  That’s the power of faith.  That’s the power, as I was saying to the Rev outside when we — when — before he invited me in, that’s what the Black Church has done for American — Black Americans for their — I mean, imagine what would have happened would there been no Black Church all those periods of darkness.

Well, you give us a mountaintop.  You give us a promised land.  You give us a dream and a faith that we shall overcome, we can overcome.  You know, and you push us toward a more perfect union — you really do — to bend the arch of the moral universe toward justice together.  And what a gift to the nation and the world you’ve been.

Your prayers mean everything.  And they’re — we’ve — in my church, we’ve taken the 22nd Psalm and turned it into a — a hymn, basically.  It says, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn, make the light to shine on — upon you.  And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

That’s my wish for all of you. 

Thank you for being so good to me.  (Applause.)  I appreciate it very much.

1:19 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event | Columbia, SC appeared first on The White House.

South Carolina State Fairgrounds
Columbia, South Carolina

(January 27, 2024)

7:37 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, South Carolina!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Look, it’s — it’s good be home with so many friends I’ve known for so long.  And tonight, I’m thinking of so many of my friends who are no longer with us, like Fritz and Peatsy Hollings.  And they were here for me when I first got started in a tough time of my life, when I didn’t want to stay in the Senate.  They embraced me.  They included me in everything and kept me going.  They’re always with me in spirit.

The same goes for Emily Clyburn.  You know, Jim — Jim is the reason that I’m president, because he endorsed me and got all of you to help me.  (Applause.)  But I later learned Emily convinced him to endorse me.  (Laughter.)  Jim, we miss her.  And you’re the best friend anyone could have.

Folks, I — if I were smart, I’d say “Thank you” and leave — (laughter) — because Jim made the case for me better than I can make the case for me.  (Applause.)

Well, folks — and I love Columbia so much I asked your former Mayor to join me in the White House.  (Laughter.)  We’re fortunate to have Steve Benjamin at my side.  (Applause.)  But we’re really fortunate we put his better half on the federal bench.  (Laughter and applause.)  She’s doing an incredible job. 

Just like I’m fortunate for my better half, Jill, who was here in Columbia last night — (applause) — with the women of Alpha Kappa Theta — Alpha Kappa Alpha, excuse me.  She had a wonderful time.

And we’ve got so many real leaders here — two former Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus: Joyce Beatty — and you heard Marcia Fudge.  Don’t mess with Marcia.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And my home state senator, Chris Coons, who — (applause) — a real quick story.  When my son passed away, a — well, anyway.  Chris was just wonderful.  He wouldn’t take the jo- — he wouldn’t run until he knew it was okay.  We had to call Chris and say, “Chris, please run.”  Because it was “Beau’s chair,” he said. 

Our great DNC chairman, Jaime Harrison, from South Carolina.  (Applause.)

But the truth is I wouldn’t be here without the Democratic voters of South Carolina, and that’s a fact.  (Applause.) 

So, I want to start with a very simple message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

If you ever doubt that the power to change America is in your hands, remember this: You proved it.  You’re the reason I am president.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President.  (Applause.)

And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser.  And you’re the reason we’re going to win and beat him again.  (Applause.)

Nearly four years ago, I came to Columbia to celebrate a primary victory, and I said then, and I quote, “For all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign.”
That same message has defined my presidency. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) Palestinians (inaudible) —

THE PRESIDENT:  I am determined —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m determined to give all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind in America a shot again — a fair shot at making a living, taking care of their children, starting a business, being able to buy a home, build real wealth for generations to come.

Now, maybe Donald Trump and his MAGA friends believe that they have — they — to — you have to hold us down to lift everybody else [themselves] up. 

I don’t believe that.  I believe that America is big enough, strong enough, blessed enough for all of us to succeed.  (Applause.)

And that’s why we’re finally building an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up, instead of trickle-down economy from the top.  Because when you do that, the poor have a ladder up, the middle class do well, and the wealthy still do very well.  We all do well.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country in: a deadly pandemic, economic freefall, a violent insurrection.

I promised to do everything in my power, I said at the time, to get us through one of the toughest periods in our history.  And together we are.

We vaccinated America.  We created a record 14 million new jobs in three years.  (Applause.) 

And let’s get something straight.  Trump talks about putting checks in pockets.  But in 2021, as soon as I came to office, I was the guy who sent every one of you those $1,400 checks.  (Applause.) 

On top of that, I sent those $300 checks per child per family per month for hardworking families.  That was thousands of dollars in pockets to get people through a real crisis.

And here’s what it did.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re funding a genocide!  (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  And here’s what it did.  It helped cut Black poverty in half for Black children in America.  (Applause.)  Because no child in America should ever go hunger [hungry] — ever.

When Trump pushed Black small businesses to the back of the line in the pandemic [relief] funding, I moved them to the front of the line.  (Applause.)  And today, Black small businesses are starting up at the fastest rate in 30 years.  (Applause.)

But look, folks, things this country has — have been through have been pretty tough for a lot of people.  But we’re making progress.  There’s a lot more on the way.

Inflation is coming down.  It’s now lower in America than any other major economy in the world.  (Applause.)  The cost of eggs, milk, chicken, gas, and so many other essential items
have come down.

But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off:  price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation. 

You see that article about the Snickers bars?  (Laughter.)  

Well, it’s going to stop.  Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers.  (Applause.)  And that’s why we’re going to keep these guys — keep on them and get the prices down.

Folks, the bottom line is our economy has grown more in the last six months than it ever did in any point in Trump’s entire four years in office.  (Applause.)

And for too long, we imported projects — products and exported jobs.  But now, thanks to all we’re doing, we’re exporting American products and we’re bringing American jobs back home to America — (applause) — where they belong.

America is experiencing a manufacturing boom that no one thought was possible.  But I knew it was possible.  Eight hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs and counting — good-paying jobs.  (Applause.)  Record unemployment, including the lowest levels of Black unemployment ever recorded in American history.  (Applause.)  The racial wealth gap is at its lowest level in 20 years.

Trump’s $2 trillion tax cut when he was president benefitted the super wealthy but was never paid for, and it completely blew up the federal deficit.  We’ve brought that deficit down. 

And all the progress we’ve made comes down to a simple proposition: Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised, as Jim pointed out, that we’d beat Big Pharma, that charges more for prescriptions drug prices in America than anywhere else in the world — the same company, the same prescription.  And we did.  Thirty-five-dollar-a-month insulin for seniors, instead of $400 a month or more.  (Applause.) 

As Jim pointed out, we tried to make that $35 available to everybody, but the Republicans blocked us.  But with our vote in 2024, we’re going to make it happen for everyone — everyone.  (Applause.)

As Jim pointed out, out-of-pocket costs for seniors for all their prescriptions will soon be capped at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  (Applause.)

I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, giving millions of families over $800 [a year] in premiums and protecting their care for preexisting conditions.  And, by the way, basically doubling the Pell Grants, which is another issue, but that’s —

Look, today, more Americans — more Black Americans — have health insurance than ever in history.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

I promised to help ease accumulated student debt for millions of folks carrying during the crisis of the pandemic.  The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me.  (Applause.)  I found another way to help more than 3.7 million people — teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters — with $130 billion in relief.  And causing the economy to grow faster as a consequence of that.  (Applause.)

And another 25,000 people a month, beginning next month, are going to start to get their student loans forgiven, because they’re getting notified with a letter from me — (applause) –you’re about to get that relief — because of their public service, so they can follow their dreams, start a business, buy a home, start a family.

And I’m not done.  Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised you we’d make record investment in HBCUs, including South Carolina’s eight HBCUs.  (Applause.)  HBCU students are just as talented as any student in America — (applause) — but their colleges and universities don’t have the funding and endowments for the cutting-edge laboratories and research centers.

Well, I’ve invested, so far, $7 billion in HBCUs and counting — (applause) — to help support our brilliant HBCU students.

And, again, a promise made and a promise kept.

I keep my promises when I said no one — no one should be in prison for merely possessing marijuana or using it, and their records should be expunged.

A promise made and a promise kept.  (Applause.)

Folks, I made a commitment to have an administration that looks like America, to tap into the full talents of our nation.  And I’m proud we have the most diverse administration in the history of America, because I know — (applause) — I know our diversity is our strength in America.

It was here in South Carolina that I promised to appoint the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.  (Applause.)  Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.  And, by the way, she’s smarter than the rest.  (Laughter and applause.) 

I’ve appointed more Black women to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals than every other president in American history combined — combined.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

And that includes Judge Michelle Childs — (applause) — of the D.C. Circuit, who is making South Carolina proud.

I promised to take care of hundreds of thousands of veterans exposed to toxic materials and care for their families.  That’s why I wrote the PACT Act. 

As Commander-in-Chief, I think we have only one sacred obligation — I’ve said it many times — prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home.  (Applause.) 

Well, as Commander-in-Chief, I look at veterans completely differently than Donald Trump.  Think about this — especially here in South Carolina, a proud military state — Donald Trump, when he was Commander-in-Chief, refused to visit a cemetery — U.S. cemetery outside of Paris for fallen American soldiers.  And he referred to those heroes, and I quote, as “suckers” and “losers.”  He actually said that.  He said that.

How dare he say that.  How dare he talk about my son and all (inaudible) like that.  (Applause.) 

Look, I call them patriots and heroes.  The only loser I see is Donald Trump.  (Applause.) 

It makes me angry.

AUDIENCE:  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!

THE PRESIDENT:  I apologize for losing my temper, but it really, really, really offends me. 

In recent weeks, we’re starting to see real evidence that American consumers are facing [feeling] real confidence in the economy we’re building.  Let me tell you who else is noticing that:  Donald Trump.  (Laughter.)

Did you see what he recently said about that wants to — that he wants to see the economy crash this year?  A sitting [former] President.  As they say in my faith, “Bless me, Father, for…” — (the President begins to makes the sign of the cross).  I mean, come on, man.  (Laughter.) 

“When there’s a crash” — “Wh-” — he said, “When there’s a crash, I hope in the next 12 months,” he went on to say.  It’s unbelievable.  It’s un-American.

How can anyone — especially a former president — wish for an economic crash that would devastate millions of Americans?

Well, let me tell you what he really means.  Donald Trump knows this economy is good and is strong and getting stronger.  (Applause.)  He knows that while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically.

Trump also said the one president he doesn’t want to be is Herbert Hoover.  Well, Donald, it’s too late.  (Laughter.)  There are only two presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than when they took office: Herbert Hoover and, yes, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump.  (Laughter and applause.)

And, by the way, have you noticed he’s is a little confused these days?  (Laughter.)  He apparently can’t tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, we’re making real progress on one of the most important issues we’re facing: security at the border.  The first bill I introduced was for a massive change in security at our border.  Two months ago, my team beginning [began] to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to put together the toughest, smartest, fairest border security bill in history — the best one the nation has ever seen.  It would finally provide the funding I requested early on and again in October to secure our borders. 

It includes an additional 1,300 Border Patrols — we need more agents on the border; 375 immigration judges to judge whether or not someone can come or not come and be fair about it; 1,600 asaylum off- — asylum officers; and over 100 cutting-edge inspec- — injec- — inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl coming in our Sou- — — our Southwest Border.  (Applause.) 

It would also give me, as President, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it can get back under control.  If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.  (Applause.)

The bipartisan bill would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here.  And Congress needs to get it done.  (Applause.)

Folks, we’re just getting started.  That’s why I’m so optimistic about our future. 

Forty thousand projects across America and counting, rebuilding our roads and our bridges; affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America; ripping out every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child can turn on a faucet, drink clean water without worrying about brain damage.  (Applause.)

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades.  (Applause.)  And I will not stop until we once again ban assault weapons, as I did once.  (Applause.)

Now, look, I want you to imagine — to imagine the future nightmare if Trump is back in office.  I’m serious.  Given the nightmare when he was in office, you know what is likely to come.  Trump and his MAGA friends are trying again to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and ripping away the protections you have under that, even if you have a preexisting condition.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)  I will not let that happen.

And instead of saving Social Security for working people and the middle class — although he said he wanted to get rid of it or change it — cut it drastically and now he says he’s for it.  But guess what?  Trump and his MAGA friends will give another massive tax break to the super wealthy and the biggest corporations.  I won’t let that happen.  (Applause.) 

Folks, I know you’re with me. 

I know this: Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedoms, like the freedom to vote.  Trump brags about taking away a woman’s freedom to choose.  And now, they’re hatching a plan for a national ban — a national ban.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)

I’ve made it clear: If the MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on abortion, I will veto it.  And consider that a promise made, and a promise will be kept.  (Applause.)

And if you reelect me and Kamala with a Democratic House and a bigger majority in the Senate No- — this November, imagine a future where we restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.  (Applause.)

A promise made, and a promise will be kept.

Let me close with this.  A few weeks —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Biden, you promised to (inaudible) — you promised to declare (inaudible) —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Let me close with this.  A few weeks ago, along with Jim, I spoke at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston.  I said there are extreme and dangerous forces at work in this country — dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back to the past instead of leading us to a future; refusing to accept the results of legitimate elections; seeking, as Trump says, to “terminate” the Constitution; embracing political violence and white supremacy.

I said in Charleston, there is a second Lost Cause emerging in America.  The first Lost Cause perpetuated the lie that slavery wasn’t the cause of the Civil War.  And we’ve been paying a price for that lie for generations. 

The second Lost Cause is Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.  We cannot allow that lie to live either, because it threatens our very democracy.

Folks, there are truth, and there are lies — lies told for power, lies told for profit.  We must call out these lies with a voice that is clear and unyielding. 

The Bible teaches, “We shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.”  (Applause.)  My friends, we must speak the truth, that America, we still — in America, we still believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect.  We li- — we believe we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

We leave no one behind.  Everyone deserves a fair shot.  We give hate no safe harbor.  (Applause.)  And we stand against the evil of racism, the poison of rite suprem- — of white supremacy — today, tomorrow, and always.

And we will live in the light, not darkness.  We’ll stand with the truth and defeat the lies.  (Applause.)

And when we do, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations will have been able to say: America’s democracy at risk — was at risk, and we saved it.

Are you with me?  (Applause.)

Let’s finish what we started.  February 3rd is your primary — the first in the nation.  Organize.  Mobilize.  Vote.  (Applause.)

And let’s remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  (Applause.)  And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity if we stand together.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you. 

8:02 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event at South Carolina’s First in the Nation Dinner | Columbia, SC appeared first on The White House.

South Carolina State Fairgrounds
Columbia, South Carolina

(January 27, 2024)

7:37 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, South Carolina!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Look, it’s — it’s good be home with so many friends I’ve known for so long.  And tonight, I’m thinking of so many of my friends who are no longer with us, like Fritz and Peatsy Hollings.  And they were here for me when I first got started in a tough time of my life, when I didn’t want to stay in the Senate.  They embraced me.  They included me in everything and kept me going.  They’re always with me in spirit.

The same goes for Emily Clyburn.  You know, Jim — Jim is the reason that I’m president, because he endorsed me and got all of you to help me.  (Applause.)  But I later learned Emily convinced him to endorse me.  (Laughter.)  Jim, we miss her.  And you’re the best friend anyone could have.

Folks, I — if I were smart, I’d say “Thank you” and leave — (laughter) — because Jim made the case for me better than I can make the case for me.  (Applause.)

Well, folks — and I love Columbia so much I asked your former Mayor to join me in the White House.  (Laughter.)  We’re fortunate to have Steve Benjamin at my side.  (Applause.)  But we’re really fortunate we put his better half on the federal bench.  (Laughter and applause.)  She’s doing an incredible job. 

Just like I’m fortunate for my better half, Jill, who was here in Columbia last night — (applause) — with the women of Alpha Kappa Theta — Alpha Kappa Alpha, excuse me.  She had a wonderful time.

And we’ve got so many real leaders here — two former Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus: Joyce Beatty — and you heard Marcia Fudge.  Don’t mess with Marcia.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And my home state senator, Chris Coons, who — (applause) — a real quick story.  When my son passed away, a — well, anyway.  Chris was just wonderful.  He wouldn’t take the jo- — he wouldn’t run until he knew it was okay.  We had to call Chris and say, “Chris, please run.”  Because it was “Beau’s chair,” he said. 

Our great DNC chairman, Jaime Harrison, from South Carolina.  (Applause.)

But the truth is I wouldn’t be here without the Democratic voters of South Carolina, and that’s a fact.  (Applause.) 

So, I want to start with a very simple message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

If you ever doubt that the power to change America is in your hands, remember this: You proved it.  You’re the reason I am president.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President.  (Applause.)

And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser.  And you’re the reason we’re going to win and beat him again.  (Applause.)

Nearly four years ago, I came to Columbia to celebrate a primary victory, and I said then, and I quote, “For all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign.”
That same message has defined my presidency. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) Palestinians (inaudible) —

THE PRESIDENT:  I am determined —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m determined to give all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind in America a shot again — a fair shot at making a living, taking care of their children, starting a business, being able to buy a home, build real wealth for generations to come.

Now, maybe Donald Trump and his MAGA friends believe that they have — they — to — you have to hold us down to lift everybody else [themselves] up. 

I don’t believe that.  I believe that America is big enough, strong enough, blessed enough for all of us to succeed.  (Applause.)

And that’s why we’re finally building an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up, instead of trickle-down economy from the top.  Because when you do that, the poor have a ladder up, the middle class do well, and the wealthy still do very well.  We all do well.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country in: a deadly pandemic, economic freefall, a violent insurrection.

I promised to do everything in my power, I said at the time, to get us through one of the toughest periods in our history.  And together we are.

We vaccinated America.  We created a record 14 million new jobs in three years.  (Applause.) 

And let’s get something straight.  Trump talks about putting checks in pockets.  But in 2021, as soon as I came to office, I was the guy who sent every one of you those $1,400 checks.  (Applause.) 

On top of that, I sent those $300 checks per child per family per month for hardworking families.  That was thousands of dollars in pockets to get people through a real crisis.

And here’s what it did.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re funding a genocide!  (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  And here’s what it did.  It helped cut Black poverty in half for Black children in America.  (Applause.)  Because no child in America should ever go hunger [hungry] — ever.

When Trump pushed Black small businesses to the back of the line in the pandemic [relief] funding, I moved them to the front of the line.  (Applause.)  And today, Black small businesses are starting up at the fastest rate in 30 years.  (Applause.)

But look, folks, things this country has — have been through have been pretty tough for a lot of people.  But we’re making progress.  There’s a lot more on the way.

Inflation is coming down.  It’s now lower in America than any other major economy in the world.  (Applause.)  The cost of eggs, milk, chicken, gas, and so many other essential items
have come down.

But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off:  price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation. 

You see that article about the Snickers bars?  (Laughter.)  

Well, it’s going to stop.  Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers.  (Applause.)  And that’s why we’re going to keep these guys — keep on them and get the prices down.

Folks, the bottom line is our economy has grown more in the last six months than it ever did in any point in Trump’s entire four years in office.  (Applause.)

And for too long, we imported projects — products and exported jobs.  But now, thanks to all we’re doing, we’re exporting American products and we’re bringing American jobs back home to America — (applause) — where they belong.

America is experiencing a manufacturing boom that no one thought was possible.  But I knew it was possible.  Eight hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs and counting — good-paying jobs.  (Applause.)  Record unemployment, including the lowest levels of Black unemployment ever recorded in American history.  (Applause.)  The racial wealth gap is at its lowest level in 20 years.

Trump’s $2 trillion tax cut when he was president benefitted the super wealthy but was never paid for, and it completely blew up the federal deficit.  We’ve brought that deficit down. 

And all the progress we’ve made comes down to a simple proposition: Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised, as Jim pointed out, that we’d beat Big Pharma, that charges more for prescriptions drug prices in America than anywhere else in the world — the same company, the same prescription.  And we did.  Thirty-five-dollar-a-month insulin for seniors, instead of $400 a month or more.  (Applause.) 

As Jim pointed out, we tried to make that $35 available to everybody, but the Republicans blocked us.  But with our vote in 2024, we’re going to make it happen for everyone — everyone.  (Applause.)

As Jim pointed out, out-of-pocket costs for seniors for all their prescriptions will soon be capped at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  (Applause.)

I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, giving millions of families over $800 [a year] in premiums and protecting their care for preexisting conditions.  And, by the way, basically doubling the Pell Grants, which is another issue, but that’s —

Look, today, more Americans — more Black Americans — have health insurance than ever in history.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

I promised to help ease accumulated student debt for millions of folks carrying during the crisis of the pandemic.  The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me.  (Applause.)  I found another way to help more than 3.7 million people — teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters — with $130 billion in relief.  And causing the economy to grow faster as a consequence of that.  (Applause.)

And another 25,000 people a month, beginning next month, are going to start to get their student loans forgiven, because they’re getting notified with a letter from me — (applause) –you’re about to get that relief — because of their public service, so they can follow their dreams, start a business, buy a home, start a family.

And I’m not done.  Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised you we’d make record investment in HBCUs, including South Carolina’s eight HBCUs.  (Applause.)  HBCU students are just as talented as any student in America — (applause) — but their colleges and universities don’t have the funding and endowments for the cutting-edge laboratories and research centers.

Well, I’ve invested, so far, $7 billion in HBCUs and counting — (applause) — to help support our brilliant HBCU students.

And, again, a promise made and a promise kept.

I keep my promises when I said no one — no one should be in prison for merely possessing marijuana or using it, and their records should be expunged.

A promise made and a promise kept.  (Applause.)

Folks, I made a commitment to have an administration that looks like America, to tap into the full talents of our nation.  And I’m proud we have the most diverse administration in the history of America, because I know — (applause) — I know our diversity is our strength in America.

It was here in South Carolina that I promised to appoint the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.  (Applause.)  Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.  And, by the way, she’s smarter than the rest.  (Laughter and applause.) 

I’ve appointed more Black women to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals than every other president in American history combined — combined.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

And that includes Judge Michelle Childs — (applause) — of the D.C. Circuit, who is making South Carolina proud.

I promised to take care of hundreds of thousands of veterans exposed to toxic materials and care for their families.  That’s why I wrote the PACT Act. 

As Commander-in-Chief, I think we have only one sacred obligation — I’ve said it many times — prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home.  (Applause.) 

Well, as Commander-in-Chief, I look at veterans completely differently than Donald Trump.  Think about this — especially here in South Carolina, a proud military state — Donald Trump, when he was Commander-in-Chief, refused to visit a cemetery — U.S. cemetery outside of Paris for fallen American soldiers.  And he referred to those heroes, and I quote, as “suckers” and “losers.”  He actually said that.  He said that.

How dare he say that.  How dare he talk about my son and all (inaudible) like that.  (Applause.) 

Look, I call them patriots and heroes.  The only loser I see is Donald Trump.  (Applause.) 

It makes me angry.

AUDIENCE:  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!

THE PRESIDENT:  I apologize for losing my temper, but it really, really, really offends me. 

In recent weeks, we’re starting to see real evidence that American consumers are facing [feeling] real confidence in the economy we’re building.  Let me tell you who else is noticing that:  Donald Trump.  (Laughter.)

Did you see what he recently said about that wants to — that he wants to see the economy crash this year?  A sitting [former] President.  As they say in my faith, “Bless me, Father, for…” — (the President begins to makes the sign of the cross).  I mean, come on, man.  (Laughter.) 

“When there’s a crash” — “Wh-” — he said, “When there’s a crash, I hope in the next 12 months,” he went on to say.  It’s unbelievable.  It’s un-American.

How can anyone — especially a former president — wish for an economic crash that would devastate millions of Americans?

Well, let me tell you what he really means.  Donald Trump knows this economy is good and is strong and getting stronger.  (Applause.)  He knows that while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically.

Trump also said the one president he doesn’t want to be is Herbert Hoover.  Well, Donald, it’s too late.  (Laughter.)  There are only two presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than when they took office: Herbert Hoover and, yes, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump.  (Laughter and applause.)

And, by the way, have you noticed he’s is a little confused these days?  (Laughter.)  He apparently can’t tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, we’re making real progress on one of the most important issues we’re facing: security at the border.  The first bill I introduced was for a massive change in security at our border.  Two months ago, my team beginning [began] to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to put together the toughest, smartest, fairest border security bill in history — the best one the nation has ever seen.  It would finally provide the funding I requested early on and again in October to secure our borders. 

It includes an additional 1,300 Border Patrols — we need more agents on the border; 375 immigration judges to judge whether or not someone can come or not come and be fair about it; 1,600 asaylum off- — asylum officers; and over 100 cutting-edge inspec- — injec- — inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl coming in our Sou- — — our Southwest Border.  (Applause.) 

It would also give me, as President, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it can get back under control.  If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.  (Applause.)

The bipartisan bill would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here.  And Congress needs to get it done.  (Applause.)

Folks, we’re just getting started.  That’s why I’m so optimistic about our future. 

Forty thousand projects across America and counting, rebuilding our roads and our bridges; affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America; ripping out every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child can turn on a faucet, drink clean water without worrying about brain damage.  (Applause.)

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades.  (Applause.)  And I will not stop until we once again ban assault weapons, as I did once.  (Applause.)

Now, look, I want you to imagine — to imagine the future nightmare if Trump is back in office.  I’m serious.  Given the nightmare when he was in office, you know what is likely to come.  Trump and his MAGA friends are trying again to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and ripping away the protections you have under that, even if you have a preexisting condition.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)  I will not let that happen.

And instead of saving Social Security for working people and the middle class — although he said he wanted to get rid of it or change it — cut it drastically and now he says he’s for it.  But guess what?  Trump and his MAGA friends will give another massive tax break to the super wealthy and the biggest corporations.  I won’t let that happen.  (Applause.) 

Folks, I know you’re with me. 

I know this: Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedoms, like the freedom to vote.  Trump brags about taking away a woman’s freedom to choose.  And now, they’re hatching a plan for a national ban — a national ban.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)

I’ve made it clear: If the MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on abortion, I will veto it.  And consider that a promise made, and a promise will be kept.  (Applause.)

And if you reelect me and Kamala with a Democratic House and a bigger majority in the Senate No- — this November, imagine a future where we restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.  (Applause.)

A promise made, and a promise will be kept.

Let me close with this.  A few weeks —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Biden, you promised to (inaudible) — you promised to declare (inaudible) —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Let me close with this.  A few weeks ago, along with Jim, I spoke at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston.  I said there are extreme and dangerous forces at work in this country — dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back to the past instead of leading us to a future; refusing to accept the results of legitimate elections; seeking, as Trump says, to “terminate” the Constitution; embracing political violence and white supremacy.

I said in Charleston, there is a second Lost Cause emerging in America.  The first Lost Cause perpetuated the lie that slavery wasn’t the cause of the Civil War.  And we’ve been paying a price for that lie for generations. 

The second Lost Cause is Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.  We cannot allow that lie to live either, because it threatens our very democracy.

Folks, there are truth, and there are lies — lies told for power, lies told for profit.  We must call out these lies with a voice that is clear and unyielding. 

The Bible teaches, “We shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.”  (Applause.)  My friends, we must speak the truth, that America, we still — in America, we still believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect.  We li- — we believe we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

We leave no one behind.  Everyone deserves a fair shot.  We give hate no safe harbor.  (Applause.)  And we stand against the evil of racism, the poison of rite suprem- — of white supremacy — today, tomorrow, and always.

And we will live in the light, not darkness.  We’ll stand with the truth and defeat the lies.  (Applause.)

And when we do, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations will have been able to say: America’s democracy at risk — was at risk, and we saved it.

Are you with me?  (Applause.)

Let’s finish what we started.  February 3rd is your primary — the first in the nation.  Organize.  Mobilize.  Vote.  (Applause.)

And let’s remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  (Applause.)  And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity if we stand together.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you. 

8:02 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event at South Carolina’s First in the Nation Dinner | Columbia, SC appeared first on The White House.

Today, America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three U.S. service members were killed—and many wounded—during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border.  While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.

Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen—and Americans across the country—in grieving the loss of these warriors in this despicable and wholly unjust attack. These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country— risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism.  It is a fight we will not cease. 

The three American service members we lost were patriots in the highest sense. And their ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten by our nation. Together, we will keep the sacred obligation we bear to their families. We will strive to be worthy of their honor and valor. We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing. 

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Attack on U.S. Service Members in Northeastern Jordan Near the Syria Border appeared first on The White House.

Today, America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three U.S. service members were killed—and many wounded—during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border.  While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.

Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen—and Americans across the country—in grieving the loss of these warriors in this despicable and wholly unjust attack. These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country— risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism.  It is a fight we will not cease. 

The three American service members we lost were patriots in the highest sense. And their ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten by our nation. Together, we will keep the sacred obligation we bear to their families. We will strive to be worthy of their honor and valor. We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing. 

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Attack on U.S. Service Members in Northeastern Jordan Near the Syria Border appeared first on The White House.

The Chef Jeff Project
Las Vegas, Nevada 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, let me start by saying it is wonderful to be back in Nevada.  And, Chef Jeff, I want to thank you for so warmly welcoming us and sharing with us the success of your dream of investing in the community and the capacity of everyone.  I’ve been reading about and hearing about the work that you are doing here for quite some time, so it’s been my joy to be here in person.

I do believe in a very fundamental principle — and it transcends religions, but it is an age-old concept — and it is the concept of redemption, which is the notion and the understanding that all people will make a mistake.  And, yes, there must be accountability, especially when it involves the commission of a crime, when it involves anything that might hurt another person; of course, there must be accountability.  But is it not the sign of a civil society to allow people the ability to come back and earn their way back?

And so, when I look at the spirit, I believe, behind the work that is happening here and the work that should be happening everywhere, it is about understanding that all people have some skill or gift or capacity to do good things.  And often, it is a function of whether we as a society put the resources into that possibility.

Do we and are we committed to access — meaningful access to opportunity for all people?

And that is the beauty of the work that is happening here and in many other places, and especially because of the Administrator and who — we have, in Administrator Guzman, the ability to understand, through the SBA, how we can make these opportunities real, in terms of giving businesses like this one access to capital to then create access to opportunity for all the young leaders who are here. 

And so, I applaud the work that is happening here.  I — I recognize it.  Many, many years ago — in fact, now almost two decades ago, when I was District Attorney of San Francisco, I created one of the first reentry initiatives of any place in the country focused on just this notion and idea, which is to give folks an opportunity to come back with the skills and the skill development that are necessary for the people to reach their capacity and achieve their dreams.

And I do believe this is work that we need to reinforce through the structures of our systems, including recognizing where the structures of some of our systems have been an obstacle to these possibilities.

So, on that point, I am pleased to announce today that what we are doing is ensuring that the millions of Americans who have served time or have a criminal record will soon be able to receive small business loans in a way that, before now — (applause) — they were not able to.

And when we look at this, right now, before this announcement, we are looking at millions of Americans who could not access loans for the Small Business Administration — loans that, on average, are about $40 billion a year — because they served time. 

And, again, they paid their — they — they have paid for the accountability that — that they needed to pay.  They have done their time.  They have served their time.  And the point is, if we are to be a society that understands their capacity to earn their way back, we have to remove the obstacles that will prevent them from doing that.

And so, I want to acknowledge and thank the Administrator for your leadership.  The President and I are so proud of the work you have done to make these ideals real.

I especially want to thank the Congressman, Steven Horsford.  He and I have had these conversations for years.  Everyone here in — in Las Vegas and in Nevada knows his background.  But this is a lifelong commitment he has had.  And a lot of the work that we have done as an administration in this regard has been with him as a partner and often as someone who is championing it in the United States Congress in a way that we can facilitate it and see it through.

So, I’ll close where I started: by saying that every person in America should have access to opportunity.  And we have to be very thoughtful and intentional about — and clear-eyed about where there are obstacles to just that end.  And let’s remove those obstacles so that we can have success stories like we have with the young men and women who are here.

And with that, I’m going to turn it over to the Administrator.  Please. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

                               END         

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris on Uplifting Small Businesses and Supporting Entrepreneurship | Las Vegas, NV appeared first on The White House.

The Chef Jeff Project
Las Vegas, Nevada 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, let me start by saying it is wonderful to be back in Nevada.  And, Chef Jeff, I want to thank you for so warmly welcoming us and sharing with us the success of your dream of investing in the community and the capacity of everyone.  I’ve been reading about and hearing about the work that you are doing here for quite some time, so it’s been my joy to be here in person.

I do believe in a very fundamental principle — and it transcends religions, but it is an age-old concept — and it is the concept of redemption, which is the notion and the understanding that all people will make a mistake.  And, yes, there must be accountability, especially when it involves the commission of a crime, when it involves anything that might hurt another person; of course, there must be accountability.  But is it not the sign of a civil society to allow people the ability to come back and earn their way back?

And so, when I look at the spirit, I believe, behind the work that is happening here and the work that should be happening everywhere, it is about understanding that all people have some skill or gift or capacity to do good things.  And often, it is a function of whether we as a society put the resources into that possibility.

Do we and are we committed to access — meaningful access to opportunity for all people?

And that is the beauty of the work that is happening here and in many other places, and especially because of the Administrator and who — we have, in Administrator Guzman, the ability to understand, through the SBA, how we can make these opportunities real, in terms of giving businesses like this one access to capital to then create access to opportunity for all the young leaders who are here. 

And so, I applaud the work that is happening here.  I — I recognize it.  Many, many years ago — in fact, now almost two decades ago, when I was District Attorney of San Francisco, I created one of the first reentry initiatives of any place in the country focused on just this notion and idea, which is to give folks an opportunity to come back with the skills and the skill development that are necessary for the people to reach their capacity and achieve their dreams.

And I do believe this is work that we need to reinforce through the structures of our systems, including recognizing where the structures of some of our systems have been an obstacle to these possibilities.

So, on that point, I am pleased to announce today that what we are doing is ensuring that the millions of Americans who have served time or have a criminal record will soon be able to receive small business loans in a way that, before now — (applause) — they were not able to.

And when we look at this, right now, before this announcement, we are looking at millions of Americans who could not access loans for the Small Business Administration — loans that, on average, are about $40 billion a year — because they served time. 

And, again, they paid their — they — they have paid for the accountability that — that they needed to pay.  They have done their time.  They have served their time.  And the point is, if we are to be a society that understands their capacity to earn their way back, we have to remove the obstacles that will prevent them from doing that.

And so, I want to acknowledge and thank the Administrator for your leadership.  The President and I are so proud of the work you have done to make these ideals real.

I especially want to thank the Congressman, Steven Horsford.  He and I have had these conversations for years.  Everyone here in — in Las Vegas and in Nevada knows his background.  But this is a lifelong commitment he has had.  And a lot of the work that we have done as an administration in this regard has been with him as a partner and often as someone who is championing it in the United States Congress in a way that we can facilitate it and see it through.

So, I’ll close where I started: by saying that every person in America should have access to opportunity.  And we have to be very thoughtful and intentional about — and clear-eyed about where there are obstacles to just that end.  And let’s remove those obstacles so that we can have success stories like we have with the young men and women who are here.

And with that, I’m going to turn it over to the Administrator.  Please. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

                               END         

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris on Uplifting Small Businesses and Supporting Entrepreneurship | Las Vegas, NV appeared first on The White House.

National Security Council

Via Teleconference

10:31 A.M. EST

MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining us on a Saturday morning.

Quickly, to go over ground rules, this call will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. It’s attributable to a senior administration official.

For awareness but not for reporting, joining us on today’s call is [senior administration official]. And with that, I will waste no time and I will hand it over to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks so much. And, folks, thanks for giving up part of your Sunday mor- — or Saturday morning for this.

I wanted to give you a bit of a readout of the National Security Advisor’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member Director Wang Yi — and Foreign Minister — Wang Yi.

The two met over 12 hours over two days, here in Bangkok. The discussion built on the candid and constructive meetings we’ve had not only in this channel, but also between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, in November 2023.

The last meeting between Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang took place October 2023 in Washington, D.C. And I think altogether now, this is the fourth meeting in this channel with Director Wang but the eighth meeting between directors and national security advisors. As folks will remember, the previous incumbent of the role was Yang Jiechi. And Jake Sullivan often met frequently with that individual too.

This quite low-profile channel between the National Security Advisor and Director Wang is an important way to manage competition and tensions responsibly. The two-day format of these meetings, which is what we’ve done in every case, allows us to dive deeply into substance and have a strategic, thoughtful conversation about the direction of the relationship and key issues both countries face.

The two sides are committed to continuing this strategic channel of communication and agree to pursue additional channels of communication not just at the cabinet level, visits in both directions, but also a telephone call between the two leaders at some point in the coming months.

We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that U.S. diplomacy, these channels of communication, do not indicate a change in approach on the PRC. Mr. Sullivan underscored during the meeting that the United States and the PRC are in competition but that the United States does not seek conflict or confrontation, and there are areas of cooperation in the relationship.

During the meeting, Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang took stock of progress on key issues following the Woodside summit, including resuming military-to-military communication, advancing bilateral counternarcotics cooperation, and addressing AI safety and risks.

The United States and the PRC will launch a working group on counternarcotics, as agreed by the two leaders, on January 30th. I think we’ll have some more details and an announcement for you on that tomorrow.

On military-to-military channels, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown, held a virtual meeting with his counterpart on December 21. And the Defense Policy Coordination Talks, essentially a communication mechanism at DOD with their Ministry of Defense counterparts, took place in early January.

As next steps, we look forward to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings sometime this spring, as well as communications between theater commanders and at the minister or secretary level in the coming months.

On AI, both sides reiterated their interest in discussing emerging challenges such as safety and risks posed by advanced forms of AI. We also discussed next steps towards the U.S.-China dialogue on this issue. We expect to hold it sometime in the spring; don’t have a date for you yet on that.

Mr. Sullivan underscored continued concern with the PRC’s unfair trade policies, non-market economic practices, and retaliatory actions against U.S. firms.

He reiterated President Biden’s commitments — or, rather, comments to President Xi that the U.S. will continue to take actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our own national security but that we are focused on de-risking, not decoupling. And our approach remains a small yard, high fence — that is we’re focused on the narrow band of technologies that are the most advanced and present military challenges.

The two sides welcomed ongoing communication on this issue in economic channels, including between Secretary Yellen and Secretary Raimondo and their counterparts.

Mr. Sullivan raised other specific issues in the bilateral relationship where we have differences. None of these would surprise you; they’re issues we consistently raise in conversations with PRC counterparts.

The two sides also discussed important global and regional security issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East including the Red Sea, DPRK, the South China Sea, and, of course, Burma.

They discussed cross-Strait issues. Mr. Sullivan reiterated that the United States remains committed to our One China policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiqués, and Six Assurances. He indicated the U.S. opposes unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we do not support Taiwan independence, and that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved peacefully.

The two sides, as I mentioned before, discussed additional high-level diplomacy between the United States, and we’re committed to continuing consultation in key areas through the mechanisms that we’ve announced previously.

I’ll stop there, and happy to answer any questions you might have.

MODERATOR: With that, we’ll open it up to questions.

We’ll go to Trevor Hunnicutt with Reuters first.

Q Hey, thanks so much for doing the call. Two questions. Just curious if there was any specific date for the Biden-Xi call beyond the coming months.

And then also, I was wondering if you could give a little bit more detail around the conversation on Iran and its support for the Houthis, whether China had made any progress in terms of convincing Iran to change its support for the Houthis. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks so much. On the phone call, I don’t have a date for you yet, but we’re expecting it to take place this spring, some point in the coming months. This leader-level channel is absolutely critical to maintaining direction in the relationship and following up on some of the issues from Woodside. So, I think important that both sides go ahead with this. And, of course, at Woodside the two leaders discussed maintaining communication through telephone calls.

On the Red Sea, we certainly underscored that Iran continues to take irresponsible actions that exacerbate regional tensions and instability, including by supporting the Houthis’ attacks against civilian ships in the Red Sea. Mr. Sullivan raised the importance of Beijing using its substantial leverage with Iran to call for an end and bring an end to these dangerous attacks.

You know, we certainly — this is not the first time we’ve called on China to play a constructive role. Beijing says they are raising this with the Iranians, and I think you’ve seen that reflected in some of the press reporting. But we’re certainly going to wait to see results before we comment further on how effective we think — or whether we think they’re actually raising it.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Michelle Jamrisko with Bloomberg.

Q Hi, yes, Michelle from Bloomberg. Thanks for doing this. I just wanted to ask on the fentanyl piece. In previous discussions and previous rounds of trying to negotiate around this with China, there wasn’t — seemed to be much change in what they were doing. I’m wondering what kinds of measures may have been discussed in terms of holding them to account for delivering on the sort of cooperation on counternarcotics.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Great question.

I think we briefed on some of this back — right after the Woodside summit, so I’m going to pull from some of those discussions.

So when we announced the restart of the counternarcotics working group last November, that was a company that (inaudible) by actions the Chinese side took, including releasing a notice to their precursor chemical — actually their entire chemical industry — about trafficking in precursor chemicals to the United States. It listed out potential criminal liability. Specific, I think it included DEA’s list of chemicals of concern, called for additional scrutiny on pill presses and equipment.

So that notice that was sent out to the chemical companies, we’ve already seen tangible impact on the ground. China has moved to shut down a number of companies and operations that were trafficking in the illicit chemicals and precursors.

We have also seen, we understand, reductions in precursor chemicals seized at some U.S. airports, originating from China. So we are already starting to see immediate impact.

However, this type of cooperation, because of the nature of the drug trade, really needs to be continuous and ongoing. It’s not just one snapshot in time. So our goal is to use this counternarcotics working group, which will include participation from a broad cross-section of agencies on our part, to really ensure that what we’re doing is iterative, that we’re continuing to share information on cases on particular points of origin of these precursor chemicals.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Nike Ching with Voice of America.

Q Good morning. Thank you so much for the call briefing. On South China Sea, how was this issue being discussed? And how worried is the United States that escalating tensions between the People’s Republic of China and the Philippines over South China Sea may trigger a conflict in the Indo-Pacific?

And separately, if I may, was there a discussion on a potential trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this year to Beijing?

And finally, how was Burma discussed? How does the United States assess the Chinese influence over the junta to put an end to the conflict? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for those questions.

First, on South China Sea, Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance the United States places on the South China Sea, that we remain committed to promoting freedom of navigation and overflights, respect for international law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, in close coordination, of course, with our allies and partners, namely Philippines, in the case you’re mentioning.

I think diplomacy plays an important part of that peaceful resolution of disputes. We support ongoing diplomacy between the two parties there. And I’ll leave it at that for now.

You asked about Burma as well. Of course, while he was in Thailand, Mr. Sullivan also met the Thai prime minister and deputy prime minister and foreign minister. In those meetings, he discussed Burma, as well — the efforts to address the worsening crisis there; discussed the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma; welcomed efforts to advance meaningful implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus.

In his follow-up, then, with Director Wang Yi the following day, you know, I think it’s fair to say that China certainly does have influence in that region. But Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang discussed the ongoing crisis, and we hope to have follow-up discussions at lower level in the coming weeks and months, given the need to really remain focused on promoting a return to the path of democratic transition in Burma.

You asked one more question, which somehow has — oh, Blinken’s travel. We didn’t discuss specific dates, and I would refer you to the Department of State for any conversations on that. But we do expect at some point that Secretary Blinken would make another trip this year. That channel is incredibly important. And, of course, Secretary Blinken was the first Cabinet official last year to travel to China, and his counterpart has since traveled to the United States on a reciprocal visit. So it would be up for him to return to Beijing at some point soon.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Sangho Song with Yonhap News.

Q Thank you for doing this. You briefly mentioned the two sides also discussed the DPRK, so can you elaborate on that? Was there any discussion, ongoing concerns about the (inaudible) rhetoric and weapons tests, and cooperation between Russia and North Korea and China’s role vis-à-vis North Korea (inaudible)? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks for that question.

Yes, the two sides did discuss DPRK. I think we are deeply concerned — I know we are deeply concerned about the recent testing of weapons. We are deeply concerned about the growing relationship between Russia and the DPRK and what that might mean for Mr. Kim’s intentions. We raised those concerns directly with China, given their influence on Pyongyang.

And we hope these discussions will continue further between our two envoys. For example, I think the Chinese just sent their vice foreign minister to Pyongyang this week, if I’m not mistaken. So our next step would be a call between our envoy and the vice foreign minister upon his return.

MODERATOR: And our last question will go to Demetri with the FT.

Q Thanks. Good morning. So, two questions. Again, on North Korea, can you give us a sense of is China actually playing a constructive role? Because it seems to be they haven’t been doing very much recently. Is that changing?

And secondly, on Iran, can you just give us a sense of where you think China has leverage over Iran and where might they not have leverage? I mean, how much leverage do they have and why?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for the question, Demetri.

On DPRK, I’m not sure I would characterize anything recently as constructive. Russia certainly has a growing role there and growing influence. But certainly, Beijing certainly maintains influence as well. And I think our expectation would be that they have to use that to bring us back to the path of denuclearization.

On Iran, you know, China is one of, I think, Iran’s largest trading partners, obviously buys substantial quantities of Iranian oil. I think we would characterize both the economic and trade relationship as giving it leverage — as giving Beijing leverage over Iran to some extent. How they choose to use that, of course, is China’s choice. But Iran’s influence over the Houthis and the Houthis’ destabilization of global shipping raises serious concerns, not just for the U.S. and China but for global trade.

So, again, I think there should be a clear interest in China in terms of quiet some of those attacks. But whether it chooses to use that leverage in that way, I think that remains to be seen.

Q And you’ve been talking to Iran — to China about Iran for a couple of months. Have you seen any indications that they’re playing ball in a positive way?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We’ve seen in public press reporting, and it mirrors what the Chinese are telling us directly, that they are raising it with Iran. But, you know, I think we’re looking to actually facts on the ground, and those attacks seem to be continuing.

I’ll leave it there for now.

MODERATOR: That concludes our call. Thank you all for joining us. You can anticipate that a transcript of the call will be out later today. Thank you.

10:49 A.M. EST

The post Background Press Call on APNSA Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

National Security Council

Via Teleconference

10:31 A.M. EST

MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining us on a Saturday morning.

Quickly, to go over ground rules, this call will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. It’s attributable to a senior administration official.

For awareness but not for reporting, joining us on today’s call is [senior administration official]. And with that, I will waste no time and I will hand it over to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks so much. And, folks, thanks for giving up part of your Sunday mor- — or Saturday morning for this.

I wanted to give you a bit of a readout of the National Security Advisor’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member Director Wang Yi — and Foreign Minister — Wang Yi.

The two met over 12 hours over two days, here in Bangkok. The discussion built on the candid and constructive meetings we’ve had not only in this channel, but also between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, in November 2023.

The last meeting between Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang took place October 2023 in Washington, D.C. And I think altogether now, this is the fourth meeting in this channel with Director Wang but the eighth meeting between directors and national security advisors. As folks will remember, the previous incumbent of the role was Yang Jiechi. And Jake Sullivan often met frequently with that individual too.

This quite low-profile channel between the National Security Advisor and Director Wang is an important way to manage competition and tensions responsibly. The two-day format of these meetings, which is what we’ve done in every case, allows us to dive deeply into substance and have a strategic, thoughtful conversation about the direction of the relationship and key issues both countries face.

The two sides are committed to continuing this strategic channel of communication and agree to pursue additional channels of communication not just at the cabinet level, visits in both directions, but also a telephone call between the two leaders at some point in the coming months.

We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that U.S. diplomacy, these channels of communication, do not indicate a change in approach on the PRC. Mr. Sullivan underscored during the meeting that the United States and the PRC are in competition but that the United States does not seek conflict or confrontation, and there are areas of cooperation in the relationship.

During the meeting, Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang took stock of progress on key issues following the Woodside summit, including resuming military-to-military communication, advancing bilateral counternarcotics cooperation, and addressing AI safety and risks.

The United States and the PRC will launch a working group on counternarcotics, as agreed by the two leaders, on January 30th. I think we’ll have some more details and an announcement for you on that tomorrow.

On military-to-military channels, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown, held a virtual meeting with his counterpart on December 21. And the Defense Policy Coordination Talks, essentially a communication mechanism at DOD with their Ministry of Defense counterparts, took place in early January.

As next steps, we look forward to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings sometime this spring, as well as communications between theater commanders and at the minister or secretary level in the coming months.

On AI, both sides reiterated their interest in discussing emerging challenges such as safety and risks posed by advanced forms of AI. We also discussed next steps towards the U.S.-China dialogue on this issue. We expect to hold it sometime in the spring; don’t have a date for you yet on that.

Mr. Sullivan underscored continued concern with the PRC’s unfair trade policies, non-market economic practices, and retaliatory actions against U.S. firms.

He reiterated President Biden’s commitments — or, rather, comments to President Xi that the U.S. will continue to take actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our own national security but that we are focused on de-risking, not decoupling. And our approach remains a small yard, high fence — that is we’re focused on the narrow band of technologies that are the most advanced and present military challenges.

The two sides welcomed ongoing communication on this issue in economic channels, including between Secretary Yellen and Secretary Raimondo and their counterparts.

Mr. Sullivan raised other specific issues in the bilateral relationship where we have differences. None of these would surprise you; they’re issues we consistently raise in conversations with PRC counterparts.

The two sides also discussed important global and regional security issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East including the Red Sea, DPRK, the South China Sea, and, of course, Burma.

They discussed cross-Strait issues. Mr. Sullivan reiterated that the United States remains committed to our One China policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiqués, and Six Assurances. He indicated the U.S. opposes unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we do not support Taiwan independence, and that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved peacefully.

The two sides, as I mentioned before, discussed additional high-level diplomacy between the United States, and we’re committed to continuing consultation in key areas through the mechanisms that we’ve announced previously.

I’ll stop there, and happy to answer any questions you might have.

MODERATOR: With that, we’ll open it up to questions.

We’ll go to Trevor Hunnicutt with Reuters first.

Q Hey, thanks so much for doing the call. Two questions. Just curious if there was any specific date for the Biden-Xi call beyond the coming months.

And then also, I was wondering if you could give a little bit more detail around the conversation on Iran and its support for the Houthis, whether China had made any progress in terms of convincing Iran to change its support for the Houthis. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks so much. On the phone call, I don’t have a date for you yet, but we’re expecting it to take place this spring, some point in the coming months. This leader-level channel is absolutely critical to maintaining direction in the relationship and following up on some of the issues from Woodside. So, I think important that both sides go ahead with this. And, of course, at Woodside the two leaders discussed maintaining communication through telephone calls.

On the Red Sea, we certainly underscored that Iran continues to take irresponsible actions that exacerbate regional tensions and instability, including by supporting the Houthis’ attacks against civilian ships in the Red Sea. Mr. Sullivan raised the importance of Beijing using its substantial leverage with Iran to call for an end and bring an end to these dangerous attacks.

You know, we certainly — this is not the first time we’ve called on China to play a constructive role. Beijing says they are raising this with the Iranians, and I think you’ve seen that reflected in some of the press reporting. But we’re certainly going to wait to see results before we comment further on how effective we think — or whether we think they’re actually raising it.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Michelle Jamrisko with Bloomberg.

Q Hi, yes, Michelle from Bloomberg. Thanks for doing this. I just wanted to ask on the fentanyl piece. In previous discussions and previous rounds of trying to negotiate around this with China, there wasn’t — seemed to be much change in what they were doing. I’m wondering what kinds of measures may have been discussed in terms of holding them to account for delivering on the sort of cooperation on counternarcotics.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Great question.

I think we briefed on some of this back — right after the Woodside summit, so I’m going to pull from some of those discussions.

So when we announced the restart of the counternarcotics working group last November, that was a company that (inaudible) by actions the Chinese side took, including releasing a notice to their precursor chemical — actually their entire chemical industry — about trafficking in precursor chemicals to the United States. It listed out potential criminal liability. Specific, I think it included DEA’s list of chemicals of concern, called for additional scrutiny on pill presses and equipment.

So that notice that was sent out to the chemical companies, we’ve already seen tangible impact on the ground. China has moved to shut down a number of companies and operations that were trafficking in the illicit chemicals and precursors.

We have also seen, we understand, reductions in precursor chemicals seized at some U.S. airports, originating from China. So we are already starting to see immediate impact.

However, this type of cooperation, because of the nature of the drug trade, really needs to be continuous and ongoing. It’s not just one snapshot in time. So our goal is to use this counternarcotics working group, which will include participation from a broad cross-section of agencies on our part, to really ensure that what we’re doing is iterative, that we’re continuing to share information on cases on particular points of origin of these precursor chemicals.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Nike Ching with Voice of America.

Q Good morning. Thank you so much for the call briefing. On South China Sea, how was this issue being discussed? And how worried is the United States that escalating tensions between the People’s Republic of China and the Philippines over South China Sea may trigger a conflict in the Indo-Pacific?

And separately, if I may, was there a discussion on a potential trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this year to Beijing?

And finally, how was Burma discussed? How does the United States assess the Chinese influence over the junta to put an end to the conflict? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for those questions.

First, on South China Sea, Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance the United States places on the South China Sea, that we remain committed to promoting freedom of navigation and overflights, respect for international law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, in close coordination, of course, with our allies and partners, namely Philippines, in the case you’re mentioning.

I think diplomacy plays an important part of that peaceful resolution of disputes. We support ongoing diplomacy between the two parties there. And I’ll leave it at that for now.

You asked about Burma as well. Of course, while he was in Thailand, Mr. Sullivan also met the Thai prime minister and deputy prime minister and foreign minister. In those meetings, he discussed Burma, as well — the efforts to address the worsening crisis there; discussed the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma; welcomed efforts to advance meaningful implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus.

In his follow-up, then, with Director Wang Yi the following day, you know, I think it’s fair to say that China certainly does have influence in that region. But Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang discussed the ongoing crisis, and we hope to have follow-up discussions at lower level in the coming weeks and months, given the need to really remain focused on promoting a return to the path of democratic transition in Burma.

You asked one more question, which somehow has — oh, Blinken’s travel. We didn’t discuss specific dates, and I would refer you to the Department of State for any conversations on that. But we do expect at some point that Secretary Blinken would make another trip this year. That channel is incredibly important. And, of course, Secretary Blinken was the first Cabinet official last year to travel to China, and his counterpart has since traveled to the United States on a reciprocal visit. So it would be up for him to return to Beijing at some point soon.

MODERATOR: Next, we’ll go to Sangho Song with Yonhap News.

Q Thank you for doing this. You briefly mentioned the two sides also discussed the DPRK, so can you elaborate on that? Was there any discussion, ongoing concerns about the (inaudible) rhetoric and weapons tests, and cooperation between Russia and North Korea and China’s role vis-à-vis North Korea (inaudible)? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks for that question.

Yes, the two sides did discuss DPRK. I think we are deeply concerned — I know we are deeply concerned about the recent testing of weapons. We are deeply concerned about the growing relationship between Russia and the DPRK and what that might mean for Mr. Kim’s intentions. We raised those concerns directly with China, given their influence on Pyongyang.

And we hope these discussions will continue further between our two envoys. For example, I think the Chinese just sent their vice foreign minister to Pyongyang this week, if I’m not mistaken. So our next step would be a call between our envoy and the vice foreign minister upon his return.

MODERATOR: And our last question will go to Demetri with the FT.

Q Thanks. Good morning. So, two questions. Again, on North Korea, can you give us a sense of is China actually playing a constructive role? Because it seems to be they haven’t been doing very much recently. Is that changing?

And secondly, on Iran, can you just give us a sense of where you think China has leverage over Iran and where might they not have leverage? I mean, how much leverage do they have and why?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for the question, Demetri.

On DPRK, I’m not sure I would characterize anything recently as constructive. Russia certainly has a growing role there and growing influence. But certainly, Beijing certainly maintains influence as well. And I think our expectation would be that they have to use that to bring us back to the path of denuclearization.

On Iran, you know, China is one of, I think, Iran’s largest trading partners, obviously buys substantial quantities of Iranian oil. I think we would characterize both the economic and trade relationship as giving it leverage — as giving Beijing leverage over Iran to some extent. How they choose to use that, of course, is China’s choice. But Iran’s influence over the Houthis and the Houthis’ destabilization of global shipping raises serious concerns, not just for the U.S. and China but for global trade.

So, again, I think there should be a clear interest in China in terms of quiet some of those attacks. But whether it chooses to use that leverage in that way, I think that remains to be seen.

Q And you’ve been talking to Iran — to China about Iran for a couple of months. Have you seen any indications that they’re playing ball in a positive way?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We’ve seen in public press reporting, and it mirrors what the Chinese are telling us directly, that they are raising it with Iran. But, you know, I think we’re looking to actually facts on the ground, and those attacks seem to be continuing.

I’ll leave it there for now.

MODERATOR: That concludes our call. Thank you all for joining us. You can anticipate that a transcript of the call will be out later today. Thank you.

10:49 A.M. EST

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