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Beijing, People’s Republic of China

MR. SULLIVAN: Good evening. As I said at the very start of these meetings, President Biden has been clear that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly.

Our aim in every engagement with China is to deliver for the American people. Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States has and will continue to advance its interests and values, look out for its friends. And as we do, we believe that competition with China does not have to lead to conflict or confrontation. The key is responsible management through diplomacy.

Beginning in May of last year, that diplomacy has been an all-hands-on-deck effort across the U.S. government and the Cabinet, which has included four meetings between myself and Director Wang Yi, as well as engagements between Secretary Blinken, Secretary Yellen, Secretary Raimondo and their counterparts, and many other Cabinet secretaries and their counterparts.

Those discussions helped lay the foundation for a productive summit between President Biden and President Xi in San Francisco at the end of last year. There, our leaders agreed on concrete steps on issues that matter to the American people and, for that matter, matter to the world.

This week, I traveled to China for the first time as National Security Advisor to take stock of where we have made progress and what work there still remains to be done, and also how we can responsibly manage the difficult issues and the differences that we have in this relationship. That’s been the focus of my meetings with President Xi, with Director and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and with CMC Vice Chairman Zhang Zouxia [sic] — excuse me, Zhang Youxia.

This was a true working visit. Over the course of 14 hours of meetings, we discussed progress and next steps on implementation of the Woodside commitments, including our work on counternarcotics and efforts to reduce the flow of illicit synthetic drugs into the United States; military-to-military communications including an upcoming engagement between our theater commanders; as well as work towards another round of AI safety and risk talks. Among other issues of global concern, we discussed the recent efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

These meetings were also about managing tough issues, as I said, and areas of disagreement. And I was direct on these issues as well.

The United States will continue to take necessary action to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security without unduly limiting trade or investment. We have continued concerns about China’s unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices.

We remain deeply concerned about China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on both European and transatlantic security, not to mention on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine.

It is a top priority for this administration to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China. And this was another opportunity for me to raise those cases, as I have done in my prior engagements.

I also underscored the longstanding U.S. commitment to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In all of my meetings, I stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait; emphasized the United States’ commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and I reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to our Indo-Pacific allies including our concerns about destabilizing actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea.

These were constructive, candid, substantive conversations. We believe that keeping lines of communication open is critical. And to that end, we began planning towards a leader-level call in the coming weeks where I expect these discussions to continue.

And with that, I’d be happy take your questions.

Yeah.

Q Throughout your meetings with Chinese officials, including Xi Jinping, did you get a sense of how Chinese leadership is feeling about the race for the White House? Obviously, the election would be a looming issue for them.

MR. SULLIVAN: I didn’t really get a feeling for that. We didn’t discuss the American election. That’s obviously something for the American people to decide and not for any other country to get involved in. So, neither in my meetings with Director Wang nor in the meeting with the President, or, for that matter, with the CMC Vice Chair, did we specifically talk about the American election.

Yeah.

Q Hi there. Marc Stewart from CNN. As you mentioned, you talked about some of the maritime issues. I don’t have to tell you, obviously, things are very tense right now in the South China Sea, especially with the Philippines and some of these reef issues. Reading the readout, it said you discussed some of this with Xi Jinping himself. Other than diplomatic speak, is there a reasonable roadmap or blueprint for the future? Because I think that the level of tension is reaching an extremely high level.

MR. SULLIVAN: So, first, we believe that the order of the day should be de-escalation, and we support direct discussions between the Philippines and the PRC to that end. We also have made very clear that our mutual defense treaty applies to public vessels, including coast guard vessels, that are operating in the South China Sea and in other waters. It also applies to aircraft, for that matter.

So the PRC well understands the longstanding commitment the United States has under its mutual defense treaty to the Philippines, and the Philippines well understands that we have an ironclad commitment to support them in their lawful exercise of their rights, their maritime rights.

At the same time, nobody is looking for a crisis — not the Philippines, not the United States, and we hope not the PRC. But I did raise our concerns about some of the destabilizing actions that have taken place, including the ramming of coast guard vessels and unsafe intercepts near Scarborough Shoal.

It’s something we’ll continue to discuss with our Chinese counterparts. It’s something we will continue to consult closely with our Filipino counterparts on. And in fact, before I came here, I had the opportunity to call my Filipino counterpart, the National Security Advisor, Secretary Año, and I will stay in close touch with him, as will other members of the U.S. government.

So we will do our best to try to contribute to managing this issue in a responsible way so that de-escalation is the order of the day.

Yeah.

Q Hello. This is Rae (ph) from The Paper. So, I wonder, since the San Francisco summit, you know, more than 20 communication mechanisms have been established or assumed, maintaining the momentum from (inaudible) dialogue between the two countries. So following this visit, what will be the key focus of the U.S. diplomacy towards China through next January? And what specific interim achievement does the Biden administration hope to secure during this period? Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first, at a macro level, the most important thing and a core part of my extended engagement with Director Wang, not just here but in multiple meetings dating back to the beginning of last year, is overall responsible management of this relationship so the competition doesn’t veer into confrontation or conflict. That is ongoing work. And being able to reach the end of President Biden’s administration with the relationship on a stable basis, even though we have areas of difference and areas of difficulty, this is something we will work towards.

More specifically, we’re going to look for further progress on counternarcotics and reducing the flow of illicit synthetic drugs into the United States. We are going to look for a deepening of the military-to-military communication so that we can pass that on to President Biden’s successor. And, in fact, a very positive outcome of the sessions here is that there will be a call between the theater commanders, the INDOPACOM commander and the Southern Theater commander for the PLA.

Having the opportunity today to sit down with the CMC Vice Chairman, something that has not happened for a U.S. official in eight years, is itself significant because it allows us to give impetus and momentum to those military-to-military lines of communication, and that will be an important priority for us as we go forward.

There are other issues as well, of course, that we’ll deal with, and we’ll have to manage the risks and flashpoints too: cross-Strait relations, the South China Sea, the Chinese support for the Russian defense industrial base. And we’ll continue to work on all of those in the months ahead.

Yeah.

Q Welcome to Beijing. My name is Laura Baker. I’m from BBC News. I’d like to ask you: You talk about a call between the two leaders within the coming weeks. Will there be a last meeting between President Biden and President Xi?

And also, back to those talks with General Zhang: How important is it for you to have those talks with a leading general? And what was the tone of those talks?

MR. SULLIVAN: It is likely that both President Biden and President Xi will be at APEC and the G20 later this year. I don’t have any announcements to make on either President Biden’s travel or a potential meeting, but the likelihood is they’ll both be there, and if they are, it would only be natural for them to have the chance to sit down with one another. So we’ll have to await any confirmation or any announcements, but I think things pointing in that direction seem logical and reasonable.

I think the meeting with Vice Chairman Zhang was very important. There is no substitute for actually being able to sit across the table, not just with the Vice Chairman but with his whole team, and be able to hear from them their perspective on critical issues, and them be able to hear from us our perspective on those same issues, whether it’s cross-Strait relations or the South China Sea or cyber issues. And being able to have that exchange, which is rare, I think allows us to clarify our intentions and our concerns and hear theirs, and try to use that in service of responsible management of the relationship going forward.

Yeah.

Q Thank you. From the Wall Street Journal. Just to follow up on the question about the U.S. election, I’m curious about what questions, if any, did the Chinese ask you about what a potential Harris administration would represent for U.S.-China relations.

And connected to this, did you raise the issue specifically of potential election interference by China during your trip here today?

MR. SULLIVAN: Every time I meet with Chinese officials, I raise the issue of election interference and laying down a clear marker that it’s unacceptable for any nation to interfere in the U.S. election. And this trip was no different in that regard. I made that point once again.

I won’t characterize what the PRC’s questions were with respect to Vice President Harris. They’ll have to speak for themselves on that. But what I will say is that Vice President Harris has been a central member of the Biden foreign policy team, a leading member, and has been part of the design and execution of the overall strategy in the Indo-Pacific and with respect to the responsible management of U.S.-China relations.

She has had the opportunity to engage herself with President Xi and with Premier Li. So she is known to both of the top leaders in China. And she shares President Biden’s view that responsibly managing this competition, so it doesn’t veer into conflict or confrontation, is essential. And she also shares the view that maintaining high-level, open lines of communication is the way that you can achieve that responsible management.

So I was able to share my experience and my perspective of working closely with the Vice President and the role that she has played over the course of the past four years.

Yeah.

Q Thank you. I’m with Phoenix TV. The Biden administration has announced arms sale to Taiwan 15 times now since taking office and surpassing the Trump administration’s 11 times. So, China believes that the continued U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and other actions have increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait. So how do you respond to this? And what is the U.S. willing to do to de-escalate? Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: Our One China policy has not changed, and our approach to this issue is guided by the One China policy, the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances. That remains true today, and that has remained true on a bipartisan basis through multiple administrations. And that policy has actually helped contribute to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for decades, and we intend to keep it that way.

Let’s see. Yeah.

Q Ken Moritsugu with the AP. I want to ask about the 100 percent tariff that the Canadian government put on Chinese EVs earlier this week. It was reported that you had met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and encouraged Canada to go forward with that. Did that come up at all during these talks? Did the Chinese side complain about it or the timing? And if so, how did you respond?

MR. SULLIVAN: First of all, Canada is a sovereign country that makes its own sovereign decisions, and it would be quite an extraordinary power to show up on a Sunday evening and produce a major trade policy move on a Monday morning. So, I think the right way to look at this is: I was there for a pre-scheduled cabinet retreat to speak with them. They took independent action. It was not at my behest or anything that I did or said that made that happen. That was a determination that they made.

I did make the point while I was in Canada, and I’d make it standing here today, that we have concerns relative to EVs, both with respect to security issues and overcapacity issues. We’ve been public and transparent about that. But this was a decision they took on their own, and I won’t characterize the conversations with the PRC on this issue; I’ll let them speak for themselves.

Yeah.

Q Janis Mackey Frayer with NBC. A follow-up to the election-related question from Brian. The Chinese leadership and Chinese officials are about stability and consistency in their relationships. Did they at all signal to you any hesitation, nervousness, or concern about an upcoming change of administration at the White House?

MR. SULLIVAN: They recognize that elections are sensitive periods and transitions are sensitive periods, and responsible management through an election and transition is important. That’s something we believe as well. And my visit here during this period helps contribute to try and sustain that responsible management over this coming sensitive period.

I will refrain from commenting on their perspective about what comes next. I think that’s something that they’re going to have to speak for themselves on.

Yeah.

Q Thanks. Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters. Jake, could you talk a little bit about the status of the Middle East hostage and ceasefire negotiations?

MR. SULLIVAN: I could, but it’s moving hour by hour, and I haven’t gotten an update in the last several hours. What I would say is that the negotiators are bearing down on the details, meaning that we have advanced the discussions to a point where it’s in the nitty-gritty. And that is a positive sign of progress, but at the end of the day, nothing is done until it’s done, and so we’re just going to keep working at this until we finally get the ceasefire and hostage deal across the line. And I’ll have the chance, when I get on the plane, to check in with our negotiating team who’s participating in these talks in the region even as we speak.

Yeah.

Q Thank you. Evelyn Cheng from CNBC. On the issue of tech restrictions, I know that’s something that the U.S. side has remained very firm on and that the Chinese side has repeatedly asked for changes on. If the trajectory is still going to be more restrictions, was there — you know, can you give some more details on what that discussion looked like?

And then, just on the aspect of cross-Strait tensions and southeast — South China Sea, was there any specifics on what would look — what a de-escalation might look like? Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: We had extended discussions about economics and national security, and I won’t characterize the PRC position on that, other than to say it wasn’t — it was consistent in the room with what they have said publicly on the issue.

For our part, I laid out our approach, which is rooted in the concept of small yard, high fence. I explained why it is that we feel we have to take some targeted restrictions to ensure that advanced technologies aren’t used against U.S. national security. I explained that our approach is one of de-risking, not decoupling, and described in some detail how we saw de-risking in practice. And I also raised our concerns about steps that the PRC has taken with respect to the intersection of economics and national security and the impact that that has had on Western businesses and on supply chains.

And so, we had a vigorous give-and-take on the issue. Obviously, we didn’t come to agreement on certain aspects of things. But I think the dialogue is very useful because it clarifies the concerns of each side and also gives us the opportunity to explain what it is that we are doing and what we are not doing. And I thought that was valuable.

We didn’t reach any specific agreements on the South China Sea. You know, for one thing, it’s not for the United States to reach agreements with China over the heads of parties like the Philippines. For another, you know, there’s no substitute for that direct diplomacy between the two of them. But we did indicate and reiterate our longstanding commitment to our ally and our longstanding commitment to the rule of law, freedom of navigation, and the free exercise of maritime rights in the South China Sea. And we’ll continue to do that.

I’ll take one more question. Yeah.

Q China Media Group speaking. Sir, we noticed that almost all of your accompanying staff can speak Chinese. Do you think this helped you to communicate with your Chinese counterparts? And does this help you accurately understand China’s core concerns? Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes. (Laughter.) The answer is yes. No, having a team here, many of whom do speak fluent Mandarin, have deep experience on issues related to the PRC and the U.S.-China relationship, this is — you know, it makes my job a heck of a lot easier and makes me much better than I would otherwise be. And I stand on the shoulders of those experts because, you know, they’re the ones with the insights and the wisdom that drives forward the conversations that we’ve had here over the last three days. So —

All right, we’ll do two more. Yeah.

Q Yes. Keith Bradsher for the New York Times. Have you made any progress with China in discussing what might be a possible resolution for the war in Ukraine? Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: I can’t say that we did make progress on that issue. The PRC has been very public in its view that the war should end through diplomacy. They’ve laid out various principles, both unilaterally and in separate communication with the Brazilians.

We had the opportunity to exchange views on the war against Ukraine over the course of the last three days. We didn’t reach any particular plan with respect to diplomacy, in large part because the United States very rigorously adheres to the simple maxim of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” So, ultimately, it will be up to Ukraine to decide how it wants to proceed with diplomacy and negotiations.

Yeah.

Q (Inaudible.) Perhaps an overarching question. Several months ago, Chinese/Sino-U.S. relations was very intense, especially around the time U.S. imposed kind of additional tariff on Chinese EVs or semiconductors. And China is facing this trade war nowadays with Europe. But all of a sudden, you came and U.S.-China relations seems to be on better track, especially for the last few months of this year. What’s behind this change? Does that have anything to do with Vice President Harris taking over the presidential race or any other factor from the Chinese side?

And looking forward, do you see U.S.-China relations turning marginally for the better for the next few months, or potentially next few years, compared to a potential second Trump term? Thanks.

MR. SULLIVAN: I can’t characterize the Chinese side on this issue. They’re going to have to speak for themselves. What I can tell you is that we believe, in the Biden administration, that intense diplomacy matters — because it doesn’t resolve every issue, it doesn’t mean that we are going to agree on everything, but it does mean that we can improve understanding, we can clarify misperceptions, we can reduce the risk of miscalculation, and we can identify areas to work together where our interests align that might previously have been hidden.

So, the relationship remains a competitive relationship. We need to responsibly manage that competition, and we’re doing that through this very detailed, painstaking, multiple rounds of diplomatic effort. And it’s not to arrive at a certain end result where everything is just resolved. It’s rather to arrive on a stable basis so that each of us can stand up for our interests, we can stand up for our friends, we can defend our values, we can take the actions we feel we need to take in service of our national interests, but we can also work together to ensure that the relationship is managed responsibly. That is what this trip was about. That’s what the diplomacy of the last two years have been about. And we do believe that it puts us in a position to increase the prospect of stability in the relationship.

But we have to keep in mind, too, that there are always risks — risks of escalation, risks of misunderstanding, risks of something going awry. And we’ve seen that before in the U.S.-China relationship. And we discussed those risks, too, at some length, whether it’s to do with cross-Strait relations or the South China Sea, or European security and the war in Ukraine, or many other issues, including issues that were not previously foreseen, like incidents from a year or two ago.

So this is something we will have to keep working at, and it’s a work in progress. Today is not the end of anything. It’s just the continuation of a sustained pattern of intensive diplomacy led by President Biden and President Xi and carried out by many of us across our administration and the Chinese government, and we’re going to keep at it.

Thank you, guys.

The post Remarks by APNSA Jake Sullivan in Press Conference | Beijing, People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of New York and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by a severe storm, tornadoes, and flooding from July 10 to July 11, 2024.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm, tornadoes, and flooding in the counties of Cortland, Essex, Hamilton, Lewis, and St. Lawrence.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Ms. Lai Sun Yee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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The post President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves New York Disaster Declaration appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of New York and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by a severe storm, tornadoes, and flooding from July 10 to July 11, 2024.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm, tornadoes, and flooding in the counties of Cortland, Essex, Hamilton, Lewis, and St. Lawrence.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Ms. Lai Sun Yee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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The post President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves New York Disaster Declaration appeared first on The White House.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 29 with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and the PRC.  The two sides discussed further implementation of the commitments President Biden and President Xi made at the November 2023 Woodside Summit, including on counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk. They also discussed cross-Strait issues, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the South China Sea. Both sides welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication, including planning for a call between President Biden and President Xi in the coming weeks.

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The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 29 with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and the PRC.  The two sides discussed further implementation of the commitments President Biden and President Xi made at the November 2023 Woodside Summit, including on counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk. They also discussed cross-Strait issues, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the South China Sea. Both sides welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication, including planning for a call between President Biden and President Xi in the coming weeks.

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The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

President Biden has been clear that the government can and must deliver more projects, more quickly. Through his Investing in America Agenda, he is delivering on that promise by accelerating project reviews while protecting communities and our environment.

To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has deployed more than $560 billion in federal investments for over 68,000 projects across the nation, and the President has taken action to accelerate these projects by devoting long overdue resources to permitting and environmental reviews.

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic steps to accelerate and improve the federal permitting process so that Americans across the country can benefit from the promise of the Investing in America agenda – including lowering energy costs for families and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying and union jobs. The Administration has taken a three-prong approach. First, investing $1 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act funds to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews. Second, passing the first reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in 50 years and finalizing the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to accelerate the federal environmental review process. And third, using executive authorities, wherever possible, to improve permitting and environmental review processes.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing two new actions that will help build more projects, more quickly.

• The Bureau of Land Management is announcing a roadmap to support expanded solar energy production by making renewable energy siting and permitting on America’s public lands more efficient. This action will help expedite reviews of solar projects by steering them to areas with high solar potential and low wildlife and land conflicts, and ease burdens on solar developers. The Bureau of Land Management will make over 31 million acres of public lands across eleven western states available for solar development, helping to deliver clean power to millions of homes.

• The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the conditional approval of a new rule which will allow for new offsets to create clean air credits in Maricopa County. Companies with vehicle fleets can now generate credits by replacing or retrofitting diesel-burning vehicles with electric vehicles. Manufacturers or other new emitters can then purchase those credits to balance out their future emissions. This will allow the county, which is now a center of semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., to continue to build semiconductor fabs essential to our nation’s future and ensure that residents continue to have clean air.

Delivering Results

The Administration’s actions to reform federal permitting have already delivered real results. New data from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and federal agencies demonstrates that the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering more projects, more quickly while being responsible stewards of the environment and protecting communities.

The Biden-Harris Administration has cut 6 months off the median time it takes for agencies to complete environmental impact statements, the most comprehensive form of environmental review, representing 16% in time savings compared to the previous Administration and we are continuing to make more improvements.

Data indicates that there are similar results across a number of key sectors:

• Clean Energy & Transmission: The Department of Energy has cut environmental review timelines by half for environmental impact statements compared to the prior Administration. In addition, DOE has completed 15% more environmental reviews compared to the previous Administration.  In addition, the Department of Energy has started implementing the Coordinated Interagency Authorization and Permits (CITAP) program which is expected to cut review times in half for transmission projects.
• Transportation: The Department of Transportation (DOT) has cut the average time it takes to complete an environmental assessment by more than one third. DOT has also completed 20% more reviews compared to the prior Administration for projects requiring environmental assessments or environmental impact statements.
• Offshore wind: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed environmental reviews for the nation’s first 10 commercial-scale offshore wind projects; before President Biden took office there were zero complete. Because of the Administration’s progress on permitting the nation’s first offshore wind projects and leasing new areas, the total U.S. offshore wind project pipeline now exceeds 80 gigawatts, enough to power more than 26 million homes if fully developed.
• Onshore renewable energy: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior has permitted more than twice as many clean energy projects on public lands than it did under the prior Administration. Together, these projects are expected to help power more than 12 million homes across the country.
• Broadband: Across the federal government, agencies are processing more than twice as many permits for high-speed internet projects on federal lands and property as they did under the prior Administration. NTIA has established and adopted a total of 36 new categorical exclusions to streamline processes, including for historic preservation and threatened and endangered species compliance for broadband.

Additionally, for projects with minimal environmental impacts, the Biden-Harris Administration has expanded use of the fastest form of environmental review – categorical exclusions. Since the start of the Administration, over 15 federal agencies have developed, expanded, or adopted 125 categorical exclusions for projects with insignificant environmental impact in key sectors such as EV charging, broadband, semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, and transmission. This includes new categorical exclusions adopted using new permitting efficiencies passed by Congress in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.  

Federal agencies are using categorical exclusions to review the vast majority of project decisions, including 99% of federal highway decisions. This is an increase from the last time similar data was analyzed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that just 96% of Federal Highway Administration projects were processed by categorical exclusions. Other agencies are also utilizing categorical exclusions for the vast majority of projects including 99% of Department of Energy decisions, and 98% of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projects decisions.

New Executive Actions to Accelerate Permitting

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken a number of steps in recent weeks to improve federal permitting processes to help advance projects critical to the President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.

Streamlining Historic Preservation Reviews: Earlier this month, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) proposed a Program Comment to accelerate historic preservation reviews for millions of clean energy, transportation, housing, and building projects over the next two decades. This action builds on steps that ACHP announced earlier this year to accelerate historic preservation reviews for broadband projects.

Accelerating Transmission Projects: The Biden-Harris Administration has started to implement the new Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) program which will help accelerate permitting for transmission projects to bring reviews down to a two-year timeline – twice as fast as the historical average of four years. A recent study of 33 projects found that had CITAP been in place from 2010 through 2020, it could have saved the equivalent of approximately 66 years in federal permitting time. The Department of Energy (DOE) recently opened the portal for transmission developers and project sponsors to apply for the CITAP program. In addition, the Department of Energy recently announced $371 million for 20 projects across 16 states to accelerate the siting and permitting of high-voltage interstate transmission projects and support community infrastructure projects.

Expanding Categorial Exclusions: In recent weeks, the U.S. Forest Service adopted 10 categorical exclusions that will accelerate its review of broadband projects. Data from the U.S. Forest Service indicates that these categorical exclusions will help streamline reviews for 100 broadband projects by 2027, thereby saving over $24 million in staff time per year and lead to a total reduction of over 20 years in processing time. In April the Bureau of Land Management adopted categorical exclusions to accelerate review of geothermal projects. And, earlier this month, the Department of Transportation announced a new categorical exclusion to help expedite reviews of projects dedicated to fixing older, leak-prone natural gas pipelines.

Modernizing NEPA Technology: Last month CEQ released new recommendations for using technology to modernize environmental reviews. In a new report to Congress CEQ evaluates permitting processes, include an analysis of 16 different agency technology tools and initiatives being advanced to improve the environmental review and permitting process.

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The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Deliver More Projects More Quickly, Accelerates Federal Permitting appeared first on The White House.

President Biden has been clear that the government can and must deliver more projects, more quickly. Through his Investing in America Agenda, he is delivering on that promise by accelerating project reviews while protecting communities and our environment.

To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has deployed more than $560 billion in federal investments for over 68,000 projects across the nation, and the President has taken action to accelerate these projects by devoting long overdue resources to permitting and environmental reviews.

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic steps to accelerate and improve the federal permitting process so that Americans across the country can benefit from the promise of the Investing in America agenda – including lowering energy costs for families and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying and union jobs. The Administration has taken a three-prong approach. First, investing $1 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act funds to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews. Second, passing the first reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in 50 years and finalizing the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to accelerate the federal environmental review process. And third, using executive authorities, wherever possible, to improve permitting and environmental review processes.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing two new actions that will help build more projects, more quickly.

• The Bureau of Land Management is announcing a roadmap to support expanded solar energy production by making renewable energy siting and permitting on America’s public lands more efficient. This action will help expedite reviews of solar projects by steering them to areas with high solar potential and low wildlife and land conflicts, and ease burdens on solar developers. The Bureau of Land Management will make over 31 million acres of public lands across eleven western states available for solar development, helping to deliver clean power to millions of homes.

• The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the conditional approval of a new rule which will allow for new offsets to create clean air credits in Maricopa County. Companies with vehicle fleets can now generate credits by replacing or retrofitting diesel-burning vehicles with electric vehicles. Manufacturers or other new emitters can then purchase those credits to balance out their future emissions. This will allow the county, which is now a center of semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., to continue to build semiconductor fabs essential to our nation’s future and ensure that residents continue to have clean air.

Delivering Results

The Administration’s actions to reform federal permitting have already delivered real results. New data from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and federal agencies demonstrates that the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering more projects, more quickly while being responsible stewards of the environment and protecting communities.

The Biden-Harris Administration has cut 6 months off the median time it takes for agencies to complete environmental impact statements, the most comprehensive form of environmental review, representing 16% in time savings compared to the previous Administration and we are continuing to make more improvements.

Data indicates that there are similar results across a number of key sectors:

• Clean Energy & Transmission: The Department of Energy has cut environmental review timelines by half for environmental impact statements compared to the prior Administration. In addition, DOE has completed 15% more environmental reviews compared to the previous Administration.  In addition, the Department of Energy has started implementing the Coordinated Interagency Authorization and Permits (CITAP) program which is expected to cut review times in half for transmission projects.
• Transportation: The Department of Transportation (DOT) has cut the average time it takes to complete an environmental assessment by more than one third. DOT has also completed 20% more reviews compared to the prior Administration for projects requiring environmental assessments or environmental impact statements.
• Offshore wind: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed environmental reviews for the nation’s first 10 commercial-scale offshore wind projects; before President Biden took office there were zero complete. Because of the Administration’s progress on permitting the nation’s first offshore wind projects and leasing new areas, the total U.S. offshore wind project pipeline now exceeds 80 gigawatts, enough to power more than 26 million homes if fully developed.
• Onshore renewable energy: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of the Interior has permitted more than twice as many clean energy projects on public lands than it did under the prior Administration. Together, these projects are expected to help power more than 12 million homes across the country.
• Broadband: Across the federal government, agencies are processing more than twice as many permits for high-speed internet projects on federal lands and property as they did under the prior Administration. NTIA has established and adopted a total of 36 new categorical exclusions to streamline processes, including for historic preservation and threatened and endangered species compliance for broadband.

Additionally, for projects with minimal environmental impacts, the Biden-Harris Administration has expanded use of the fastest form of environmental review – categorical exclusions. Since the start of the Administration, over 15 federal agencies have developed, expanded, or adopted 125 categorical exclusions for projects with insignificant environmental impact in key sectors such as EV charging, broadband, semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, and transmission. This includes new categorical exclusions adopted using new permitting efficiencies passed by Congress in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.  

Federal agencies are using categorical exclusions to review the vast majority of project decisions, including 99% of federal highway decisions. This is an increase from the last time similar data was analyzed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that just 96% of Federal Highway Administration projects were processed by categorical exclusions. Other agencies are also utilizing categorical exclusions for the vast majority of projects including 99% of Department of Energy decisions, and 98% of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projects decisions.

New Executive Actions to Accelerate Permitting

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken a number of steps in recent weeks to improve federal permitting processes to help advance projects critical to the President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.

Streamlining Historic Preservation Reviews: Earlier this month, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) proposed a Program Comment to accelerate historic preservation reviews for millions of clean energy, transportation, housing, and building projects over the next two decades. This action builds on steps that ACHP announced earlier this year to accelerate historic preservation reviews for broadband projects.

Accelerating Transmission Projects: The Biden-Harris Administration has started to implement the new Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) program which will help accelerate permitting for transmission projects to bring reviews down to a two-year timeline – twice as fast as the historical average of four years. A recent study of 33 projects found that had CITAP been in place from 2010 through 2020, it could have saved the equivalent of approximately 66 years in federal permitting time. The Department of Energy (DOE) recently opened the portal for transmission developers and project sponsors to apply for the CITAP program. In addition, the Department of Energy recently announced $371 million for 20 projects across 16 states to accelerate the siting and permitting of high-voltage interstate transmission projects and support community infrastructure projects.

Expanding Categorial Exclusions: In recent weeks, the U.S. Forest Service adopted 10 categorical exclusions that will accelerate its review of broadband projects. Data from the U.S. Forest Service indicates that these categorical exclusions will help streamline reviews for 100 broadband projects by 2027, thereby saving over $24 million in staff time per year and lead to a total reduction of over 20 years in processing time. In April the Bureau of Land Management adopted categorical exclusions to accelerate review of geothermal projects. And, earlier this month, the Department of Transportation announced a new categorical exclusion to help expedite reviews of projects dedicated to fixing older, leak-prone natural gas pipelines.

Modernizing NEPA Technology: Last month CEQ released new recommendations for using technology to modernize environmental reviews. In a new report to Congress CEQ evaluates permitting processes, include an analysis of 16 different agency technology tools and initiatives being advanced to improve the environmental review and permitting process.

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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 29 with General Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission in Beijing, China. Mr. Sullivan stressed that both countries have a responsibility to prevent competition from veering into conflict or confrontation. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of regular military-to-military communications as part of efforts to maintain high-level diplomacy and open lines of communication, as directed by President Biden and President Xi at the November 2023 Woodside Summit. Mr. Sullivan and Vice Chairman Zhang recognized the progress in sustained, regular military-military communications over the past ten months and planned to hold a theater commander telephone call in the near future. Mr. Sullivan also raised the importance of cross-Strait peace and stability, the U.S. commitment to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, concerns about PRC support for Russia’s defense industrial base, the need to avoid miscalculation and escalation in cyber space, and ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

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The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia of the People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 29 with General Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission in Beijing, China. Mr. Sullivan stressed that both countries have a responsibility to prevent competition from veering into conflict or confrontation. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of regular military-to-military communications as part of efforts to maintain high-level diplomacy and open lines of communication, as directed by President Biden and President Xi at the November 2023 Woodside Summit. Mr. Sullivan and Vice Chairman Zhang recognized the progress in sustained, regular military-military communications over the past ten months and planned to hold a theater commander telephone call in the near future. Mr. Sullivan also raised the importance of cross-Strait peace and stability, the U.S. commitment to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, concerns about PRC support for Russia’s defense industrial base, the need to avoid miscalculation and escalation in cyber space, and ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

###

The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia of the People’s Republic of China appeared first on The White House.

The President is announcing his intent to nominate three individuals to federal district courts—all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

This will be President Biden’s fifty-fourth round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 257.

United States District Court Announcements

Elizabeth C. Coombe: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Elizabeth C. Coombe has served as the First Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York since 2018. She joined the Office in 2003 and previously served as Chief of its Criminal Division from 2014 to 2018. Earlier in her career, Ms. Coombe served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2003; a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch from 1996 to 1997; and a staff attorney in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division from 1994 to 1996. She served as a law clerk for Judge Diana E. Murphy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota from 1992 to 1994. Ms. Coombe received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Hamilton College in 1989.

Sarah M. Davenport: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico

Sarah M. Davenport has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces, New Mexico since 2009. Before that, Ms. Davenport worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Las Cruces from 2008 to 2009 and as a law clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 2006 to 2008. Ms. Davenport received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006 and her B.Mus. from New Mexico State University in 1998.

Sharad H. Desai: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

Sharad H. Desai has been Vice President and General Counsel for Honeywell International’s Integrated Supply Chain and Information Technology divisions in Phoenix, Arizona since 2023. He has worked in senior legal counsel roles at Honeywell since 2015. From 2007 to 2015, Mr. Desai worked as an attorney with the Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon, P.A., first as an associate and later as partner. He began his legal career serving as a law clerk for Justice Rebecca White Berch on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Desai received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2006 and his B.A. and B.S. from the University of Arizona in 2003.

 
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The post President Biden Names Fifty-Fourth Round of Judicial Nominees appeared first on The White House.

The President is announcing his intent to nominate three individuals to federal district courts—all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

This will be President Biden’s fifty-fourth round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 257.

United States District Court Announcements

Elizabeth C. Coombe: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Elizabeth C. Coombe has served as the First Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York since 2018. She joined the Office in 2003 and previously served as Chief of its Criminal Division from 2014 to 2018. Earlier in her career, Ms. Coombe served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2003; a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch from 1996 to 1997; and a staff attorney in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division from 1994 to 1996. She served as a law clerk for Judge Diana E. Murphy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota from 1992 to 1994. Ms. Coombe received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Hamilton College in 1989.

Sarah M. Davenport: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico

Sarah M. Davenport has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces, New Mexico since 2009. Before that, Ms. Davenport worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Las Cruces from 2008 to 2009 and as a law clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 2006 to 2008. Ms. Davenport received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006 and her B.Mus. from New Mexico State University in 1998.

Sharad H. Desai: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

Sharad H. Desai has been Vice President and General Counsel for Honeywell International’s Integrated Supply Chain and Information Technology divisions in Phoenix, Arizona since 2023. He has worked in senior legal counsel roles at Honeywell since 2015. From 2007 to 2015, Mr. Desai worked as an attorney with the Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon, P.A., first as an associate and later as partner. He began his legal career serving as a law clerk for Justice Rebecca White Berch on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Desai received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2006 and his B.A. and B.S. from the University of Arizona in 2003.

 
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The post President Biden Names Fifty-Fourth Round of Judicial Nominees appeared first on The White House.

Thank you, Mayor Schember, for your leadership and for your partnership. As an Erie County native, an Edinboro kid, I am especially be grateful to be here – to be back home.

Today, we stand together to lift up and reflect on the progress we are making as a nation, progress propelled by the hard work of the American people – endowed with the inventiveness to imagine a better future and inspired with the willingness to roll up our sleeves and build it.  

Over the last few years, we have come together around this hopeful calling – united in this important task at this important time. We are building back not only from an awful economic crisis, but also from decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure, our communities, and our industrial strength – truly, an underinvestment in America.

So many times, each of us has driven by that idled factory or blighted plot, some place where the loss of opportunity is fenced in and the chance for a comeback seemingly fenced out. These are monuments to underinvestment and a failed economic policy that promised prosperity will just trickle down – but never delivered.

Folks – if we invest in America, there is a better way forward.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, that is exactly where we are headed – bringing down the barriers to economic opportunity, lowering costs for American families, and, in just three and a half years, creating 16 million jobs with rising wages and with unemployment at its lowest level in 50 years.

We see the bet on America’s promise, our potential and possibilities, paying off as we reclaim the lead in the global race on clean energy and in the interconnected fight against the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.

In places like Weirton, West Virginia, where once a steel plant had shuttered, now electric batteries are being forged; or in Dalton, Georgia, where thousands worked in the sofa industry – now jobs are coming back to make solar; or in Madison, Maine, where a hollowed-out timber mill is now back to life making hi-tech insulation. Communities like these are mounting a clean energy comeback.

Economic revival, a path to prosperity, a way to return opportunity to places it once left – all unlocked by harnessing the urgent climate challenge in front of us and the clean energy solutions we invented – an advantage we had squandered until Joe Biden and Kamala Harris decided it was time to bring those jobs back.

In three and a half years, we have started to write a new chapter that starts with an unprecedented expansion in American energy production. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, we have gone big, refusing to settle for small or incremental.

This year alone, America will add more capacity to the electricity grid than we have in nearly two decades – and 97 percent of that will be clean power that doesn’t put an ounce of pollution in the air we breathe.

Together, we are setting new records on solar and batteries, achieving new breakthroughs in geothermal and hydropower, and producing new fuels from waste and biomass. It’s gamechangers everywhere.

Take nuclear, for example.

Until recently, a number of nuclear plants, like those in Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, were slated to be shut down. Supply chains for fuel were moved almost entirely overseas, and we were losing the edge on next generation technologies. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we’ve changed course – we’ve found a better way forward. In Beaver Valley, those plants will now stay online.

In Georgia, this year, we plugged in the first new nuclear plants in decades. In Michigan, a plant retired years ago is coming back, and, in Ohio, union workers are making the fuel we need, breaking our reliance on hostile countries like Russia. And at sites across the country, advanced nuclear is getting ready. A new American industry is standing up.

These are big moves. That Georgia plant, which took 100 million craft hours to build with skilled union workers, will supply as much power as the Hoover Dam. And in this new chapter we’re writing together, that massive scale is not unique.

Off the coast of Virginia, IBEW workers are building an offshore wind farm, that’s another Hoover Dam worth of power. In Arizona, I joined Vice President Harris, both of us with shovels in hand, to break ground on a new transmission line that is now online and delivering more than a Hoover Dam worth of power. Clean power. Cheaper power.

I provide these comparisons because some folks like to suggest that our best days are behind us, that we only did big things decades ago, that we’ve lost our ability to imagine big and bold. Well, they’re wrong. We’re doing it every day. And under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s leadership, we aren’t just imagining. We are building.

This new chapter we’re writing also marks an American manufacturing renaissance – unprecedented and historic – especially for new energy technologies. For too long, technologies were invented here and manufactured somewhere else. No more.

Over the last three and a half years, we’ve seen over 100 factories – and counting – be announced to manufacture new energy technologies in America. It’s because our tax code, thanks to the historic legislation passed by President Biden and Vice President Harris, rewards companies for products stamped Made in America.

Take batteries for example.

The Nobel prize for this technology went to a professor here. Our national labs pioneered the breakthroughs. And yet, when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, we barely made any.

That’s changed. Today, we’ve got over 15 gigafactories operating or under construction to make these batteries here. One of those, near here in Warren, Ohio, recently celebrated a partnership with the UAW – ensuring workers are at the center of this critical new industry.

Double click on those batteries, and we’re making those components here too: the anodes, cathodes, and separators. We’re even racing forward to supply input materials, new lithium facilities and an expansion in recycling – putting old materials back into the supply chain.

All of this progress means jobs.

Today, I am excited to announce a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy showing that, last year, we added over 250,000 new American energy jobs – with clean energy jobs growing twice as fast as the rest of the sector.

Here in Pennsylvania, that’s 5 percent growth of clean energy jobs, in a robust energy sector that stretches across technologies and end uses. It includes the machinists manufacturing hydro in York. It includes the union workers building electric locomotives here in Erie. It includes nearly 73,000 Pennsylvanians working on the energy efficiency and weatherization projects – including efficient lighting construction and renewable heating and cooling manufacturing – that are helping families cut their energy bills. A win-win.

This economic upside has another dimension. This new chapter is not just about putting steel in the ground, it’s also about putting steel into the spine of the American middle class. And that’s where unions come in.

Today’s report from the U.S. Department of Energy shows how we’re making essential progress on this metric, finding that unionization rates in American clean energy grew to their highest level in history – nearly double the union density in the U.S. economy overall. This is a big deal because we know: union density and economic competitiveness fly together.

Folks, this trend isn’t an accident. It’s because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris coded a focus on rebuilding the middle class – and strengthening unions – right into the DNA of their economic agenda. If you want the full clean energy tax credits under their policies, you need to pay a prevailing wage and pull in union apprenticeships.

Their insistence on how we grow American energy – in a way that grows our middle class and strengthens unions – is showing up in wins across the country.

In Wisconsin, laborers, members of LiUNA, have seen a doubling of their apprenticeship program since the Inflation Reduction Act passed. In Texas, IBEW Local 20 now has 400 new apprentices trained up to help be part of the solar economy. Just in the last couple of weeks, Convalt reached a neutrality agreement with the United Steel Workers, who are now going to help manufacture end-to-end a supply chain for solar in the United States. And those same United Steel Workers unionized Blue Bird in Georgia, helping those iconic yellow school bus go green.

Despite all this progress, there are some who would have us go back.

House Republicans have voted in some form or fashion to repeal parts of the Inflation Reduction Act more than 40 times – voted to repeal the very legislation driving this unprecedented expansion of American energy, voted to repeal the very legislation that’s brought about the American manufacturing renaissance we are seeing, voted to repeal the very legislation spurring the growth in union jobs.

It just makes no sense.

Folks, in three and a half years, we have started to write a new chapter. Instead of focusing on the gloom and doom of climate change – the sky turning orange, breathing wildfire smoke into our lungs, the destruction from hurricanes and floods – we are focusing on hope, on the possibilities.

Here in Erie, you are finding new ways to deploy new energy technologies that are not only saving people money, they’re also keeping pollution out of the sky. From the Erie fire station to local businesses and schools, you are tapping into that potential and saving millions. You are part of that bigger story of what’s happening in America. An unprecedented expansion of American energy production, a manufacturing renaissance, the essential work of rebuilding our middle class.

It’s the comeback story we deserve. The one we’re writing. The one Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been fighting for. And the one we’re going to be proud to read to our kids and grandkids. That time when we bet on America’s promise, our potential and possibilities, when we invested in America, when we rolled up our sleeves and build a better way forward – a safer, fairer, better America.

###

The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Biden-Harris Administration Investments Driving Expansion of American Energy Jobs appeared first on The White House.

Thank you, Mayor Schember, for your leadership and for your partnership. As an Erie County native, an Edinboro kid, I am especially be grateful to be here – to be back home.

Today, we stand together to lift up and reflect on the progress we are making as a nation, progress propelled by the hard work of the American people – endowed with the inventiveness to imagine a better future and inspired with the willingness to roll up our sleeves and build it.  

Over the last few years, we have come together around this hopeful calling – united in this important task at this important time. We are building back not only from an awful economic crisis, but also from decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure, our communities, and our industrial strength – truly, an underinvestment in America.

So many times, each of us has driven by that idled factory or blighted plot, some place where the loss of opportunity is fenced in and the chance for a comeback seemingly fenced out. These are monuments to underinvestment and a failed economic policy that promised prosperity will just trickle down – but never delivered.

Folks – if we invest in America, there is a better way forward.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, that is exactly where we are headed – bringing down the barriers to economic opportunity, lowering costs for American families, and, in just three and a half years, creating 16 million jobs with rising wages and with unemployment at its lowest level in 50 years.

We see the bet on America’s promise, our potential and possibilities, paying off as we reclaim the lead in the global race on clean energy and in the interconnected fight against the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.

In places like Weirton, West Virginia, where once a steel plant had shuttered, now electric batteries are being forged; or in Dalton, Georgia, where thousands worked in the sofa industry – now jobs are coming back to make solar; or in Madison, Maine, where a hollowed-out timber mill is now back to life making hi-tech insulation. Communities like these are mounting a clean energy comeback.

Economic revival, a path to prosperity, a way to return opportunity to places it once left – all unlocked by harnessing the urgent climate challenge in front of us and the clean energy solutions we invented – an advantage we had squandered until Joe Biden and Kamala Harris decided it was time to bring those jobs back.

In three and a half years, we have started to write a new chapter that starts with an unprecedented expansion in American energy production. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, we have gone big, refusing to settle for small or incremental.

This year alone, America will add more capacity to the electricity grid than we have in nearly two decades – and 97 percent of that will be clean power that doesn’t put an ounce of pollution in the air we breathe.

Together, we are setting new records on solar and batteries, achieving new breakthroughs in geothermal and hydropower, and producing new fuels from waste and biomass. It’s gamechangers everywhere.

Take nuclear, for example.

Until recently, a number of nuclear plants, like those in Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, were slated to be shut down. Supply chains for fuel were moved almost entirely overseas, and we were losing the edge on next generation technologies. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we’ve changed course – we’ve found a better way forward. In Beaver Valley, those plants will now stay online.

In Georgia, this year, we plugged in the first new nuclear plants in decades. In Michigan, a plant retired years ago is coming back, and, in Ohio, union workers are making the fuel we need, breaking our reliance on hostile countries like Russia. And at sites across the country, advanced nuclear is getting ready. A new American industry is standing up.

These are big moves. That Georgia plant, which took 100 million craft hours to build with skilled union workers, will supply as much power as the Hoover Dam. And in this new chapter we’re writing together, that massive scale is not unique.

Off the coast of Virginia, IBEW workers are building an offshore wind farm, that’s another Hoover Dam worth of power. In Arizona, I joined Vice President Harris, both of us with shovels in hand, to break ground on a new transmission line that is now online and delivering more than a Hoover Dam worth of power. Clean power. Cheaper power.

I provide these comparisons because some folks like to suggest that our best days are behind us, that we only did big things decades ago, that we’ve lost our ability to imagine big and bold. Well, they’re wrong. We’re doing it every day. And under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s leadership, we aren’t just imagining. We are building.

This new chapter we’re writing also marks an American manufacturing renaissance – unprecedented and historic – especially for new energy technologies. For too long, technologies were invented here and manufactured somewhere else. No more.

Over the last three and a half years, we’ve seen over 100 factories – and counting – be announced to manufacture new energy technologies in America. It’s because our tax code, thanks to the historic legislation passed by President Biden and Vice President Harris, rewards companies for products stamped Made in America.

Take batteries for example.

The Nobel prize for this technology went to a professor here. Our national labs pioneered the breakthroughs. And yet, when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, we barely made any.

That’s changed. Today, we’ve got over 15 gigafactories operating or under construction to make these batteries here. One of those, near here in Warren, Ohio, recently celebrated a partnership with the UAW – ensuring workers are at the center of this critical new industry.

Double click on those batteries, and we’re making those components here too: the anodes, cathodes, and separators. We’re even racing forward to supply input materials, new lithium facilities and an expansion in recycling – putting old materials back into the supply chain.

All of this progress means jobs.

Today, I am excited to announce a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy showing that, last year, we added over 250,000 new American energy jobs – with clean energy jobs growing twice as fast as the rest of the sector.

Here in Pennsylvania, that’s 5 percent growth of clean energy jobs, in a robust energy sector that stretches across technologies and end uses. It includes the machinists manufacturing hydro in York. It includes the union workers building electric locomotives here in Erie. It includes nearly 73,000 Pennsylvanians working on the energy efficiency and weatherization projects – including efficient lighting construction and renewable heating and cooling manufacturing – that are helping families cut their energy bills. A win-win.

This economic upside has another dimension. This new chapter is not just about putting steel in the ground, it’s also about putting steel into the spine of the American middle class. And that’s where unions come in.

Today’s report from the U.S. Department of Energy shows how we’re making essential progress on this metric, finding that unionization rates in American clean energy grew to their highest level in history – nearly double the union density in the U.S. economy overall. This is a big deal because we know: union density and economic competitiveness fly together.

Folks, this trend isn’t an accident. It’s because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris coded a focus on rebuilding the middle class – and strengthening unions – right into the DNA of their economic agenda. If you want the full clean energy tax credits under their policies, you need to pay a prevailing wage and pull in union apprenticeships.

Their insistence on how we grow American energy – in a way that grows our middle class and strengthens unions – is showing up in wins across the country.

In Wisconsin, laborers, members of LiUNA, have seen a doubling of their apprenticeship program since the Inflation Reduction Act passed. In Texas, IBEW Local 20 now has 400 new apprentices trained up to help be part of the solar economy. Just in the last couple of weeks, Convalt reached a neutrality agreement with the United Steel Workers, who are now going to help manufacture end-to-end a supply chain for solar in the United States. And those same United Steel Workers unionized Blue Bird in Georgia, helping those iconic yellow school bus go green.

Despite all this progress, there are some who would have us go back.

House Republicans have voted in some form or fashion to repeal parts of the Inflation Reduction Act more than 40 times – voted to repeal the very legislation driving this unprecedented expansion of American energy, voted to repeal the very legislation that’s brought about the American manufacturing renaissance we are seeing, voted to repeal the very legislation spurring the growth in union jobs.

It just makes no sense.

Folks, in three and a half years, we have started to write a new chapter. Instead of focusing on the gloom and doom of climate change – the sky turning orange, breathing wildfire smoke into our lungs, the destruction from hurricanes and floods – we are focusing on hope, on the possibilities.

Here in Erie, you are finding new ways to deploy new energy technologies that are not only saving people money, they’re also keeping pollution out of the sky. From the Erie fire station to local businesses and schools, you are tapping into that potential and saving millions. You are part of that bigger story of what’s happening in America. An unprecedented expansion of American energy production, a manufacturing renaissance, the essential work of rebuilding our middle class.

It’s the comeback story we deserve. The one we’re writing. The one Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been fighting for. And the one we’re going to be proud to read to our kids and grandkids. That time when we bet on America’s promise, our potential and possibilities, when we invested in America, when we rolled up our sleeves and build a better way forward – a safer, fairer, better America.

###

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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 27-28 with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi outside Beijing, China.  This meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as discussed by President Biden and President Xi at the November 2023 Woodside Summit.  

The two sides held candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.  They discussed progress and next steps on implementation of the Woodside Summit commitments, including counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk.  Both sides welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication, including planning for a leader-level call in the coming weeks.  They noted the importance of regular, ongoing military-to-military communications and planned to hold a theater commander telephone call in the near future.  Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang discussed next steps to reduce the flow of illicit synthetic drugs, continue repatriation of undocumented migrants, and law enforcement cooperation.  They underscored the importance of concrete steps to tackle the climate crisis and welcomed further discussions during Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta’s upcoming travel to China. 

Mr. Sullivan emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade or investment.  He also raised continued concerns about the PRC’s unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices.  Mr. Sullivan reiterated that it remains a top priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.  He also underscored the long-standing U.S. commitment to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  He emphasized concerns about the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security.  Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to defending its Indo-Pacific allies and expressed concern about the PRC’s destabilizing actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea.  The two sides also discussed shared concerns about the DPRK, Burma, and the Middle East.

Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang noted the importance of this strategic channel of communication over the past eighteen months and committed to maintaining high-level diplomacy and working level consultations on an ongoing basis.

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The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared first on The White House.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met on August 27-28 with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi outside Beijing, China.  This meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as discussed by President Biden and President Xi at the November 2023 Woodside Summit.  

The two sides held candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.  They discussed progress and next steps on implementation of the Woodside Summit commitments, including counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk.  Both sides welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication, including planning for a leader-level call in the coming weeks.  They noted the importance of regular, ongoing military-to-military communications and planned to hold a theater commander telephone call in the near future.  Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang discussed next steps to reduce the flow of illicit synthetic drugs, continue repatriation of undocumented migrants, and law enforcement cooperation.  They underscored the importance of concrete steps to tackle the climate crisis and welcomed further discussions during Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta’s upcoming travel to China. 

Mr. Sullivan emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade or investment.  He also raised continued concerns about the PRC’s unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices.  Mr. Sullivan reiterated that it remains a top priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.  He also underscored the long-standing U.S. commitment to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  He emphasized concerns about the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security.  Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to defending its Indo-Pacific allies and expressed concern about the PRC’s destabilizing actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea.  The two sides also discussed shared concerns about the DPRK, Burma, and the Middle East.

Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang noted the importance of this strategic channel of communication over the past eighteen months and committed to maintaining high-level diplomacy and working level consultations on an ongoing basis.

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The post Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared first on The White House.

Since coming into office, the Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to broaden and deepen its engagement with Pacific island countries as a priority of U.S. foreign policy. As a Pacific nation, the United States has a clear and abiding interest in partnering with its Pacific neighbors to advance a shared agenda: addressing the climate crisis, maintaining peaceful waterways and upholding freedom of navigation, promoting development and economic growth, and deepening people-to-people ties. The United States has and will continue to advance our shared priorities in a careful, consultative manner that centers the Pacific Islands Forum as the region’s institution of choice, including at the 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting taking place in Tonga this week. And we will seek to engage other friends of the Pacific through groupings like the Partners in the Blue Pacific and the Quad to ensure engagement with the region is conducted in a way that best meets Pacific needs, as identified in guiding documents like the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Boe Declaration.

Over the last three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has hosted two historic Pacific Islands Forum Summits at the White House; opened three new embassies in Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu; released the first ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership Strategy; and announced plans, working with Congress, to provide over $8 billion in new funding for the Pacific Islands. The United States recognized Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign and independent states and established diplomatic relationships with them; expanded USAID offices in Papua New Guinea and Fiji; returned the Peace Corps to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu; and increased the availability of U.S. consular services to enable easier travel. We have surged Coast Guard resources to help Pacific island countries safeguard their maritime territories against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; launched National Guard State Partnership Programs with Samoa and Papua New Guinea; and tended to tens of thousands of medical patients during missions by the hospital ship USNS Mercy. And we have worked to uplift the economies of the Pacific by launching a $50 million microfinance facility for micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); co-hosting a Pacific Banking Forum with Australia; investing in secure and resilient internet infrastructure throughout the region; and recruiting a delegation of U.S. companies to explore business opportunities at a seminar in Suva.

Our commitment to the Pacific is steadfast and future-oriented. The long-term investments we are making in our presence and our partnerships in this region are evidence of our intent to build lasting relationships with our Pacific partners, which we will accomplish with whole-of-government, bipartisan support. And we will continue to center our engagement on Pacific-identified needs, via new programs, initiatives, and funding like those laid out below. Highlights of these, subject to Congressional requirements, include: providing an additional $20 million toward the development of the PIF’s Pacific Resilience Facility; identifying four Pacific institutions to receive up to $50 million from our MSME microfinancing facility; opening a consular window to provide in-person visa services at our Embassy in Tonga; holding a trade promotion and capacity building seminar in the region; and launching a new five–year program to boost Pacific island countries’ access to climate finance.

Enhancing Pacific Islands’ Climate Resilience

There is no greater challenge facing the Pacific Islands in the 21st century than the threat posed by climate change. It is critical that the world, particularly all major economies, accelerate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions on a trajectory consistent with keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.  Recognizing that climate impacts like sea-level rise are already underway, we must also advance adaptation efforts. The United States has heard the calls from Pacific leaders and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to support adaptation and resilience for local populations, and is proud to support Pacific-led initiatives, including the Pacific Resilience Facility.

• Additional Support for the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF):  The Department of State, pending Congressional notification and completion of domestic procedures, intends to provide an additional $20 million to the PIF’s Pacific Resilience Facility to support the facility’s development of its core operational procedures and project preparation for an initial set of facility grants.

• Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project: The Department of State intends to provide $2.65 million for the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project to support a land reclamation project that will increase the nation’s land area by 21 hectares with support from Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.

• Accelerating Climate Finance for a More Resilient Climate Future:  USAID is launching two new complementary climate finance activities that will work hand in hand to bolster the region’s climate resilience.  The first is Climate Ready 2.0, a new five-year effort to partner with Pacific island countries and regional institutions to improve access to and management of climate finance from a variety of sources (e.g., multi-donor trust funds, bilateral donors, philanthropies, and the private sector) needed to fund their adaptation priorities and solutions.  This new activity will build on years of successful collaboration with local partners and the private sector, which has helped Pacific island countries mobilize over half a billion dollars from international climate funds.  The second is a new line of effort through the USAID Climate Finance Development Accelerator to catalyze new partnerships with the private sector and identify finance to scale up successful local solutions and approaches in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.  It will also strengthen the capacity of Pacific civil society organizations to improve climate resilience through community-driven projects.

• Strengthening Disaster Preparedness: USAID is providing over $3.6 million to bolster local, provincial, and national disaster preparedness throughout the Pacific region. This funding will support a new partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC) to enhance emergency management systems and coordination, extend USAID’s long-standing partnership with the World Food Program to strengthen logistics and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, and expand humanitarian partners’ efforts to train emergency responders. USAID’s three-pronged approach—to enhance emergency response systems, improve disaster preparedness, and strengthen first-responder capabilities—promotes self-reliance, enabling partner countries to lessen the impacts of natural hazards and respond more effectively to disasters.

• Launching the Pacific Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (PACS):  The Department of State, working with Congress, and Australia each plan to provide $1.3 million to launch PACS to build a more climate-resilient food system in Pacific island countries, in partnership with the Pacific Community and New Zealand.  An expansion of the U.S.-catalyzed global Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) movement, PACS will support Pacific efforts like the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity (UBPP) initiative to increase targeted investments in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils and sustainably managed landscapes.

• Climate-Smart Agriculture: Working with Congress, USAID intends to provide $2 million to support a new initiative with other partners to support climate-smart agriculture in the Pacific and increase the availability of nutritious, safe, and affordable foods. USAID will also seek partnerships with key regional institutions and initiatives like UBPP as well as private-sector stakeholders to leverage their expertise and resources to promote supply chain diversification.

• Partnership with the Philippines to Enhance Pacific Disaster Readiness:  USAID is supporting a collaborative humanitarian learning initiative through the International Organization for Migration that promotes engagement between disaster response authorities in the Philippines and select Pacific island countries to share best practices, strategies, and identify and address gaps in disaster preparedness and response. 

• Peace Corps Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Peace Corps Tonga has received their initial cohort of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Volunteers, who will be working with Village Emergency Management Committees and other local leaders to support adaptation, resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction activities. In addition, Peace Corps Samoa is designing another Climate Adaptation and Resilience project in collaboration with Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, with the first cohort of Volunteers projected to arrive in July 2025.

• Vanuatu Weather Forecasting and Early Warning System Modernization: A United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) grant of over $1.6 million for the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department is funding technical assistance and a pilot project to support the modernization of early warning systems and weather forecasting capabilities in Vanuatu.  The activity will assess the economic and technical feasibility of deploying an innovative weather intelligence platform to support climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and modernization of weather forecasting services.  

Advancing the U.S.-Pacific Partnership

The strength of our continued engagement in the Pacific Islands is undergirded by the dynamism of our growing official diplomatic presence in the region and the depth of our development cooperation across the region.

• Embassy opening: A new U.S. Embassy in Port Vila opened on July 19, in a ceremony presided over by U.S. Ambassador Yastishock and ni-Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Seremaiah. 

• Return of the Peace Corps to Vanuatu: Peace Corps Volunteers returned to Vanuatu in July, following the rehabilitation of a Peace Corps-supported Intensive Care Unit in Vanuatu’s main hospital.

• Provision of In-Country Visa Services in Tonga: U.S. Embassy Nuku’alofa recently constructed the first formal U.S. consular window in the Kingdom of Tonga.  This window will significantly reduce the costs to Tongans associated with applying for U.S. visas, and the two-way travel enabled by these services will foster the growing relationship between our countries and enrich the connection between Tongan-Americans and their families in Tonga.

• Palau Hospital Feasibility Study: The United States is committed to supporting the development of resilient and secure infrastructure to address the priority needs of our Pacific Island partners, including in the healthcare sector.  Following a scoping mission to Palau this past July, the Department of State and the USTDA, working with Congress, are exploring support for a feasibility study to examine options for a new hospital in Palau this fall.

• Tuvalu Domestic Biogas Systems Project:  The Department of State plans to provide $1 million for the expansion of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) biogas project in Tuvalu to increase access to clean and renewable domestic energy sources with support from Taiwan.

• Papua New Guinea Drone Healthcare Distribution Center Feasibility Study and Pilot Project: The USTDA grant to Applus+ PNG Ltd. will evaluate the technical feasibility of establishing a drone delivery service and related centers to distribute pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies to remote areas of Papua New Guinea. The study will be carried out by Zipline International Inc. (San Francisco, CA), the designer, manufacturer, and operator of unmanned aerial vehicle/drone distribution centers in seven countries. If the study indicates project viability, Zipline intends todevelop a pilot distribution and drone launch center in Papua New Guinea.

• New Ambassador Self-Help Small Grants Program:  USAID and the Department of State are working together to set up a five-year Ambassador’s Self-Help Small Grants Program that will provide targeted funding for small-scale projects and increase the flexibility of U.S. funding resources across the Pacific. The program will support community-led initiatives, filling a gap by providing more accessible resources for small projects that address local needs. The first application window opened on August 15 for projects focused on climate adaptation.

• Advancing a Democratic and Resilient Blue Pacific Continent:  USAID, working with Congress, plans to invest more than $4.5 million in new development assistance to foster good governance, support free and fair elections, elevate women’s political participation, and enhance climate resilience, including catalyzing finance. This funding will expand ongoing activities like Promoting Just, Engaged, Civic-minded and Transparent (PROJECT) Governance as well as support new activities. In addition, USAID is working with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) to provide funding to support the inclusion of civil society and non-state actors as a part of the Implementation Plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. 

• Removal of Storm-Damaged Fuel Tanks in Niue: The Department of State is committed to working with Congress on plans to provide funding for the removal of the storm-damaged fuel tanks in Niue. Removing the fuel tanks will kickstart opportunities for broader redevelopment of the Alofi wharf and provide a platform to build deeper cooperation on international port and maritime security.

• New Office Space to Support USAID’s Expanding Presence: USAID is securing larger office space in Fiji and Papua New Guinea to accommodate a growing staff presence.  USAID is currently operating from U.S. Embassy Suva and U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, which has limited space.  This is a significant step in deepening USAID’s long-term investment and partnerships in the Pacific. The new office spaces will allow for USAID to build lasting relationships with Pacific governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities, prioritize locally-hired expertise, and implement more effective and informed development programs.

• Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles: The U.S. government is proud to announce U.S. endorsement of the PIF’s Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which aim to improve the integrity of decision-making for infrastructure investments to maximize positive impacts in the Pacific. The principles aim to ensure that infrastructure financing and development generates local employment and benefits, integrates social and environmental considerations, strengthens climate resilience, and is economically efficient.

Deepening People-to-People Links Between the United States and Pacific Islands

We continue to look for new and innovative ways to foster the vital connections formed between the American people and the people in the Pacific Islands. Our exchange programs, university partnerships, and sports diplomacy initiatives have kindled new friendships across cultures, and our ongoing “7 for 70” initiative to establish seven new sister cities pairings between U.S. and Pacific island cities saw its first official partnership signed between Rarotonga and Honolulu in June and three new letters of intent signed in June and July.

• Youth Ambassadors Program in EAP: Beginning in 2025, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch the Youth Ambassadors Program for the East Asia and the Pacific region, which will include bringing approximately seven secondary school students (ages 15-17) and one adult mentor from Pacific island countries to the United States for a month-long program. The participants will stay with American host families and examine civic education, leadership development, respect for diversity, and community engagement. Upon their return home, participants will design and implement projects that serve their communities, using skills and knowledge from the exchange.

• Academy of Women Entrepreneurs:  The Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) gives enterprising women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and grow successful businesses. The Department of State is funding a robust slate of AWE cohorts throughout the Pacific Islands. Approximately 400 women will participate in the program in 2024 and 2025, including expanded program offerings in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and cohorts for Pacific Islands diasporas in New Zealand. This expansion of the program is a significant increase in our investment in the people of the Pacific Islands.

• Expanding USAID’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Initiative to the Pacific:  USAID signed a MOU with the University of Guam to diversify USAID’s strategic partnerships and programing approach in the Pacific Islands. This marks the seventh such MOU under USAID’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Initiative, the first in the Pacific region, and the first with an Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Serving Institution. The partnership willharness University of Guam’s extensive research capacity, including on climate and water, as well as geographical and cultural expertise, to contribute to the development and sustainability of several islands across the Pacific. This MOU also strengthens ties with U.S. territories and celebrates the importance of improving access and opportunities for all U.S. citizens, not just those in the continental United States. In the coming months, USAID and University of Guam partners will collaboratively determine the activities that will advance the shared goals of the MOU.

• Student Exchange and University Partnerships: In October 2024, the U.S.-Pacific Institute for Rising Leaders Fellowship, announced by the White House at the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in September 2022, will bring the second cohort of the Fellowship from Pacific island countries and territories to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington for a three-week program focusing on strengthening leadership, decision-making, and communication skills. The first cohort of the Fellowship visited Washington D.C. and New York in October 2023 and engaged with academic experts and senior U.S. policymakers to explore some of the most pressing issues in the Pacific region, with a focus on maritime topics, public health, and climate resilience. In addition, in June 2024, the PNG University of Technology and Charleston Southern University signed a MOU to promote exchanges and cooperation, and the University of Papua New Guinea and California State University, Long Beach committed to sign an MOU to promote further cooperation.  

• Global STEM Development Scholarship Program: In 2024, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs launched the Global STEM Development Scholarship Program, which will support exchanges for approximately 10 exchange visitors from Pacific island countries. Visitors will participate in STEM research, training, and teaching, with a focus on mitigating and combatting climate change. 

• Preserving Cultural Heritage:  The Department of State will support a pilot phase of the Australian Museum’s Pasifika Tauhi project to develop a network of collaboration among museums in 15 Pacific nations and in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.  The project seeks to build capacity for cultural preservation and recovery due to the effects of climate change on cultural heritage in the Pacific.  The pilot phase involves Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Tonga as well as scoping to establish this museum-to-museum network.

Upholding Pacific-Centered Peace and Security

For decades, the United States has worked with Pacific Island partners to promote peace, stability, and security across the breadth of the region through support to those partners’ defense and police services. Calling on the unique capabilities of the U.S. military and federal law enforcement offices, we have enhanced the capacity and capability of Pacific island countries’ governments to uphold their domestic laws and counter illegal fishing, narcotics trafficking, and organized crime within their jurisdictions. We work with Pacific island countries’ governments and through regional organizations, including the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police, to deliver appropriate trainings and equipment to confront the security issues that people in the Pacific Islands care most about, including the security implications of climate change.

• Supporting Pacific Resilience through Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation: The U.S. Department of Defense is committed to supporting the resilience of our Pacific partners. The Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation (DORIC) pilot program is an enabling program for the U.S. Department of Defense to support defense-related environmental and operational energy engagements with partner national security forces.

To date, the DORIC pilot program has enabled engagement with partners primarily through field trainings and exercises, studies and assessments, classroom education and workshops, and a variety of data tools surveying wide-ranging resilience hazards. For instance, Indo-Pacific Command’s annual Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum, which most recently took place in Fiji and focused on national resilience and humanitarian assistance through environmental security, will be supported by DORIC in FY2025. Other upcoming activities include: 

•          U.S. Indo-Pacific Command plans to provide diver training and equipment to the Tuvalu Police Force to respond to underwater unexploded ordnance threats through specialized scuba diver trainings and equipment provisions within the next year. 

•          U.S. Indo-Pacific Command plans to host a field exercise, training, and workshop for marine oil spills, clean-up, and response with Pacific partners within the next year.

• Strengthening the Rule of Law: The United States intends to provide, working with Congress, $3 million to strengthen the justice sector, support good governance, and promote resilience to corruption across the Pacific Islands. To support the region’s formal commitment to anti-corruption, the Teieniwa Vision Pasifika (TVP) would deploy a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) Resident Legal Advisor to embed with the Pacific Islands Law Officers Network (PILON) Secretariat. With funding from the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), this experienced U.S. federal prosecutor intends to work with Pacific island countries to deliver justice sector workshops, legislative reform guidance, and case-based mentoring of justice sector actors across the Pacific Islands. TVP will also utilize DOJ subject matter experts to engage in rapid response, short-term technical assistance activities designed to enhance the specific capabilities and skills of prosecutors, judges, and other justice sector stakeholders in the Pacific Islands.

• Nurturing Future Leaders in the Security Sector: Working with Congress, the United States intends to launch a $3.5 million, State Department INL-funded Pacific Partners’ Leadership in Security (PPLS) Fellowship, which would work with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) over three years to bring mid- to executive-level criminal justice and civilian security professionals annually from the Pacific Islands for leadership development at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu in support of the PIFS’ regional security priorities. Their fellowship would culminate in a Washington, D.C. capstone program of professional immersion and exchange facilitated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

• National Security Policy Development in the Pacific Islands: Sustaining Progress in an Evolving Security Context: Consistent with Boe Declaration and 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continentpriorities, a workshop focused on strengthening implementation and improvement of national security policy arrangements, funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and collaboratively developed by the Pacific Islands Forum and Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, will be held  November 17-20, 2024, in Suva, Fiji.

Economy, Trade and Investment

The United States is committed to working with Pacific island countries’ governments, likeminded partners, and the private sector to empower and support Pacific economic resilience by enhancing international investment in the region, encouraging environments conducive to business growth, and create new opportunities for Pacific businesses.

• Delivering on the Economic Assistance Agreement related to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty: The Department of State is working with Congress to provide the first $60 million under the new 10-year, $600 million agreement to promote economic development in the Pacific Islands and support fisheries management, development, and sustainability.

• Continuing to Expand DFC’s Investment: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) remains committed to advancing private sector investment opportunities in the Pacific Islands. Since launching the up to $50 million Microfinance Facility for MSMEs across the Pacific Islands during the US-PIF Summit in 2023, DFC and USAID have identified four target institutions to receive a combination of debt and guarantee products to advance climate resilience and women’s economic empowerment across the region.  Additionally, DFC, in partnership with USAID and the Australia Infrastructure Finance Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), hopes to announce a new private sector investment in the fishery sector in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the coming months.

• Building Pacific Island Trade and Investment Capacities: The Department of State and Department of Commerce, in coordination with the PIF and key U.S. government agencies, plan to provide $450,000 in fundingto hold a trade promotion and capacity building seminar in the region to help Pacific island countries’ trade and economic development officials attract high-quality foreign direct investment into their economies and strengthen their commercial and regulatory environments to make their economies more competitive in global markets.

• Advisory services to support the Papua New Guinea Ministry of Petroleum: The Department of State and USAID will work with Congress to provide up to $1.4 million for technical assistance and advisory services to support the government of Papua New Guinea’s navigation of the ongoing fuel crisis. With funding from State’s Transaction Advisory Fund (TAF), State and USAID will provide financial modeling and valuations of Puma’s energy assets; advise on potential financial structures; and provide technical assistance related to the impact of Papua New Guinea’s foreign exchange and debt situation on future acquisitions.  Additional technical assistance and advisory services focused on attracting high-quality commercial and energy investments as well as helping the Department of Petroleum and Energy convert to a Statutory Authority will deploy in early 2025, supporting Papua New Guinea’s long-term energy security and needs.

• Digital Connectivity:  To enhance digital connectivity and support secure, sustainable, and resilient telecommunications infrastructure investment in the Pacific Islands, the United States is supporting undersea cable connectivity in the Pacific along with Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Japan. The initiative has now grown to $90 million in donor supported funding. 

• Aviation Connectivity:  Commercial air connectivity is vital to the members of the Pacific Islands Forum, their people, and their economies. To promote better commercial air connectivity and facilitate increased passenger and cargo flights between, among, and beyond the United States and the Pacific region, the United States – led by the Department of State, in consultation with the Departments of Transportation and Commerce – welcomes more members from the PIF to become Open Skies partners through bilateral or existing multilateral air transport agreements. Currently, 8 of 18 PIF members (Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) have either an outdated or no agreement with the United States.  The United States recently finalized negotiations on an Open Skies Agreement with Fiji and is in negotiations with Samoa to finalize another Open Skies Agreement soon.  Following the PIF Leaders Meeting, an interagency team is prepared to conduct additional outreach to interested partners to initiate further discussions and possible future negotiations.

Aviation Safety: To advance aviation safety and ensure the sustainability of crucial infrastructure in the Pacific Islands, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will support the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO)—a member of the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific (CROP) and backed by the PIF. The goal is to strengthen PASO to become an Enhanced Regional Safety and Security Oversight Organization, in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations. To achieve this, the FAA, with MITRE, will conduct a Needs and Analysis Action Plan to evaluate PASO’s current technical and organizational capabilities, with the study expected to be.

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The post FACT SHEET: Following Through on the U.S.-Pacific Islands Partnership 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Nuku’Alofa, Tonga August 26-30, 2024 appeared first on The White House.

Since coming into office, the Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to broaden and deepen its engagement with Pacific island countries as a priority of U.S. foreign policy. As a Pacific nation, the United States has a clear and abiding interest in partnering with its Pacific neighbors to advance a shared agenda: addressing the climate crisis, maintaining peaceful waterways and upholding freedom of navigation, promoting development and economic growth, and deepening people-to-people ties. The United States has and will continue to advance our shared priorities in a careful, consultative manner that centers the Pacific Islands Forum as the region’s institution of choice, including at the 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting taking place in Tonga this week. And we will seek to engage other friends of the Pacific through groupings like the Partners in the Blue Pacific and the Quad to ensure engagement with the region is conducted in a way that best meets Pacific needs, as identified in guiding documents like the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Boe Declaration.

Over the last three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has hosted two historic Pacific Islands Forum Summits at the White House; opened three new embassies in Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu; released the first ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership Strategy; and announced plans, working with Congress, to provide over $8 billion in new funding for the Pacific Islands. The United States recognized Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign and independent states and established diplomatic relationships with them; expanded USAID offices in Papua New Guinea and Fiji; returned the Peace Corps to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu; and increased the availability of U.S. consular services to enable easier travel. We have surged Coast Guard resources to help Pacific island countries safeguard their maritime territories against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; launched National Guard State Partnership Programs with Samoa and Papua New Guinea; and tended to tens of thousands of medical patients during missions by the hospital ship USNS Mercy. And we have worked to uplift the economies of the Pacific by launching a $50 million microfinance facility for micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); co-hosting a Pacific Banking Forum with Australia; investing in secure and resilient internet infrastructure throughout the region; and recruiting a delegation of U.S. companies to explore business opportunities at a seminar in Suva.

Our commitment to the Pacific is steadfast and future-oriented. The long-term investments we are making in our presence and our partnerships in this region are evidence of our intent to build lasting relationships with our Pacific partners, which we will accomplish with whole-of-government, bipartisan support. And we will continue to center our engagement on Pacific-identified needs, via new programs, initiatives, and funding like those laid out below. Highlights of these, subject to Congressional requirements, include: providing an additional $20 million toward the development of the PIF’s Pacific Resilience Facility; identifying four Pacific institutions to receive up to $50 million from our MSME microfinancing facility; opening a consular window to provide in-person visa services at our Embassy in Tonga; holding a trade promotion and capacity building seminar in the region; and launching a new five–year program to boost Pacific island countries’ access to climate finance.

Enhancing Pacific Islands’ Climate Resilience

There is no greater challenge facing the Pacific Islands in the 21st century than the threat posed by climate change. It is critical that the world, particularly all major economies, accelerate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions on a trajectory consistent with keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.  Recognizing that climate impacts like sea-level rise are already underway, we must also advance adaptation efforts. The United States has heard the calls from Pacific leaders and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to support adaptation and resilience for local populations, and is proud to support Pacific-led initiatives, including the Pacific Resilience Facility.

• Additional Support for the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF):  The Department of State, pending Congressional notification and completion of domestic procedures, intends to provide an additional $20 million to the PIF’s Pacific Resilience Facility to support the facility’s development of its core operational procedures and project preparation for an initial set of facility grants.

• Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project: The Department of State intends to provide $2.65 million for the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project to support a land reclamation project that will increase the nation’s land area by 21 hectares with support from Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.

• Accelerating Climate Finance for a More Resilient Climate Future:  USAID is launching two new complementary climate finance activities that will work hand in hand to bolster the region’s climate resilience.  The first is Climate Ready 2.0, a new five-year effort to partner with Pacific island countries and regional institutions to improve access to and management of climate finance from a variety of sources (e.g., multi-donor trust funds, bilateral donors, philanthropies, and the private sector) needed to fund their adaptation priorities and solutions.  This new activity will build on years of successful collaboration with local partners and the private sector, which has helped Pacific island countries mobilize over half a billion dollars from international climate funds.  The second is a new line of effort through the USAID Climate Finance Development Accelerator to catalyze new partnerships with the private sector and identify finance to scale up successful local solutions and approaches in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.  It will also strengthen the capacity of Pacific civil society organizations to improve climate resilience through community-driven projects.

• Strengthening Disaster Preparedness: USAID is providing over $3.6 million to bolster local, provincial, and national disaster preparedness throughout the Pacific region. This funding will support a new partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC) to enhance emergency management systems and coordination, extend USAID’s long-standing partnership with the World Food Program to strengthen logistics and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, and expand humanitarian partners’ efforts to train emergency responders. USAID’s three-pronged approach—to enhance emergency response systems, improve disaster preparedness, and strengthen first-responder capabilities—promotes self-reliance, enabling partner countries to lessen the impacts of natural hazards and respond more effectively to disasters.

• Launching the Pacific Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (PACS):  The Department of State, working with Congress, and Australia each plan to provide $1.3 million to launch PACS to build a more climate-resilient food system in Pacific island countries, in partnership with the Pacific Community and New Zealand.  An expansion of the U.S.-catalyzed global Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) movement, PACS will support Pacific efforts like the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity (UBPP) initiative to increase targeted investments in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils and sustainably managed landscapes.

• Climate-Smart Agriculture: Working with Congress, USAID intends to provide $2 million to support a new initiative with other partners to support climate-smart agriculture in the Pacific and increase the availability of nutritious, safe, and affordable foods. USAID will also seek partnerships with key regional institutions and initiatives like UBPP as well as private-sector stakeholders to leverage their expertise and resources to promote supply chain diversification.

• Partnership with the Philippines to Enhance Pacific Disaster Readiness:  USAID is supporting a collaborative humanitarian learning initiative through the International Organization for Migration that promotes engagement between disaster response authorities in the Philippines and select Pacific island countries to share best practices, strategies, and identify and address gaps in disaster preparedness and response. 

• Peace Corps Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Peace Corps Tonga has received their initial cohort of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Volunteers, who will be working with Village Emergency Management Committees and other local leaders to support adaptation, resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction activities. In addition, Peace Corps Samoa is designing another Climate Adaptation and Resilience project in collaboration with Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, with the first cohort of Volunteers projected to arrive in July 2025.

• Vanuatu Weather Forecasting and Early Warning System Modernization: A United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) grant of over $1.6 million for the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department is funding technical assistance and a pilot project to support the modernization of early warning systems and weather forecasting capabilities in Vanuatu.  The activity will assess the economic and technical feasibility of deploying an innovative weather intelligence platform to support climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and modernization of weather forecasting services.  

Advancing the U.S.-Pacific Partnership

The strength of our continued engagement in the Pacific Islands is undergirded by the dynamism of our growing official diplomatic presence in the region and the depth of our development cooperation across the region.

• Embassy opening: A new U.S. Embassy in Port Vila opened on July 19, in a ceremony presided over by U.S. Ambassador Yastishock and ni-Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Seremaiah. 

• Return of the Peace Corps to Vanuatu: Peace Corps Volunteers returned to Vanuatu in July, following the rehabilitation of a Peace Corps-supported Intensive Care Unit in Vanuatu’s main hospital.

• Provision of In-Country Visa Services in Tonga: U.S. Embassy Nuku’alofa recently constructed the first formal U.S. consular window in the Kingdom of Tonga.  This window will significantly reduce the costs to Tongans associated with applying for U.S. visas, and the two-way travel enabled by these services will foster the growing relationship between our countries and enrich the connection between Tongan-Americans and their families in Tonga.

• Palau Hospital Feasibility Study: The United States is committed to supporting the development of resilient and secure infrastructure to address the priority needs of our Pacific Island partners, including in the healthcare sector.  Following a scoping mission to Palau this past July, the Department of State and the USTDA, working with Congress, are exploring support for a feasibility study to examine options for a new hospital in Palau this fall.

• Tuvalu Domestic Biogas Systems Project:  The Department of State plans to provide $1 million for the expansion of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) biogas project in Tuvalu to increase access to clean and renewable domestic energy sources with support from Taiwan.

• Papua New Guinea Drone Healthcare Distribution Center Feasibility Study and Pilot Project: The USTDA grant to Applus+ PNG Ltd. will evaluate the technical feasibility of establishing a drone delivery service and related centers to distribute pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies to remote areas of Papua New Guinea. The study will be carried out by Zipline International Inc. (San Francisco, CA), the designer, manufacturer, and operator of unmanned aerial vehicle/drone distribution centers in seven countries. If the study indicates project viability, Zipline intends todevelop a pilot distribution and drone launch center in Papua New Guinea.

• New Ambassador Self-Help Small Grants Program:  USAID and the Department of State are working together to set up a five-year Ambassador’s Self-Help Small Grants Program that will provide targeted funding for small-scale projects and increase the flexibility of U.S. funding resources across the Pacific. The program will support community-led initiatives, filling a gap by providing more accessible resources for small projects that address local needs. The first application window opened on August 15 for projects focused on climate adaptation.

• Advancing a Democratic and Resilient Blue Pacific Continent:  USAID, working with Congress, plans to invest more than $4.5 million in new development assistance to foster good governance, support free and fair elections, elevate women’s political participation, and enhance climate resilience, including catalyzing finance. This funding will expand ongoing activities like Promoting Just, Engaged, Civic-minded and Transparent (PROJECT) Governance as well as support new activities. In addition, USAID is working with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) to provide funding to support the inclusion of civil society and non-state actors as a part of the Implementation Plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. 

• Removal of Storm-Damaged Fuel Tanks in Niue: The Department of State is committed to working with Congress on plans to provide funding for the removal of the storm-damaged fuel tanks in Niue. Removing the fuel tanks will kickstart opportunities for broader redevelopment of the Alofi wharf and provide a platform to build deeper cooperation on international port and maritime security.

• New Office Space to Support USAID’s Expanding Presence: USAID is securing larger office space in Fiji and Papua New Guinea to accommodate a growing staff presence.  USAID is currently operating from U.S. Embassy Suva and U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, which has limited space.  This is a significant step in deepening USAID’s long-term investment and partnerships in the Pacific. The new office spaces will allow for USAID to build lasting relationships with Pacific governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities, prioritize locally-hired expertise, and implement more effective and informed development programs.

• Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles: The U.S. government is proud to announce U.S. endorsement of the PIF’s Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which aim to improve the integrity of decision-making for infrastructure investments to maximize positive impacts in the Pacific. The principles aim to ensure that infrastructure financing and development generates local employment and benefits, integrates social and environmental considerations, strengthens climate resilience, and is economically efficient.

Deepening People-to-People Links Between the United States and Pacific Islands

We continue to look for new and innovative ways to foster the vital connections formed between the American people and the people in the Pacific Islands. Our exchange programs, university partnerships, and sports diplomacy initiatives have kindled new friendships across cultures, and our ongoing “7 for 70” initiative to establish seven new sister cities pairings between U.S. and Pacific island cities saw its first official partnership signed between Rarotonga and Honolulu in June and three new letters of intent signed in June and July.

• Youth Ambassadors Program in EAP: Beginning in 2025, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch the Youth Ambassadors Program for the East Asia and the Pacific region, which will include bringing approximately seven secondary school students (ages 15-17) and one adult mentor from Pacific island countries to the United States for a month-long program. The participants will stay with American host families and examine civic education, leadership development, respect for diversity, and community engagement. Upon their return home, participants will design and implement projects that serve their communities, using skills and knowledge from the exchange.

• Academy of Women Entrepreneurs:  The Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) gives enterprising women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and grow successful businesses. The Department of State is funding a robust slate of AWE cohorts throughout the Pacific Islands. Approximately 400 women will participate in the program in 2024 and 2025, including expanded program offerings in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and cohorts for Pacific Islands diasporas in New Zealand. This expansion of the program is a significant increase in our investment in the people of the Pacific Islands.

• Expanding USAID’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Initiative to the Pacific:  USAID signed a MOU with the University of Guam to diversify USAID’s strategic partnerships and programing approach in the Pacific Islands. This marks the seventh such MOU under USAID’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Initiative, the first in the Pacific region, and the first with an Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Serving Institution. The partnership willharness University of Guam’s extensive research capacity, including on climate and water, as well as geographical and cultural expertise, to contribute to the development and sustainability of several islands across the Pacific. This MOU also strengthens ties with U.S. territories and celebrates the importance of improving access and opportunities for all U.S. citizens, not just those in the continental United States. In the coming months, USAID and University of Guam partners will collaboratively determine the activities that will advance the shared goals of the MOU.

• Student Exchange and University Partnerships: In October 2024, the U.S.-Pacific Institute for Rising Leaders Fellowship, announced by the White House at the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in September 2022, will bring the second cohort of the Fellowship from Pacific island countries and territories to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington for a three-week program focusing on strengthening leadership, decision-making, and communication skills. The first cohort of the Fellowship visited Washington D.C. and New York in October 2023 and engaged with academic experts and senior U.S. policymakers to explore some of the most pressing issues in the Pacific region, with a focus on maritime topics, public health, and climate resilience. In addition, in June 2024, the PNG University of Technology and Charleston Southern University signed a MOU to promote exchanges and cooperation, and the University of Papua New Guinea and California State University, Long Beach committed to sign an MOU to promote further cooperation.  

• Global STEM Development Scholarship Program: In 2024, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs launched the Global STEM Development Scholarship Program, which will support exchanges for approximately 10 exchange visitors from Pacific island countries. Visitors will participate in STEM research, training, and teaching, with a focus on mitigating and combatting climate change. 

• Preserving Cultural Heritage:  The Department of State will support a pilot phase of the Australian Museum’s Pasifika Tauhi project to develop a network of collaboration among museums in 15 Pacific nations and in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.  The project seeks to build capacity for cultural preservation and recovery due to the effects of climate change on cultural heritage in the Pacific.  The pilot phase involves Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Tonga as well as scoping to establish this museum-to-museum network.

Upholding Pacific-Centered Peace and Security

For decades, the United States has worked with Pacific Island partners to promote peace, stability, and security across the breadth of the region through support to those partners’ defense and police services. Calling on the unique capabilities of the U.S. military and federal law enforcement offices, we have enhanced the capacity and capability of Pacific island countries’ governments to uphold their domestic laws and counter illegal fishing, narcotics trafficking, and organized crime within their jurisdictions. We work with Pacific island countries’ governments and through regional organizations, including the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police, to deliver appropriate trainings and equipment to confront the security issues that people in the Pacific Islands care most about, including the security implications of climate change.

• Supporting Pacific Resilience through Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation: The U.S. Department of Defense is committed to supporting the resilience of our Pacific partners. The Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation (DORIC) pilot program is an enabling program for the U.S. Department of Defense to support defense-related environmental and operational energy engagements with partner national security forces.

To date, the DORIC pilot program has enabled engagement with partners primarily through field trainings and exercises, studies and assessments, classroom education and workshops, and a variety of data tools surveying wide-ranging resilience hazards. For instance, Indo-Pacific Command’s annual Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum, which most recently took place in Fiji and focused on national resilience and humanitarian assistance through environmental security, will be supported by DORIC in FY2025. Other upcoming activities include: 

•          U.S. Indo-Pacific Command plans to provide diver training and equipment to the Tuvalu Police Force to respond to underwater unexploded ordnance threats through specialized scuba diver trainings and equipment provisions within the next year. 

•          U.S. Indo-Pacific Command plans to host a field exercise, training, and workshop for marine oil spills, clean-up, and response with Pacific partners within the next year.

• Strengthening the Rule of Law: The United States intends to provide, working with Congress, $3 million to strengthen the justice sector, support good governance, and promote resilience to corruption across the Pacific Islands. To support the region’s formal commitment to anti-corruption, the Teieniwa Vision Pasifika (TVP) would deploy a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) Resident Legal Advisor to embed with the Pacific Islands Law Officers Network (PILON) Secretariat. With funding from the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), this experienced U.S. federal prosecutor intends to work with Pacific island countries to deliver justice sector workshops, legislative reform guidance, and case-based mentoring of justice sector actors across the Pacific Islands. TVP will also utilize DOJ subject matter experts to engage in rapid response, short-term technical assistance activities designed to enhance the specific capabilities and skills of prosecutors, judges, and other justice sector stakeholders in the Pacific Islands.

• Nurturing Future Leaders in the Security Sector: Working with Congress, the United States intends to launch a $3.5 million, State Department INL-funded Pacific Partners’ Leadership in Security (PPLS) Fellowship, which would work with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) over three years to bring mid- to executive-level criminal justice and civilian security professionals annually from the Pacific Islands for leadership development at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu in support of the PIFS’ regional security priorities. Their fellowship would culminate in a Washington, D.C. capstone program of professional immersion and exchange facilitated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

• National Security Policy Development in the Pacific Islands: Sustaining Progress in an Evolving Security Context: Consistent with Boe Declaration and 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continentpriorities, a workshop focused on strengthening implementation and improvement of national security policy arrangements, funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and collaboratively developed by the Pacific Islands Forum and Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, will be held  November 17-20, 2024, in Suva, Fiji.

Economy, Trade and Investment

The United States is committed to working with Pacific island countries’ governments, likeminded partners, and the private sector to empower and support Pacific economic resilience by enhancing international investment in the region, encouraging environments conducive to business growth, and create new opportunities for Pacific businesses.

• Delivering on the Economic Assistance Agreement related to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty: The Department of State is working with Congress to provide the first $60 million under the new 10-year, $600 million agreement to promote economic development in the Pacific Islands and support fisheries management, development, and sustainability.

• Continuing to Expand DFC’s Investment: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) remains committed to advancing private sector investment opportunities in the Pacific Islands. Since launching the up to $50 million Microfinance Facility for MSMEs across the Pacific Islands during the US-PIF Summit in 2023, DFC and USAID have identified four target institutions to receive a combination of debt and guarantee products to advance climate resilience and women’s economic empowerment across the region.  Additionally, DFC, in partnership with USAID and the Australia Infrastructure Finance Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), hopes to announce a new private sector investment in the fishery sector in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the coming months.

• Building Pacific Island Trade and Investment Capacities: The Department of State and Department of Commerce, in coordination with the PIF and key U.S. government agencies, plan to provide $450,000 in fundingto hold a trade promotion and capacity building seminar in the region to help Pacific island countries’ trade and economic development officials attract high-quality foreign direct investment into their economies and strengthen their commercial and regulatory environments to make their economies more competitive in global markets.

• Advisory services to support the Papua New Guinea Ministry of Petroleum: The Department of State and USAID will work with Congress to provide up to $1.4 million for technical assistance and advisory services to support the government of Papua New Guinea’s navigation of the ongoing fuel crisis. With funding from State’s Transaction Advisory Fund (TAF), State and USAID will provide financial modeling and valuations of Puma’s energy assets; advise on potential financial structures; and provide technical assistance related to the impact of Papua New Guinea’s foreign exchange and debt situation on future acquisitions.  Additional technical assistance and advisory services focused on attracting high-quality commercial and energy investments as well as helping the Department of Petroleum and Energy convert to a Statutory Authority will deploy in early 2025, supporting Papua New Guinea’s long-term energy security and needs.

• Digital Connectivity:  To enhance digital connectivity and support secure, sustainable, and resilient telecommunications infrastructure investment in the Pacific Islands, the United States is supporting undersea cable connectivity in the Pacific along with Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Japan. The initiative has now grown to $90 million in donor supported funding. 

• Aviation Connectivity:  Commercial air connectivity is vital to the members of the Pacific Islands Forum, their people, and their economies. To promote better commercial air connectivity and facilitate increased passenger and cargo flights between, among, and beyond the United States and the Pacific region, the United States – led by the Department of State, in consultation with the Departments of Transportation and Commerce – welcomes more members from the PIF to become Open Skies partners through bilateral or existing multilateral air transport agreements. Currently, 8 of 18 PIF members (Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) have either an outdated or no agreement with the United States.  The United States recently finalized negotiations on an Open Skies Agreement with Fiji and is in negotiations with Samoa to finalize another Open Skies Agreement soon.  Following the PIF Leaders Meeting, an interagency team is prepared to conduct additional outreach to interested partners to initiate further discussions and possible future negotiations.

Aviation Safety: To advance aviation safety and ensure the sustainability of crucial infrastructure in the Pacific Islands, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will support the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO)—a member of the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific (CROP) and backed by the PIF. The goal is to strengthen PASO to become an Enhanced Regional Safety and Security Oversight Organization, in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations. To achieve this, the FAA, with MITRE, will conduct a Needs and Analysis Action Plan to evaluate PASO’s current technical and organizational capabilities, with the study expected to be.

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Americans pay two to three times more than people in other countries for the exact same prescription drugs. It’s completely unacceptable. Vice President Harris and I have taken action to lower the cost of the medications Americans rely on by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in history ­­– negotiations which will continue on additional drugs next year. We’ve also capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for those with Medicare, and required drug companies to pay rebates back to Medicare if they raise their prices faster than inflation. But too many people still struggle to afford their medications.

That is why last month Senator Sanders and I called on drug manufacturers to lower their prices on popular drugs to combat obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The prices of these drugs can be up to six times higher in America than in Canada, Denmark, and other similar countries. Today, I am pleased to see one of these manufacturers, Eli Lilly, taking steps to lower their price by offering a direct-to-consumer version of their medication for less than half the price they used to charge. This is a welcome first step for American families struggling to access these drugs. But it is critical that drug companies lower their prices across the board. 

The Vice President and I will keep fighting to make sure all Americans can access the medications they need.

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Americans pay two to three times more than people in other countries for the exact same prescription drugs. It’s completely unacceptable. Vice President Harris and I have taken action to lower the cost of the medications Americans rely on by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in history ­­– negotiations which will continue on additional drugs next year. We’ve also capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for those with Medicare, and required drug companies to pay rebates back to Medicare if they raise their prices faster than inflation. But too many people still struggle to afford their medications.

That is why last month Senator Sanders and I called on drug manufacturers to lower their prices on popular drugs to combat obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The prices of these drugs can be up to six times higher in America than in Canada, Denmark, and other similar countries. Today, I am pleased to see one of these manufacturers, Eli Lilly, taking steps to lower their price by offering a direct-to-consumer version of their medication for less than half the price they used to charge. This is a welcome first step for American families struggling to access these drugs. But it is critical that drug companies lower their prices across the board. 

The Vice President and I will keep fighting to make sure all Americans can access the medications they need.

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America is not a country that tears families apart.

That is why, in June, my Administration announced new action to keep American families together. These married couples—in which one spouse is a United States citizen and the other has been living in America for 10 years or more—include our neighbors who have been working, raising their families, paying taxes, worshipping with us, and sending their kids to school. They have become our friends, our neighbors, and our co-workers. They’re the parents to our kid’s best friends. They have become invaluable contributors to our communities. They make us a better country. Nothing I did changed the requirements people have to meet to adjust their status under immigration law. All I did was make it possible for these long-time residents to file the paperwork here – together with their families. But without the Keeping Families Together process, spouses of U.S. citizens won’t be able to stay in the U.S. while they obtain the long-term legal status for which they’re already eligible. They’ll be forced to either leave their families in America, or live in the shadows in constant fear of deportation.

Last night, a single district court in Texas ruled that our work to keep families together has to stop. That ruling is wrong. These families should not be needlessly separated. They should be able to stay together, and my Administration will not stop fighting for them.

I am not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration; I am interested in solving problems. Nor am I interested in tearing families apart. That is not who we are as Americans. I will continue to fight to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system.

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