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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and ordered Federal assistance to supplement territory and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Ernesto beginning on August 13, 2024, and continuing. 

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe on the islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures (Category B), limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Ms. Lai Sun Yee of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

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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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and ordered Federal assistance to supplement territory and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Ernesto beginning on August 13, 2024, and continuing. 

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe on the islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures (Category B), limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Ms. Lai Sun Yee of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

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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We, the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States (U.S.), commemorate the tremendous progress in our trilateral cooperation in the year since our historic summit.  The spirit of the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit continues to inspire us, and the principles we established at Camp David serve as a roadmap for our unparalleled cooperation. We are working together to achieve our shared goals of advancing security and prosperity for the region and the world.

We stand by our commitment to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security. We renew our commitment to enhancing security cooperation—girded by the ironclad U.S.-Japan and U.S.-ROK alliances—deepening the alignment of our shared economic and technological priorities, increasing coordination on global health initiatives, and further expanding the robust people-to-people ties between our three countries.  Over the past year, we have demonstrated our unwavering commitment to these shared objectives through close consultation and coordination on priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

We celebrate the accomplishments of our trilateral cooperation, including the inaugural execution of the trilateral multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge, the signing of a new Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework, and the progress made by our trilateral working groups focused on combatting efforts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction programs through cybercrime and other illicit means. We are resolved to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, remain aligned in our shared vision, and stand ready to meet the world’s greatest challenges.  We hold an unshakeable belief that cooperation between Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States is indispensable for meeting today’s challenges and will set the stage for a prosperous future.

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The post Joint Leaders’ Statement on the Anniversary of the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit at Camp David appeared first on The White House.

We, the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States (U.S.), commemorate the tremendous progress in our trilateral cooperation in the year since our historic summit.  The spirit of the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit continues to inspire us, and the principles we established at Camp David serve as a roadmap for our unparalleled cooperation. We are working together to achieve our shared goals of advancing security and prosperity for the region and the world.

We stand by our commitment to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security. We renew our commitment to enhancing security cooperation—girded by the ironclad U.S.-Japan and U.S.-ROK alliances—deepening the alignment of our shared economic and technological priorities, increasing coordination on global health initiatives, and further expanding the robust people-to-people ties between our three countries.  Over the past year, we have demonstrated our unwavering commitment to these shared objectives through close consultation and coordination on priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

We celebrate the accomplishments of our trilateral cooperation, including the inaugural execution of the trilateral multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge, the signing of a new Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework, and the progress made by our trilateral working groups focused on combatting efforts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction programs through cybercrime and other illicit means. We are resolved to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, remain aligned in our shared vision, and stand ready to meet the world’s greatest challenges.  We hold an unshakeable belief that cooperation between Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States is indispensable for meeting today’s challenges and will set the stage for a prosperous future.

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Hagerstown Regional Airport
Hagerstown, Maryland

7:49 P.M. EDT

Q How are the ceasefire talks?

THE PRESIDENT: So far, s- — as of an hour ago, they’re still in play. I’m optimistic. Not t- — far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot.

Q Are you more optimistic now than you have been in months past?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Why?

THE PRESIDENT: If I told you that, I’d give away what’s going on.

Q When — when would the ceasefire begin if you can get a deal?

THE PRESIDENT: That remains to be seen.

Q Okay. Are — are you going to work on your speech this weekend?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Okay.

Q What’s your message to Democrats on Monday night?

THE PRESIDENT: Win. (Laughs.)

All right. Thank you, guys.

Q Thank you, sir.

7:50 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden After Air Force One Arrival | Hagerstown, MD appeared first on The White House.

Hagerstown Regional Airport
Hagerstown, Maryland

7:49 P.M. EDT

Q How are the ceasefire talks?

THE PRESIDENT: So far, s- — as of an hour ago, they’re still in play. I’m optimistic. Not t- — far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot.

Q Are you more optimistic now than you have been in months past?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Why?

THE PRESIDENT: If I told you that, I’d give away what’s going on.

Q When — when would the ceasefire begin if you can get a deal?

THE PRESIDENT: That remains to be seen.

Q Okay. Are — are you going to work on your speech this weekend?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Okay.

Q What’s your message to Democrats on Monday night?

THE PRESIDENT: Win. (Laughs.)

All right. Thank you, guys.

Q Thank you, sir.

7:50 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden After Air Force One Arrival | Hagerstown, MD appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

1:50 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for joining today’s call, and apology for our delay in getting started here.

Just a little housekeeping before we get started. As a reminder, this call is on background, attributable to a senior administration official, and the contents of the call are embargoed until its conclusion.

For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official]. I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] for a few words at the top, and then we’ll take over your questions.

[Senior administration official], we’ll turn it over to you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Eduardo. And thanks, everybody, for joining. I’m calling here from Doha after a very constructive two days — over two days here in Doha, which I’ll talk about.

But we just finished two calls with the President and President Al-Sisi of Egypt and Sheikh Amir Tamim of Qatar. I think there was a consensus between all three leaders that this process, which obviously has been ongoing for months, is now in the end game. The leaders talked about a final bridging proposal that the United States put on the table today, late in the day here in Qatar, with the full support of Egypt and Qatar as mediators. And we will be reconvening in Cairo, at this level, before the end of next week, with an aim to close out this process once and for all. And a readout for those calls should be coming around fairly soon.

The leaders also, obviously, talked about the broader regional situation and everything we are doing to ensure that any new attacks or escalations are not only deterred, but also to make very clear that, you know, should an attack occur, the consequences of it would be — could be quite serious for the region and also, in particular, for Iran.

So that is an ongoing backdrop to those calls. But the calls, I thought, were building on the constructive atmosphere over the last two days and, I think, set a very positive agenda over the coming week.

Let me talk briefly about Doha. There’s a lot of prep work that led up to these two days. I thought the two days here in Doha probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months. The Israeli team that was here was empowered — clearly empowered. We made a lot of progress on a number of issues that we’ve been working on. Hamas officials, of course, are here in Doha, and senior officials from Qatar and Egypt were able to engage with them throughout the two days.

Towards the end of today, we put down a final bridging proposal, which you have seen in the joint statement from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar — which the three of us, collectively, believe basically bridge nearly all of the remaining gaps that have been under discussion for really the last six weeks.

And just to put some color on that: As you know, Israel put down a proposal on May 27th, that was the basis of the President’s speech on May 31st, that basically was a culmination of months of effort and that basically encapsulated the main elements of the deal that we think is a very good deal, which is why the President laid out its terms on May 31st. The President also made clear in that speech that there was still more work to do, particularly in the implementation arrangements of the deal.

On July 3rd, Hamas came back with a response to that, with a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable but many of which were a basis for further discussion. And Israel, on July 27th, issued some clarifications to the text. And basically, what we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward.

There is still more work to do. And over the course of this week, there are working group engagements to talk about everything from the list of hostages and the sequence by which hostages would be released; the list of Palestinian prisoners, because, ultimately, this is an exchange similar to what you saw in the November ceasefire deal. And this is extremely complicated. And a large basis of the talks over the course of the last two days were about that issue, that exchange issue, which, in the nomenclature, is known as the keys. And there were some gaps there and some trade space between the parties, which I think we’ve now gone a long way to bridge.

And again, our focus is getting the hostages out of Gaza and getting them out a lot, particularly in this first phase. I think you’re all well familiar with the phasing of the deal; we talked about it so much.

Also, over the course of this week, there will be further meetings here in Doha and also in Cairo to talk about some of these issues. And we will be beginning the process to stand up an implementation cell for the deal, particularly — which was in the readout, or, sorry, in the joint statement we issued together with Qatar and Egypt earlier today — on the extensive humanitarian provisions and making sure that those would all be implemented rapidly once the deal is concluded.

And I think — I want to be sure, given all the focus on some elements of the deal, that not lost in that is the significant humanitarian provisions in the deal, and not only the amount of aid, but also clearing rubble, rehabilitation of medical services, electricity, everything else. Again, this is all laid out in the deal. I think we’ve laid that out going all the way back to the President’s speech.

So we will be working through, starting earlier this week in Cairo, on the implementation arrangements in a cell to basically oversee the many areas of implementing this deal, not only the humanitarian provisions I mentioned, but also the actual exchange of detainees and hostages and how that will go, as well as other elements of the deal that require some monitoring to make sure that there’s compliance, as you do in any deal like this.

So, that will be ongoing through the week. And then, again, in Cairo, before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal. That is something that President Al-Sisi and President — Amir Tamim just confirmed with the President. And that is something we’ll be driving towards.

Obviously, Secretary Blinken will be traveling to the region, I think starting on Sunday, starting with meetings in Israel. And we will be engaged with this throughout the week.

But the bottom line here, after two days in Doha and going back to the joint leaders’ statement that came out last week between the leaders that, again, just spoke today — the President and President Sisi and Sheikh Tamim — we wanted to really drive this process to get it back on track. I think we very much have done that. And I think there was consensus of all the participants here over the last 48 hours that there’s really a new spirit here to drive this to a conclusion.

I want to be very clear: This is a very difficult, complex deal. It is wrenching because this is about getting hostages out of Gaza. There are elements of the deal that are uncomfortable, just like any deal like this. It is far from perfect, but we think what we have down here now very much reflects the principles that the President laid out, that the U.N. Security Council fully endorsed.

And now, with the additional clarifications and some gaps that have been closed, we think the package is basically there. And so, we’ll be working on it throughout the week. I’m sure we’ll be talking to you guys probably later in the week as we gear up for Cairo next weekend.

And with that, I will take some questions.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our first question will go to the line of Aamer. You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q Hey. Thank you both. Where does Israel stand on the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors after this ceasefire is established?

And, I guess, is it fair to say that Israel is more or less somewhere near that May 31st itineration of this?

And then, secondly, what’s the level of confidence that Iran will hold off on any action on Israel or allies until at least these Cairo talks play out? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Let me just take your first question — or, I guess, sorry, your second question first.

And I think Secretary Austin made very clear in his readout earlier this morning, after his call with Minister Gallant of Israel, that we, the United States of America, have moved a significant amount of military resources in a very coordinated fashion with partners and allies, including the French and the Brits and others, to ensure that we have everything in place for every possible contingency. And we are going to do everything that is needed to defend Israel against any attack from Iran.

The President had one word for the possibility of an attack. He said, “Don’t” and “We mean it.” And we’ve demonstrated that with what we have deployed to the region.

We have also been engaged in extensive diplomacy in the region, obviously, but to make clear the consequences should such an attack occur, and also, I think the driving goal to ultimately de-escalate tensions in the region. And Iran claims to those that they are speaking with, including many of my colleagues here from Qatar who are in touch with senior Iranian officials over the last two days as we are here, that they want to see a ceasefire in Gaza, that that is their goal; they want to see a de-escalation of tensions. And of course, that very much remains to be seen.

But now is an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and to basically work towards the conclusion of this over the coming week.

But these two processes are separate. The ceasefire deal is something that we’ve been working on for many months. We see an opportunity here to try to bring it to resolution. We’re going to do that. We’re also in parallel doing everything we possibly can to ensure we have everything in place for every possible contingency.

And it’s just ironic — it was Hamas, a proxy of Iran, who started this war on October 7th, and it would be ironic if Iran were to do something to basically derail what we think is the best opportunity for a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal that we have had in many months. So, we’re prepared in that regard for all possible contingencies.

On your first question, I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation for reasons I think you can understand.

You asked two questions about the deal, so obviously you’re very knowledgeable of it. One of them has to do with the fact that age through the deal at certain phasing. As hostages are released, Israeli forces redeploy in some areas and the population can return to their homes. It is stipulated in the deal that particularly people going from south to north, displaced persons, meaning civilians without arms — that is a core provision of the deal. And obviously, the Israelis want to make sure that that provision is followed through.

We believe, as do the other mediators, that that is a material principle of the deal, and that if anyone is carrying arms from south to north, that would be a violation of the deal. And that is something that was reaffirmed throughout the talks over the last two days.

On the Philadelphi Corridor, we’ve been working very closely with Egypt and others — and also, of course, Egypt through mediation with Hamas — about the arrangements in the Philadelphi Corridor. I think that issue is moving the right way and, I think, very consistent with the May 27th text.

Over.

MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to MJ Lee.

Q Hey. Hey, can you hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes, we can.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Got you.

Q Thanks. I had two questions for you. First, on the ceasefire talks, you said the aim is to conclude the talks by next week. I just — I don’t think we’ve ever heard you use that kind of language before, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Does that mean — like, should we take from that that the expectation is that you think that the deal will actually come together next week? Or are you just speaking with, you know, just a renewed sense of urgency here?

And then secondly, on Iran. Israel’s Foreign Minister told his British and French counterparts that if Iran were to attack Israel, Israel would expect a coalition led by the U.S., Britain, and France to join Israel in attacking Iran back. I just wanted to get your response to that and whether that’s correct, that the U.S. would either lead an effort to attack Iran back or actually be involved in that process. I realize it’s a hypothetical, but —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, so — thanks, MJ. That first — that second point is very hypothetical. I’d just say we have — as I said, we have deployed the military resources to the region that are needed for every possible contingency, and we’re working in very close coordination with partners and allies. Again, we are ready for any possible contingency, and we’re going to help defend Israel. And I’m not going to get ahead of anything else that —

I’ll just say this attack from Iran has been predicted now I think every day over the last two and a half weeks. So, you know, let’s see. I’ll just say we are prepared — I think you saw that in the Secretary’s statement today — and we are preparing for every contingency. But I’m just going to leave it at that.

Our commitment to helping to defend Israel, we say it all the time: ironclad, unwavering. What does that mean? That means what you’re seeing right now. It’s very clear.

On aim to conclude: Yeah, we aim to conclude this deal. What we put down today was different. We put down a final bridging proposal, a comprehensive text that is very familiar to all the parties, because it is basically the May 27 text with some clarifications based upon subsequent discussions and some of the details and implementation.

So this is a comprehensive arrangement. It has been negotiated for months. And we do believe very strongly — and there’s momentum here in this process to work to bring this to conclusion.

There are a number of reasons to do that: the lives of the hostages, in my mind, first and foremost. We want to save the lives of the hostages and get the hostages out of Gaza. And if you continue to negotiate for months and months and try to get a perfect deal, or every last drop of blood from the stone, you risk having no hostages left to save. And that is not acceptable to us. I think it’s not acceptable to anybody, not acceptable to the Israelis.

So we have to get the hostages out and do it in a way — and I want to be clear about this — that it fully ensures Israel’s security interests — which are also paramount in this; this deal does that — and also stops the war in the first phase of a ceasefire, and brings significant, substantial, badly needed humanitarian relief to Gaza, civilians in Gaza. That’s what’s in this deal.

And what is on the table now basically bridges every gap, and we do believe it’s time to conclude it. And when we get together next weekend, the aim will very much be to do so. But as I’ve said all the time. whenever I talk about this, it is complicated; it is comprehensive, is what we say, because it is a very detailed arrangement of all the things that have to happen, all the moving parts. That’s why we’re working on the implementation cell this week.

So I don’t want to underscore how difficult the coming week will be and then the meetings in Cairo. There’s a lot of work to do here. But we are fully behind it. The President of the United States is fully behind it. His counterparts in the region are fully behind it. And we’re going to do all we can to bring this to conclusion, because the lives of the hostages really can’t wait anymore, and we are quite confident that what this deal does is brings relief to the civilians of Gaza and also ensures the security interests of Israel.

So, we do believe it’s time to bring it to conclusion. We’re going to work to do that over the course of the next week.

MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to Steve Holland.

Q Hey, [senior administration official]. When you say that parts of the deal are “uncomfortable,” what do you mean by that? And if you do conclude an agreement next week, when do you envision a ceasefire going into place?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, parts of the deal — we just did a big prisoner exchange with Russia. And so, when you’re trading — and here, there’s an exchange here. You’re exchanging — and think about it from the Israeli perspective — you’re exchanging large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been convicted of very serious crimes against Israelis, for totally innocent people who were taken hostage on October 7th.

So there is an exchange element to the deal that is difficult, like any deal like this. We’ve done them, and you have to do them to save the lives of your citizens. And there are a number of American citizens, of course, who are part of this deal.

But, Steve, that’s what I was getting at. And I think — you know, you’ve been around seeing these things a number of times — there’s great joy in bringing people home because that’s what we have to do, and that’s a commitment and obligation to our citizens. But these are not easy. And sometimes I see, “Well, Israel just has to sign and do it.” Well, yeah, but there’s hard parts of this deal.

And so, you know, it’s not simple; it’s not cut and dry. But the time has come, based on the work that has been done, to bring it to a resolution and get the hostages out of Gaza.

MODERATOR: And we have time for one more question. We’re going to go to the line of Yuna. You should be able to unmute
yourself.

Q Hi. Thank you for this. I hope you can hear me. Just to clarify about next week: So you think that next week there’s a chance to get to the agreement with all the details, or just to get a significant advance on it?

And another question. What is different this time about the motivation from Hamas and Israel to reach a deal? Do you think both sides right now are willing and want to reach a deal this time?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, what’s different is we now have a comprehensive bridging proposal down. So throughout this negotiation, from time to time, as mediators, we have put down bridging proposals on certain issues. We now have a bridging proposal on basically every issue. And so, this is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.

What’s different on Hamas? Hamas — look, Hamas is under tremendous pressure. Tremendous pressure. And basically, they’re holding the people of Gaza hostage by not doing this deal, because what comes with this deal is the war stops — that’s the first phase of the ceasefire — and relief comes to the people of Gaza. Because with the war stopping, the ability to move humanitarian aid all throughout the strip, move in tens of thousands of temporary shelters, to clear rubble, to rehabilitate what is all in the deal — bakeries, medical facilities, everything — it’s all there, and it is ready to move on day one.

And so, the conditions are right to do this deal, first and foremost, to get the hostages out, as I’ve said, and save their lives, but also to bring relief to the people of Gaza. And the way this deal is now structured, there is really no risk to Israel’s security. In fact, I think this deal is structured in a way that it enhances the security of Israel.

So, the elements are really there, and we think it is time to move forward. And I think we found in the last two days in Doha that that very strong desire was held by everybody who was participating. I, of course — we, as the U.S., do not meet with Hamas, but we speak with the Qataris and the Egyptians as they meet with Hamas. I know there’s a lot of public statements from Hamas right now. You know, I wouldn’t take anything too seriously, and we have to see kind of where we are.

But at the end of the day, from what we understand, based on the principles of the May 27 agreement and some of the refinements that have now been put down, this is the time to move ahead with the deal. And should Hamas say no, think about what they’re doing to the people of Gaza — because this is basically now all set up and it’s ready to be implemented.

And so, again, we’re going to do all we can, as the United States of America, not only to try to de-escalate the tension here in the region, to try to deter what Iran has been threatening.

And I just want to say what I said before: I mean, these threats of a major missile attack against Israel, Iran has tried to suggest there’s some legitimacy to such a course of action. There’s actually — there’s absolutely none. A major military attack — there’s nothing that has happened that would justify such an act.

We are prepared to counter, and defend Israel, should that come. But we also would encourage the Iranians — I know many are — not to move down that road because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.

So, again, I think the opportunity — one path that is open now is a path towards a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. There is an opportunity to get this done, and there’s a very different path should Iran choose to go down that path.

But I’ll just say: We are prepared for all contingencies here in the Middle East, and we’ve been doing that over the last three weeks with all the maneuvers you’ve seen. I think Lloyd spoke to it in his readout of the call with Minister Gallant this morning.

Of course, we are in constant contact with everybody here throughout the region, including, of course, the Israelis, as we help prepare them for defense of a potential attack, which, of course, we hope doesn’t come. We don’t see the need for it. There’s definitely a better course that’s available here.

MODERATOR: That’s all the time we have. Thanks, everyone, for joining. As a reminder, this call was on background to a senior administration official, and the embargo is now lifted. Feel free to reach out to us with any follow-up questions. Thanks again for joining.

2:14 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call on Ceasefire Negotiations and Joint Statement from the Leaders of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

1:50 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for joining today’s call, and apology for our delay in getting started here.

Just a little housekeeping before we get started. As a reminder, this call is on background, attributable to a senior administration official, and the contents of the call are embargoed until its conclusion.

For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official]. I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] for a few words at the top, and then we’ll take over your questions.

[Senior administration official], we’ll turn it over to you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Eduardo. And thanks, everybody, for joining. I’m calling here from Doha after a very constructive two days — over two days here in Doha, which I’ll talk about.

But we just finished two calls with the President and President Al-Sisi of Egypt and Sheikh Amir Tamim of Qatar. I think there was a consensus between all three leaders that this process, which obviously has been ongoing for months, is now in the end game. The leaders talked about a final bridging proposal that the United States put on the table today, late in the day here in Qatar, with the full support of Egypt and Qatar as mediators. And we will be reconvening in Cairo, at this level, before the end of next week, with an aim to close out this process once and for all. And a readout for those calls should be coming around fairly soon.

The leaders also, obviously, talked about the broader regional situation and everything we are doing to ensure that any new attacks or escalations are not only deterred, but also to make very clear that, you know, should an attack occur, the consequences of it would be — could be quite serious for the region and also, in particular, for Iran.

So that is an ongoing backdrop to those calls. But the calls, I thought, were building on the constructive atmosphere over the last two days and, I think, set a very positive agenda over the coming week.

Let me talk briefly about Doha. There’s a lot of prep work that led up to these two days. I thought the two days here in Doha probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months. The Israeli team that was here was empowered — clearly empowered. We made a lot of progress on a number of issues that we’ve been working on. Hamas officials, of course, are here in Doha, and senior officials from Qatar and Egypt were able to engage with them throughout the two days.

Towards the end of today, we put down a final bridging proposal, which you have seen in the joint statement from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar — which the three of us, collectively, believe basically bridge nearly all of the remaining gaps that have been under discussion for really the last six weeks.

And just to put some color on that: As you know, Israel put down a proposal on May 27th, that was the basis of the President’s speech on May 31st, that basically was a culmination of months of effort and that basically encapsulated the main elements of the deal that we think is a very good deal, which is why the President laid out its terms on May 31st. The President also made clear in that speech that there was still more work to do, particularly in the implementation arrangements of the deal.

On July 3rd, Hamas came back with a response to that, with a number of changes, many of which were not acceptable but many of which were a basis for further discussion. And Israel, on July 27th, issued some clarifications to the text. And basically, what we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward.

There is still more work to do. And over the course of this week, there are working group engagements to talk about everything from the list of hostages and the sequence by which hostages would be released; the list of Palestinian prisoners, because, ultimately, this is an exchange similar to what you saw in the November ceasefire deal. And this is extremely complicated. And a large basis of the talks over the course of the last two days were about that issue, that exchange issue, which, in the nomenclature, is known as the keys. And there were some gaps there and some trade space between the parties, which I think we’ve now gone a long way to bridge.

And again, our focus is getting the hostages out of Gaza and getting them out a lot, particularly in this first phase. I think you’re all well familiar with the phasing of the deal; we talked about it so much.

Also, over the course of this week, there will be further meetings here in Doha and also in Cairo to talk about some of these issues. And we will be beginning the process to stand up an implementation cell for the deal, particularly — which was in the readout, or, sorry, in the joint statement we issued together with Qatar and Egypt earlier today — on the extensive humanitarian provisions and making sure that those would all be implemented rapidly once the deal is concluded.

And I think — I want to be sure, given all the focus on some elements of the deal, that not lost in that is the significant humanitarian provisions in the deal, and not only the amount of aid, but also clearing rubble, rehabilitation of medical services, electricity, everything else. Again, this is all laid out in the deal. I think we’ve laid that out going all the way back to the President’s speech.

So we will be working through, starting earlier this week in Cairo, on the implementation arrangements in a cell to basically oversee the many areas of implementing this deal, not only the humanitarian provisions I mentioned, but also the actual exchange of detainees and hostages and how that will go, as well as other elements of the deal that require some monitoring to make sure that there’s compliance, as you do in any deal like this.

So, that will be ongoing through the week. And then, again, in Cairo, before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal. That is something that President Al-Sisi and President — Amir Tamim just confirmed with the President. And that is something we’ll be driving towards.

Obviously, Secretary Blinken will be traveling to the region, I think starting on Sunday, starting with meetings in Israel. And we will be engaged with this throughout the week.

But the bottom line here, after two days in Doha and going back to the joint leaders’ statement that came out last week between the leaders that, again, just spoke today — the President and President Sisi and Sheikh Tamim — we wanted to really drive this process to get it back on track. I think we very much have done that. And I think there was consensus of all the participants here over the last 48 hours that there’s really a new spirit here to drive this to a conclusion.

I want to be very clear: This is a very difficult, complex deal. It is wrenching because this is about getting hostages out of Gaza. There are elements of the deal that are uncomfortable, just like any deal like this. It is far from perfect, but we think what we have down here now very much reflects the principles that the President laid out, that the U.N. Security Council fully endorsed.

And now, with the additional clarifications and some gaps that have been closed, we think the package is basically there. And so, we’ll be working on it throughout the week. I’m sure we’ll be talking to you guys probably later in the week as we gear up for Cairo next weekend.

And with that, I will take some questions.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our first question will go to the line of Aamer. You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q Hey. Thank you both. Where does Israel stand on the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors after this ceasefire is established?

And, I guess, is it fair to say that Israel is more or less somewhere near that May 31st itineration of this?

And then, secondly, what’s the level of confidence that Iran will hold off on any action on Israel or allies until at least these Cairo talks play out? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Let me just take your first question — or, I guess, sorry, your second question first.

And I think Secretary Austin made very clear in his readout earlier this morning, after his call with Minister Gallant of Israel, that we, the United States of America, have moved a significant amount of military resources in a very coordinated fashion with partners and allies, including the French and the Brits and others, to ensure that we have everything in place for every possible contingency. And we are going to do everything that is needed to defend Israel against any attack from Iran.

The President had one word for the possibility of an attack. He said, “Don’t” and “We mean it.” And we’ve demonstrated that with what we have deployed to the region.

We have also been engaged in extensive diplomacy in the region, obviously, but to make clear the consequences should such an attack occur, and also, I think the driving goal to ultimately de-escalate tensions in the region. And Iran claims to those that they are speaking with, including many of my colleagues here from Qatar who are in touch with senior Iranian officials over the last two days as we are here, that they want to see a ceasefire in Gaza, that that is their goal; they want to see a de-escalation of tensions. And of course, that very much remains to be seen.

But now is an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and to basically work towards the conclusion of this over the coming week.

But these two processes are separate. The ceasefire deal is something that we’ve been working on for many months. We see an opportunity here to try to bring it to resolution. We’re going to do that. We’re also in parallel doing everything we possibly can to ensure we have everything in place for every possible contingency.

And it’s just ironic — it was Hamas, a proxy of Iran, who started this war on October 7th, and it would be ironic if Iran were to do something to basically derail what we think is the best opportunity for a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal that we have had in many months. So, we’re prepared in that regard for all possible contingencies.

On your first question, I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation for reasons I think you can understand.

You asked two questions about the deal, so obviously you’re very knowledgeable of it. One of them has to do with the fact that age through the deal at certain phasing. As hostages are released, Israeli forces redeploy in some areas and the population can return to their homes. It is stipulated in the deal that particularly people going from south to north, displaced persons, meaning civilians without arms — that is a core provision of the deal. And obviously, the Israelis want to make sure that that provision is followed through.

We believe, as do the other mediators, that that is a material principle of the deal, and that if anyone is carrying arms from south to north, that would be a violation of the deal. And that is something that was reaffirmed throughout the talks over the last two days.

On the Philadelphi Corridor, we’ve been working very closely with Egypt and others — and also, of course, Egypt through mediation with Hamas — about the arrangements in the Philadelphi Corridor. I think that issue is moving the right way and, I think, very consistent with the May 27th text.

Over.

MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to MJ Lee.

Q Hey. Hey, can you hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes, we can.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Got you.

Q Thanks. I had two questions for you. First, on the ceasefire talks, you said the aim is to conclude the talks by next week. I just — I don’t think we’ve ever heard you use that kind of language before, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Does that mean — like, should we take from that that the expectation is that you think that the deal will actually come together next week? Or are you just speaking with, you know, just a renewed sense of urgency here?

And then secondly, on Iran. Israel’s Foreign Minister told his British and French counterparts that if Iran were to attack Israel, Israel would expect a coalition led by the U.S., Britain, and France to join Israel in attacking Iran back. I just wanted to get your response to that and whether that’s correct, that the U.S. would either lead an effort to attack Iran back or actually be involved in that process. I realize it’s a hypothetical, but —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, so — thanks, MJ. That first — that second point is very hypothetical. I’d just say we have — as I said, we have deployed the military resources to the region that are needed for every possible contingency, and we’re working in very close coordination with partners and allies. Again, we are ready for any possible contingency, and we’re going to help defend Israel. And I’m not going to get ahead of anything else that —

I’ll just say this attack from Iran has been predicted now I think every day over the last two and a half weeks. So, you know, let’s see. I’ll just say we are prepared — I think you saw that in the Secretary’s statement today — and we are preparing for every contingency. But I’m just going to leave it at that.

Our commitment to helping to defend Israel, we say it all the time: ironclad, unwavering. What does that mean? That means what you’re seeing right now. It’s very clear.

On aim to conclude: Yeah, we aim to conclude this deal. What we put down today was different. We put down a final bridging proposal, a comprehensive text that is very familiar to all the parties, because it is basically the May 27 text with some clarifications based upon subsequent discussions and some of the details and implementation.

So this is a comprehensive arrangement. It has been negotiated for months. And we do believe very strongly — and there’s momentum here in this process to work to bring this to conclusion.

There are a number of reasons to do that: the lives of the hostages, in my mind, first and foremost. We want to save the lives of the hostages and get the hostages out of Gaza. And if you continue to negotiate for months and months and try to get a perfect deal, or every last drop of blood from the stone, you risk having no hostages left to save. And that is not acceptable to us. I think it’s not acceptable to anybody, not acceptable to the Israelis.

So we have to get the hostages out and do it in a way — and I want to be clear about this — that it fully ensures Israel’s security interests — which are also paramount in this; this deal does that — and also stops the war in the first phase of a ceasefire, and brings significant, substantial, badly needed humanitarian relief to Gaza, civilians in Gaza. That’s what’s in this deal.

And what is on the table now basically bridges every gap, and we do believe it’s time to conclude it. And when we get together next weekend, the aim will very much be to do so. But as I’ve said all the time. whenever I talk about this, it is complicated; it is comprehensive, is what we say, because it is a very detailed arrangement of all the things that have to happen, all the moving parts. That’s why we’re working on the implementation cell this week.

So I don’t want to underscore how difficult the coming week will be and then the meetings in Cairo. There’s a lot of work to do here. But we are fully behind it. The President of the United States is fully behind it. His counterparts in the region are fully behind it. And we’re going to do all we can to bring this to conclusion, because the lives of the hostages really can’t wait anymore, and we are quite confident that what this deal does is brings relief to the civilians of Gaza and also ensures the security interests of Israel.

So, we do believe it’s time to bring it to conclusion. We’re going to work to do that over the course of the next week.

MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to Steve Holland.

Q Hey, [senior administration official]. When you say that parts of the deal are “uncomfortable,” what do you mean by that? And if you do conclude an agreement next week, when do you envision a ceasefire going into place?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, parts of the deal — we just did a big prisoner exchange with Russia. And so, when you’re trading — and here, there’s an exchange here. You’re exchanging — and think about it from the Israeli perspective — you’re exchanging large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been convicted of very serious crimes against Israelis, for totally innocent people who were taken hostage on October 7th.

So there is an exchange element to the deal that is difficult, like any deal like this. We’ve done them, and you have to do them to save the lives of your citizens. And there are a number of American citizens, of course, who are part of this deal.

But, Steve, that’s what I was getting at. And I think — you know, you’ve been around seeing these things a number of times — there’s great joy in bringing people home because that’s what we have to do, and that’s a commitment and obligation to our citizens. But these are not easy. And sometimes I see, “Well, Israel just has to sign and do it.” Well, yeah, but there’s hard parts of this deal.

And so, you know, it’s not simple; it’s not cut and dry. But the time has come, based on the work that has been done, to bring it to a resolution and get the hostages out of Gaza.

MODERATOR: And we have time for one more question. We’re going to go to the line of Yuna. You should be able to unmute
yourself.

Q Hi. Thank you for this. I hope you can hear me. Just to clarify about next week: So you think that next week there’s a chance to get to the agreement with all the details, or just to get a significant advance on it?

And another question. What is different this time about the motivation from Hamas and Israel to reach a deal? Do you think both sides right now are willing and want to reach a deal this time?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, what’s different is we now have a comprehensive bridging proposal down. So throughout this negotiation, from time to time, as mediators, we have put down bridging proposals on certain issues. We now have a bridging proposal on basically every issue. And so, this is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.

What’s different on Hamas? Hamas — look, Hamas is under tremendous pressure. Tremendous pressure. And basically, they’re holding the people of Gaza hostage by not doing this deal, because what comes with this deal is the war stops — that’s the first phase of the ceasefire — and relief comes to the people of Gaza. Because with the war stopping, the ability to move humanitarian aid all throughout the strip, move in tens of thousands of temporary shelters, to clear rubble, to rehabilitate what is all in the deal — bakeries, medical facilities, everything — it’s all there, and it is ready to move on day one.

And so, the conditions are right to do this deal, first and foremost, to get the hostages out, as I’ve said, and save their lives, but also to bring relief to the people of Gaza. And the way this deal is now structured, there is really no risk to Israel’s security. In fact, I think this deal is structured in a way that it enhances the security of Israel.

So, the elements are really there, and we think it is time to move forward. And I think we found in the last two days in Doha that that very strong desire was held by everybody who was participating. I, of course — we, as the U.S., do not meet with Hamas, but we speak with the Qataris and the Egyptians as they meet with Hamas. I know there’s a lot of public statements from Hamas right now. You know, I wouldn’t take anything too seriously, and we have to see kind of where we are.

But at the end of the day, from what we understand, based on the principles of the May 27 agreement and some of the refinements that have now been put down, this is the time to move ahead with the deal. And should Hamas say no, think about what they’re doing to the people of Gaza — because this is basically now all set up and it’s ready to be implemented.

And so, again, we’re going to do all we can, as the United States of America, not only to try to de-escalate the tension here in the region, to try to deter what Iran has been threatening.

And I just want to say what I said before: I mean, these threats of a major missile attack against Israel, Iran has tried to suggest there’s some legitimacy to such a course of action. There’s actually — there’s absolutely none. A major military attack — there’s nothing that has happened that would justify such an act.

We are prepared to counter, and defend Israel, should that come. But we also would encourage the Iranians — I know many are — not to move down that road because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran.

So, again, I think the opportunity — one path that is open now is a path towards a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. There is an opportunity to get this done, and there’s a very different path should Iran choose to go down that path.

But I’ll just say: We are prepared for all contingencies here in the Middle East, and we’ve been doing that over the last three weeks with all the maneuvers you’ve seen. I think Lloyd spoke to it in his readout of the call with Minister Gallant this morning.

Of course, we are in constant contact with everybody here throughout the region, including, of course, the Israelis, as we help prepare them for defense of a potential attack, which, of course, we hope doesn’t come. We don’t see the need for it. There’s definitely a better course that’s available here.

MODERATOR: That’s all the time we have. Thanks, everyone, for joining. As a reminder, this call was on background to a senior administration official, and the embargo is now lifted. Feel free to reach out to us with any follow-up questions. Thanks again for joining.

2:14 P.M. EDT

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I congratulate President Luis Abinader on his inauguration.  Bound by our common commitment to democracy—and deep cultural ties—the Dominican Republic and the United States are close friends and partners.  As President Abinader begins his second term, we stand ready to support him and his administration in their efforts to secure a prosperous future for the people of the Dominican Republic.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Occasion of President Abinader’s Inauguration in the Dominican Republic appeared first on The White House.

I congratulate President Luis Abinader on his inauguration.  Bound by our common commitment to democracy—and deep cultural ties—the Dominican Republic and the United States are close friends and partners.  As President Abinader begins his second term, we stand ready to support him and his administration in their efforts to secure a prosperous future for the people of the Dominican Republic.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Occasion of President Abinader’s Inauguration in the Dominican Republic appeared first on The White House.

Earlier today, I received an update from my negotiating team on the ground in Doha and directed them to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented today, which offers the basis for coming to a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. I spoke separately with Amir Sheikh Tamim and President Sisi to review the significant progress made in Doha over the past two days of talks, and they expressed the strong support of Qatar and Egypt for the U.S. proposal as co-mediators in this process. Our teams will remain on the ground to continue technical work over the coming days, and senior officials will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week. They will report to me regularly. I am sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel’s security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Middle East appeared first on The White House.

Earlier today, I received an update from my negotiating team on the ground in Doha and directed them to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented today, which offers the basis for coming to a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. I spoke separately with Amir Sheikh Tamim and President Sisi to review the significant progress made in Doha over the past two days of talks, and they expressed the strong support of Qatar and Egypt for the U.S. proposal as co-mediators in this process. Our teams will remain on the ground to continue technical work over the coming days, and senior officials will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week. They will report to me regularly. I am sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel’s security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Middle East appeared first on The White House.

Wake Tech Community College
Raleigh, North Carolina

2:26 P.M. EDT

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Can we hear it for Mike D?  (Applause.)

     Hello, family and friends.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Oh, it’s good to be back in North Carolina.   Oh, it’s good to see everyone.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

     Oh, it’s good to see everyone.  Good afternoon.  Everyone, please have a seat, if you have a seat.  (Laughter.)  Please have a seat.

     Mike D, I have to — so, Mike D’s Barbecue — let me tell you one of the biggest fans of Mike D’s barbecue: my husband, Doug Emhoff.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.) 

     And — and thank you, Mike, for sharing your story.  And — and I’m just so sorry for what your family has been through, but you have, out of an incredible tragedy, done so much for the community, and you are such a role model.  So, thank you, Mike, for everything you do.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.

     And good afternoon to everyone here.  Thank you to all of the incredible leaders with us today, including my friend, the governor, Roy Cooper.  Where is he?  (Applause.)  Here with his daughter.

     Every time I land in North Carolina, I — just literally coming down the stairs of Air Force Two, I will shout to Roy Cooper, “What number is it, Roy?”  (Laughter.)  And today, he shouted, “16,” which is the number of times I’ve been in this beautiful state since I’ve been vice president.  (Applause.)  Every time.

     I want to thank your next governor, Attorney General Josh Stein.  (Applause.)  He’s doing incredible work.  He’s going to be an extraordinary governor.

Representatives Adam[s], Manning, Foushee, and Nickel, thank you all for your support, for your friendship, for your leadership.  (Applause.)

Chair Thomas of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, thank you for all that you do.  (Applause.)

And to all the leaders that are here today, including the students and instructors here at Wake Tech North, thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

So, thank you all.

So, listen, this election, I do strongly believe, is about two very different visions for our nation: one, ours, focused on the future; and the other, focused on the past.

We see that contrast clearly in many ways, including when it comes to how we think about the economy.

So, our country has come a long way since President Biden and I took office.  At that time, we sadly remember the millions of Americans that were out of work.  We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history.

And, today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world.  (Applause.)

We have created 16 million new jobs.  We have made historic investments in infrastructure, in chips manufacturing, in clean energy.  And new numbers this week alone show that inflation is down under 3 percent.  (Applause.)

And as president of the United States, it will be my intention to build on the foundation of this progress. 

Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives.  Costs are still too high.  And on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.

As president, I will be laser-focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability, and dignity. 

     Together, we will build what I call an “opportunity economy” — (applause) — “an opportunity economy” — an economy where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed; everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, has an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their children; and where we remove the barriers to opportunity so anyone who wants to start a business or advance their career can access the tools and the resources that are necessary to do so.  (Applause.)

     I will focus on cutting needless bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape and encouraging — (applause) —  and encouraging innovative technologies while protecting consumers and creating a stable business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road. 

As president, I will bring together labor with small businesses and major companies to invest in America, to create good jobs, achieve broad-based growth, and ensure that America continues to define the future and lead the world.  (Applause.)

And key — key to creating this opportunity economy is building up our middle class.  It is essential.  (Applause.)

The middle class is one of America’s greatest strengths, and to protect it, then, we must defend basic principles — such as, your salary should be enough to provide you and your family with a good quality of life. (Applause.)

Such as, no child should have to grow up in poverty.  (Applause.)

Such as, after years of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity.  (Applause.)

And you should be able to join a union if you choose.

Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency, because I strongly believe when the middle class is strong, America is strong.  (Applause.)

So, in the weeks to come, I will address in greater detail my plans to build an opportunity economy.  And, today, I will focus on one element that’s on the minds of many Americans as they pay their bills at the kitchen table or walk the aisles of a grocery store, and that is lowering the cost of living.  (Applause.)

So, every day across our nation, families talk about their plans for the future; their ambitions; their aspirations for themselves, for their children; and they talk about how they’re going to be able to actually achieve them financially.  Because, look, the bills add up — food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes, prescription medication.  After all that, for many families, there’s mo- — not much left at the end of the month.

I grew up in a middle-class household.  For most of my childhood, we were renters.  My mother saved for well over a decade to buy a home.  I was a teenager when that day finally came, and I can remember so well how excited she was.  I kind of understood what it meant, but — we called her “Mommy” — Mommy was so excited, it just made us excited that she was so excited.  (Laughter.)

Later in college, I worked at McDonald’s to earn spending money.  Well, some of the people I worked with were raising families on that paycheck.  They worked second or even third jobs to pay rent and buy food.  That only gets harder when the cost of living goes up. 

     When I am elected president, I will make it a top priority to bring down costs and increase economic security for all Americans.  As president, I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans, like the cost of food. 

     We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed, but our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high. 

     A lo- — a loaf of bread costs 50 percent more today than it did before the pandemic.  Ground beef is up almost 50 percent.  Many of the big food companies are seeing their highest profits in two decades.  And while many grocery chains pass along these savings, others still aren’t. 

     Look, I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules, but some are not, and that’s just not right, and we need to take action when that is the case.  A- — (applause) —

     As attorney general in California, I went after companies that illegally increased prices, including wholesalers that inflated the price of prescription medication and companies that conspired with competitors to keep prices of electronics high.  I won more than $1 billion for consumers.  (Applause.) 

     So, believe me, as president, I will go after the bad actors.  (Applause.)  And I will work to pass the first-ever federal ban on prou- — price gauging [gouging] on food.  (Applause.)

     My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules, and we will support smaller food businesses that are trying to play by the rules and get ahead.  (Applause.) 

     We will help the food industry become more competitive, because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy.  More competition means lower prices for you and your families.  (Applause.)

     Now compare what Donald Trump plans to do.  He wants to impose what is, in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries. 

     That will devastate Americans.  It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs: a Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter medication. 

     And, you know, economists have done the math.  Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  At this moment when everyday prices are too high, he will make them even higher. 

     As president, I’ll attack and take on the issue of the cost of health care.  As attorney general, I took on insurance companies and Big Pharma and got them to lower their prices.  (Applause.)

     And together with President Biden, we’ve gone even further.  We capped the price of insulin at $35 a month and the total cost — (applause) — and the total cost of prescription drugs at $2,000 a year for seniors.

     We let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. 

     And just yesterday — and just yesterday, we announced that we are lowering the price by up to 80 percent for 10 more lifesaving drugs.  (Applause.)

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

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I pledge to continue this progress.  I’ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone with your support, not only our seniors — (applause) — and demand transparency from the middlemen who operate between Big Pharma and the insurance companies, who use opaque practices to raise your drug prices and profit off your need for medicine. 

     Two months ago, I announced that medical debt will no longer be used against your credit score.  (Applause.)  And I will work, as president, with states like here in North Carolina — Roy Cooper, thank you again — to cancel medical debt for more and more — millions more Americans.  (Applause.)
     As for Donald Trump, well, he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which 45 million Americans rely on.  Forty-five million Americans rely on it for health care. 

     That would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  We all remember what that was —

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We’re not going back! 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and we’re not going back.

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

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

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

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and remember — and this is why we’re not going back, because we do remember — (laughter) — he tried to cut Medicare every year he was president, threatening a program that tens of millions of seniors count on.

     And according to his Project 2025 agenda, he intends to undo our work to bring down prescription drugs — the cost of prescription drugs and insulin costs. 

     Well, we’ve come too far to let that happen.  (Applause.)

     So, we’re not going back on that, and let’s talk about the cost of housing.  (Applause.)

     So, now, the housing market can be complicated, but, look, I’m not new to this issue.  As state attorney general, I drafted and helped pass a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first in America. 

     And during the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big banks for predatory lending with many of my colleagues, including Roy Cooper, and won $20 billion for California families when I was attorney general.  (Applause.)

     So, I know how to fight for people who are being exploited in the housing market, and I know what homeownership means.  It’s more than a financial transaction.  It’s so much more than that.  It’s more than a house.

     Homeownership and what that means — it’s a symbol of the pride that comes with hard work.  It’s financial security.  It represents what you will be able to do for your children.  (Applause.)

And sadly, right now, it is out of reach for far too many American families.  There’s a serious housing shortage in many places.  It’s too difficult to build, and it’s driving prices up.

As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need, both to rent and to buy.  We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.  (Applause.)

And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals that are affordable for the middle class, and we will do that together.  We will do that together.  (Applause.)

And — and we will make sure those homes actually go to working- and middle-class Americans — (applause) — not just investors.  Because, you know, some corporate landlords — some of them buy dozens, if not hundreds, of houses and apartments.  Then they turn them around and rent them out at extremely high prices, and it can make it impossible, then, for regular people to be able to buy or even rent a home. 

Some corporate landlords collude with each other to set artificially high rental prices, often using algorithms and price-fixing software to do it.  It’s anticompetitive, and it drives up costs.  I will fight for a law that cracks down on these practices.  (Applause.)

We also know that as the price of housing has gone up, the size of down payments have gone up as well.  Even if aspiring homeowners save for years, it often still is not enough. 

So, in addition, while we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000
to help with the down payment on a new home.  (Applause.)

We can do this.  We can do this, all to help more Americans experience the pride of homeownership and the financial security that it represents and brings. 

So, that’s my plan.  But here’s what Donald Trump would do.

If his Project 2025 agenda is put into effect, it will add around $1,200 a year to the typical American mortgage. 

He’s got it backward.  We should be doing everything we can to make it more affordable to buy a home, not less.  (Applause.)

Finally, there’s one more way I will help families deal with rising costs, and that’s by letting you keep more of your hard-earned money.  (Applause.)  Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax cut, and we will do this by restoring two tax cuts designed to help middle-class and working Americans: the Earned Income Tax Credit — (applause) — and the Child Tax Credit — (applause) — through which millions of Americans with children got to keep more of their hard-earned income.

We know this works and has a direct impact on so many issues, including child poverty.  We know it works.

So, as president, I’ll not only restore that tax cut but expand it.  We will provide $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child’s life.

Now, think what that means.  (Applause.)  Think what that means.  That is a vital — vital year of critical development of a child, and the costs can really add up, especially for young parents who need to buy diapers and clothes and a car seat and so much else.  And we will do this while reducing the deficit.

Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do.  He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year and he plans to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits.  And that’s on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he already signed into law when he was president, which, by the way, overwhelming- — overwhelmingly went to the wealthiest Americans and corporations and exploded the national deficit.

You know, I think that if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for — look who they fight for.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump fights for billionaires and large corporations.  We — I will fight to give money back to working- and middle-class Americans.  (Applause.)

So, I’ll end with this.  Two days ago, Donald Trump was here in North Carolina. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He said he was going to talk about the economy — (laughter) — I think you all watched; you know what I’m about to say — but he offered no serious plans to reduce costs for middle-class families, no plan to expand access to housing or health care.  And that, actually, I think, for most of us, was not surprising because we already know his plans.  We know the Project 2025 agenda. 

So, there’s a choice in this election: Donald Trump’s plans to devastate the middle class, punish working people, and make the cost of living go up for millions of Americans; and, on the other hand, when I’m elected president, what we’ll do — (applause) — what we will do to bring down costs,
increase the security and stability financially of your family, and expand opportunity for working- and middle-class Americans.  (Applause.)

So, now — now — now is the time to chart a new way forward.  (Applause.)  Now is the time to chart a new way forward, to build —

AUDIENCE:  A new way forward!  A new way forward!  A new way forward!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  A new way forward, yes.  A new way forward.

AUDIENCE:  A new way forward!  A new way forward!  A new way forward!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  To build — to build an America where everyone’s work is rewarded and talents are valued, where we work with labor and business to strengthen the American economy, and where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead.

So, I thank you, North Carolina.  We’re going to get this done — (applause) — and with your help.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

END                 2:54 P.M. EDT

# # #

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event in Raleigh, NC appeared first on The White House.

Wake Tech Community College
Raleigh, North Carolina

2:26 P.M. EDT

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Can we hear it for Mike D?  (Applause.)

     Hello, family and friends.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Oh, it’s good to be back in North Carolina.   Oh, it’s good to see everyone.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

     Oh, it’s good to see everyone.  Good afternoon.  Everyone, please have a seat, if you have a seat.  (Laughter.)  Please have a seat.

     Mike D, I have to — so, Mike D’s Barbecue — let me tell you one of the biggest fans of Mike D’s barbecue: my husband, Doug Emhoff.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.) 

     And — and thank you, Mike, for sharing your story.  And — and I’m just so sorry for what your family has been through, but you have, out of an incredible tragedy, done so much for the community, and you are such a role model.  So, thank you, Mike, for everything you do.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.

     And good afternoon to everyone here.  Thank you to all of the incredible leaders with us today, including my friend, the governor, Roy Cooper.  Where is he?  (Applause.)  Here with his daughter.

     Every time I land in North Carolina, I — just literally coming down the stairs of Air Force Two, I will shout to Roy Cooper, “What number is it, Roy?”  (Laughter.)  And today, he shouted, “16,” which is the number of times I’ve been in this beautiful state since I’ve been vice president.  (Applause.)  Every time.

     I want to thank your next governor, Attorney General Josh Stein.  (Applause.)  He’s doing incredible work.  He’s going to be an extraordinary governor.

Representatives Adam[s], Manning, Foushee, and Nickel, thank you all for your support, for your friendship, for your leadership.  (Applause.)

Chair Thomas of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, thank you for all that you do.  (Applause.)

And to all the leaders that are here today, including the students and instructors here at Wake Tech North, thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

So, thank you all.

So, listen, this election, I do strongly believe, is about two very different visions for our nation: one, ours, focused on the future; and the other, focused on the past.

We see that contrast clearly in many ways, including when it comes to how we think about the economy.

So, our country has come a long way since President Biden and I took office.  At that time, we sadly remember the millions of Americans that were out of work.  We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history.

And, today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world.  (Applause.)

We have created 16 million new jobs.  We have made historic investments in infrastructure, in chips manufacturing, in clean energy.  And new numbers this week alone show that inflation is down under 3 percent.  (Applause.)

And as president of the United States, it will be my intention to build on the foundation of this progress. 

Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives.  Costs are still too high.  And on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.

As president, I will be laser-focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability, and dignity. 

     Together, we will build what I call an “opportunity economy” — (applause) — “an opportunity economy” — an economy where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed; everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, has an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their children; and where we remove the barriers to opportunity so anyone who wants to start a business or advance their career can access the tools and the resources that are necessary to do so.  (Applause.)

     I will focus on cutting needless bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape and encouraging — (applause) —  and encouraging innovative technologies while protecting consumers and creating a stable business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road. 

As president, I will bring together labor with small businesses and major companies to invest in America, to create good jobs, achieve broad-based growth, and ensure that America continues to define the future and lead the world.  (Applause.)

And key — key to creating this opportunity economy is building up our middle class.  It is essential.  (Applause.)

The middle class is one of America’s greatest strengths, and to protect it, then, we must defend basic principles — such as, your salary should be enough to provide you and your family with a good quality of life. (Applause.)

Such as, no child should have to grow up in poverty.  (Applause.)

Such as, after years of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity.  (Applause.)

And you should be able to join a union if you choose.

Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency, because I strongly believe when the middle class is strong, America is strong.  (Applause.)

So, in the weeks to come, I will address in greater detail my plans to build an opportunity economy.  And, today, I will focus on one element that’s on the minds of many Americans as they pay their bills at the kitchen table or walk the aisles of a grocery store, and that is lowering the cost of living.  (Applause.)

So, every day across our nation, families talk about their plans for the future; their ambitions; their aspirations for themselves, for their children; and they talk about how they’re going to be able to actually achieve them financially.  Because, look, the bills add up — food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes, prescription medication.  After all that, for many families, there’s mo- — not much left at the end of the month.

I grew up in a middle-class household.  For most of my childhood, we were renters.  My mother saved for well over a decade to buy a home.  I was a teenager when that day finally came, and I can remember so well how excited she was.  I kind of understood what it meant, but — we called her “Mommy” — Mommy was so excited, it just made us excited that she was so excited.  (Laughter.)

Later in college, I worked at McDonald’s to earn spending money.  Well, some of the people I worked with were raising families on that paycheck.  They worked second or even third jobs to pay rent and buy food.  That only gets harder when the cost of living goes up. 

     When I am elected president, I will make it a top priority to bring down costs and increase economic security for all Americans.  As president, I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans, like the cost of food. 

     We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed, but our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high. 

     A lo- — a loaf of bread costs 50 percent more today than it did before the pandemic.  Ground beef is up almost 50 percent.  Many of the big food companies are seeing their highest profits in two decades.  And while many grocery chains pass along these savings, others still aren’t. 

     Look, I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules, but some are not, and that’s just not right, and we need to take action when that is the case.  A- — (applause) —

     As attorney general in California, I went after companies that illegally increased prices, including wholesalers that inflated the price of prescription medication and companies that conspired with competitors to keep prices of electronics high.  I won more than $1 billion for consumers.  (Applause.) 

     So, believe me, as president, I will go after the bad actors.  (Applause.)  And I will work to pass the first-ever federal ban on prou- — price gauging [gouging] on food.  (Applause.)

     My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules, and we will support smaller food businesses that are trying to play by the rules and get ahead.  (Applause.) 

     We will help the food industry become more competitive, because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy.  More competition means lower prices for you and your families.  (Applause.)

     Now compare what Donald Trump plans to do.  He wants to impose what is, in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries. 

     That will devastate Americans.  It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs: a Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter medication. 

     And, you know, economists have done the math.  Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  At this moment when everyday prices are too high, he will make them even higher. 

     As president, I’ll attack and take on the issue of the cost of health care.  As attorney general, I took on insurance companies and Big Pharma and got them to lower their prices.  (Applause.)

     And together with President Biden, we’ve gone even further.  We capped the price of insulin at $35 a month and the total cost — (applause) — and the total cost of prescription drugs at $2,000 a year for seniors.

     We let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. 

     And just yesterday — and just yesterday, we announced that we are lowering the price by up to 80 percent for 10 more lifesaving drugs.  (Applause.)

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

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I pledge to continue this progress.  I’ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone with your support, not only our seniors — (applause) — and demand transparency from the middlemen who operate between Big Pharma and the insurance companies, who use opaque practices to raise your drug prices and profit off your need for medicine. 

     Two months ago, I announced that medical debt will no longer be used against your credit score.  (Applause.)  And I will work, as president, with states like here in North Carolina — Roy Cooper, thank you again — to cancel medical debt for more and more — millions more Americans.  (Applause.)
     As for Donald Trump, well, he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which 45 million Americans rely on.  Forty-five million Americans rely on it for health care. 

     That would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  We all remember what that was —

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We’re not going back! 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and we’re not going back.

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

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

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

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and remember — and this is why we’re not going back, because we do remember — (laughter) — he tried to cut Medicare every year he was president, threatening a program that tens of millions of seniors count on.

     And according to his Project 2025 agenda, he intends to undo our work to bring down prescription drugs — the cost of prescription drugs and insulin costs. 

     Well, we’ve come too far to let that happen.  (Applause.)

     So, we’re not going back on that, and let’s talk about the cost of housing.  (Applause.)

     So, now, the housing market can be complicated, but, look, I’m not new to this issue.  As state attorney general, I drafted and helped pass a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first in America. 

     And during the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big banks for predatory lending with many of my colleagues, including Roy Cooper, and won $20 billion for California families when I was attorney general.  (Applause.)

     So, I know how to fight for people who are being exploited in the housing market, and I know what homeownership means.  It’s more than a financial transaction.  It’s so much more than that.  It’s more than a house.

     Homeownership and what that means — it’s a symbol of the pride that comes with hard work.  It’s financial security.  It represents what you will be able to do for your children.  (Applause.)

And sadly, right now, it is out of reach for far too many American families.  There’s a serious housing shortage in many places.  It’s too difficult to build, and it’s driving prices up.

As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need, both to rent and to buy.  We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.  (Applause.)

And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals that are affordable for the middle class, and we will do that together.  We will do that together.  (Applause.)

And — and we will make sure those homes actually go to working- and middle-class Americans — (applause) — not just investors.  Because, you know, some corporate landlords — some of them buy dozens, if not hundreds, of houses and apartments.  Then they turn them around and rent them out at extremely high prices, and it can make it impossible, then, for regular people to be able to buy or even rent a home. 

Some corporate landlords collude with each other to set artificially high rental prices, often using algorithms and price-fixing software to do it.  It’s anticompetitive, and it drives up costs.  I will fight for a law that cracks down on these practices.  (Applause.)

We also know that as the price of housing has gone up, the size of down payments have gone up as well.  Even if aspiring homeowners save for years, it often still is not enough. 

So, in addition, while we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000
to help with the down payment on a new home.  (Applause.)

We can do this.  We can do this, all to help more Americans experience the pride of homeownership and the financial security that it represents and brings. 

So, that’s my plan.  But here’s what Donald Trump would do.

If his Project 2025 agenda is put into effect, it will add around $1,200 a year to the typical American mortgage. 

He’s got it backward.  We should be doing everything we can to make it more affordable to buy a home, not less.  (Applause.)

Finally, there’s one more way I will help families deal with rising costs, and that’s by letting you keep more of your hard-earned money.  (Applause.)  Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax cut, and we will do this by restoring two tax cuts designed to help middle-class and working Americans: the Earned Income Tax Credit — (applause) — and the Child Tax Credit — (applause) — through which millions of Americans with children got to keep more of their hard-earned income.

We know this works and has a direct impact on so many issues, including child poverty.  We know it works.

So, as president, I’ll not only restore that tax cut but expand it.  We will provide $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child’s life.

Now, think what that means.  (Applause.)  Think what that means.  That is a vital — vital year of critical development of a child, and the costs can really add up, especially for young parents who need to buy diapers and clothes and a car seat and so much else.  And we will do this while reducing the deficit.

Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do.  He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year and he plans to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits.  And that’s on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he already signed into law when he was president, which, by the way, overwhelming- — overwhelmingly went to the wealthiest Americans and corporations and exploded the national deficit.

You know, I think that if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for — look who they fight for.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump fights for billionaires and large corporations.  We — I will fight to give money back to working- and middle-class Americans.  (Applause.)

So, I’ll end with this.  Two days ago, Donald Trump was here in North Carolina. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He said he was going to talk about the economy — (laughter) — I think you all watched; you know what I’m about to say — but he offered no serious plans to reduce costs for middle-class families, no plan to expand access to housing or health care.  And that, actually, I think, for most of us, was not surprising because we already know his plans.  We know the Project 2025 agenda. 

So, there’s a choice in this election: Donald Trump’s plans to devastate the middle class, punish working people, and make the cost of living go up for millions of Americans; and, on the other hand, when I’m elected president, what we’ll do — (applause) — what we will do to bring down costs,
increase the security and stability financially of your family, and expand opportunity for working- and middle-class Americans.  (Applause.)

So, now — now — now is the time to chart a new way forward.  (Applause.)  Now is the time to chart a new way forward, to build —

AUDIENCE:  A new way forward!  A new way forward!  A new way forward!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  A new way forward, yes.  A new way forward.

AUDIENCE:  A new way forward!  A new way forward!  A new way forward!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  To build — to build an America where everyone’s work is rewarded and talents are valued, where we work with labor and business to strengthen the American economy, and where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead.

So, I thank you, North Carolina.  We’re going to get this done — (applause) — and with your help.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

END                 2:54 P.M. EDT

# # #

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event in Raleigh, NC appeared first on The White House.

August 16, 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR

THE SECRETARY OF STATE
 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
 THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR  NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SUBJECT:  Delegation of Authority to Designate an Existing Official to Serve Within the Executive Branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Attorney General, the authority to designate an existing official to serve within the executive branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria.  This official will carry out the responsibilities consistent with section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92), as amended by section 1262 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118‑31).

The delegation in this memorandum shall apply to any provision of any future public law that is the same or substantially the same as the provision referenced in this memorandum.

Upon exercise of this authority, the Secretary of State shall provide notice to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority to Designate an Existing Official to Serve Within the Executive Branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria appeared first on The White House.

August 16, 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR

THE SECRETARY OF STATE
 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
 THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR  NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SUBJECT:  Delegation of Authority to Designate an Existing Official to Serve Within the Executive Branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Attorney General, the authority to designate an existing official to serve within the executive branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria.  This official will carry out the responsibilities consistent with section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92), as amended by section 1262 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118‑31).

The delegation in this memorandum shall apply to any provision of any future public law that is the same or substantially the same as the provision referenced in this memorandum.

Upon exercise of this authority, the Secretary of State shall provide notice to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority to Designate an Existing Official to Serve Within the Executive Branch as the Coordinator for Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria appeared first on The White House.

Oval Office

11:46 A.M. EDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, hello, everybody. 
 
Welcome, all my former colleagues, colleagues, and members of the administration and those outside the administration that made this happen. 
 
I was — I want to say one thing at the outset.  I never thought that, having been in the Senate for so many years, as well as vice president for 12 year- — for 8 years and president for 4 years, that I would see — have to worry about people wanting to erase history — to literally erase history: what we can’t read, what we can’t write, what — 
 
And what I’m excited about, beyond the specifics of this: We’re rewriting history — we’re allowing history to be written — what happened — so our children, our grandchildren, everybody understands what happened and what could still happen.  As a matter of fact, something happened here similar recently.
 
And so, you know, I want to thank — especially thanks to Senator Duckworth and Senator Durbin and Sen- — I mean Representative B- — Budzinski — like “Bidenzinski” — (laughter) — Nikki.
 
By the way, I — I moved from a Irish neighbor in Scranton when we — when coal died, moved down to Delaware.  I was the only kid with a name who didn’t — name didn’t end in “ski.”  (Laughter.)
 
Now, look, you know, over 100 years ago this week, a mob not far from Lincoln’s home unleashed a race riot in Springfield and — that literally shocked the conscience of the nation.  I mean, it shocked the conscience of the nation.
 
But what these folks worked so hard to make sure we — a lot of people forgot it.  It was railroad tracks — there was a lot going on there.  And people forgot it as if, you know, it didn’t happen.  If you listen to some of our colleagues, you’d think, “Oh, no, no, no.  We — we’ve never had this problem.”
 
Well, you know, you’re going to continue to have these problems unless we talk about the problems we had before making sure we solved them. 
 
And it also sparked the creation of the NAACP and the leaders here today — one of the most important organizations, in my view, in this country.
 
And by signing this designation for the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, we remind ourselves we have to — we — we have no safe harbor unless we continue to remind people what happened — what happened.  It’s really important. 
 
I’m not — I — I’m — you know, as you’ve heard me say, when I had an operation years ago, the doctor said — he told me what my chances were.  And he said, “You know, your problem is you’re — Senator,” he said, “you’re a — you’re a congenital optimist.” 
 
Well, I am an optimist.  I’m optimistic about this country because we’re good people.  But we can’t let these things fade. 
 
And I want to thank the engineering firm who went out and found the remnants of a facility.  I want to thank the Catholic hospital for donating the site there to make this happen, and all these people behind me. 
 
And, by the way, we have a secretary of Interior who knows what she’s doing.  She cares a lot about all this. 
 
And so, I know this may not seem significant to most Americans, but it’s an important — it’s important, important, important.  And then, when you walk by this area, you know what happened here, because it can happen again if we don’t take care of ourselves and fight for this democracy. 
 
So, I’m going to sign this.  And what I’m going to do, because they didn’t want to bring out 99 Biden pens — (laughter) — I’m going to give this first signing to the secretary and — and then I’m going make sure every one of you get — who made this happen can get a pen.  Okay?
    
All right.

(The proclamation is signed.)

There you go.  (Applause.)

(Inaudible.)  We don’t usually do this, but, Dick, do you want to say anything?  Or, Nikki, you want to say anything?  Or — no, seriously, you guys worked like — you started this in 2022, I think.

SENATOR DUCKWORTH:  I — I did, Mr. President.  Actually, we started it even before then, but we really gained steam and got it passed out of the Senate, and it’s been stuck in the House. 
 
And so, I just want to thank everybody here who came together to work so hard, because this is such an important part of our nation’s history, what the Midwest has done — what the Midwest has done in terms of being part of the Civil Rights Movement. 
 
So much of what happened in the South started and was supported through places in Chicago and in Springfield.  And I’m so proud that Springfield, Illinois, is home to the beginning of the NAACP. 

Good things can come out of bad things, as long as you don’t forget what happened. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

SENATOR DUCKWORTH:  Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

PARTICIPANTS:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Dick?

SENATOR DURBIN:  This was not the only race riot in America by any means.  My hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois, had one as well.  The difference here was it was the home of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
At that moment in history, people reflected on the fact and were stunned and outraged to think this happened in Mr.  Lincoln’s hometown. 
 
And I think that’s what inspired the N- — NAACP, Mr. President.  That’s why that has national significance.  But it was the connection with Lincoln that really drove home the point that racism has to end in America, and we’re still fighting that battle.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Nikki?

REPRESENTATIVE BUDZINSKI:  I — I would just add, again, an appreciation to you, Mr. President, for honoring this moment in history for Springfield and this — just the unanimous support for the community. 
 
This is a happy day for us, but that we have so much more work to do in our community and to strive for equality and justice.  We still have a lot of work to do.

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, I got involved in politics because of the — this movement.  My state, to its great shame, was — was a slave state.  And — and when I got elected, I ran to begin to change the nature of the parties. 
 
To make a long story short, we’re making a lot of progress, but this can never stop.  We can give hate no safe harbor.  Period. 
 
Thank you.  (Applause.)

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Has a ceasefire deal been reached?  Has a ceasefire deal been reached?  Mr. President, how close is a ceasefire deal?

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Has a ceasefire deal been reached or is it close?

THE PRESIDENT:  I can’t hear you.

Q    Is a ceasefire deal, Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll say one thing about — one of the reasons why I was late for you all was I was dealing with the ceasefire effort in the Middle East, and we are closer than we’ve ever been. 
 
I don’t want to jinx anything.  But as my grandfather would say, with the grace of God, the goodwill of the neighbors, and a lot of luck, we may have something. 
 
But we’re not there yet.  It’s much, much closer than it was three days ago.  So, keep your fingers crossed.
 
Thank you.  (Applause.)

11:53 A.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Proclamation to Designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument appeared first on The White House.

Oval Office

11:46 A.M. EDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, hello, everybody. 
 
Welcome, all my former colleagues, colleagues, and members of the administration and those outside the administration that made this happen. 
 
I was — I want to say one thing at the outset.  I never thought that, having been in the Senate for so many years, as well as vice president for 12 year- — for 8 years and president for 4 years, that I would see — have to worry about people wanting to erase history — to literally erase history: what we can’t read, what we can’t write, what — 
 
And what I’m excited about, beyond the specifics of this: We’re rewriting history — we’re allowing history to be written — what happened — so our children, our grandchildren, everybody understands what happened and what could still happen.  As a matter of fact, something happened here similar recently.
 
And so, you know, I want to thank — especially thanks to Senator Duckworth and Senator Durbin and Sen- — I mean Representative B- — Budzinski — like “Bidenzinski” — (laughter) — Nikki.
 
By the way, I — I moved from a Irish neighbor in Scranton when we — when coal died, moved down to Delaware.  I was the only kid with a name who didn’t — name didn’t end in “ski.”  (Laughter.)
 
Now, look, you know, over 100 years ago this week, a mob not far from Lincoln’s home unleashed a race riot in Springfield and — that literally shocked the conscience of the nation.  I mean, it shocked the conscience of the nation.
 
But what these folks worked so hard to make sure we — a lot of people forgot it.  It was railroad tracks — there was a lot going on there.  And people forgot it as if, you know, it didn’t happen.  If you listen to some of our colleagues, you’d think, “Oh, no, no, no.  We — we’ve never had this problem.”
 
Well, you know, you’re going to continue to have these problems unless we talk about the problems we had before making sure we solved them. 
 
And it also sparked the creation of the NAACP and the leaders here today — one of the most important organizations, in my view, in this country.
 
And by signing this designation for the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, we remind ourselves we have to — we — we have no safe harbor unless we continue to remind people what happened — what happened.  It’s really important. 
 
I’m not — I — I’m — you know, as you’ve heard me say, when I had an operation years ago, the doctor said — he told me what my chances were.  And he said, “You know, your problem is you’re — Senator,” he said, “you’re a — you’re a congenital optimist.” 
 
Well, I am an optimist.  I’m optimistic about this country because we’re good people.  But we can’t let these things fade. 
 
And I want to thank the engineering firm who went out and found the remnants of a facility.  I want to thank the Catholic hospital for donating the site there to make this happen, and all these people behind me. 
 
And, by the way, we have a secretary of Interior who knows what she’s doing.  She cares a lot about all this. 
 
And so, I know this may not seem significant to most Americans, but it’s an important — it’s important, important, important.  And then, when you walk by this area, you know what happened here, because it can happen again if we don’t take care of ourselves and fight for this democracy. 
 
So, I’m going to sign this.  And what I’m going to do, because they didn’t want to bring out 99 Biden pens — (laughter) — I’m going to give this first signing to the secretary and — and then I’m going make sure every one of you get — who made this happen can get a pen.  Okay?
    
All right.

(The proclamation is signed.)

There you go.  (Applause.)

(Inaudible.)  We don’t usually do this, but, Dick, do you want to say anything?  Or, Nikki, you want to say anything?  Or — no, seriously, you guys worked like — you started this in 2022, I think.

SENATOR DUCKWORTH:  I — I did, Mr. President.  Actually, we started it even before then, but we really gained steam and got it passed out of the Senate, and it’s been stuck in the House. 
 
And so, I just want to thank everybody here who came together to work so hard, because this is such an important part of our nation’s history, what the Midwest has done — what the Midwest has done in terms of being part of the Civil Rights Movement. 
 
So much of what happened in the South started and was supported through places in Chicago and in Springfield.  And I’m so proud that Springfield, Illinois, is home to the beginning of the NAACP. 

Good things can come out of bad things, as long as you don’t forget what happened. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

SENATOR DUCKWORTH:  Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

PARTICIPANTS:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Dick?

SENATOR DURBIN:  This was not the only race riot in America by any means.  My hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois, had one as well.  The difference here was it was the home of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
At that moment in history, people reflected on the fact and were stunned and outraged to think this happened in Mr.  Lincoln’s hometown. 
 
And I think that’s what inspired the N- — NAACP, Mr. President.  That’s why that has national significance.  But it was the connection with Lincoln that really drove home the point that racism has to end in America, and we’re still fighting that battle.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Nikki?

REPRESENTATIVE BUDZINSKI:  I — I would just add, again, an appreciation to you, Mr. President, for honoring this moment in history for Springfield and this — just the unanimous support for the community. 
 
This is a happy day for us, but that we have so much more work to do in our community and to strive for equality and justice.  We still have a lot of work to do.

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, I got involved in politics because of the — this movement.  My state, to its great shame, was — was a slave state.  And — and when I got elected, I ran to begin to change the nature of the parties. 
 
To make a long story short, we’re making a lot of progress, but this can never stop.  We can give hate no safe harbor.  Period. 
 
Thank you.  (Applause.)

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Has a ceasefire deal been reached?  Has a ceasefire deal been reached?  Mr. President, how close is a ceasefire deal?

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Has a ceasefire deal been reached or is it close?

THE PRESIDENT:  I can’t hear you.

Q    Is a ceasefire deal, Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll say one thing about — one of the reasons why I was late for you all was I was dealing with the ceasefire effort in the Middle East, and we are closer than we’ve ever been. 
 
I don’t want to jinx anything.  But as my grandfather would say, with the grace of God, the goodwill of the neighbors, and a lot of luck, we may have something. 
 
But we’re not there yet.  It’s much, much closer than it was three days ago.  So, keep your fingers crossed.
 
Thank you.  (Applause.)

11:53 A.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Proclamation to Designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument appeared first on The White House.

     Every member of the National Guard and Reserve forms a link in the chain of honor that stretches back far before our Nation’s founding.  Throughout the centuries, these extraordinary citizens have committed themselves to a life of service and sacrifice for the United States.  During National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, we show gratitude for the members of our National Guard and Reserve, who protect, defend, and serve our Nation.  And we thank their patriotic civilian employers, who go above and beyond to support their mission.
     The First Lady and I have a special place in our hearts for the National Guard and Reserve because our son Major Beau Biden served in the Delaware Army National Guard.  We know firsthand the sacrifices these brave women and men make.  The members of our National Guard and Reserve must be ready to answer the call of duty at a moment’s notice — leaving their civilian jobs behind to serve on missions across the country and around the world.  It is a sacrifice that requires agility to adapt to an often unpredictable schedule that affects not only their lives and their families, but their employers as well. 
     That is why, this week, we thank all the outstanding employers who go above and beyond to ensure the members of our National Guard and Reserve receive the critical support they need.  Employers have stepped up when they are away for military training or deployed — from offering flexible leave policies to ensuring their families continue to have access to health care and benefits.  Our National Guard and Reserve members’ civilian employers empower them to take on critical missions that support national security efforts and keep all of us safe.
     Our National Guard and Reserve service members serve to preserve our freedom because they know that freedom is never guaranteed.  Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, and defend it.  Our service members’ sacrifices ensure that America continues to have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, and we are grateful to all the employers across the country who help make it possible.  These employers are a reminder that there is truly nothing we cannot accomplish as a Nation if we work together.  This week, may we show our gratitude for our troops and all the employers who support their mission.
     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 18 through August 24, 2024, as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week.  I call upon all Americans to observe this week by honoring our National Guard and Reserve service members, who sacrifice so much to keep our country and communities safe and secure, and to commend the employers who empower these service members to thrive.
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
 

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post A Proclamation on National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, 2024 appeared first on The White House.

     Every member of the National Guard and Reserve forms a link in the chain of honor that stretches back far before our Nation’s founding.  Throughout the centuries, these extraordinary citizens have committed themselves to a life of service and sacrifice for the United States.  During National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, we show gratitude for the members of our National Guard and Reserve, who protect, defend, and serve our Nation.  And we thank their patriotic civilian employers, who go above and beyond to support their mission.
     The First Lady and I have a special place in our hearts for the National Guard and Reserve because our son Major Beau Biden served in the Delaware Army National Guard.  We know firsthand the sacrifices these brave women and men make.  The members of our National Guard and Reserve must be ready to answer the call of duty at a moment’s notice — leaving their civilian jobs behind to serve on missions across the country and around the world.  It is a sacrifice that requires agility to adapt to an often unpredictable schedule that affects not only their lives and their families, but their employers as well. 
     That is why, this week, we thank all the outstanding employers who go above and beyond to ensure the members of our National Guard and Reserve receive the critical support they need.  Employers have stepped up when they are away for military training or deployed — from offering flexible leave policies to ensuring their families continue to have access to health care and benefits.  Our National Guard and Reserve members’ civilian employers empower them to take on critical missions that support national security efforts and keep all of us safe.
     Our National Guard and Reserve service members serve to preserve our freedom because they know that freedom is never guaranteed.  Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, and defend it.  Our service members’ sacrifices ensure that America continues to have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, and we are grateful to all the employers across the country who help make it possible.  These employers are a reminder that there is truly nothing we cannot accomplish as a Nation if we work together.  This week, may we show our gratitude for our troops and all the employers who support their mission.
     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 18 through August 24, 2024, as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week.  I call upon all Americans to observe this week by honoring our National Guard and Reserve service members, who sacrifice so much to keep our country and communities safe and secure, and to commend the employers who empower these service members to thrive.
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
 

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post A Proclamation on National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, 2024 appeared first on The White House.