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On April 16, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Liz Sherwood-Randall and Deputy Assistant the President and Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein travelled to Mexico City to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and with Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena to advance the extensive economic and security cooperation between our two countries. 

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On April 16, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Liz Sherwood-Randall and Deputy Assistant the President and Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein travelled to Mexico City to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and with Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena to advance the extensive economic and security cooperation between our two countries. 

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Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer spoke on the phone today with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana to discuss regional security and stability as well as ways to deepen our bilateral relationship, including our unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty.  During the call, Mr. Finer welcomed Guyana’s leadership as the current Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  They both reiterated the importance of urgently increasing international support for Haitian-led efforts and the Multinational Security Support mission to help Haitians restore security and pave the way toward free and fair elections in Haiti.   They also discussed other shared priorities, including energy security and climate change.

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The post Readout of Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer’s Call with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana appeared first on The White House.

Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer spoke on the phone today with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana to discuss regional security and stability as well as ways to deepen our bilateral relationship, including our unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty.  During the call, Mr. Finer welcomed Guyana’s leadership as the current Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  They both reiterated the importance of urgently increasing international support for Haitian-led efforts and the Multinational Security Support mission to help Haitians restore security and pave the way toward free and fair elections in Haiti.   They also discussed other shared priorities, including energy security and climate change.

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Today, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh and Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre signaled their intent to move forward with a U.S.-Norway Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Concerning Cooperation on High-Standard, Market-Oriented Trade of Critical Minerals. The MoU is an important step  towards further strengthening the United States and Norway’s future strategic cooperation regarding critical minerals. Under this MOU, the United States and Norway intend to build on months of constructive dialogue through a coordinated approach to the challenges and opportunities that characterize markets for critical minerals. Key focus areas of this cooperation will include advancing high-standard labor and environmental conditions in global critical minerals supply chains and examining and identifying appropriate responses to non-market policies and practices in third countries that have contributed to volatile, distorted market conditions.  With this MOU, the United States and Norway intend to deepen our partnership in pursuit of the long-term commercial viability of sustainable, high-standard, market-oriented critical minerals mining and processing activities in the United States, Norway, and globally.

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The post Joint Statement from the United States and Norway on Cooperation on High-Standard, Market-Oriented Trade of Critical Minerals appeared first on The White House.

Today, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh and Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre signaled their intent to move forward with a U.S.-Norway Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Concerning Cooperation on High-Standard, Market-Oriented Trade of Critical Minerals. The MoU is an important step  towards further strengthening the United States and Norway’s future strategic cooperation regarding critical minerals. Under this MOU, the United States and Norway intend to build on months of constructive dialogue through a coordinated approach to the challenges and opportunities that characterize markets for critical minerals. Key focus areas of this cooperation will include advancing high-standard labor and environmental conditions in global critical minerals supply chains and examining and identifying appropriate responses to non-market policies and practices in third countries that have contributed to volatile, distorted market conditions.  With this MOU, the United States and Norway intend to deepen our partnership in pursuit of the long-term commercial viability of sustainable, high-standard, market-oriented critical minerals mining and processing activities in the United States, Norway, and globally.

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The East Room

Thank you, Julie.

When we first asked Julie about this, we thought she would be joining us on one of these screens – on a video call from Germany.

But your husband knew that you had to be here, because you’ve worked too hard on this issue to miss this. And I agree – I think we all do.

And I heard you met your boss, Daniel, in person for the first time!

Bosses like Daniel, who support military spouses on their teams, are critical to making sure spouses can continue in their careers no matter where they may move.

Julie, you’ve fought to make this moment possible – and you’ve helped so many other spouses through the process…as their best advocate, as their expert, as their lifeline. Thank you and your family for your service.

Welcome to the White House!

It’s great to see so many old friends here – to celebrate this moment with people who have been with Joining Forces since the beginning.

Today is only possible because of you and the many others who have been working for decades to make sure military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors have what they need to thrive.

I’m grateful for your ideas, your hard work, and your collaboration.

Congresswoman Crockett – thank you for your leadership and your tireless support of military spouses.

And a special thank you to Deputy Secretary Verma and Deputy Secretary Hicks for all the work your departments have done to bring us to this milestone.

After an Executive Order is signed and the excitement has faded, the work begins – the implementation. That’s where lives change. And that’s what we’re seeing today. Thank you both.

For just a moment, I want all of you to picture a mom of three kids on a base overseas.

She seems to have it all under control.

Her hair is tied back, so that little hands have nothing to grab, and she seamlessly moves between distracting her toddler and keeping her eight-year-old from stealing another cookie from the snack table.

She smiles when she tells you how proud she is of her husband’s service. What an extraordinary opportunity it is to be able to travel the world and live in another country. How her kids are adjusting to their lives abroad so well.

It’s not until you turn the conversation to her that you see those tiny cracks in her wall of strength.

How is she doing?

Well, she does miss her work. She couldn’t take it with her when she moved overseas. Yes, she’s applied to other jobs, but with no luck.

Application after application, she feels like her degrees and experience are going to waste.

After months of trying to find a job, she’s ready to take anything – after all, there are bills to pay – but it won’t be the job she loved.

It won’t be the career she’s worked so hard to build.

I can’t tell you her name, because I’ve met her more times than I can count.

Since we launched Joining Forces more than 10 years ago, I meet her and spouses like her everywhere I go.

And I meet their service members too.

They’re stressed about how difficult it is to make ends meet on one income, questioning how long they can serve their country when their spouse is unhappy or unfulfilled.

We can’t allow our military families to meet these challenges alone.

When I brought these stories back to my husband, President Biden, he listened.

And then he took action. That’s what Joe does, he sees a problem and then he gets to work fixing it. He doesn’t waste any time.

So, last June, Joe signed an historic Executive Order to address the barriers that military spouses face when trying to find work – by making it easier for the federal government to hire them, encouraging federal employers to give spouses time off when they have to move, and reducing child care costs for military families.

A critical part of the Executive Order is allowing military spouses who work for the federal government to take those jobs with them if they have to PCS overseas. With today’s agreement, we’re making that a reality.

It’s common-sense. It’s simple. And it’s long overdue.

We know that the work doesn’t end today.

Child care, jobs with private employers, being able to start your own business, or transfer your professional license to different states – we won’t stop until these are solved.

Our military spouses – so many of you here – may not wear a uniform, but you serve our country too, and it’s our responsibility to support you.

This isn’t just a moral obligation, it’s a national security imperative.

For more than 50 years, our military has been made up entirely of volunteers. We don’t demand service of our citizens – you step forward.

But we put that principle at risk when we force our service members to choose between their love of country and their love of the families who serve alongside them. We must give them the support they need to choose both.

That’s what today is all about.

Our service members deserve nothing less. And neither do all the spouses like Julie, on every base around the world, who are looking to carve out a life while supporting the people they love most.

With all my heart: thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

And now, I’d like to invite the Deputy Secretaries over to the signing table.

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The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden on New Efforts to Strengthen Employment Opportunities for Military Spouses appeared first on The White House.

The East Room

Thank you, Julie.

When we first asked Julie about this, we thought she would be joining us on one of these screens – on a video call from Germany.

But your husband knew that you had to be here, because you’ve worked too hard on this issue to miss this. And I agree – I think we all do.

And I heard you met your boss, Daniel, in person for the first time!

Bosses like Daniel, who support military spouses on their teams, are critical to making sure spouses can continue in their careers no matter where they may move.

Julie, you’ve fought to make this moment possible – and you’ve helped so many other spouses through the process…as their best advocate, as their expert, as their lifeline. Thank you and your family for your service.

Welcome to the White House!

It’s great to see so many old friends here – to celebrate this moment with people who have been with Joining Forces since the beginning.

Today is only possible because of you and the many others who have been working for decades to make sure military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors have what they need to thrive.

I’m grateful for your ideas, your hard work, and your collaboration.

Congresswoman Crockett – thank you for your leadership and your tireless support of military spouses.

And a special thank you to Deputy Secretary Verma and Deputy Secretary Hicks for all the work your departments have done to bring us to this milestone.

After an Executive Order is signed and the excitement has faded, the work begins – the implementation. That’s where lives change. And that’s what we’re seeing today. Thank you both.

For just a moment, I want all of you to picture a mom of three kids on a base overseas.

She seems to have it all under control.

Her hair is tied back, so that little hands have nothing to grab, and she seamlessly moves between distracting her toddler and keeping her eight-year-old from stealing another cookie from the snack table.

She smiles when she tells you how proud she is of her husband’s service. What an extraordinary opportunity it is to be able to travel the world and live in another country. How her kids are adjusting to their lives abroad so well.

It’s not until you turn the conversation to her that you see those tiny cracks in her wall of strength.

How is she doing?

Well, she does miss her work. She couldn’t take it with her when she moved overseas. Yes, she’s applied to other jobs, but with no luck.

Application after application, she feels like her degrees and experience are going to waste.

After months of trying to find a job, she’s ready to take anything – after all, there are bills to pay – but it won’t be the job she loved.

It won’t be the career she’s worked so hard to build.

I can’t tell you her name, because I’ve met her more times than I can count.

Since we launched Joining Forces more than 10 years ago, I meet her and spouses like her everywhere I go.

And I meet their service members too.

They’re stressed about how difficult it is to make ends meet on one income, questioning how long they can serve their country when their spouse is unhappy or unfulfilled.

We can’t allow our military families to meet these challenges alone.

When I brought these stories back to my husband, President Biden, he listened.

And then he took action. That’s what Joe does, he sees a problem and then he gets to work fixing it. He doesn’t waste any time.

So, last June, Joe signed an historic Executive Order to address the barriers that military spouses face when trying to find work – by making it easier for the federal government to hire them, encouraging federal employers to give spouses time off when they have to move, and reducing child care costs for military families.

A critical part of the Executive Order is allowing military spouses who work for the federal government to take those jobs with them if they have to PCS overseas. With today’s agreement, we’re making that a reality.

It’s common-sense. It’s simple. And it’s long overdue.

We know that the work doesn’t end today.

Child care, jobs with private employers, being able to start your own business, or transfer your professional license to different states – we won’t stop until these are solved.

Our military spouses – so many of you here – may not wear a uniform, but you serve our country too, and it’s our responsibility to support you.

This isn’t just a moral obligation, it’s a national security imperative.

For more than 50 years, our military has been made up entirely of volunteers. We don’t demand service of our citizens – you step forward.

But we put that principle at risk when we force our service members to choose between their love of country and their love of the families who serve alongside them. We must give them the support they need to choose both.

That’s what today is all about.

Our service members deserve nothing less. And neither do all the spouses like Julie, on every base around the world, who are looking to carve out a life while supporting the people they love most.

With all my heart: thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

And now, I’d like to invite the Deputy Secretaries over to the signing table.

###

The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden on New Efforts to Strengthen Employment Opportunities for Military Spouses appeared first on The White House.

United Steelworkers Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2:29 P.M. EDT

 THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Pittsburgh.  (Applause.)  Please have a seat.

 Robert, thank you for that introduction and for sharing your story about being a third-generation steelworker and a Marine Corps veteran.  Where are you?  Are you over on this side?  There you are.

 Well, I want to thank you for the — your new president, by the way.  Dave McCall has been a friend of mine and a friend of a former president.  We — we miss him, but it’s great to have you, Dave.  You’ve been a good friend.  And we’re both longtime friends — (applause) — we’re both longtime friend of Tom’s as well.  We miss him dearly.

 Dave, you’re doing a great job in his footsteps and — and it’s just going to get better, in my view.

 There’s an expression that comes to mind: “You go home with them that brung you to the dance.”  And you brought me to the dance.  (Applause.)  No joke.

 The Mayor and I are buddies.  I told the Mayor — and I mean it sincerely — the first outfit ever to endorse me as a 29-year-old kid running in a tough year for United States Senate, making me the second youngest man ever elected to the Senate, was a guy named Hughie Carcella.  And back in those days, the s- — we had a big steelworkers — we had a lot of steelworkers in Claymont, Delaware, where I was from, because they worked in Worth Steel Company. 

And — and I’ll never forget coming to me and saying, “We’re going to get you help.”  And I came out to Pittsburgh and you — and the steelworkers endorsed me.  It changed everything.  (Applause.) 

Nixon won my state — Nixon won my state of Delaware with 60 percent of the vote, and I won with an astounding 3,100 majority — (laughter) — 3,100 majority.  And it’s thanks to you.  I really mean it.

 I’m Pittsburgh and — because of — and I really mean it: My love for Pittsburgh goes back to my Scranton days.  My Grandfather Finnegan always talked about Pittsburgh.

 Any rate, to make a long story short, the bottom line, for all kidding aside, is I’m president because of you guys.  I really am.  And I’m proud, as was mentioned earlier — I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history, for real.  (Applause.)

 Where I was raised, it ain’t labor; it’s unions — unions.  (Applause.)

 I had an uncle.  He’d say, “Joey, you are union from belt buckle to shoe sole.”  (Laughter.)

 Well, I want to thank some folks who had my back and — and had to stay back in Washington and couldn’t be here today.  Representatives Summer Lee and — you know, I — she — by the way, there are votes going on — and Chris DeLuzio.  And Senator Bobby Casey is one of my closest friends, as his dad was.  And John Fetterman, who I want to stay on his side no matter what.  (Laughter and applause.) 

 And thank you to all the state and local leaders here, including the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Ed Gainey.  Ed, you’re the best buddy.  You’ve — you’ve really stepped up.  (Applause.)

 And a great leader, JoJo Burgess, an Army veteran from a steelworking family.  He was my guest at the State of the Union just a couple of years ago.  He came back home to Washington, Pennsylvania, and decided to run for mayor, and he won.  (Applause.)  And he’s still working as a steelworker.  But that’s America.

 Look, folks, it was — I was — almost exactly five years ago that I began my campaign for president right here in Pittsburgh, where I announced.

 I said one of the reasons I was running was to rebuild the backbone of America, the middle class.  And it was already mentioned — it’s been mentioned a thousand times, thankfully, since then — that the backbone of America has a steel spine.  It really does have a steel spine.

 You heard me say it before: Wall Street didn’t build America; the middle class didn’t build — built America, and you guys built the middle class.  Unions built it.

 And that’s why I’m here today to announce a series of actions that I stand by you, the American steelworker.

 Look, first, U.S. Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century.  And it should remain a totally American company — (applause) — American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers — the best in the world.  And it’s — that’s going to happen.  I promise you.  (Applause.)

 Second, American steelworkers can outwork, outcompete as long as they have fair competition.  But for too long, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese steel companies, pushing them to make so much steel — as much as possible — subsidized by the Chinese government.

 Because Chinese steel companies produce a lot more steel than China needs, it ends up dumping the extra steel into the global markets at unfairly low prices.  And the prices are unfairly low because Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily. 

 They’re not competing.  They’re cheating.  They’re cheating.  And we’ve seen the damage here in America.

 You know, back in the early 2000s, the Chinese steel began floating the mar- — flooding the market wi- — in steel towns all across Pennsylvania and Ohio, who were hit very hard.

Between those years, 2000 and 2010, more than 14,000 steelworkers [and ironworkers] in Pennsylvania and Ohio lost their jobs — 14,000.

 Let me ask you: Are we going to let that happen again?

 AUDIENCE:  No!

 THE PRESIDENT:  I promise you that I’m not going to let that happen again.

 Look, right now, my U.S. Trade Representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminum.  If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel imports and aluminum imports from China.  (Applause.)

 And we know that Chinese steel and aluminum are being imported into America through Mexico that avoids the tariff.  And just yesterday, I had a delegation down in Mexico meeting with AMLO, the Mexican president, to address this issue. 

Mexico and the United States are going to work together to solve it, I promise you.  I promise you.

 My administration is also taking a real hard look at the Chinese government’s industrial practices when it comes to global shipbuilding, which is critical to our economy.  We depend on a fleet of commercial shipping vessels that carry American products around the world.

 Shipbuilding is critical to our national security, including the strength of the United States Navy.

 That’s why my administration takes it very seriously that U.S. Steelworkers, along with four other unions, have asked us to investigate whether the Chinese government is using anticompetitive practices to artificially lower prices in the shipbuilding industry.

 We’ve heard you.

 And if the Chinese government is doing that and the unfair tactics to undermine free and fair trade competition in the shipping industry, I will take action.  That investigation is going on.

 Taken together, these are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition.

 Meanwhile, my predecessor and the MAGA Republicans want across-the-board tariffs on all imports from all countries.  That could badly hurt American consumers.  It’s estimated it would cost the average American family an average of $1,500 a year if they succeeded in doing that.

 Trump simply doesn’t get it.

For years, I’ve heard my — many of my Republican and even Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America has been falling behind.  You may have noticed, the last two years, I’ve been the only one disagreeing with that.

I’ve always believed we’ve [they’ve] got it all wrong.  America is rising.  And we have the best economy in the world, which we do.  (Applause.)

And since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up, our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest level in over a decade, and we’re standing up against the Chinese government unfair economic practice and industrial over-capacity.

 And we are the strongest economic — economy in the world.

 In addition — and, by the way, China has got more — I always say to my colleagues — when I meet other world leaders, I say, “Would you trade places with China?  Would you trade places with their problems?”  They’ve got a population that is more people in retirement than working.  They’re not in- — they’re not importing any — they’re not bringing — they’re xenophobic — no — nobody coming — else coming in.  They’ve got real problems.

 I’m not looking for a fight with China.  I’m looking for competition, but fair competition.

In addition, we’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.  I’ve revitalized our partnerships in — and our alliances in the Pacific with India, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and other Pacific Island nations.

 I’ve made sure that we have the most advanced technologies that we’ve developed and invented, and they can’t be sent to China or undermine our — because it’ll undermine our national security.

 When I spoke with Xi Jinping, he said, “Why?”  I said, “Because you use it for all the wrong reasons, so you’re not going to get those advanced computer chips.”

 Finally, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that.

 The bottom line is that I want fair competition with China, not conflict, and we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition of the 21st century against China or anyone else because we’re investing in America and American workers again, finally.  (Applause.)

 You know, there’s a law, back in the ‘30s, that passed when we — about whether unions could exist.  There’s a provision that no — very few people — very few presidents ever paid attention to.  If a president is sent money from the Congress to do something for the public, he must use American products and must use American workers, unless you couldn’t find them.  Well, guess what?  A lot of them didn’t find them, except me.  (Laughter and applause.)  No, I mean it.  Not a joke.

 Everything we build, we build with American product and with American workers, period.  (Applause.)  And it doesn’t violate any trade agreement. 

 Thanks to my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we announced over 51,000 new infrastructure projects all across America — (applause) — so far — we’re just getting started — including roads, bridges, ports, airports, clean water systems, high-speed affordable Internet, all across America.

 You may remember, my predecessor promised “Infrastructure Week” after week after week — (laughter) — for four years and never built a damn thing.  (Applause.)  Nothing.  No, I’m serious: Nothing.

 And, by the way, these projects are going to be using — using American-made materials, like American steel and American concrete, creating good-paying American jobs — union jobs.  (Applause.)

 Why?  As I said — I’ve already said it, but since the ‘30s, the law has said we could do that.  And that’s exactly what I’m doing. 

 And we’re buying American.  We are selling American.  It’s all about America.  We buy America.

 And past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to uphold that “Buy American” provision.  Not anymore.  That’s — that’s over.  We — American products and American workers.

 Look, folks, you know, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant law taking on climate change ever anywhere in the world — anywhere in the world. 

We didn’t get anybody to vote for it, other than my Democratic friends.  Okay?

 Well, guess what?  That includes billions of dollars in investments in industries of the future, including clean American steel.  It’s clean because the way we produce it here emits much less carbon than the steel made in China.

 Last month, my administration announced the largest investment ever in clean manufacturing in American history — in all of American history.  (Applause.)  It included up to $1.5 billion in six clean steel projects across America — $1.5 billion.  It’s going to create and support thousands of union jobs, including at — at Butler Works in — in Lyndora, Pe- — over in Lyndora, Pennsylvania.

 My predecessor and his Republican friends in Congress want to repeal that law that would cut those jobs.  And it would cut the jobs if you repeal the law.  I’m serious. 

The — I know when I say these things, you wonder can that — could they be — possibly be that stupid?  (Laughter.)  I — I shouldn’t say it that way.  (Laughter.) 

But I’m serious.  Think about it.  Just check it out.  That’s what they want to do.  But that’s not all.

My predecessor rolled back protections for American workers.  He opposed the increase overall for federal minimum wage.  He put union busters on the National Labor Relations Board.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  For real.  Well, you know he did.  Think — think of what the board looked like before I became president.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.

Meanwhile, since I was sworn in as president, because of you, look at what we’ve achieved together.  Through my American Rescue Plan, I enacted the Butch Lewis Act, the most significant law — (applause) — the most significant law for union workers and retirees in 50 years. 

Think of what would happen if we didn’t get that passed.  And none of them wanted to help me.  But we got it done.

It protected the hard-earned pensions of more than 120,000 steelworkers.  (Applause.)  Folks, you’ve had my back, and I promise I have your back.

We made that happen while my predecessor never lifted a finger to help.

 I also increased the federal minimum wage for federal contracts.  The people I’ve appointed to the National Labor Relations Board actually care about American workers.

 So far, we’ve created 15 million — as mentioned earlier — new jobs — a record in a — in a term of a president — (applause) — 492,000 new jobs so far in Pennsylvania alone.  (Applause.)  Under my predecessor, who is busy right now — (laughter) — Pennsylvania lost 275,000 jobs.  I mean, let’s — let’s look at the facts.

 On my watch, unemployment hasn’t been this low for this long in 50 years.  (Applause.)  That’s 50 years.  Wages are rising.  American manufacturing is booming.  We’ve created up close to 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since I became president, including 28,000 manufacturing jobs right here in Pennsylvania. 

 We’ve attracted $680 billion — let me say it again — $680 billion in private-sector investment in advanced manufacturing and clean energy here in America, including $4 billion just here in the state of Pennsylvania so far.

 Folks, instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs.  Think about — think of all the time — think — think of the last years where they’d go — American — corporate America wanted to go find the cheapest labor in the world, send the jobs overseas, and then import the product home.  Not anymore.

Together, we’re doing what’s always worked best for this country.  We’re investing in all of America, in all Americans. 

And we’re building an economy from the middle out — not — and the bottom up, not the top down.  Because when we do that, the poor have a ladder up and the middle class do well and the wealthy still do very well.  (Applause.)  We all do well.  No, for real.

 Look, let me close with this.  I just came from my hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, a place like Pittsburgh that sort of climbs into your heart and never leaves you.  And it really doesn’t.

 My mom didn’t live in — in Scranton since she was — 1954, but when you’d ask Mom where is she from, she’d say, “Scranton.”  “Scranton.”  (Laughter.)  Well, where you learn basic — a basic value set, like you do here. 

 Money doesn’t determine your worth, I would always be told.  Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. 

My dad used to say, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck — worth a lot more than a paycheck, pal.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being treated with respect.” 

 And he’d say — he’d always — and I give you my word.  These are phrases he’d always use.  He’d say, “You know, not only being able to give — have respect, but being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it — mean it.”

 Look, everyone — everyone deserves a fair shot — just a fair shot.  And we’re going to leave no one behind.

 Folks, that’s my view of the economy — from Scranton, from Pittsburgh, from the thousands of working- and middle-class neighborhoods all across America.  It’s a future we are building together.

 As I said, I always think of my dad.  I really mean it.  My Dad, during the war, he didn’t get to go to college.  He got a — he was from Bal- — as they say in Baltimore, Baltimore — (pronounced in an accent) — (laughter) — he was from — he was from Baltimore, and then his father, then, worked for American Oil Company and moved to Wilmington and then to Scranton to open up business — to open up stations. 

 And — but he always would come home and — and he’d go back and close the business.  He didn’t own it; he was a — managed a dealership.  And he’d say, “A job is a lot more than a paycheck.”  And it really is.  It’s about treating people with dignity.  It’s about treating them with respect.  And, look, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.

 Folks, because of you, the American worker, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  And I mean it.  I really, truly am.

 When my son died, I decided I wa- — he had spent a year in Iraq, and he — unfortunately, his hooch was next to a burn pit.  And he went one of the most fit guys in his — in his regiment, and he came home with stage four glioblastoma.  They’re more brain injuries for — for folks fighting in Iraq than any other place in the world.

 Remember what happened to all those firemen in 9/11?  Same thing happened because these burn pits are just awful.  They put everything from human waste to — anyway —

And — and I — and so, I wasn’t going to run.  But what happened was, when he passed, you remember that — right after that — well, you don’t remember him passing in 2015.  And I w- — I wasn’t going to run.  I was going to write a book about inflection points in American history, where the actions we take in a short period of time determine what happens in the next five or six decades.  Well, that’s one of the places we’re at right now. 

And when those folks came walking out of those fields — down in Charlottesville, Virginia — carrying Nazi banners, singing the same garbage that they sang in Hitler’s streets in Germany in the ‘30s, carrying torches, accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan, and a young woman was killed, I decided that I had to run.  I had to run.  Our democracy is at stake, and it really is.

But you know what changes it?  When you make the economy grow.  When you stand up and ordinary people have an even shot and they’re not at all susceptible to the garbage that’s fed from these guys.  It’s pure garbage. 

I’m supposed to stop.  I — I shouldn’t keep going.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, look — look, we’ve got to just remember who we are.  And I can’t — well, when I left Scranton today, I wanted to go to the war memorial that has the names of all the Scrantonians who died in World War Two etched into a granite wall, because I wanted to see where my uncle — “Uncle Bosie,” Ambrose J. Finnegan — where his name was etched.

Back a- — when D-Day occurred and — on Sunday, the next day, my mother’s four brothers all went down to the recruiting station and joined the military.  Every one of them volunteered. 

And my uncle — they called him Un- — Ambrose — instead of “Brosie,” they called him “Bosie.”  My Uncle Bosie was a hell of an athlete, they tell me, when he was a kid.  And he became an Army Air Corps, before the Air Force came along.  He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones.

And he got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea. 

And — and then my son volunteered to go to Iraq for a year.  And he came back with stage four glioblastoma.  And they — and they gave — like many of you, risked your lives and you know people who gave their lives for the country.  They’re heroes. 

But one of the things that I — as I was doing that today, I was reminded of what my opponent said in Paris not too long ago.  They asked him if he would go visit American gravesites.  He said, “No,” he wouldn’t do it, because they were all “suckers” and “losers.” 

 I’m not making that up.  His staff who was with him acknowledge it today.  “Suckers” and “losers.”  That man doesn’t deserve to have been the Commander-in-Chief for my son, my uncle. 

So, folks, we got a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we can do it.  And I mean it.  I’ve never been more optimistic about our possibilities as a nation. 

So, let’s go out and get (inaudible).  (Applause.)

We’re the United States of America.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — nothing.

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

2:50 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden on New Actions to Protect U.S. Steel and Shipbuilding Industry from China’s Unfair Practices | Pittsburgh, PA appeared first on The White House.

United Steelworkers Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2:29 P.M. EDT

 THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Pittsburgh.  (Applause.)  Please have a seat.

 Robert, thank you for that introduction and for sharing your story about being a third-generation steelworker and a Marine Corps veteran.  Where are you?  Are you over on this side?  There you are.

 Well, I want to thank you for the — your new president, by the way.  Dave McCall has been a friend of mine and a friend of a former president.  We — we miss him, but it’s great to have you, Dave.  You’ve been a good friend.  And we’re both longtime friends — (applause) — we’re both longtime friend of Tom’s as well.  We miss him dearly.

 Dave, you’re doing a great job in his footsteps and — and it’s just going to get better, in my view.

 There’s an expression that comes to mind: “You go home with them that brung you to the dance.”  And you brought me to the dance.  (Applause.)  No joke.

 The Mayor and I are buddies.  I told the Mayor — and I mean it sincerely — the first outfit ever to endorse me as a 29-year-old kid running in a tough year for United States Senate, making me the second youngest man ever elected to the Senate, was a guy named Hughie Carcella.  And back in those days, the s- — we had a big steelworkers — we had a lot of steelworkers in Claymont, Delaware, where I was from, because they worked in Worth Steel Company. 

And — and I’ll never forget coming to me and saying, “We’re going to get you help.”  And I came out to Pittsburgh and you — and the steelworkers endorsed me.  It changed everything.  (Applause.) 

Nixon won my state — Nixon won my state of Delaware with 60 percent of the vote, and I won with an astounding 3,100 majority — (laughter) — 3,100 majority.  And it’s thanks to you.  I really mean it.

 I’m Pittsburgh and — because of — and I really mean it: My love for Pittsburgh goes back to my Scranton days.  My Grandfather Finnegan always talked about Pittsburgh.

 Any rate, to make a long story short, the bottom line, for all kidding aside, is I’m president because of you guys.  I really am.  And I’m proud, as was mentioned earlier — I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history, for real.  (Applause.)

 Where I was raised, it ain’t labor; it’s unions — unions.  (Applause.)

 I had an uncle.  He’d say, “Joey, you are union from belt buckle to shoe sole.”  (Laughter.)

 Well, I want to thank some folks who had my back and — and had to stay back in Washington and couldn’t be here today.  Representatives Summer Lee and — you know, I — she — by the way, there are votes going on — and Chris DeLuzio.  And Senator Bobby Casey is one of my closest friends, as his dad was.  And John Fetterman, who I want to stay on his side no matter what.  (Laughter and applause.) 

 And thank you to all the state and local leaders here, including the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Ed Gainey.  Ed, you’re the best buddy.  You’ve — you’ve really stepped up.  (Applause.)

 And a great leader, JoJo Burgess, an Army veteran from a steelworking family.  He was my guest at the State of the Union just a couple of years ago.  He came back home to Washington, Pennsylvania, and decided to run for mayor, and he won.  (Applause.)  And he’s still working as a steelworker.  But that’s America.

 Look, folks, it was — I was — almost exactly five years ago that I began my campaign for president right here in Pittsburgh, where I announced.

 I said one of the reasons I was running was to rebuild the backbone of America, the middle class.  And it was already mentioned — it’s been mentioned a thousand times, thankfully, since then — that the backbone of America has a steel spine.  It really does have a steel spine.

 You heard me say it before: Wall Street didn’t build America; the middle class didn’t build — built America, and you guys built the middle class.  Unions built it.

 And that’s why I’m here today to announce a series of actions that I stand by you, the American steelworker.

 Look, first, U.S. Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century.  And it should remain a totally American company — (applause) — American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers — the best in the world.  And it’s — that’s going to happen.  I promise you.  (Applause.)

 Second, American steelworkers can outwork, outcompete as long as they have fair competition.  But for too long, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese steel companies, pushing them to make so much steel — as much as possible — subsidized by the Chinese government.

 Because Chinese steel companies produce a lot more steel than China needs, it ends up dumping the extra steel into the global markets at unfairly low prices.  And the prices are unfairly low because Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily. 

 They’re not competing.  They’re cheating.  They’re cheating.  And we’ve seen the damage here in America.

 You know, back in the early 2000s, the Chinese steel began floating the mar- — flooding the market wi- — in steel towns all across Pennsylvania and Ohio, who were hit very hard.

Between those years, 2000 and 2010, more than 14,000 steelworkers [and ironworkers] in Pennsylvania and Ohio lost their jobs — 14,000.

 Let me ask you: Are we going to let that happen again?

 AUDIENCE:  No!

 THE PRESIDENT:  I promise you that I’m not going to let that happen again.

 Look, right now, my U.S. Trade Representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminum.  If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel imports and aluminum imports from China.  (Applause.)

 And we know that Chinese steel and aluminum are being imported into America through Mexico that avoids the tariff.  And just yesterday, I had a delegation down in Mexico meeting with AMLO, the Mexican president, to address this issue. 

Mexico and the United States are going to work together to solve it, I promise you.  I promise you.

 My administration is also taking a real hard look at the Chinese government’s industrial practices when it comes to global shipbuilding, which is critical to our economy.  We depend on a fleet of commercial shipping vessels that carry American products around the world.

 Shipbuilding is critical to our national security, including the strength of the United States Navy.

 That’s why my administration takes it very seriously that U.S. Steelworkers, along with four other unions, have asked us to investigate whether the Chinese government is using anticompetitive practices to artificially lower prices in the shipbuilding industry.

 We’ve heard you.

 And if the Chinese government is doing that and the unfair tactics to undermine free and fair trade competition in the shipping industry, I will take action.  That investigation is going on.

 Taken together, these are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition.

 Meanwhile, my predecessor and the MAGA Republicans want across-the-board tariffs on all imports from all countries.  That could badly hurt American consumers.  It’s estimated it would cost the average American family an average of $1,500 a year if they succeeded in doing that.

 Trump simply doesn’t get it.

For years, I’ve heard my — many of my Republican and even Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America has been falling behind.  You may have noticed, the last two years, I’ve been the only one disagreeing with that.

I’ve always believed we’ve [they’ve] got it all wrong.  America is rising.  And we have the best economy in the world, which we do.  (Applause.)

And since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up, our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest level in over a decade, and we’re standing up against the Chinese government unfair economic practice and industrial over-capacity.

 And we are the strongest economic — economy in the world.

 In addition — and, by the way, China has got more — I always say to my colleagues — when I meet other world leaders, I say, “Would you trade places with China?  Would you trade places with their problems?”  They’ve got a population that is more people in retirement than working.  They’re not in- — they’re not importing any — they’re not bringing — they’re xenophobic — no — nobody coming — else coming in.  They’ve got real problems.

 I’m not looking for a fight with China.  I’m looking for competition, but fair competition.

In addition, we’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.  I’ve revitalized our partnerships in — and our alliances in the Pacific with India, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and other Pacific Island nations.

 I’ve made sure that we have the most advanced technologies that we’ve developed and invented, and they can’t be sent to China or undermine our — because it’ll undermine our national security.

 When I spoke with Xi Jinping, he said, “Why?”  I said, “Because you use it for all the wrong reasons, so you’re not going to get those advanced computer chips.”

 Finally, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that.

 The bottom line is that I want fair competition with China, not conflict, and we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition of the 21st century against China or anyone else because we’re investing in America and American workers again, finally.  (Applause.)

 You know, there’s a law, back in the ‘30s, that passed when we — about whether unions could exist.  There’s a provision that no — very few people — very few presidents ever paid attention to.  If a president is sent money from the Congress to do something for the public, he must use American products and must use American workers, unless you couldn’t find them.  Well, guess what?  A lot of them didn’t find them, except me.  (Laughter and applause.)  No, I mean it.  Not a joke.

 Everything we build, we build with American product and with American workers, period.  (Applause.)  And it doesn’t violate any trade agreement. 

 Thanks to my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we announced over 51,000 new infrastructure projects all across America — (applause) — so far — we’re just getting started — including roads, bridges, ports, airports, clean water systems, high-speed affordable Internet, all across America.

 You may remember, my predecessor promised “Infrastructure Week” after week after week — (laughter) — for four years and never built a damn thing.  (Applause.)  Nothing.  No, I’m serious: Nothing.

 And, by the way, these projects are going to be using — using American-made materials, like American steel and American concrete, creating good-paying American jobs — union jobs.  (Applause.)

 Why?  As I said — I’ve already said it, but since the ‘30s, the law has said we could do that.  And that’s exactly what I’m doing. 

 And we’re buying American.  We are selling American.  It’s all about America.  We buy America.

 And past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to uphold that “Buy American” provision.  Not anymore.  That’s — that’s over.  We — American products and American workers.

 Look, folks, you know, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant law taking on climate change ever anywhere in the world — anywhere in the world. 

We didn’t get anybody to vote for it, other than my Democratic friends.  Okay?

 Well, guess what?  That includes billions of dollars in investments in industries of the future, including clean American steel.  It’s clean because the way we produce it here emits much less carbon than the steel made in China.

 Last month, my administration announced the largest investment ever in clean manufacturing in American history — in all of American history.  (Applause.)  It included up to $1.5 billion in six clean steel projects across America — $1.5 billion.  It’s going to create and support thousands of union jobs, including at — at Butler Works in — in Lyndora, Pe- — over in Lyndora, Pennsylvania.

 My predecessor and his Republican friends in Congress want to repeal that law that would cut those jobs.  And it would cut the jobs if you repeal the law.  I’m serious. 

The — I know when I say these things, you wonder can that — could they be — possibly be that stupid?  (Laughter.)  I — I shouldn’t say it that way.  (Laughter.) 

But I’m serious.  Think about it.  Just check it out.  That’s what they want to do.  But that’s not all.

My predecessor rolled back protections for American workers.  He opposed the increase overall for federal minimum wage.  He put union busters on the National Labor Relations Board.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  For real.  Well, you know he did.  Think — think of what the board looked like before I became president.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.

Meanwhile, since I was sworn in as president, because of you, look at what we’ve achieved together.  Through my American Rescue Plan, I enacted the Butch Lewis Act, the most significant law — (applause) — the most significant law for union workers and retirees in 50 years. 

Think of what would happen if we didn’t get that passed.  And none of them wanted to help me.  But we got it done.

It protected the hard-earned pensions of more than 120,000 steelworkers.  (Applause.)  Folks, you’ve had my back, and I promise I have your back.

We made that happen while my predecessor never lifted a finger to help.

 I also increased the federal minimum wage for federal contracts.  The people I’ve appointed to the National Labor Relations Board actually care about American workers.

 So far, we’ve created 15 million — as mentioned earlier — new jobs — a record in a — in a term of a president — (applause) — 492,000 new jobs so far in Pennsylvania alone.  (Applause.)  Under my predecessor, who is busy right now — (laughter) — Pennsylvania lost 275,000 jobs.  I mean, let’s — let’s look at the facts.

 On my watch, unemployment hasn’t been this low for this long in 50 years.  (Applause.)  That’s 50 years.  Wages are rising.  American manufacturing is booming.  We’ve created up close to 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since I became president, including 28,000 manufacturing jobs right here in Pennsylvania. 

 We’ve attracted $680 billion — let me say it again — $680 billion in private-sector investment in advanced manufacturing and clean energy here in America, including $4 billion just here in the state of Pennsylvania so far.

 Folks, instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs.  Think about — think of all the time — think — think of the last years where they’d go — American — corporate America wanted to go find the cheapest labor in the world, send the jobs overseas, and then import the product home.  Not anymore.

Together, we’re doing what’s always worked best for this country.  We’re investing in all of America, in all Americans. 

And we’re building an economy from the middle out — not — and the bottom up, not the top down.  Because when we do that, the poor have a ladder up and the middle class do well and the wealthy still do very well.  (Applause.)  We all do well.  No, for real.

 Look, let me close with this.  I just came from my hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, a place like Pittsburgh that sort of climbs into your heart and never leaves you.  And it really doesn’t.

 My mom didn’t live in — in Scranton since she was — 1954, but when you’d ask Mom where is she from, she’d say, “Scranton.”  “Scranton.”  (Laughter.)  Well, where you learn basic — a basic value set, like you do here. 

 Money doesn’t determine your worth, I would always be told.  Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. 

My dad used to say, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck — worth a lot more than a paycheck, pal.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being treated with respect.” 

 And he’d say — he’d always — and I give you my word.  These are phrases he’d always use.  He’d say, “You know, not only being able to give — have respect, but being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it — mean it.”

 Look, everyone — everyone deserves a fair shot — just a fair shot.  And we’re going to leave no one behind.

 Folks, that’s my view of the economy — from Scranton, from Pittsburgh, from the thousands of working- and middle-class neighborhoods all across America.  It’s a future we are building together.

 As I said, I always think of my dad.  I really mean it.  My Dad, during the war, he didn’t get to go to college.  He got a — he was from Bal- — as they say in Baltimore, Baltimore — (pronounced in an accent) — (laughter) — he was from — he was from Baltimore, and then his father, then, worked for American Oil Company and moved to Wilmington and then to Scranton to open up business — to open up stations. 

 And — but he always would come home and — and he’d go back and close the business.  He didn’t own it; he was a — managed a dealership.  And he’d say, “A job is a lot more than a paycheck.”  And it really is.  It’s about treating people with dignity.  It’s about treating them with respect.  And, look, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.

 Folks, because of you, the American worker, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  And I mean it.  I really, truly am.

 When my son died, I decided I wa- — he had spent a year in Iraq, and he — unfortunately, his hooch was next to a burn pit.  And he went one of the most fit guys in his — in his regiment, and he came home with stage four glioblastoma.  They’re more brain injuries for — for folks fighting in Iraq than any other place in the world.

 Remember what happened to all those firemen in 9/11?  Same thing happened because these burn pits are just awful.  They put everything from human waste to — anyway —

And — and I — and so, I wasn’t going to run.  But what happened was, when he passed, you remember that — right after that — well, you don’t remember him passing in 2015.  And I w- — I wasn’t going to run.  I was going to write a book about inflection points in American history, where the actions we take in a short period of time determine what happens in the next five or six decades.  Well, that’s one of the places we’re at right now. 

And when those folks came walking out of those fields — down in Charlottesville, Virginia — carrying Nazi banners, singing the same garbage that they sang in Hitler’s streets in Germany in the ‘30s, carrying torches, accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan, and a young woman was killed, I decided that I had to run.  I had to run.  Our democracy is at stake, and it really is.

But you know what changes it?  When you make the economy grow.  When you stand up and ordinary people have an even shot and they’re not at all susceptible to the garbage that’s fed from these guys.  It’s pure garbage. 

I’m supposed to stop.  I — I shouldn’t keep going.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, look — look, we’ve got to just remember who we are.  And I can’t — well, when I left Scranton today, I wanted to go to the war memorial that has the names of all the Scrantonians who died in World War Two etched into a granite wall, because I wanted to see where my uncle — “Uncle Bosie,” Ambrose J. Finnegan — where his name was etched.

Back a- — when D-Day occurred and — on Sunday, the next day, my mother’s four brothers all went down to the recruiting station and joined the military.  Every one of them volunteered. 

And my uncle — they called him Un- — Ambrose — instead of “Brosie,” they called him “Bosie.”  My Uncle Bosie was a hell of an athlete, they tell me, when he was a kid.  And he became an Army Air Corps, before the Air Force came along.  He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones.

And he got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea. 

And — and then my son volunteered to go to Iraq for a year.  And he came back with stage four glioblastoma.  And they — and they gave — like many of you, risked your lives and you know people who gave their lives for the country.  They’re heroes. 

But one of the things that I — as I was doing that today, I was reminded of what my opponent said in Paris not too long ago.  They asked him if he would go visit American gravesites.  He said, “No,” he wouldn’t do it, because they were all “suckers” and “losers.” 

 I’m not making that up.  His staff who was with him acknowledge it today.  “Suckers” and “losers.”  That man doesn’t deserve to have been the Commander-in-Chief for my son, my uncle. 

So, folks, we got a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we can do it.  And I mean it.  I’ve never been more optimistic about our possibilities as a nation. 

So, let’s go out and get (inaudible).  (Applause.)

We’re the United States of America.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — nothing.

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

2:50 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden on New Actions to Protect U.S. Steel and Shipbuilding Industry from China’s Unfair Practices | Pittsburgh, PA appeared first on The White House.

United Steelworkers Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2:29 P.M. EDT

 THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Pittsburgh.  (Applause.)  Please have a seat.

 Robert, thank you for that introduction and for sharing your story about being a third-generation steelworker and a Marine Corps veteran.  Where are you?  Are you over on this side?  There you are.

 Well, I want to thank you for the — your new president, by the way.  Dave McCall has been a friend of mine and a friend of a former president.  We — we miss him, but it’s great to have you, Dave.  You’ve been a good friend.  And we’re both longtime friends — (applause) — we’re both longtime friend of Tom’s as well.  We miss him dearly.

 Dave, you’re doing a great job in his footsteps and — and it’s just going to get better, in my view.

 There’s an expression that comes to mind: “You go home with them that brung you to the dance.”  And you brought me to the dance.  (Applause.)  No joke.

 The Mayor and I are buddies.  I told the Mayor — and I mean it sincerely — the first outfit ever to endorse me as a 29-year-old kid running in a tough year for United States Senate, making me the second youngest man ever elected to the Senate, was a guy named Hughie Carcella.  And back in those days, the s- — we had a big steelworkers — we had a lot of steelworkers in Claymont, Delaware, where I was from, because they worked in Worth Steel Company. 

And — and I’ll never forget coming to me and saying, “We’re going to get you help.”  And I came out to Pittsburgh and you — and the steelworkers endorsed me.  It changed everything.  (Applause.) 

Nixon won my state — Nixon won my state of Delaware with 60 percent of the vote, and I won with an astounding 3,100 majority — (laughter) — 3,100 majority.  And it’s thanks to you.  I really mean it.

 I’m Pittsburgh and — because of — and I really mean it: My love for Pittsburgh goes back to my Scranton days.  My Grandfather Finnegan always talked about Pittsburgh.

 Any rate, to make a long story short, the bottom line, for all kidding aside, is I’m president because of you guys.  I really am.  And I’m proud, as was mentioned earlier — I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history, for real.  (Applause.)

 Where I was raised, it ain’t labor; it’s unions — unions.  (Applause.)

 I had an uncle.  He’d say, “Joey, you are union from belt buckle to shoe sole.”  (Laughter.)

 Well, I want to thank some folks who had my back and — and had to stay back in Washington and couldn’t be here today.  Representatives Summer Lee and — you know, I — she — by the way, there are votes going on — and Chris DeLuzio.  And Senator Bobby Casey is one of my closest friends, as his dad was.  And John Fetterman, who I want to stay on his side no matter what.  (Laughter and applause.) 

 And thank you to all the state and local leaders here, including the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Ed Gainey.  Ed, you’re the best buddy.  You’ve — you’ve really stepped up.  (Applause.)

 And a great leader, JoJo Burgess, an Army veteran from a steelworking family.  He was my guest at the State of the Union just a couple of years ago.  He came back home to Washington, Pennsylvania, and decided to run for mayor, and he won.  (Applause.)  And he’s still working as a steelworker.  But that’s America.

 Look, folks, it was — I was — almost exactly five years ago that I began my campaign for president right here in Pittsburgh, where I announced.

 I said one of the reasons I was running was to rebuild the backbone of America, the middle class.  And it was already mentioned — it’s been mentioned a thousand times, thankfully, since then — that the backbone of America has a steel spine.  It really does have a steel spine.

 You heard me say it before: Wall Street didn’t build America; the middle class didn’t build — built America, and you guys built the middle class.  Unions built it.

 And that’s why I’m here today to announce a series of actions that I stand by you, the American steelworker.

 Look, first, U.S. Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century.  And it should remain a totally American company — (applause) — American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers — the best in the world.  And it’s — that’s going to happen.  I promise you.  (Applause.)

 Second, American steelworkers can outwork, outcompete as long as they have fair competition.  But for too long, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese steel companies, pushing them to make so much steel — as much as possible — subsidized by the Chinese government.

 Because Chinese steel companies produce a lot more steel than China needs, it ends up dumping the extra steel into the global markets at unfairly low prices.  And the prices are unfairly low because Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily. 

 They’re not competing.  They’re cheating.  They’re cheating.  And we’ve seen the damage here in America.

 You know, back in the early 2000s, the Chinese steel began floating the mar- — flooding the market wi- — in steel towns all across Pennsylvania and Ohio, who were hit very hard.

Between those years, 2000 and 2010, more than 14,000 steelworkers [and ironworkers] in Pennsylvania and Ohio lost their jobs — 14,000.

 Let me ask you: Are we going to let that happen again?

 AUDIENCE:  No!

 THE PRESIDENT:  I promise you that I’m not going to let that happen again.

 Look, right now, my U.S. Trade Representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminum.  If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel imports and aluminum imports from China.  (Applause.)

 And we know that Chinese steel and aluminum are being imported into America through Mexico that avoids the tariff.  And just yesterday, I had a delegation down in Mexico meeting with AMLO, the Mexican president, to address this issue. 

Mexico and the United States are going to work together to solve it, I promise you.  I promise you.

 My administration is also taking a real hard look at the Chinese government’s industrial practices when it comes to global shipbuilding, which is critical to our economy.  We depend on a fleet of commercial shipping vessels that carry American products around the world.

 Shipbuilding is critical to our national security, including the strength of the United States Navy.

 That’s why my administration takes it very seriously that U.S. Steelworkers, along with four other unions, have asked us to investigate whether the Chinese government is using anticompetitive practices to artificially lower prices in the shipbuilding industry.

 We’ve heard you.

 And if the Chinese government is doing that and the unfair tactics to undermine free and fair trade competition in the shipping industry, I will take action.  That investigation is going on.

 Taken together, these are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition.

 Meanwhile, my predecessor and the MAGA Republicans want across-the-board tariffs on all imports from all countries.  That could badly hurt American consumers.  It’s estimated it would cost the average American family an average of $1,500 a year if they succeeded in doing that.

 Trump simply doesn’t get it.

For years, I’ve heard my — many of my Republican and even Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America has been falling behind.  You may have noticed, the last two years, I’ve been the only one disagreeing with that.

I’ve always believed we’ve [they’ve] got it all wrong.  America is rising.  And we have the best economy in the world, which we do.  (Applause.)

And since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up, our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest level in over a decade, and we’re standing up against the Chinese government unfair economic practice and industrial over-capacity.

 And we are the strongest economic — economy in the world.

 In addition — and, by the way, China has got more — I always say to my colleagues — when I meet other world leaders, I say, “Would you trade places with China?  Would you trade places with their problems?”  They’ve got a population that is more people in retirement than working.  They’re not in- — they’re not importing any — they’re not bringing — they’re xenophobic — no — nobody coming — else coming in.  They’ve got real problems.

 I’m not looking for a fight with China.  I’m looking for competition, but fair competition.

In addition, we’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.  I’ve revitalized our partnerships in — and our alliances in the Pacific with India, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and other Pacific Island nations.

 I’ve made sure that we have the most advanced technologies that we’ve developed and invented, and they can’t be sent to China or undermine our — because it’ll undermine our national security.

 When I spoke with Xi Jinping, he said, “Why?”  I said, “Because you use it for all the wrong reasons, so you’re not going to get those advanced computer chips.”

 Finally, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that.

 The bottom line is that I want fair competition with China, not conflict, and we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition of the 21st century against China or anyone else because we’re investing in America and American workers again, finally.  (Applause.)

 You know, there’s a law, back in the ‘30s, that passed when we — about whether unions could exist.  There’s a provision that no — very few people — very few presidents ever paid attention to.  If a president is sent money from the Congress to do something for the public, he must use American products and must use American workers, unless you couldn’t find them.  Well, guess what?  A lot of them didn’t find them, except me.  (Laughter and applause.)  No, I mean it.  Not a joke.

 Everything we build, we build with American product and with American workers, period.  (Applause.)  And it doesn’t violate any trade agreement. 

 Thanks to my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we announced over 51,000 new infrastructure projects all across America — (applause) — so far — we’re just getting started — including roads, bridges, ports, airports, clean water systems, high-speed affordable Internet, all across America.

 You may remember, my predecessor promised “Infrastructure Week” after week after week — (laughter) — for four years and never built a damn thing.  (Applause.)  Nothing.  No, I’m serious: Nothing.

 And, by the way, these projects are going to be using — using American-made materials, like American steel and American concrete, creating good-paying American jobs — union jobs.  (Applause.)

 Why?  As I said — I’ve already said it, but since the ‘30s, the law has said we could do that.  And that’s exactly what I’m doing. 

 And we’re buying American.  We are selling American.  It’s all about America.  We buy America.

 And past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to uphold that “Buy American” provision.  Not anymore.  That’s — that’s over.  We — American products and American workers.

 Look, folks, you know, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant law taking on climate change ever anywhere in the world — anywhere in the world. 

We didn’t get anybody to vote for it, other than my Democratic friends.  Okay?

 Well, guess what?  That includes billions of dollars in investments in industries of the future, including clean American steel.  It’s clean because the way we produce it here emits much less carbon than the steel made in China.

 Last month, my administration announced the largest investment ever in clean manufacturing in American history — in all of American history.  (Applause.)  It included up to $1.5 billion in six clean steel projects across America — $1.5 billion.  It’s going to create and support thousands of union jobs, including at — at Butler Works in — in Lyndora, Pe- — over in Lyndora, Pennsylvania.

 My predecessor and his Republican friends in Congress want to repeal that law that would cut those jobs.  And it would cut the jobs if you repeal the law.  I’m serious. 

The — I know when I say these things, you wonder can that — could they be — possibly be that stupid?  (Laughter.)  I — I shouldn’t say it that way.  (Laughter.) 

But I’m serious.  Think about it.  Just check it out.  That’s what they want to do.  But that’s not all.

My predecessor rolled back protections for American workers.  He opposed the increase overall for federal minimum wage.  He put union busters on the National Labor Relations Board.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  For real.  Well, you know he did.  Think — think of what the board looked like before I became president.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.

Meanwhile, since I was sworn in as president, because of you, look at what we’ve achieved together.  Through my American Rescue Plan, I enacted the Butch Lewis Act, the most significant law — (applause) — the most significant law for union workers and retirees in 50 years. 

Think of what would happen if we didn’t get that passed.  And none of them wanted to help me.  But we got it done.

It protected the hard-earned pensions of more than 120,000 steelworkers.  (Applause.)  Folks, you’ve had my back, and I promise I have your back.

We made that happen while my predecessor never lifted a finger to help.

 I also increased the federal minimum wage for federal contracts.  The people I’ve appointed to the National Labor Relations Board actually care about American workers.

 So far, we’ve created 15 million — as mentioned earlier — new jobs — a record in a — in a term of a president — (applause) — 492,000 new jobs so far in Pennsylvania alone.  (Applause.)  Under my predecessor, who is busy right now — (laughter) — Pennsylvania lost 275,000 jobs.  I mean, let’s — let’s look at the facts.

 On my watch, unemployment hasn’t been this low for this long in 50 years.  (Applause.)  That’s 50 years.  Wages are rising.  American manufacturing is booming.  We’ve created up close to 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since I became president, including 28,000 manufacturing jobs right here in Pennsylvania. 

 We’ve attracted $680 billion — let me say it again — $680 billion in private-sector investment in advanced manufacturing and clean energy here in America, including $4 billion just here in the state of Pennsylvania so far.

 Folks, instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs.  Think about — think of all the time — think — think of the last years where they’d go — American — corporate America wanted to go find the cheapest labor in the world, send the jobs overseas, and then import the product home.  Not anymore.

Together, we’re doing what’s always worked best for this country.  We’re investing in all of America, in all Americans. 

And we’re building an economy from the middle out — not — and the bottom up, not the top down.  Because when we do that, the poor have a ladder up and the middle class do well and the wealthy still do very well.  (Applause.)  We all do well.  No, for real.

 Look, let me close with this.  I just came from my hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, a place like Pittsburgh that sort of climbs into your heart and never leaves you.  And it really doesn’t.

 My mom didn’t live in — in Scranton since she was — 1954, but when you’d ask Mom where is she from, she’d say, “Scranton.”  “Scranton.”  (Laughter.)  Well, where you learn basic — a basic value set, like you do here. 

 Money doesn’t determine your worth, I would always be told.  Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. 

My dad used to say, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck — worth a lot more than a paycheck, pal.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being treated with respect.” 

 And he’d say — he’d always — and I give you my word.  These are phrases he’d always use.  He’d say, “You know, not only being able to give — have respect, but being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it — mean it.”

 Look, everyone — everyone deserves a fair shot — just a fair shot.  And we’re going to leave no one behind.

 Folks, that’s my view of the economy — from Scranton, from Pittsburgh, from the thousands of working- and middle-class neighborhoods all across America.  It’s a future we are building together.

 As I said, I always think of my dad.  I really mean it.  My Dad, during the war, he didn’t get to go to college.  He got a — he was from Bal- — as they say in Baltimore, Baltimore — (pronounced in an accent) — (laughter) — he was from — he was from Baltimore, and then his father, then, worked for American Oil Company and moved to Wilmington and then to Scranton to open up business — to open up stations. 

 And — but he always would come home and — and he’d go back and close the business.  He didn’t own it; he was a — managed a dealership.  And he’d say, “A job is a lot more than a paycheck.”  And it really is.  It’s about treating people with dignity.  It’s about treating them with respect.  And, look, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.

 Folks, because of you, the American worker, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  And I mean it.  I really, truly am.

 When my son died, I decided I wa- — he had spent a year in Iraq, and he — unfortunately, his hooch was next to a burn pit.  And he went one of the most fit guys in his — in his regiment, and he came home with stage four glioblastoma.  They’re more brain injuries for — for folks fighting in Iraq than any other place in the world.

 Remember what happened to all those firemen in 9/11?  Same thing happened because these burn pits are just awful.  They put everything from human waste to — anyway —

And — and I — and so, I wasn’t going to run.  But what happened was, when he passed, you remember that — right after that — well, you don’t remember him passing in 2015.  And I w- — I wasn’t going to run.  I was going to write a book about inflection points in American history, where the actions we take in a short period of time determine what happens in the next five or six decades.  Well, that’s one of the places we’re at right now. 

And when those folks came walking out of those fields — down in Charlottesville, Virginia — carrying Nazi banners, singing the same garbage that they sang in Hitler’s streets in Germany in the ‘30s, carrying torches, accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan, and a young woman was killed, I decided that I had to run.  I had to run.  Our democracy is at stake, and it really is.

But you know what changes it?  When you make the economy grow.  When you stand up and ordinary people have an even shot and they’re not at all susceptible to the garbage that’s fed from these guys.  It’s pure garbage. 

I’m supposed to stop.  I — I shouldn’t keep going.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, look — look, we’ve got to just remember who we are.  And I can’t — well, when I left Scranton today, I wanted to go to the war memorial that has the names of all the Scrantonians who died in World War Two etched into a granite wall, because I wanted to see where my uncle — “Uncle Bosie,” Ambrose J. Finnegan — where his name was etched.

Back a- — when D-Day occurred and — on Sunday, the next day, my mother’s four brothers all went down to the recruiting station and joined the military.  Every one of them volunteered. 

And my uncle — they called him Un- — Ambrose — instead of “Brosie,” they called him “Bosie.”  My Uncle Bosie was a hell of an athlete, they tell me, when he was a kid.  And he became an Army Air Corps, before the Air Force came along.  He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones.

And he got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea. 

And — and then my son volunteered to go to Iraq for a year.  And he came back with stage four glioblastoma.  And they — and they gave — like many of you, risked your lives and you know people who gave their lives for the country.  They’re heroes. 

But one of the things that I — as I was doing that today, I was reminded of what my opponent said in Paris not too long ago.  They asked him if he would go visit American gravesites.  He said, “No,” he wouldn’t do it, because they were all “suckers” and “losers.” 

 I’m not making that up.  His staff who was with him acknowledge it today.  “Suckers” and “losers.”  That man doesn’t deserve to have been the Commander-in-Chief for my son, my uncle. 

So, folks, we got a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we can do it.  And I mean it.  I’ve never been more optimistic about our possibilities as a nation. 

So, let’s go out and get (inaudible).  (Applause.)

We’re the United States of America.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — nothing.

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

2:50 P.M. EDT

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I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month.

The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the House’s National Security Supplemental appeared first on The White House.

I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month.

The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the House’s National Security Supplemental appeared first on The White House.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport
Avoca, Pennsylvania

12:05 P.M. EDT

Q    Mr. President, will you talk about the war memorial you were just at very briefly?  What did you see?  What did you hear?

THE PRESIDENT:  I wanted to see where my uncle, Ambrose J. Finnegan, was memorialized.  And there was a World War Two memorial built for those who lost their lives in World War Two. 

And when D-Day occurred, the next day, on Monday, all four of my mother’s brothers went down and volunteered to join the military.  And four of them — three of them made it.  One was 4-F — couldn’t go.

And Ambrose Finnegan — we called him “Uncle Bosie” — he — he was shot down.  He was Army Air Corps before there was an Air Force.  He flew single-engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea.  He had volunteered because someone couldn’t make it.  He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time. 

They never recovered his body.  But the government went back, when I went down there, and they checked and found some parts of the plane and the like.

And what I was thinking about when I was standing there was when Trump refused to go up to the memorial for veterans in Paris, and he said they were a bunch of “suckers” and “losers.”

To me, that is such a disqualifying assertion made by a president — “suckers” and “losers.”  The guys who saved civilization in the 1940s — “suckers” and “losers.” 

And I just wanted to go and — we have a tradition in our family that my grandfather started.  When you visit a gravesite of a family member — it’s going to sound strange to you, but — you say three Hail Marys.  And that’s what I was doing at the site.

My — my gran- — my uncle, Ambrose Finnegan — Uncle — Uncle Bosie was a hell of a guy from what I — I never met him, obviously.

And — but I just wanted to see where he was memorialized.

Q    And, Mr. President, what do you think about these separate bills for Ukraine and Israel aid?  Are you confident that it’s going to get through?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m getting briefed on it when I get on the plane.  That’s why I was talking to my staff.  I’ll tell you then.

Thank you.

     12:08 P.M. EDT

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Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport
Avoca, Pennsylvania

12:05 P.M. EDT

Q    Mr. President, will you talk about the war memorial you were just at very briefly?  What did you see?  What did you hear?

THE PRESIDENT:  I wanted to see where my uncle, Ambrose J. Finnegan, was memorialized.  And there was a World War Two memorial built for those who lost their lives in World War Two. 

And when D-Day occurred, the next day, on Monday, all four of my mother’s brothers went down and volunteered to join the military.  And four of them — three of them made it.  One was 4-F — couldn’t go.

And Ambrose Finnegan — we called him “Uncle Bosie” — he — he was shot down.  He was Army Air Corps before there was an Air Force.  He flew single-engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea.  He had volunteered because someone couldn’t make it.  He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time. 

They never recovered his body.  But the government went back, when I went down there, and they checked and found some parts of the plane and the like.

And what I was thinking about when I was standing there was when Trump refused to go up to the memorial for veterans in Paris, and he said they were a bunch of “suckers” and “losers.”

To me, that is such a disqualifying assertion made by a president — “suckers” and “losers.”  The guys who saved civilization in the 1940s — “suckers” and “losers.” 

And I just wanted to go and — we have a tradition in our family that my grandfather started.  When you visit a gravesite of a family member — it’s going to sound strange to you, but — you say three Hail Marys.  And that’s what I was doing at the site.

My — my gran- — my uncle, Ambrose Finnegan — Uncle — Uncle Bosie was a hell of a guy from what I — I never met him, obviously.

And — but I just wanted to see where he was memorialized.

Q    And, Mr. President, what do you think about these separate bills for Ukraine and Israel aid?  Are you confident that it’s going to get through?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m getting briefed on it when I get on the plane.  That’s why I was talking to my staff.  I’ll tell you then.

Thank you.

     12:08 P.M. EDT

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Via Teleconference

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Good morning, everyone.  Thank you for joining us today for an NSC backgrounder call on the situation in Venezuela and U.S. actions that we’ll be taking.

At this time, participants, please note that we have — just for your awareness, not for reporting — on the line, we have [senior administration official], [senior administration official], and [senior administration official].

Again, that is just for your awareness, not for reporting.  The contents of the call will be attributable to “senior administration officials,” and it will be embargoed until 3:30 p.m. 

With that, I will — I would like to turn it over to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thank you very much, and it’s a pleasure to be here with everyone this morning.  Thank you to everyone for calling in and for your interest.  Venezuela is a very important issue for this administration, and it’s a critical time, so I’m really pleased to be here with my colleagues from the other agencies. 

The purpose of this call is to share with you that later today, Treasury will announce that General License 44 will not be renewed, and we will instead issue General License 44A, authorizing a 45-day wind-down period for transactions related to oil and gas sector operations in Venezuela.  I will let my colleague speak to some of the technical aspects of this decision and some of the current concerns that we have about the current situation in Venezuela.  

But I did want to provide a few words at the top to explain why we made this decision and its implications.  General License 44 — or what we refer to as “GL 44” — was issued in October of last year to support commitments that were made in the Barbados Agreement, an agreement that was signed by representatives of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and members of the political opposition.  This Barbados agreement was signed on October 17th, 2023. 

Since the GL 44 was issued last October, we have been consistent in our public messaging and our private messaging that maintaining this sanctions relief in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector depends on Maduro’s commitment to uphold the Barbados Agreement.  And over the past six months, the U.S. administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, and we’ve remained in very close touch with a range of stakeholders to assess the Venezuelan authorities’ progress on implementing the Barbados Agreement, which is intended to allow for an inclusive and competitive election in 2024.  

Over the past several months and weeks, we have completed a very careful review, and we have determined that although the Venezuelan authorities have met some key commitments, they’ve also fallen short in several areas.  The areas in which they have fallen short include the disqualification of candidates and parties on technicalities and what we see as a continued pattern of harassment and repression against opposition figures and civil society. 

We were particularly concerned by the fact that the Venezuelan authorities also blocked the leading opposition candidate María Corina Machado from running and also did not allow her designated alternative candidate, Dr. Corina Yoris, to register as a candidate for the presidency. 

As a result of those actions, while Maduro and his representatives have upheld certain aspects of the Barbados Agreement with respect to beginning to update the electoral registry, of starting a process to allow international election observation, and establishing an electoral timeline, Maduro and his representatives have not followed through with one of the most critical commitments, which was — (a fire alarm sounds) — (inaudible) the right of all candidates to run.  

And, apologies, we have an alarm going off here. 

In order to ensure that the expiration of GL 44 does not provoke uncertainty in the global energy sector, the administration —

[Moderator], I’m just going to hold here until this alarm ceases.  You can go to the other speakers, and I’ll come back on the line.  Thanks.  

MODERATOR:  Sounds great.  Apologies for the interruption here, guys.  We’ll go on to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks very much.  And as [senior administration official] shared, we issued GL 44 to support commitments made in the Barbados Agreement.  Unfortunately, Maduro and his representatives did not fully comply with the spirit or the letter of the agreement. 

In public statements, we outlined many of these undemocratic actions.  Maduro and his representatives maintained the disqualification of opposition primary winner María Corina Machado.  When María Corina Machado expressed her willingness to identify a consensus substitute with other opposition members, Maduro representatives prevented the democratic opposition from registering Dr. Corina Yoris. 

Maduro representatives unjustly detained multiple opposition political members in civil society, and we witnessed a disturbing campaign of harassment and an intimidation of opposition actors solely for exercising their political rights to assembly and campaign. 

While our focus today is on GL 44, I want to stress the enormous courage, resiliency, and pragmatism of the opposition under these difficult circumstances.  

We are in regular contact with opposition representatives, and I want to highlight that it’s quite clear that they and the vast majority of Venezuelans still want and are making every effort to achieve a competitive election with a serious opposition candidate on the 2024 ballot. 

Our action on GL 44 should not be viewed as a final decision that we no longer believe Venezuela can hold competitive and inclusive elections.  We will continue to engage with all stakeholders — including Maduro representatives, the democratic opposition, civil society, and the international community — to support the Venezuelan people’s efforts to ensure a better future for Venezuela. 

The Barbados Agreement still represents the best available path toward a more democratic, secure, and prosperous Venezuela if fully implemented.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, [senior administration official].  

We will — [senior administration official], are you still on the line?  Okay.  Sounds like we’re having some technical difficulties with [senior administration official]. 

We will go now to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thanks so much. 

Hi, everybody.  This is [senior administration official].  And while my colleagues have discussed the policy today, I wanted to take just a moment to go over some of the technical aspects of today’s action. 

General License 44A issued today will replace General License 44, which means that any activity that was previously allowed under General License 44 with respect to the oil and gas sector of Venezuela will need to be wound down by May 31st.  New activity that was — any new activity that was previously covered by General License 44 will no longer be allowed. 

So, we routinely allow for these types of wind-down windows to allow people to wrap up their business in an orderly manner and not cause unwanted spillover effects. 

As you may know, our general licenses are broad, public, and self-executing authorizations, which means that as long as an activity conforms with what’s laid out in the text of that public license, companies don’t need to ask OFAC permission to engage in any of the covered activities.

In all of our section’s programs, OFAC also has the authority to issue what we call specific licenses.  Now, these are a little bit different.  They are non-public authorizations that are issued on a case-by-case basis based on the facts of the application, and they deal with individual circumstances. 

With the wind-down today of the public general license, individual companies may now apply for specific licenses related to activities in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, which will then be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, similar to how we handle licenses in any other OFAC program. 

So, the process of evaluating a specific license includes — is not public, but it does include taking into consideration the national security interests and foreign policy interests of the United States through close consultation with and receipt of foreign policy guidance from our State Department. 

Today’s action will not affect other existing authorizations related to Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, such as Venezuela General License 8M or General License 41. 

And back over to you.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, [senior administration official]. 

We’ll try it again.  [Senior administration official], are you back on our line?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, thank you.  I’m back on the line.  It wasn’t a technical difficulty exactly, but I had — did have to pause for a moment.  But I think that my colleagues covered the rest of the issues expertly.  So, I’m happy to go to Q&A.  Thank you.  

MODERATOR:  Great.  Thank you.  [Operator], would you please go over instructions on how to ask questions?  

OPERATOR:  Sure.  

MODERATOR:  And we can open up for Qs and As.  Thank you.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  And we do have several questions here. 

All right.  We’ll go ahead and take the first.  

Q    Hello?  

OPERATOR:  Yes, please go ahead.  

Q    Yeah, this is Josh Goodman from the Associated Press.  I wanted to see, in addition to the discussion of the sanctions, whether you could talk a little bit about some of the actors in the political process unfolding now in Venezuela around the election. 

Has the U.S. had any direct contact with former gov- — with Governor Manuel Rosales?  He was a presidential candidate who once ran against Hugo Chávez.  He did not compete in the opposition primary process; however, you know, he is registered to compete. 

Do you consider him a real alternative to Maduro or, as some in the opposition suggest, more of a stooge, someone who serves the interests of the government?  Thanks.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, thanks for that, Josh.  Through our Venezuela Affairs Unit as well as folks here in Washington, we have contact with a broad, broad range of political actors inside Venezuela.  And I don’t want to get into the specific nature of those discussions, but I do want to stress that our goal is to support the democratic opposition in Venezuela broadly. 

And to that end, we cast a — a wide net in our conversations.  And I encourage the democratic opposition, through the unitary platform and — and other venues, to come together and reach shared positions on their way forward.  And I’ll just leave it at that.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll take our next question. 

Just a reminder, please remember to state your name and outlet before your question.  Thank you.  

Q    Hi.  Thanks for doing this.  This is Jennifer Hansler with CNN.  I was wondering if there is any way you can quantify how many businesses or how much — what sort of transactions were made in the time that this general license was in effect and what impact you expect this to have financially on Venezuela’s oil and gas sectors?  Thank you.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, this is [senior administration official].  We don’t have the figures on what exactly — what level of business was — was conducted under the auspices of the general license.  There’s not a reporting requirement, so we don’t have those exact figures.  Over.

OPERATOR:  And we’ll move to our next caller.  

Q    Hi, good morning.  Do you hear me?  

OPERATOR:  Yes, please go ahead.  

Q    Okay.  This is Juan Hernando from TV Colombia.  Just to be clear, so this period of 45 days is only to wind down operations of enterprises that already have commitments or business with (inaudible)?  It doesn’t allow new enterprises to make business during that period of 45 days? 

And the other question is: How coordinated was this decision with the Colombian government and Gustavo Petro, taking into account that he has been engaging directly with Nicolás Maduro?  Thank you.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  This is [senior administration official] again.  I’ll take the first part of that.  Under — under a wind-down general license, it is to wind down and to have an orderly completion of transactions that were in progress under the general license — that was General License 44 — that was issued in October. 

If it’s about activity that was outside the scope or otherwise authorized that wasn’t under the general license, it’s not going to be affected by this wind-down.  So, if folks took on new activity that needed General License 44 to be compliant with our sanctions, it’s that activity that we would expect to be wound down under our — under our wind-down authorization that we’re issuing today. 

Over.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  This is [senior administration official].  I’ll start on the first part of the — of the question on the engagement with — with Colombia. 

So, from the beginning, it’s been extremely important to us that we — we maintain close contact and collaboration with a wide range of partners and allies on issues with respect to Venezuela.  And that inc- — certainly include- — includes those in the region, including Colombia. 

And so, we have engaged with Colombia on this.  They are aware of and — and tracking, at a minimum, the difficulties that we’ve seen and our perspective on Venezuela’s overall compliance with the Barbados Agreement. 

And then, I’ll share with my colleague [redacted] for any other perspective.  Thank you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Nothing to add.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll go ahead and take our next question.  

Q    Hi, this is Rafael Rojas from BBC Mundo.  I wanted to ask whether you had any information on the possible facts, going back to the previous question, that Colombia might play a role as an overseer in the election.  And what — what news does the U.S. have on — on a role of overseer from the partners in the Venezuelan election?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, we support the presence of international electoral observers in Venezuela, and we understand that Colombia has been invited to send observers for the process.  That would be in addition to the invitations to the European Union and the Carter Center and other organizations. 

Having an international presence we consider positive.  Colombia, as a border country to Venezuela, has important relationships and interests.  That means that their engagement is something that’s important to the Colombian government and people.  And I think it can be a positive impact on — on the way forward toward a more democratic Venezuela.  

OPERATOR:  Moving to the next caller.  

Q    Yes.  Hello, this is Matt Spetalnick with Reuters.  So, a couple questions, please.  What, if any, considerations were given in the sanctions decision on the impact it might have on spurring higher global oil prices, including at the pump in the U.S., and on the number of Venezuelan migrants flowing to the U.S.-Mexico border? 

And separately from that, is the administration leaving in place the separate license that removed the secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds (inaudible) PDVSA’s debt equity?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the first part of that.  So, in making this determination of whether or not Venezuelan authorities were in compliance with the Barbados Agreement, we really focused on the political circumstances and situation in Venezuela. 

But, of course, there was an interagency process that accompanied this that was able to bring in a wider array of interest and issues, which were, of course, part of the overall context of this — of this decision.  But fundamentally, the decision was based on the — the actions and non-action of the Venezuelan authorities. 

OPERATOR:  And we’ll take the next caller now.  

Q    Thank you for this opportunity.  I’m Carla Angola from (inaudible) Network, and my question is: The extent of the authorization for Chevron in Venezuela arose from agreements in Mexico, which were part of a concession to the Maduro regime to motivate them to sit at a negotiating table.  Are those Chevron licenses going to be reviewed as well?  In any case, what is the difference between that license and License 44 if Maduro’s failure to comply with the agreements is the same? 

And regarding the hostage exchanges with the Maduro regime, when Alex Saab was sent to Venezuela, Madura released arrest warrants against members of María Corina Machado’s Vente Venezuela political party.  But three months later, Maduro reissued those arrest warrants against them.  And today, they are either in a prison or torture center, or they are taking refuge in an embassy. 

It looks like you handed over Alex Saab in exchange for no one, because those people are still persecuted today.  How serious is it for you?  That seems to have been just a disguise by the Maduro regime.  Thank you so much.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], do you want to take the first part, and I’ll take the second part?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Happy to do it, [senior administration official].  So, on — on the question about the Chevron-related license — that’s General License 41 — as we’ve said before in — in evaluating this most recent batch of sanctions relief that came in October, what we’ve said is that we would look at that and any calibrations to it, up or down, to be proportional with the progress made under the Barbados Agreement. 

And so, I would just say: Recall that the Chevron predated that by a period of time, and that was a base-level commitment to reengage in the talks, which did happen.  And so, this — this decision point, which is, you know, with the commitments under Barbados and since October, has there been a meeting of those commitments, and, if not, what is our proportional response, that’s what you see today in the issuing of the wind-down.   

MODERATOR:  [Senior administration official], did you want to take the next other part?  

OPERATOR:  I’m looking at the line here.  We may have lost [senior administration official]. 

Oh, yes, I see he’s reconnecting now.  Just a moment.  

MODERATOR:  Could we go to the next question and maybe come back if he can answer that second part of the question?  

OPERATOR:  Certainly. 

MODERATOR:  Thanks.

OPERATOR:  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller for now.  

Q    Hello, it’s Michael Stone here from the Financial Times.  Thank you for doing this.  I understand that the Chevron license continues intact, but could you clarify whether the licenses that were issued to Trinidad and Shell for gas and to Repsol and Maurel & Prom for oil, whether those also continue or whether those have been canceled? 

And, secondly, what impact do you believe the totality of the package announced today is going to have on Venezuelan oil production and output over the coming months?  What sort of reduction will there be as a result of these measures?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Gotcha.  This is [senior administration official].  I’m happy to take the — the first part. 

I think you’ve asked about a couple of different items that may have come in.  As I mentioned in my, sort of, opening remarks, we have two types of licenses that we give.  Some are general licenses.  Those are public.  But we also allow individual parties with particular fact patterns that ask to come in, and we evaluate them on a case-by-case basis for specific licenses.  And those are — are non-public and protected through — through law, as far as discussing the details of them, although the — any party that submits that can release that. 

So, I don’t have more to share on those particular items related to specific parties.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, this is [senior administration official].  My — I got dropped from the call earlier, but I’m back.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  [Senior administration official], did you want to address the portion of the question that you were going to?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Happy to do so.  So, we are very concerned about the arrest of Henry Alviarez and Dignora Hernández and the issuance of arrest warrants for seven other advisors to María Corina Machado, the harassment of opposition members, and the detention of other civil society actors, including Rocío San Miguel. 

We are continuing to raise those issues with the other side.  But we’re also proud that, through this process, we’re able to obtain the release of six wrongfully detained American citizens, to secure the release of and return of others who are in jail in Venezuela, including the return of a fugitive from justice from the United States. 

We continue to believe that the Barbados Agreement represents the only important and viable path forward, but the other side has failed to comply with its obligations.  And for that reason, we’ve taken the steps that we’re taking today. 

And we will continue to talk to our friends and allies and make common cause with them to try to secure the release of all those who are wrongfully detained or arrested or jailed in Venezuela for expressing their fundamental human rights and civic rights in that country.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller here.

Q    Hi.  Good morning.  Thank you so much for doing this.  I have a question.  Does President Biden continue to believe in Nicolás Maduro’s goodwill as it has been described on several occasions before?  And will this administration change or is trying to change its current policy on Venezuela? 

And, also, what are the concerns about the — just (inaudible) on that question about immigration, what are the concerns of the Biden administration on an eventual increase of Venezuela migrants arriving at the border due to a possible outcome of the elections in July? 

Thank you.  And Jorge with Voice of America.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the first crack at that.  So, the — the Biden administration remains very committed to and focused on ensuring a restoration of democracy in Venezuela and — and working to see that the upcoming elections that will take place there later this year are as free and fair and competitive — as competitive as they — they can possibly be. 

And, of course, we’re very attuned as well for the welfare of the Venezuelan people and would prefer to see a situation where the people in Venezuela are able to live in a prosperous and secure setting and certainly not suffer the humanitarian challenges and the deep insecurity that — that exists today. 

And so, that’s — that’s our overall objective.  That’s what we’re focused on.  We do believe that securing greater space for political freedom and for this election to be as democratic as it can possibly be an important step towards that.  

With respect to some of the broader issues that you raise, of course, we are very aware of the migration flows that have emanated from Venezuela over the past several years.  Those flows are not only affecting the United States, but they’ve really had broad impacts across the region, including in Venezuela’s close neighbors, such as Colombia and Brazil, and other parts of Latin America and Central America. 

And so, this administration is also very committed to working cooperatively with our partners throughout the hemisphere on migration management to make sure that it’s more effective, that it’s humane, and that the need for people to or desire for people to cross their borders without documentation can be vastly reduced.  That’s something that we are working on with all of our partners in the region.  And that is something that will remain a priority for the Biden administration.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  I believe we have time for one more question.  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller here. 

And, caller, you can go ahead.  Please make sure that your device is also unmuted.  

Q    Okay.  Sorry.  Hi, Juan Carlos López from CNN Español.  Thank you for the call. 

So, there were recent meetings between the U.S. and Venezuela and Mexico.  There was also meetings between Colombia and Venezuela.  Is there anything the Venezuelan government, the Maduro government, can do from here to May 31st to reverse this decision?  Or is this decision a sign that there is no going forward with them? 

And what happens if these elections go forward?  Do you have any leverage that you can use against Venezuela?  And on the license that was — that is not being renewed, since you don’t know figures, does that license benefit any American companies, or would that only benefit the Venezuelan government? 

Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the — the first part of the question.  So, we’ve been very committed to engaging with a wide range of Venezuelan stakeholders to try to move and to help move the political process forward in Venezuela.  And that includes, at certain junctures, direct engaging with the Venezuelan authorities.  Certainly, it includes maintaining a constant level of communication with Venezuelan civil society, opposition figures, with partner nations in the Western Hemisphere, and partners more broadly, internationally. 

And so, that is — that is going to remain our focus.

With respect to the current General License 44 that we are discussing, this was a license that was granted for six months and had an expiration date.  And so, this was a question that we had to address, essentially, today and over the past several days and weeks of whether or not the progress that has taken place in Venezuela merits the renewal of the license.  

We determined that Venezuela has thus far fallen short of its commitments in terms of opening up the democratic and electoral process and, therefore, made the decision not to renew the license and to allow it to expire, as my colleagues have described.  However, that does not mean that we are not going to still continue to engage in a constructive and pragmatic way to try to move the election back towards a better course. 

And I think there’s some near-term decisions that the Venezuelan authorities will be taking that we will be watching and monitoring very carefully.  We also realize that members of the political opposition and various political parties have decisions of their own to make, and we are committed to ensuring that we have the best and most relevant understanding of the political process in Venezuela and that we’re working with our partners internationally to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people can be heard at the ballot box when an election takes place later this year.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much. 

Thanks again to everyone for joining the call today.  Thanks, [Operator], for all your support. 

As a reminder for everyone, this call was on background for attribution to “senior administration officials.”  The call is embargoed until 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.  We will also be sending an embargoed statement that the State Department will release later this afternoon.  The embargo for the statement and this call will both lift at 3:30 p.m. 

Thank you again to our speakers for joining us.  And thanks, everyone.  Have a great day.  

OPERATOR:  Thank you to all of our speakers, and thank you all in the audience for joining us today.  Again, this call was off the record. 

The call has concluded, and you may disconnect.

The post Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on Venezuela appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Good morning, everyone.  Thank you for joining us today for an NSC backgrounder call on the situation in Venezuela and U.S. actions that we’ll be taking.

At this time, participants, please note that we have — just for your awareness, not for reporting — on the line, we have [senior administration official], [senior administration official], and [senior administration official].

Again, that is just for your awareness, not for reporting.  The contents of the call will be attributable to “senior administration officials,” and it will be embargoed until 3:30 p.m. 

With that, I will — I would like to turn it over to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thank you very much, and it’s a pleasure to be here with everyone this morning.  Thank you to everyone for calling in and for your interest.  Venezuela is a very important issue for this administration, and it’s a critical time, so I’m really pleased to be here with my colleagues from the other agencies. 

The purpose of this call is to share with you that later today, Treasury will announce that General License 44 will not be renewed, and we will instead issue General License 44A, authorizing a 45-day wind-down period for transactions related to oil and gas sector operations in Venezuela.  I will let my colleague speak to some of the technical aspects of this decision and some of the current concerns that we have about the current situation in Venezuela.  

But I did want to provide a few words at the top to explain why we made this decision and its implications.  General License 44 — or what we refer to as “GL 44” — was issued in October of last year to support commitments that were made in the Barbados Agreement, an agreement that was signed by representatives of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and members of the political opposition.  This Barbados agreement was signed on October 17th, 2023. 

Since the GL 44 was issued last October, we have been consistent in our public messaging and our private messaging that maintaining this sanctions relief in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector depends on Maduro’s commitment to uphold the Barbados Agreement.  And over the past six months, the U.S. administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, and we’ve remained in very close touch with a range of stakeholders to assess the Venezuelan authorities’ progress on implementing the Barbados Agreement, which is intended to allow for an inclusive and competitive election in 2024.  

Over the past several months and weeks, we have completed a very careful review, and we have determined that although the Venezuelan authorities have met some key commitments, they’ve also fallen short in several areas.  The areas in which they have fallen short include the disqualification of candidates and parties on technicalities and what we see as a continued pattern of harassment and repression against opposition figures and civil society. 

We were particularly concerned by the fact that the Venezuelan authorities also blocked the leading opposition candidate María Corina Machado from running and also did not allow her designated alternative candidate, Dr. Corina Yoris, to register as a candidate for the presidency. 

As a result of those actions, while Maduro and his representatives have upheld certain aspects of the Barbados Agreement with respect to beginning to update the electoral registry, of starting a process to allow international election observation, and establishing an electoral timeline, Maduro and his representatives have not followed through with one of the most critical commitments, which was — (a fire alarm sounds) — (inaudible) the right of all candidates to run.  

And, apologies, we have an alarm going off here. 

In order to ensure that the expiration of GL 44 does not provoke uncertainty in the global energy sector, the administration —

[Moderator], I’m just going to hold here until this alarm ceases.  You can go to the other speakers, and I’ll come back on the line.  Thanks.  

MODERATOR:  Sounds great.  Apologies for the interruption here, guys.  We’ll go on to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks very much.  And as [senior administration official] shared, we issued GL 44 to support commitments made in the Barbados Agreement.  Unfortunately, Maduro and his representatives did not fully comply with the spirit or the letter of the agreement. 

In public statements, we outlined many of these undemocratic actions.  Maduro and his representatives maintained the disqualification of opposition primary winner María Corina Machado.  When María Corina Machado expressed her willingness to identify a consensus substitute with other opposition members, Maduro representatives prevented the democratic opposition from registering Dr. Corina Yoris. 

Maduro representatives unjustly detained multiple opposition political members in civil society, and we witnessed a disturbing campaign of harassment and an intimidation of opposition actors solely for exercising their political rights to assembly and campaign. 

While our focus today is on GL 44, I want to stress the enormous courage, resiliency, and pragmatism of the opposition under these difficult circumstances.  

We are in regular contact with opposition representatives, and I want to highlight that it’s quite clear that they and the vast majority of Venezuelans still want and are making every effort to achieve a competitive election with a serious opposition candidate on the 2024 ballot. 

Our action on GL 44 should not be viewed as a final decision that we no longer believe Venezuela can hold competitive and inclusive elections.  We will continue to engage with all stakeholders — including Maduro representatives, the democratic opposition, civil society, and the international community — to support the Venezuelan people’s efforts to ensure a better future for Venezuela. 

The Barbados Agreement still represents the best available path toward a more democratic, secure, and prosperous Venezuela if fully implemented.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, [senior administration official].  

We will — [senior administration official], are you still on the line?  Okay.  Sounds like we’re having some technical difficulties with [senior administration official]. 

We will go now to [senior administration official].  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thanks so much. 

Hi, everybody.  This is [senior administration official].  And while my colleagues have discussed the policy today, I wanted to take just a moment to go over some of the technical aspects of today’s action. 

General License 44A issued today will replace General License 44, which means that any activity that was previously allowed under General License 44 with respect to the oil and gas sector of Venezuela will need to be wound down by May 31st.  New activity that was — any new activity that was previously covered by General License 44 will no longer be allowed. 

So, we routinely allow for these types of wind-down windows to allow people to wrap up their business in an orderly manner and not cause unwanted spillover effects. 

As you may know, our general licenses are broad, public, and self-executing authorizations, which means that as long as an activity conforms with what’s laid out in the text of that public license, companies don’t need to ask OFAC permission to engage in any of the covered activities.

In all of our section’s programs, OFAC also has the authority to issue what we call specific licenses.  Now, these are a little bit different.  They are non-public authorizations that are issued on a case-by-case basis based on the facts of the application, and they deal with individual circumstances. 

With the wind-down today of the public general license, individual companies may now apply for specific licenses related to activities in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, which will then be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, similar to how we handle licenses in any other OFAC program. 

So, the process of evaluating a specific license includes — is not public, but it does include taking into consideration the national security interests and foreign policy interests of the United States through close consultation with and receipt of foreign policy guidance from our State Department. 

Today’s action will not affect other existing authorizations related to Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, such as Venezuela General License 8M or General License 41. 

And back over to you.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, [senior administration official]. 

We’ll try it again.  [Senior administration official], are you back on our line?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, thank you.  I’m back on the line.  It wasn’t a technical difficulty exactly, but I had — did have to pause for a moment.  But I think that my colleagues covered the rest of the issues expertly.  So, I’m happy to go to Q&A.  Thank you.  

MODERATOR:  Great.  Thank you.  [Operator], would you please go over instructions on how to ask questions?  

OPERATOR:  Sure.  

MODERATOR:  And we can open up for Qs and As.  Thank you.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  And we do have several questions here. 

All right.  We’ll go ahead and take the first.  

Q    Hello?  

OPERATOR:  Yes, please go ahead.  

Q    Yeah, this is Josh Goodman from the Associated Press.  I wanted to see, in addition to the discussion of the sanctions, whether you could talk a little bit about some of the actors in the political process unfolding now in Venezuela around the election. 

Has the U.S. had any direct contact with former gov- — with Governor Manuel Rosales?  He was a presidential candidate who once ran against Hugo Chávez.  He did not compete in the opposition primary process; however, you know, he is registered to compete. 

Do you consider him a real alternative to Maduro or, as some in the opposition suggest, more of a stooge, someone who serves the interests of the government?  Thanks.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, thanks for that, Josh.  Through our Venezuela Affairs Unit as well as folks here in Washington, we have contact with a broad, broad range of political actors inside Venezuela.  And I don’t want to get into the specific nature of those discussions, but I do want to stress that our goal is to support the democratic opposition in Venezuela broadly. 

And to that end, we cast a — a wide net in our conversations.  And I encourage the democratic opposition, through the unitary platform and — and other venues, to come together and reach shared positions on their way forward.  And I’ll just leave it at that.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll take our next question. 

Just a reminder, please remember to state your name and outlet before your question.  Thank you.  

Q    Hi.  Thanks for doing this.  This is Jennifer Hansler with CNN.  I was wondering if there is any way you can quantify how many businesses or how much — what sort of transactions were made in the time that this general license was in effect and what impact you expect this to have financially on Venezuela’s oil and gas sectors?  Thank you.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, this is [senior administration official].  We don’t have the figures on what exactly — what level of business was — was conducted under the auspices of the general license.  There’s not a reporting requirement, so we don’t have those exact figures.  Over.

OPERATOR:  And we’ll move to our next caller.  

Q    Hi, good morning.  Do you hear me?  

OPERATOR:  Yes, please go ahead.  

Q    Okay.  This is Juan Hernando from TV Colombia.  Just to be clear, so this period of 45 days is only to wind down operations of enterprises that already have commitments or business with (inaudible)?  It doesn’t allow new enterprises to make business during that period of 45 days? 

And the other question is: How coordinated was this decision with the Colombian government and Gustavo Petro, taking into account that he has been engaging directly with Nicolás Maduro?  Thank you.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  This is [senior administration official] again.  I’ll take the first part of that.  Under — under a wind-down general license, it is to wind down and to have an orderly completion of transactions that were in progress under the general license — that was General License 44 — that was issued in October. 

If it’s about activity that was outside the scope or otherwise authorized that wasn’t under the general license, it’s not going to be affected by this wind-down.  So, if folks took on new activity that needed General License 44 to be compliant with our sanctions, it’s that activity that we would expect to be wound down under our — under our wind-down authorization that we’re issuing today. 

Over.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  This is [senior administration official].  I’ll start on the first part of the — of the question on the engagement with — with Colombia. 

So, from the beginning, it’s been extremely important to us that we — we maintain close contact and collaboration with a wide range of partners and allies on issues with respect to Venezuela.  And that inc- — certainly include- — includes those in the region, including Colombia. 

And so, we have engaged with Colombia on this.  They are aware of and — and tracking, at a minimum, the difficulties that we’ve seen and our perspective on Venezuela’s overall compliance with the Barbados Agreement. 

And then, I’ll share with my colleague [redacted] for any other perspective.  Thank you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Nothing to add.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll go ahead and take our next question.  

Q    Hi, this is Rafael Rojas from BBC Mundo.  I wanted to ask whether you had any information on the possible facts, going back to the previous question, that Colombia might play a role as an overseer in the election.  And what — what news does the U.S. have on — on a role of overseer from the partners in the Venezuelan election?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, we support the presence of international electoral observers in Venezuela, and we understand that Colombia has been invited to send observers for the process.  That would be in addition to the invitations to the European Union and the Carter Center and other organizations. 

Having an international presence we consider positive.  Colombia, as a border country to Venezuela, has important relationships and interests.  That means that their engagement is something that’s important to the Colombian government and people.  And I think it can be a positive impact on — on the way forward toward a more democratic Venezuela.  

OPERATOR:  Moving to the next caller.  

Q    Yes.  Hello, this is Matt Spetalnick with Reuters.  So, a couple questions, please.  What, if any, considerations were given in the sanctions decision on the impact it might have on spurring higher global oil prices, including at the pump in the U.S., and on the number of Venezuelan migrants flowing to the U.S.-Mexico border? 

And separately from that, is the administration leaving in place the separate license that removed the secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds (inaudible) PDVSA’s debt equity?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the first part of that.  So, in making this determination of whether or not Venezuelan authorities were in compliance with the Barbados Agreement, we really focused on the political circumstances and situation in Venezuela. 

But, of course, there was an interagency process that accompanied this that was able to bring in a wider array of interest and issues, which were, of course, part of the overall context of this — of this decision.  But fundamentally, the decision was based on the — the actions and non-action of the Venezuelan authorities. 

OPERATOR:  And we’ll take the next caller now.  

Q    Thank you for this opportunity.  I’m Carla Angola from (inaudible) Network, and my question is: The extent of the authorization for Chevron in Venezuela arose from agreements in Mexico, which were part of a concession to the Maduro regime to motivate them to sit at a negotiating table.  Are those Chevron licenses going to be reviewed as well?  In any case, what is the difference between that license and License 44 if Maduro’s failure to comply with the agreements is the same? 

And regarding the hostage exchanges with the Maduro regime, when Alex Saab was sent to Venezuela, Madura released arrest warrants against members of María Corina Machado’s Vente Venezuela political party.  But three months later, Maduro reissued those arrest warrants against them.  And today, they are either in a prison or torture center, or they are taking refuge in an embassy. 

It looks like you handed over Alex Saab in exchange for no one, because those people are still persecuted today.  How serious is it for you?  That seems to have been just a disguise by the Maduro regime.  Thank you so much.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], do you want to take the first part, and I’ll take the second part?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Happy to do it, [senior administration official].  So, on — on the question about the Chevron-related license — that’s General License 41 — as we’ve said before in — in evaluating this most recent batch of sanctions relief that came in October, what we’ve said is that we would look at that and any calibrations to it, up or down, to be proportional with the progress made under the Barbados Agreement. 

And so, I would just say: Recall that the Chevron predated that by a period of time, and that was a base-level commitment to reengage in the talks, which did happen.  And so, this — this decision point, which is, you know, with the commitments under Barbados and since October, has there been a meeting of those commitments, and, if not, what is our proportional response, that’s what you see today in the issuing of the wind-down.   

MODERATOR:  [Senior administration official], did you want to take the next other part?  

OPERATOR:  I’m looking at the line here.  We may have lost [senior administration official]. 

Oh, yes, I see he’s reconnecting now.  Just a moment.  

MODERATOR:  Could we go to the next question and maybe come back if he can answer that second part of the question?  

OPERATOR:  Certainly. 

MODERATOR:  Thanks.

OPERATOR:  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller for now.  

Q    Hello, it’s Michael Stone here from the Financial Times.  Thank you for doing this.  I understand that the Chevron license continues intact, but could you clarify whether the licenses that were issued to Trinidad and Shell for gas and to Repsol and Maurel & Prom for oil, whether those also continue or whether those have been canceled? 

And, secondly, what impact do you believe the totality of the package announced today is going to have on Venezuelan oil production and output over the coming months?  What sort of reduction will there be as a result of these measures?  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Gotcha.  This is [senior administration official].  I’m happy to take the — the first part. 

I think you’ve asked about a couple of different items that may have come in.  As I mentioned in my, sort of, opening remarks, we have two types of licenses that we give.  Some are general licenses.  Those are public.  But we also allow individual parties with particular fact patterns that ask to come in, and we evaluate them on a case-by-case basis for specific licenses.  And those are — are non-public and protected through — through law, as far as discussing the details of them, although the — any party that submits that can release that. 

So, I don’t have more to share on those particular items related to specific parties.  

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, this is [senior administration official].  My — I got dropped from the call earlier, but I’m back.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  [Senior administration official], did you want to address the portion of the question that you were going to?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Happy to do so.  So, we are very concerned about the arrest of Henry Alviarez and Dignora Hernández and the issuance of arrest warrants for seven other advisors to María Corina Machado, the harassment of opposition members, and the detention of other civil society actors, including Rocío San Miguel. 

We are continuing to raise those issues with the other side.  But we’re also proud that, through this process, we’re able to obtain the release of six wrongfully detained American citizens, to secure the release of and return of others who are in jail in Venezuela, including the return of a fugitive from justice from the United States. 

We continue to believe that the Barbados Agreement represents the only important and viable path forward, but the other side has failed to comply with its obligations.  And for that reason, we’ve taken the steps that we’re taking today. 

And we will continue to talk to our friends and allies and make common cause with them to try to secure the release of all those who are wrongfully detained or arrested or jailed in Venezuela for expressing their fundamental human rights and civic rights in that country.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller here.

Q    Hi.  Good morning.  Thank you so much for doing this.  I have a question.  Does President Biden continue to believe in Nicolás Maduro’s goodwill as it has been described on several occasions before?  And will this administration change or is trying to change its current policy on Venezuela? 

And, also, what are the concerns about the — just (inaudible) on that question about immigration, what are the concerns of the Biden administration on an eventual increase of Venezuela migrants arriving at the border due to a possible outcome of the elections in July? 

Thank you.  And Jorge with Voice of America.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the first crack at that.  So, the — the Biden administration remains very committed to and focused on ensuring a restoration of democracy in Venezuela and — and working to see that the upcoming elections that will take place there later this year are as free and fair and competitive — as competitive as they — they can possibly be. 

And, of course, we’re very attuned as well for the welfare of the Venezuelan people and would prefer to see a situation where the people in Venezuela are able to live in a prosperous and secure setting and certainly not suffer the humanitarian challenges and the deep insecurity that — that exists today. 

And so, that’s — that’s our overall objective.  That’s what we’re focused on.  We do believe that securing greater space for political freedom and for this election to be as democratic as it can possibly be an important step towards that.  

With respect to some of the broader issues that you raise, of course, we are very aware of the migration flows that have emanated from Venezuela over the past several years.  Those flows are not only affecting the United States, but they’ve really had broad impacts across the region, including in Venezuela’s close neighbors, such as Colombia and Brazil, and other parts of Latin America and Central America. 

And so, this administration is also very committed to working cooperatively with our partners throughout the hemisphere on migration management to make sure that it’s more effective, that it’s humane, and that the need for people to or desire for people to cross their borders without documentation can be vastly reduced.  That’s something that we are working on with all of our partners in the region.  And that is something that will remain a priority for the Biden administration.  

OPERATOR:  Okay.  I believe we have time for one more question.  We’ll go ahead and take the next caller here. 

And, caller, you can go ahead.  Please make sure that your device is also unmuted.  

Q    Okay.  Sorry.  Hi, Juan Carlos López from CNN Español.  Thank you for the call. 

So, there were recent meetings between the U.S. and Venezuela and Mexico.  There was also meetings between Colombia and Venezuela.  Is there anything the Venezuelan government, the Maduro government, can do from here to May 31st to reverse this decision?  Or is this decision a sign that there is no going forward with them? 

And what happens if these elections go forward?  Do you have any leverage that you can use against Venezuela?  And on the license that was — that is not being renewed, since you don’t know figures, does that license benefit any American companies, or would that only benefit the Venezuelan government? 

Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll take the — the first part of the question.  So, we’ve been very committed to engaging with a wide range of Venezuelan stakeholders to try to move and to help move the political process forward in Venezuela.  And that includes, at certain junctures, direct engaging with the Venezuelan authorities.  Certainly, it includes maintaining a constant level of communication with Venezuelan civil society, opposition figures, with partner nations in the Western Hemisphere, and partners more broadly, internationally. 

And so, that is — that is going to remain our focus.

With respect to the current General License 44 that we are discussing, this was a license that was granted for six months and had an expiration date.  And so, this was a question that we had to address, essentially, today and over the past several days and weeks of whether or not the progress that has taken place in Venezuela merits the renewal of the license.  

We determined that Venezuela has thus far fallen short of its commitments in terms of opening up the democratic and electoral process and, therefore, made the decision not to renew the license and to allow it to expire, as my colleagues have described.  However, that does not mean that we are not going to still continue to engage in a constructive and pragmatic way to try to move the election back towards a better course. 

And I think there’s some near-term decisions that the Venezuelan authorities will be taking that we will be watching and monitoring very carefully.  We also realize that members of the political opposition and various political parties have decisions of their own to make, and we are committed to ensuring that we have the best and most relevant understanding of the political process in Venezuela and that we’re working with our partners internationally to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people can be heard at the ballot box when an election takes place later this year.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much. 

Thanks again to everyone for joining the call today.  Thanks, [Operator], for all your support. 

As a reminder for everyone, this call was on background for attribution to “senior administration officials.”  The call is embargoed until 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.  We will also be sending an embargoed statement that the State Department will release later this afternoon.  The embargo for the statement and this call will both lift at 3:30 p.m. 

Thank you again to our speakers for joining us.  And thanks, everyone.  Have a great day.  

OPERATOR:  Thank you to all of our speakers, and thank you all in the audience for joining us today.  Again, this call was off the record. 

The call has concluded, and you may disconnect.

The post Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on Venezuela appeared first on The White House.

Bob Graham was a colleague, friend, and devoted Floridian whose nearly 50 years of service to his beloved home state and to our country have made America a safer and stronger nation.

Bob chose a life of service, working his way up from state legislator, to governor, senator, and presidential candidate. He and I served together in the U.S. Senate, as respective chairs of the Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees in the wake of 9/11, working to heal a shattered nation and to protect America in a changing world. Bob stood on principle against the Iraq War. He cosponsored my landmark Violence Against Women Act, transforming the way our nation responds to domestic abuse and sexual assault. He was committed to education and to the environment, continuing work that he’d begun as governor to support public schools and universities, and to protect the water supply, wetlands, and wildlife of Florida’s iconic Everglades. He was full of humor and humanity, and I’m grateful for the support that he gave me over the years.

Bob loved people, and he knew that politics at its core is about learning from and serving others. That’s why he spent more than 400 “workdays” on the job with constituents, doing everything from picking tomatoes, to handling baggage, to patrolling the streets with police. He knew it matters to walk a mile in other folks’ shoes. In recent years, he sought to instill that same ethic and empathy in a new generation of public servants through his center in Gainesville, and by working to require civics classes in public schools. He inspired his own daughter, Gwen, to serve in Congress as well; and I’m proud to have her in my Administration today, as an Assistant Secretary of Education. Bob was so proud, too.

Our hearts today are with Bob’s beloved wife of 65 years, Adele; with their four daughters, Gwen, Cissy, Suzanne, and Kendall; with their grandchildren and friends; and with the people of Florida, whom Bob served so well in so many ways for so long.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Former U.S. Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham appeared first on The White House.

Bob Graham was a colleague, friend, and devoted Floridian whose nearly 50 years of service to his beloved home state and to our country have made America a safer and stronger nation.

Bob chose a life of service, working his way up from state legislator, to governor, senator, and presidential candidate. He and I served together in the U.S. Senate, as respective chairs of the Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees in the wake of 9/11, working to heal a shattered nation and to protect America in a changing world. Bob stood on principle against the Iraq War. He cosponsored my landmark Violence Against Women Act, transforming the way our nation responds to domestic abuse and sexual assault. He was committed to education and to the environment, continuing work that he’d begun as governor to support public schools and universities, and to protect the water supply, wetlands, and wildlife of Florida’s iconic Everglades. He was full of humor and humanity, and I’m grateful for the support that he gave me over the years.

Bob loved people, and he knew that politics at its core is about learning from and serving others. That’s why he spent more than 400 “workdays” on the job with constituents, doing everything from picking tomatoes, to handling baggage, to patrolling the streets with police. He knew it matters to walk a mile in other folks’ shoes. In recent years, he sought to instill that same ethic and empathy in a new generation of public servants through his center in Gainesville, and by working to require civics classes in public schools. He inspired his own daughter, Gwen, to serve in Congress as well; and I’m proud to have her in my Administration today, as an Assistant Secretary of Education. Bob was so proud, too.

Our hearts today are with Bob’s beloved wife of 65 years, Adele; with their four daughters, Gwen, Cissy, Suzanne, and Kendall; with their grandchildren and friends; and with the people of Florida, whom Bob served so well in so many ways for so long.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Former U.S. Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham appeared first on The White House.

We applaud Senate leadership for moving swiftly toward a vote on H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – a critical intelligence collection authority – before it expires on April 19.  This legislation, which passed the House with robust bipartisan support, ensures that the U.S. government has the tools to protect our national security, while dramatically enhancing protections for privacy and civil liberties. We call on the Senate to quickly send the bill to the President’s desk. 

As the Senate considers this legislation, we urge the Senate to reject mischaracterizations of an amendment to the definition of “electronic communications service provider” that was adopted by a bipartisan majority in the House. This amendment is a technical fix designed to account for changing technological realities – the definition of “electronic service providers” adopted when Section 702 was first enacted in 2008 does not account for the technologies of 2024. This provision is also directly responsive to encouragement from a federal appellate court to update the definition of the private-sector companies with which the U.S. Government can work, under supervision of federal judges and with extensive oversight by four congressional committees, to obtain the communications of non-Americans abroad. 

Furthermore, it is important to remember the limits on Section 702 collection.  Section 702 authorizes the targeting of foreigners outside the United States.  Americans, as well as foreigners in the United States, cannot be targets of such collection.  Adding yet additional protections, the amendment explicitly carves out a wide range of entities such as a “dwelling,” “community facility,” “public accommodation facility,” “food service establishment,” and more, from the revised definition of electronic communication service provider.

To be clear: nothing in this amendment changes the fundamentals of Section 702, which can be used to target for collection only the communications of non-Americans located outside the United States.  That will remain unchanged—period.  The Senate should pass immediately the Section 702 reauthorization and reform bill sent over by the House, before the current law lapses on April 19.

The post Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the Upcoming Vote on Reauthorization and Reform of FISA Section 702 appeared first on The White House.