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Yesterday, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, Senior Advisor for Gender-Based Violence Catherine Powell, and Director of the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women Rosie Hidalgo met with survivors of stalking to hear their experiences and recommendations for ways the Biden-Harris Administration can continue to support survivors of gender-based violence, including stalking. The roundtable was held during National Stalking Awareness Month, which was galvanized by the murder of Peggy Klinke twenty years ago yesterday.

In their lifetimes, one in three women and one in six men will be affected by stalking. Stalking is increasingly facilitated by technology and takes place both online and offline. It can disrupt victims’ lives, forcing them to miss work or move from their homes, and it can severely impact physical and mental health.

Participants discussed the Administration’s commitment to ending and addressing gender-based violence and stalking wherever it occurs, including through implementation of the first U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the ongoing work of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse. Biden-Harris Administration leaders emphasized the courageous leadership of survivors and advocates in the anti-stalking field. Survivors, advocates, and Administration officials discussed current needs in the anti-stalking field and strategies to improve support for survivors of stalking, including methods to increase access to training, resources, justice, and safety.

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The post Readout of White House Roundtable on Supporting Survivors of Stalking in Recognition of National Stalking Awareness Month appeared first on The White House.

Yesterday, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, Senior Advisor for Gender-Based Violence Catherine Powell, and Director of the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women Rosie Hidalgo met with survivors of stalking to hear their experiences and recommendations for ways the Biden-Harris Administration can continue to support survivors of gender-based violence, including stalking. The roundtable was held during National Stalking Awareness Month, which was galvanized by the murder of Peggy Klinke twenty years ago yesterday.

In their lifetimes, one in three women and one in six men will be affected by stalking. Stalking is increasingly facilitated by technology and takes place both online and offline. It can disrupt victims’ lives, forcing them to miss work or move from their homes, and it can severely impact physical and mental health.

Participants discussed the Administration’s commitment to ending and addressing gender-based violence and stalking wherever it occurs, including through implementation of the first U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the ongoing work of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse. Biden-Harris Administration leaders emphasized the courageous leadership of survivors and advocates in the anti-stalking field. Survivors, advocates, and Administration officials discussed current needs in the anti-stalking field and strategies to improve support for survivors of stalking, including methods to increase access to training, resources, justice, and safety.

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The post Readout of White House Roundtable on Supporting Survivors of Stalking in Recognition of National Stalking Awareness Month appeared first on The White House.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Joseph Boakai on Monday, January 22, 2024, in Monrovia, Liberia. 

The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, will lead the delegation.

Members of the Presidential Delegation:

Ms. Catherine Rodriguez, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Monrovia

The Honorable Stephen K. Benjamin, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, The White House

The Honorable Isobel Coleman, Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development

The Honorable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council, The White House

The post President Biden Announces Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Liberia to Attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Joseph Boakai appeared first on The White House.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Joseph Boakai on Monday, January 22, 2024, in Monrovia, Liberia. 

The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, will lead the delegation.

Members of the Presidential Delegation:

Ms. Catherine Rodriguez, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Monrovia

The Honorable Stephen K. Benjamin, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, The White House

The Honorable Isobel Coleman, Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development

The Honorable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council, The White House

The post President Biden Announces Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Liberia to Attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Joseph Boakai appeared first on The White House.

East Room

4:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Please — please sit down.

My dad used to have an expression: Quit while you’re ahead.  (Laughter.)

I tell you what, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have you all here, and I mean it.  For some of you, this is not your first visit.  I know the new mayors, obviously it is. 

But, you know, Mayor Schieve — thanks for that introduction and your leadership of this conference.

A special thanks to the CEO of the Conference of Mayors,

Tom Cochran — Tommy, how you doing, pal? — (applause) — who began his distinguished tenure in 1969.  God bless you, pal.  (Laughter.) 

It’s hell turning 50, isn’t it?

MAYOR SCHIEVE:  We’re the same age.  And Mike Bloomberg is the same age too.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  But neither one of us have his money.  (Laughter.)

Well, thank you all, and welcome to the White House.  I mean that sincerely.

Today, we get some good news: We just signed a bill to keep the government open.  (Applause.)  I thought about it when I signed it, but — but, you know, some days, that counts as progress.  (Laughter.)

As many of you know, I started my career as a local official back in Delaware.  And I only ran for Senate because serving locally was too hard.  (Laughter.)  They know where you live and they think you can solve problems that are beyond your authority. 

And believe me, all kidding aside, you have enormous respect for the — I have enormous respect for job you do.  I really mean it.  You can’t go anywhere without people knowing what you’re doing.  You — they know where you live.  And they think you can solve every problem.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

The fact is, you’re answering key questions people ask every day: Is my neighborhood safe?  Is it going to be okay?  Will this bus get me to work on time?  You know, my kids — will they — they going to have a good future in this town?  Am I able to stay in my hometown?

It matters.  It matters what you do.

Mayors get the job done.  And I’m not being fa- — I’m not just being solicitous.  Those of you who’ve known me for a long time know that’s been my view from the time I got here as a United States senator.

That’s why I’ve filled my administration with so many former mayors — (applause) — including Keisha Lance Bottoms,  Steve Benjamin — Steve, good to see you — Mitch Landrieu, Marty Walsh, Secretary Buttigieg.  (Applause.) 

Pete turned 30 today.  (Laughter.)  He got — my wife is going to — we have — she has a tradition in her family.  Five and girls and one — five sisters — and at everybody’s birthday, you’ve got to sing “Happy Birthday.”  So, stand up, and let’s sing happy birthday.

(The President leads the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Secretary Buttigieg.)

And those of you who know my wife know I’m not kidding.  (Laughter.) 

By the way, I tell every young man that tells me “I’m thinking of getting married” or something like — I say, “Look, I” — “You have any advice?”  I said, “Yeah, pick a family with five sisters or more.”  And they look at me, “What the hell is that all about?”  I said, “It’s really simple.  That way, one of them always loves you.  Not the same one.”  (Laughter.)  You always have somebody on your side.

I want to thank Tom — Tom Perez for being the point person for so long.  Where are you, Tom?  There you are.  Stand up, Tom.  (Applause.)  And I know he spent several days this week meeting with many of you, and I hope you — I hope you — he was able to answer all your questions, because he always answers mine.  (Laughter.)

Folks, I made a commitment to be a President for all Americans, whether you live in a — whether you voted for me or not.  And I mean it sincerely.  Whether it —

I made a commitment to rebuild from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down — give everybody a little bit of breathing room.

And, you know, it’s kind of interesting that I — I — a lot of folks who voted every — against everything I’ve done, they’re announcing all these great projects.  (Laughter.)  I tell them — and by the way, as many in blue states as red states — you know? — and red states as blue, for real, because they’re all Americans.

And here’s the deal — (a cell phone in the audience rings) — I know.  I know.  (Laughter.)

Tell the former President I’m busy right now.  (Laughter and applause.)

Look, but I always say, some of the most ardent critics of me are announcing these great programs.  And I say — I have one comment: See you at the groundbreaking.  (Laughter.)

Look, I’ve kept those commitments, and so have you.  And I — look at what we’ve been able to accomplish together.  That’s what I would like to talk a little bit about today. 

I’m not going to take a lot of your time, but the things that are on top of mind for you.

Look, when I came to office, the pandemic was raging.  The economy was reeling.  Cities nationwide faced devastating budget cuts.  And together, we turned things around.  You turned them around.  You turned them around.

It started with the American Rescue Plan: $350 billion for state and local governments.  Money to put cops back on the beat, teachers in the classroom, keep families in their homes –(applause) — and train your workforces and get small businesses on their feet.  Money directly to every single city in the cou- — in the country so you could decide how best to spend your money and meet your residents’ needs without having to go through a statehouse or a governor.  (Applause.)

A lot of — a lot of great governors, a lot of state houses.  But you all know what you need better than anybody.  I like it going directly to you.  When I was a local official, I liked that a lot better.  I liked the Delaware state legislature when I was there.  But guess what?  They had — everybody had to get a piece of it — (laughter) — and my county wouldn’t get what it needed.  Any rate. 

I followed that with the most significant investment

in our nation’s infrastructure in generations: roads, bridges, railroads, ports, airports, public transit, clean water, high-speed Internet, and so much more.

How can we have the best economy in the world if we don’t have the best infrastructure in the world?  Not a joke. 

We used to be number one in the world.  You know what we rank now nationally — our — our infrastructure is rated worldwide?  We’re number 13.  The United States of America is 13, from being number one.  You can’t lead the world unless you have the best infrastructure in the world.

Well, you’re helping us change that.  Now — now, we’ll — we’re going — on our way to leading the world again.

Over 4- — 40,000 new infrastructure projects announced to date and a hell of a lot more to come, with jobs now and jobs for the next decade.

I remember going through — remember we had Infrastructure Week?  (Laughter.)  And then, we had Infrastructure Week.  And then we had Infrastructure Week.  And then we had In- — (laughter).  It never happened.  Well, we’ve got an Infrastructure Decade.  (Applause.)  Because of you.

Just yesterday, I was in — I was in Raleigh, North Carolina.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT:  You got it, man.  (Laughter.)  Great city, by the way.  (Laughter.)

And we’re investing $3 billion in the entire state for high-speed Internet by the end of the decade.  (Applause.)  And we’re doing that in all 50 states. 

You know, Franklin Roosevelt brought electricity to rural America.  That’s what he did, because it wasn’t there.  And he realized that it was necessary to equalize the country and to grow the whole country. 

Well, we’re — we’re bringing high-speed Internet to everyone in America.  Rural — it’s the same — same thing, the same necessities, critical to our economy.  How do you get by in a city, a state, a town, your home without accessing Internet — affordable acc- — we’re not leaving anybody behind.

Yesterday, in North Carolina, I also highlighted a $1 billion we’re investing in a new rail line from Raleigh to Richmond.  And that’s a billion dollars.  It’s going to create good-paying jobs, make travel faster, and it’s going to improve the environment considerably by getting tens of thousands of cars off the road.  Because every study shows, if you get a chance to go by electric rail and/or your car, you go by rail if it’s the same time. 

They’ve cut the point going from point A to point B.  Look, right now, is it takes — it takes about three hours to get that route.  Cut it down to two hours.  It changes everything.

And each of you could give examples of infrastructure projects of the one happening now in your states. 

Look, with your help, we’re also making the biggest investment in fighting climate change ever anywhere in the world — (applause) — in the world.  We’ve got more to do. 

Across your cities, we’re working together to help small — small businesses install — install rooftop solar panels, electric buses — city fleets of all electric buses, planning — I just met with a lovely woman who knows a little bit about the environment, going to plant thousands of trees in her city, a million total — a million total.  It’s going to change the — protect against extreme heat and so much more.

My administration continues to work closely with you and your governors and respond quickly to the wake of devastating floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and hurricanes. 

By the way, when I started the job, I kept talking about the need for a deal with the — with the environment.  Said, “We don’t have a problem.”  Anybody think climate is not a problem, raise your hand.  (Laughter.)  Come on, man.  (Laughter.)

I’ve been around the world and on the ground with you, making sure to help strengthen the resilience and withstand the extreme weather and build back a stronger economy and bring back a stronger community.  We’re revitalizing fenceline communities smothered with a legacy of pollution.  I grew up in one of those communities, and Delaware used to have the high- — one of the highest cancer rates in the nation.

When we moved from Scranton — when jobs were eliminated in Scranton, we moved back to Delaware where my dad had been raised — to Claymont, Delaware, right on the border of Pennsylvania, that arch that goes up in it.  More — more oil refineries than any place in the nation, including Houston, at the time.

Well, guess what?  Almost all my friends, including me, we — we had asthma.  We’d go to — you know, my mom would drive us to the local school.  It wasn’t very far — a little Catholic school called Holy Rosary — up the Philadelphia pike.  And if it was the first frost, you’d turn on the windshield wipers — this is the God’s truth — and there’d be an oil slick in the window — an oil slick.

And you all come from places that have those all- — those alleys.  You know — and we’re promoting clean energy and industries of the future.  Our workers have already drawn $640 billion in private investment at home and — from home and around the world — $640 billion.  We’re building factories.  We’re creating jobs here in America. 

Let me give you one example.  America invented the microchip, about as big as the tip of your little finger.  Okay?  We invented and — went to the moon.  We — we modernized it.  We made it — it’s necessary for everything from smartphones to dishwashers to automobiles.  And over time, we went from producing 40 percent of the world’s chips to producing less than 10 percent.

And that’s when I signed the CHIPS and Science Act.  I got on a plane — and maybe I was a little nuts — and flew to South Korea.  And I said, “Why — why don’t you come invest and build us those computer chips in America” so we didn’t have a supply chain problem.  And went around — well, guess what?  They did. 

I asked the — I asked Samsung, “Why are you investing so much money in America?”  They said, “Because you have the best workers in the world, and it’s the safest investment I can make, is in America.” 

Now, semiconductors are investing literally hundreds of billions of dollars producing chips back home, here in America — your cities, your towns — so folks never have to leave home to get — excuse me — to get a good job.

And, by the way, even with those historic investments that we made over the last three years, we still reduced the deficit during this whole period.  All those investments, we still reduced the deficit by $1 trillion.  (Applause.)

And, look, you all — a lot of you come from places like I grew up in, where there used to be that factory that employed 3,000, 2,000, 1,500 people.  All of a sudden, it closed down.  It was there for generations.  People lost heart.  People lost a sense of — literally, a sense of loss.  And it’s particularly those of you from the near-Midwest and the Midwest.  Look at all the factories that picked up and moved. 

Well, our economic agenda has ignited a manufacturing boom, a semiconductor boom, a battery boom, an electric vehicle boom.  We’re making things in America, in every part of America, creating millions of good-paying jobs.  By the way, 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.  And if you work more than —

By the way, you know, these new factories, they call them — when they’re for — to build these new — these chips manufacturing facilities, they have what they call “fabs” factories.  They look like — and I’ve seen them.  They look like great, big football fields in a stadium — I mean, rectangular fields.  And guess what?  You don’t need a college degree.  You know what the average salary is?  $110,000 working there.

And what happens?  The first one is being built outside of Columbus, Ohio, in what I call the “Field of Dreams,” a thousand acres there.  What’s happening there?  Not only you build a factory, but you’re going to end up having to build more — more filling stations, more beauty shops, more drugstores, more — everything — everything moves when that’s happening, when people have money to spend. 

And it’s clean, I might add.  It’s clean.

And when folks see shovels in the ground and people going to work on these projects, they can feel a sense of pride again.

Think what we did.  Most of the major — I come from the corporate capital of the world — not a joke — Delaware.  More corporations incorporated in Delaware than any — every other state in the Union combined — combined.  And guess what?  A lot of those corporations, they’re not bad people, but they decided, “Let’s go with the cheapest labor in the world.”  So, they sent the jobs overseas — shut down the factories at home, sent the jobs overseas, and then imported the product.

Not anymore.  We are sending product overseas, and we’re importing the jobs.  (Applause.)  Pride in hometowns.  I really mean it.

Think about it.  Think about it.  What happens if you build up your — pride in America, pride in — people have pride when things start coming back — pride in knowing you can get big things done when your work together. 

Look, folks, we know pride also means feeling safe in your neighborhoods.  The fact that we’ve made enormous progress preventing and reducing crime through the American Rescue Plan.   We’ve made one of the biggest investments in local public safety ever: over $15 billion.  And much of it has gone directly to you to hire for your departments. 

You’ve done a tremendous job.  You really have.  You’ve done a tremendous job putting these resources to work.  You know how to do it.  And I’m not being solicitous.  Mayors are the people who get things done: hiring more officers for accountable community policing, investing in violence intervention programs proven to reduce crime. 

With your support, I also signed the first gun safety law in 30 years.  (Applause.)  And we’re working with you to implement it, to coordinate these efforts and create the first-ever White House Off- — I — we — what we did, my staff came along and said, you know, we need a White House Office dedicated to getting — getting guns off the street and threatening — and treating the trauma from gun violence, because there’s a lot of trauma as a consequence.

So, we’re deploying teams to meet with communities that have been victimized to make sure they get the help they need.  Working — it’s working because of you, the mayors.  But we –we’ve got to do a lot more.

You know, some of you may remember, a woman named Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden passed the first assault weapons ban back when I was a senator.  (Applause.)  And mass shootings actually went down.  So, I’m still committed to banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  (Applause.)  We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. 

And we have to pass universal background checks.  It doesn’t violate the Second Amendment, for God’s sake.  I used to teach the Constitution at the University of Pennsylvania.  Look, folks, the situation is simple.  You know, when the — when the — we passed the Second Amendment, guess what?  You weren’t allowed to have a cannon.  (Laughter.)  And you — no, I’m serious.  Not a joke.  You weren’t allowed to have certain — you weren’t — there were certain limitations of what you could have.

And I love — my friends and I come — the southern part of my state is very conservative, the Delmarva Peninsula.  We talk at you like y’all talk sometimes.  You know what I mean?  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, it’s just — it’s just kind of amazing.  They think that you could order — you could have anything.  That never was the case.  There’s always been limitations on what you could purchase.

So, anyway, look — and I love people who say, “The blood of liberty” — or excuse me, the — excuse me — “The tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots.”  Well, guess what, man?  I didn’t see a whole lot of patriots that are out there wa- — walking around making sure that we have these weapons.  Well — and if you really want to worry about the government, you need an F-16.  You don’t need an AR-15.  (Laughter.) 

No, I’m not — no, I’m serious.  I mean, think about it.  (Laughter.)  I’m not joking.  Because that’s one of the arguments made by the right, that we need to be able to protect ourselves against the government. 

Well, look —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  If Jill were here, she’d say, “Joe, hush up, boy.”  (Laughter.)

Across the country, violent crime is at — rates are falling.  In some cities, it’s going up, but overall — but not everywhere — overall, we are — we — they’re — they’re falling, these rates — down nearly in every major category.  Record declines in homicide.  It matters.

And at some time, we’ve invested, in the last little bit, billions in improving mental health services to extend care, boost coverage, and address the causes of addiction and mental health issues.  We’re expanding mobile crisis services and community clinics.  We’re helping schools hire 1,400 new counselors — counselors.  Mental health care is healthcare. It’s healthcare.  It’s no different if you broke your arm and need help.  (Applause.)  We have a moral obligation to have our folks’ backs. 

And I want to thank you all — I mean it sincerely — I want to thank you all for what you’re doing to support mental health all across the country.  And the same is true for the fight to end homelessness and move people into supportive and permanent housing.  We’re your partner in this work. 

We’ve got a lot more to do, I know.  Across the country, a record 1 million new housing units under are con- — are under construction today.  We’re expanding our rental assistance to over 100,000 additional families, the biggest increase in 20 years, and have been working to cut red tape to make it easy for people to access federal housing benefits. 

You know, I’ve sent Congress an ambitious plan to do more: lowering housing costs, helping you build affordable housing, provide assistance for renters and first-time homebuyers. 

By the way, most of you come from families like mine.  We weren’t poor, but, you know, we lived in a three-bedroom, split-level home when we moved to Delaware with four kids and a grandpop.  We lived in a decent neighborhood; it was safe.  But it wasn’t what you’d call luxurious.  There wasn’t much leftover. 

My dad used to say, “Joey, you know, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about decency.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, everything is going to be okay,’ and mean it.” 

Well, guess what?  What we’re doing is saving the government money.  Providing assistance for renters, first-time homebuyers, that’s how people build equity.  You build equity in your home, that’s how you build wealth.  So, let’s keep pushing, pass the plan into law.

And I want to talk about another top issue: the border.  Now, I love how I turn on, and “Biden — Biden is for a free open border.  Just tear down everything.  Let everybody come, no restrictions.”  Well, one — I — used to be a bipartisan issue in this country, and it should be one again.

I’ve been clear from the very beginning: The system is broken.  My first day in office, I sent Congress a comprehensive plan on immigration reform.  My friends on the other side have done nothing with that. 

Over and over, I’ve asked for resources to step up action at the border.  In October, I asked Congress to fund — for funding that would add another 20 additional bord- — 20 — 2,000 additional border agents and officers, hundreds of new immigration judges to make the judgments on the spot, a new — new detection equipment to stop fentanyl from coming into the country. 

And, by the way, I’ve worked with China and Mexico to slow the flow of fentanyl into the United States.  As I speak, it’s way down.

So, let me be clear.  My team has been at the table for weeks now on a partisan — with a bipartisan group of senators to negotiate a deal, including border, because I believe we need significant policy changes at the border, including changes in our asylum system to ensure that we have authorities we need to control the border.  And I’m ready to act. 

I think — hope — “God willing and the crick not rising,” as my grandpop would say — you know, I think next week, we ought to be able to work out something, at least in the Senate.  And I’m hopeful it’s going to be a bipartisan package the Senate is going to pass, God willing. 

Now, the question is for the Speaker and the House Republicans: Are they ready to act as well?  They have to choose whether they want to solve a problem or keep weaponizing the issue to score political points against the President.  I’m ready to solve the problem.  I really am.  Massive changes — and I mean it sincerely.

Today, folks in America, with in- — with the incredible help of you mayors, we’ve created 14 million new jobs — 14 million new jobs.  (Applause.) 

Americans have filled 16 — filed 16 new — 16 million new business applications since I became President.  That’s a record.  And every single one of them — think about it — is an act of hope.  Someone says they want to risk everything and open a new business, it’s an act of hope.

Wages are rising.  So is household wealth.  We have the lowest inflation rate and the fastest recovery of any major economy in the world.  And that’s a fact.  (Applause.)

In fact, today, costs are down on everything from a gallon of gas to a — to a carton of milk.  You know — I mean, look, I — I was down in Raleigh, as I said, the other day.  I didn’t pass by a gas station that wasn’t under three bucks: $2.99, $2.87.  I mean, come on. 

And, folks, fars are — folks are starting to see it.  Today, I learned that consumer sentiment — and you guys saw it — surged by 29 percent in the last two months, the biggest two-month jump in 30 years.  We’ve got more to do.  And that’s not all, though.  We’re lowering the costs of — for working-class families across the board.

And, by the way, it used to drive my dad crazy.  My dad was a hardworking guy, an honest man who didn’t get a chance to go to college because of the war, but he was a well-read guy.  And the thing that bothered my dad more than anything else was what I call junk fees, the add-on fee by a corporation or a business just because they could do it.

For example, we’re going after junk fees like banning banks and credit unions from charging fees for basic services, like checking your account balance.  To check your account balance, you get a bill for 30 bucks.  Come on.  Or retrieving your bank records, 50 bucks.  Some banks charge as much as, I said, 30 to 50 bucks for the services.  But not anymore.  For families like mine, that extra 30 bucks mattered when I was growing up. 

And speaking of not — being not fair, without the help of a single person on the other side, we finally were able to reduce the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs.  (Applause.)  Any prescription — any one you’re taking for any purpose in your town, you give me that prescription, and if I had the ability, I would take it to Ontario or — or Paris or Belgium and get it for anywhere from 60 to 30 percent less.  Same company, same pharmacy, same pharm- — pharmaceutical company, but that much less.

Look, folks, we finally allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices.  I’ve been fighting that as a senator for my whole 2,000-year career.  (Laughter.)  Just like the VA has been able to do for decades.

Insulin now — if you have diabetes, insulin is now cast — capped at $35 for seniors on Medicare — (applause) — after being out at $400.  They’re saving hundreds of dollars a month.

And, by the way, starting next year, out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare is going to be capped at, total — no matter wh- — how many — no matter what the cost of your — you’re paying, everything will be — you can’t — don’t have to pay more than $2,000 a year for every exp- — and even the expensive cancer drugs, which costs $14-, $16,000 a year.

Folks, I’m going to keep fighting to lower costs for families across the board. 

And, by the way, guess what?  I love it.  They say, “Well, you’re spending all that money.”  Guess what?  That’s money saved — billions of dollars the federal government does not have to pay, billions and billions of dollars.  And that’s a fact.  (Applause.)

By the way, you know how much it costs to make that insulin?  The guy who invented it didn’t want to patent it because he wanted it available for everybody.  You know how much it costs to make it?  Ten dollars — T-E-N.  Package it every way, add all the costs you could possibly think, another $2, maybe $3.  And they’re charging 400 bucks for it?  Come on, man.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  I’m not joking.

But it saves the government money.  It’s not the government spending money.  It saves the federal government billions of dollars a year — billions.  And it’s going to save more.  We have more work to do, but we’re going to keep moving forward together and, God willing, as partners.

Take student debt relief for public servants.  You know, I know I — I wanted to forgive all student debt, and the Supreme Court said, no, I didn’t have the authority to do that.  Okay.  But then I realized there’s a public service requirement out there.  If you engaged in public service for a serious amount of time —

And, by the way, the reason why any of you — I’m sure not anybody — I’m not going to ask you if you have it.  Anybody had to pay for student debt for yourself and/or a kid or anyone, raise your hand.  Guess what?  The interest you’re paying is more than, in fact, what the — the original bill was. 

Already, I’ve been able to forgive the debt for 3.7 million people — gotten debt relief.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, when I originally got this passed, it was for everybody.  You didn’t have to be a senior.  For everybody.  But my team was unable to get past — I didn’t have a bunch of mayors.  I had a bunch of senators and congressmen.  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, you know, I met yesterday in Raleigh with a dad, who was an impressive guy.  And he was a Principal of the Year — picked as a Principal of the Year in his state. He had two young boys.  He lived in a lovely small home.  And — but he had a debt that — that was $124,000 — student debt, much of it interest.  And he never stopped paying b he — but he always kept his payments going — kept going up.

Well, guess what?  That debt is now forgiven.  And, by the way — (applause) — and, by the way, he’s a former high school principal and now an executive coach for school — for a school district, teaching principals.  He said this debt relief was a game changer for he and his family.  He has two boys I met. 

One — I mean, their — I sat with them in their — in their kitchen for — and their dining room for the better part of two hours.  Now he can stay in a town that he loves, take care of his children in a way that they’re able to meet the basic needs he has. 

It’s not only fair, but it grows the economy.  It grows the economy.  So many who are being able to pay off their student debt are now able to go out and go buy a home, invest in a business, invest in other things and their families — to grow their families. 

And, quite frankly, you, the mayors, are the key to all of this.  I’m not blaming you if you don’t want to be — take credit for it.  But the point is — look, the fact is you’re — you’re the ones responsible.  You’re the ones people listen to.  You talk to people.  You speak plain English or Spanish or whatever language you’re speaking, and you’re able to speak to them directly, and you explain in simple language what we’re doing.

Because, otherwise, people get really, really, really confused.  We talk about — you know, for example, in the speech they put together for me to talk about — talk about the supplemental.  Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  (The President makes the sign of the cross.)  (Laughter.)

You all know what I mean, the supplemental request I’m making to spend money.  No one knows what — I mean, people are busting their neck.  Whether or not they have a college degree or not, you talk about a supplemental, “What are you talking about?”  We got to speak plain language to people.  And that’s what you do.

Look, let me close with this.  Last week, I visited a small-business community owners near Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Almost — almost Scranton — almost.  (Laughter.)  Close.  Almost Scranton.

And if you notice, those of us who — everybody is from Scranton these days.  (Laughter.)

But, you know, in my fam- — my mother, who was — married my dad when she was 24 years old, I guess lived in Scranton for those 20-some years and maybe another 10.  My mother was in Delaware for 35 years, and she’d be somewhere and they’d say, “Where are you from, ma’am?”  She’d say, “I’m from Scranton.”  (Laughter.)

But, look, they remind me how much our work matters.  They said, back in 2020, when we were down, that they lost businesses and they lost — this is in Allentown, all these folks I met.  I met with business leaders, a bike owner, a — shop owner, et cetera.  But then the laws we passed, they said, the work they’d all done together, helped them get back on their feet.  They’re able to support more cops, more firefighters in the community; more savings for health insurance because of the work we’ve done; more opportunities in manufacturing, infrastructure; new jobs, new businesses, and a new cycle of hope.

I know that sounds corny, but you’re probably the only group who fully understand it.  What do you want to give people who are hurting the most?  Genuine hope — hope they get something done, that there’s a way out. 

Places like Allentown, once left behind, are now coming back.  I mean, for real.  The folks I met in your cities and towns — (applause) — the folks I met in your cities and towns are a big reason why I’ve never been more optimistic about our nation’s future. 

Like I said, I know I only look like I’m 40, but a little more than that.  (Laughter.)  All kidding aside, I’ve been around a long time. 

And I’m ki- — I’ve never been more optimistic in my whole life about the prospects for America, relative to every other nation in the world.  You know all the talk — I’m supposedly an expert on foreign policy because I’ve been doing it so much.  Well, let me tell you, remember everybody said China is going to eat us alive?  Give me a break.  (Laughter.) 

China has got more problems than, as my dad used to say, Carter has little liver pills.  (Laughter.)  I don’t want them to do badly, but I don’t — I want them to play fairly. 

We’re just — we’re more — look where Russia is.  Russia has lost 300,000 forces.  I mean, we are now, if we don’t lose our footing, in the most powerful position we’ve been since the end of World War Two.  We had that post-war period where we knew exactly what we were talking about. 

But now — think about it — if we’re able to maintain support for Ukraine so they don’t fall, as Henry Kissin- — Henry Kissinger called me — asked me to call him about three weeks before he died.  And I was a young senator when he was the Secretary of State, so we had our run-ins and our agreements and disagreements.  And he said, in one part of the conversation was — when I called, he said, “You know, not since Napoleon — not says Napoleon in France has Europe looked at Russia without fear until now.”

If we walk away — if we walk away and Russia is able to sustain their onslaught and bring down Ukraine, what do you think is going to happen in the Balkan countries?  What do you think is going to happen from Poland to Hungary and Orbán?  I mean, seriously, think about it.  It changes the dynamic, magnifi- —

I won’t get on this — I’m not supposed to be talking about this, but same thing with regard to Israel.  Israel has to — has to taper this off.  There’s ways to put this together.  We’re in a position where we’re unable to — I think one of the reasons the Houthi — I can’t prove this — one of the reasons the — the — Hamas did what they did was I was about to work out a deal with Saudi Arabia, wanting to normalize relations.  I mean, fully normalize relations with Israel and bring along six other Arab nations to change the dynamic in the region.

Some of you attended the G20 and — the 20 largest cont- — the 20 heads of states from the major countries of the world.  I got a resolution passed.  Everybody thought I was nuts.  Said that we’re going to build a railroad from Riyadh all the way to England, going underwater — not with the railroad, but a pipeline through — it’s going to go from Riyadh to Saudi Arabia to Jordan to Israel to so on and so forth.

Why?  Because everybody understands their interest is better — better met when they had this inter- — this interconnection economically.

Well, guess what?  We had to remember — I’m going on too long.  I apologize.  But — (laughter) — we have to remember — I mean this from the bottom of my heart — we’ve got to remember who the hell we are.  We are the United States of America.  There is nothing beyond our capacity — nothing, nothing, nothing — when we’ve been — done it together.  Nothing.

We’re the only nation in the world — think about this — that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in — no other nation in the world has done — because we’ve worked together.  And the thing I love about you guys is you work together.

We’re going to get this done, folks. 

I want to now turn it over — (applause).

My grandfather — God bless you all.  Now I’m going to turn it over to Tom, who’s going — I’m going to take a few questions.

MR. PEREZ:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Can we give it up for Mr. President?  (Applause.)

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

MR. PEREZ:  The questions are over, Mr. President.  (Laughter.)

We’re — we’re going to first turn to Mayor Holt of the great city of Oklahoma City.

MAYOR HOLT:  Thank you, Tom. 

THE PRESIDENT:  I want the record to show he didn’t have to say, “Four more years.”  He’s a Republican.  (Laughter.)

MAYOR HOLT:  Mr. President, I know I speak for this bipartisan room of mayors when I thank you for having us here today.  Thank you for the very deep participation that your administration has had in our meeting these last three days.  And, most importantly, thank you for your obvious commitment to our urban priorities these last three years.  We’re so very grateful.  (Applause.)

I want to ask a quick question.  You alluded to this a little bit.  I think I can give you an opportunity to — to expand on it.  Obviously, as mayors, we face countless challenges and opportunities.  But it seems that, at the end of the day, the most important one is always public safety.  Obviously, public safety and law enforcement is often thought to fall under the jurisdiction of local government, but we have long had a partnership with the federal government in that.

And I think we’d all just love to hear — obviously, we’re gratified, as you alluded to, that crime rates have fallen across the country this past year.  But I think we’d all love to hear: What are your thoughts and plans moving forward for how the federal government can partner with cities to continue that momentum and to help us keep our communities safe?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor.  Look, I — I spent a significant portion of my career as Chairman of the Ju- — the Judiciary Committee, which did almost all the crime legislation that exists.  And in the last administration — in 2020, for example, we had the largest increase of murders we’ve ever had in all of America.  Not blaming it on the — that president, particularly. 

But think about what was happening.  We had a lot of crises going on.  We had the whole — the beginning of the pandemic, which wasn’t being acted on.  We had a lot of people just very, very upset, worrying about where they were.  Mental health was deteriorating.

And so, when I got elected, I acted to turn it around.  And so have you.  In 2023, violent crime came down significantly.  It’s one of the largest yearly decri- — declines of homicide ever. 

And the American Rescue Plan, which was a very, very big facility — big facility for you guys to draw on, was one of the largest investments in public safety ever.  More police officers were put on the — on the beat, invested in violence prevention, and it was because you did it and you made — you had the money and you made the investment. 

And I signed — we signed the first meeting of a bipartisan gun safety legislation.  It still helped a lot, these — these phony gun — anyway.  A whole — I won’t go into it.  But you — you did a whole lot.

But mainly, we were able to bring more police officers on and raise the standard — raise the standard expected of them.  I — anyway.

But, you know, we’re in the — it took executive action to keep illegal guns out of our cities, and that’s what we’re doing.  And you’re doing it as well.  And I need — look, more is needed.  A hundred thousand more community police officers on the beat, I think, is what’s needed nationwide — another hundred thousand. 

And — and we have to fund mental health counselors.  You know, what we found is that if — in fact, you know where most — most law enforcement officers are getting killed?  Responding to domestic violence.  You know, we — we expect our cops to do everything.  We except them to be counselors, we expect them to be psychologists, we expect them to be tough guys and women. 

But, you know, the — what you want to do, you want to have someone stop — trying to stop someone from jumping off the top of the roof, you need somebody who has a background and expertise.  So, we’re hiring into the police departments people with different skills than just being able to tote a gun and — and physically protect. 

And so, I think that, you know, one of the reasons I appointed Vivek Murthy — Admiral Murphy to become this — the solic- — excuse me, become the guy in charge of the whole mental health piece of this operation is because he understands it.  And he talks all the time about what we can do to engage in providing for mental health facilities around the wor- — around your cities and — and communities so people can have the help they need.

And, look, you know, we — and, look, I know it’s very controversial.  I know it’s a red, hot-button issue for a lot of Democrats and Republicans.  I come from a state that, back when I was a senator, had — I think it was the third-highest gun ownership in America.  And I don’t know what it is now, but — because of a lot of duck hunting in the — in the Delmarva Peninsula and a lot of other reasons. 

And — and I know how unpopular it was when I started talking about banning assault weapons.  Who needs an AR-15 that can hold a hundred rounds?  Not — not a joke. 

I was — I was campaigning when I was running for reelection as the last time as a senator, and I was down in the — in the Delmarva Peninsula, just on the Maryland border, in where — in the swampy area, a lot of — and I’m walking through, and that’s how — like you guys do.  You campaign.  You go where the people are.

I go through — and so, I’m walking through in a pair of high boots, and a guy said, “Biden, you SOB,” — (laughter) — and I said, “What?”  He said, “You want to take my gun away.”  And I said, “I don’t want to take…” — he was fishing.  And I said, “I don’t want to take your gun away.”  I said, “You’re able to have your gun.”  He said, “You want to take my AR-15.”  I said, “You must be one hell of a lousy hunter.”  (Laughter.)

And — and he looked at me, and he said, “What do you mean?”  I said, “You need an AR-15 that’s basically a semi-automatic and can fact — fire off 20, 30, 50, 60 rounds?”  I said, ”My — the best — last time I checked, deer weren’t wearing Kevlar vests.”  (Laughter.)  And we — we got in the — and then he calmed down, got into conversation, started talking practically about what, in fact, happens — what, in fact, happens.

And, you know, the other thing is background checks.  There’s always been a requirement of a background check.  And now this 16-year-old kid was able to buy an AR- — anyway.

So, I think we have to support community violence intervention programs as well.  Many of you have those programs going in your cities, in your communities.  And you’re seeing they work.  You get people engaged, and you get them involved.

And so, there’s a lot we can do — I think a lot more we can do.  But two of the things are making sure there’s background checks for people to purchase weapons, number one.  And, number two, certain weapons you shouldn’t be able to purchase because you never have — you’re nev- — you’re not able to go out and purchase a machine gun.  I me- — anyway.

There’s certain basic principles that are ma- — just make common sense.  And I think — and, again, you can go back and look — if you want, I’ll send you a copy of the study we did after the — the assault weapons ban lapsed, because it only could last for 10 years.  I couldn’t get it done again.  And it’s interesting.  The number of mass shootings dropped precipitously — dropped precipitously when we had that limitation.  It doesn’t solve every problem.  It’s one of the things we can do.

But any rate, there’s a lot more to say.  I’m probably already saying too much.

MR. PEREZ:  Our second and last question comes from Mayor Katie Rosenberg from the great city of Wausau, Wisconsin. 

MAYOR ROSENBERG:  Thank you so much.  This is an absolute — (applause) — this is an absolute honor.  Thank you for hosting us.  You have a wonderful staff. 

Just about a year ago, the Vice President hosted a lead pipe summit here in Washington.  And I attended that, and it was like shooting me out of a cannon.  I ran home, and we started working on our plan to shore up, pull out all of those lead pipes, and we made our plan — a 15-year plan down to a 5-year plan.

But I’m curious, what other progress are we seeing about these lead pipes being removed across our nation?  It’s really important that we get that out of our drinking water.  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, thank you for what you’re doing.  I agree. 

Let me put this in perspective.  The research by the doc shows that reducing lead exposure for children has — this is a study that was done — has the same effect on test scores — just take test scores at school — on test scores as reducing class size from 22 to 15 students and less — one tenth of the cost.  Let me just give you one example of the impact it has on IQ formation and the ability to think and the like.  So, it’s a — it’s a significantly smart investment, number one.

Number two, we have enough money and we’re going to eliminate every lead pipe in America.  (Applause.)  Every one. 

It’s going to take us — it’s going to take us about 10 years, but every single one.  Because you shouldn’t — think about it.  You got 400,000 schools, kids going to the water fountain and drinking wa- — you know, water.  You got so much else that’s going on.  And it can just — and it makes a lot of sense.

And, by the way, it creates a hell of a lot of jobs too.  (Laughter.)

But my point is, it just is — look, exposure to lead impacts on brain development — we know that, particularly for as it’s developing — a hazard to the health of people, it can damage the brain and the kidneys, and interferes with the production of blood — of red blood cells that need to carry the hydrogen.  And studies show that lead exposure hurts cognitive function in children and can even knock off several points of their IQ.

Despite these dangers — the knowledge of how dangerous this is, we’re in a fact where the CDC estimates that over half of American children could be exposed to lead, with the exposure often coming from their own homes with lead pipes.  And it costs a hell of a lot of money to take that pipe from the watermain to the house.  It costs a lot of money.  A lot of people can’t even remotely afford doing it.

But everybody is better off — everybody is better off when we get the lead pipes out of the system.  And, look, our ambitious goal is to remove all lead pipes in America by — within 10 years.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law financed over 1,200 drinking water and wastewater projects, and it’s going to replace hundreds of thousands of lead service lines in America beginning right away.  Ongoing efforts in cities like Wausau and Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey.  They create good-paying jobs as well — good-paying jobs.

And I visited the Hero Plumbing in Milwaukee, by the way, a Black-owned small business that was — replaced over 600 lead pipes in homes and daycare centers.

Well, guess what?  Ten-year effort to bring these — is to bring your states, tribes, and labor unions water utilities and private companies together to deliver clean drinking water to every community in the — in the world — in America.  And so, it just seems to me that it’s one of those things — who the hell can be against clean water?  Except some of the people I know.  But — (laughter).

But all kidding aside, if there’s anything you’re going to expend — expend money on, you want to increase the prospect of growth in schools, I mean, this was a — that study, extensive study done.  It makes a big difference in terms of the ability to learn and ability — and long-term impacts on cognitive capability.

But I’m convinced we can get it done.  I’m convinced we can get it done.

Thank you all very much.  You’re very patient.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You’re all welcome to spend the night.  (Laughter.)

By the way, have you — have you had the chance to see most of the White House yet?  Not all the — well, you ought to take — I don’t know, I might get myself in trouble here.  (Laughter.) 

But, you know, there’s — downstairs, there’s a lot of interesting rooms you can check out.  And up here, the — the dangerous part of up here is that it’s hard to know what room you’re in because all of them are identified by color.  (Laughter.)  The Red Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room — it’s not —

But all kidding aside, welcome to the White House.  This is your house, and I was getting in the elevator to — to come up, and my introducer — where is she?  There she is.  I said every time that I hear “Hail to the Chief,” I wonder, “Where the hell is he?”  (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) playing your song.

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  That’s what my sister says about me being mayor.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you do.  (Applause.)

4:56 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting appeared first on The White House.

East Room

4:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Please — please sit down.

My dad used to have an expression: Quit while you’re ahead.  (Laughter.)

I tell you what, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have you all here, and I mean it.  For some of you, this is not your first visit.  I know the new mayors, obviously it is. 

But, you know, Mayor Schieve — thanks for that introduction and your leadership of this conference.

A special thanks to the CEO of the Conference of Mayors,

Tom Cochran — Tommy, how you doing, pal? — (applause) — who began his distinguished tenure in 1969.  God bless you, pal.  (Laughter.) 

It’s hell turning 50, isn’t it?

MAYOR SCHIEVE:  We’re the same age.  And Mike Bloomberg is the same age too.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  But neither one of us have his money.  (Laughter.)

Well, thank you all, and welcome to the White House.  I mean that sincerely.

Today, we get some good news: We just signed a bill to keep the government open.  (Applause.)  I thought about it when I signed it, but — but, you know, some days, that counts as progress.  (Laughter.)

As many of you know, I started my career as a local official back in Delaware.  And I only ran for Senate because serving locally was too hard.  (Laughter.)  They know where you live and they think you can solve problems that are beyond your authority. 

And believe me, all kidding aside, you have enormous respect for the — I have enormous respect for job you do.  I really mean it.  You can’t go anywhere without people knowing what you’re doing.  You — they know where you live.  And they think you can solve every problem.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

The fact is, you’re answering key questions people ask every day: Is my neighborhood safe?  Is it going to be okay?  Will this bus get me to work on time?  You know, my kids — will they — they going to have a good future in this town?  Am I able to stay in my hometown?

It matters.  It matters what you do.

Mayors get the job done.  And I’m not being fa- — I’m not just being solicitous.  Those of you who’ve known me for a long time know that’s been my view from the time I got here as a United States senator.

That’s why I’ve filled my administration with so many former mayors — (applause) — including Keisha Lance Bottoms,  Steve Benjamin — Steve, good to see you — Mitch Landrieu, Marty Walsh, Secretary Buttigieg.  (Applause.) 

Pete turned 30 today.  (Laughter.)  He got — my wife is going to — we have — she has a tradition in her family.  Five and girls and one — five sisters — and at everybody’s birthday, you’ve got to sing “Happy Birthday.”  So, stand up, and let’s sing happy birthday.

(The President leads the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Secretary Buttigieg.)

And those of you who know my wife know I’m not kidding.  (Laughter.) 

By the way, I tell every young man that tells me “I’m thinking of getting married” or something like — I say, “Look, I” — “You have any advice?”  I said, “Yeah, pick a family with five sisters or more.”  And they look at me, “What the hell is that all about?”  I said, “It’s really simple.  That way, one of them always loves you.  Not the same one.”  (Laughter.)  You always have somebody on your side.

I want to thank Tom — Tom Perez for being the point person for so long.  Where are you, Tom?  There you are.  Stand up, Tom.  (Applause.)  And I know he spent several days this week meeting with many of you, and I hope you — I hope you — he was able to answer all your questions, because he always answers mine.  (Laughter.)

Folks, I made a commitment to be a President for all Americans, whether you live in a — whether you voted for me or not.  And I mean it sincerely.  Whether it —

I made a commitment to rebuild from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down — give everybody a little bit of breathing room.

And, you know, it’s kind of interesting that I — I — a lot of folks who voted every — against everything I’ve done, they’re announcing all these great projects.  (Laughter.)  I tell them — and by the way, as many in blue states as red states — you know? — and red states as blue, for real, because they’re all Americans.

And here’s the deal — (a cell phone in the audience rings) — I know.  I know.  (Laughter.)

Tell the former President I’m busy right now.  (Laughter and applause.)

Look, but I always say, some of the most ardent critics of me are announcing these great programs.  And I say — I have one comment: See you at the groundbreaking.  (Laughter.)

Look, I’ve kept those commitments, and so have you.  And I — look at what we’ve been able to accomplish together.  That’s what I would like to talk a little bit about today. 

I’m not going to take a lot of your time, but the things that are on top of mind for you.

Look, when I came to office, the pandemic was raging.  The economy was reeling.  Cities nationwide faced devastating budget cuts.  And together, we turned things around.  You turned them around.  You turned them around.

It started with the American Rescue Plan: $350 billion for state and local governments.  Money to put cops back on the beat, teachers in the classroom, keep families in their homes –(applause) — and train your workforces and get small businesses on their feet.  Money directly to every single city in the cou- — in the country so you could decide how best to spend your money and meet your residents’ needs without having to go through a statehouse or a governor.  (Applause.)

A lot of — a lot of great governors, a lot of state houses.  But you all know what you need better than anybody.  I like it going directly to you.  When I was a local official, I liked that a lot better.  I liked the Delaware state legislature when I was there.  But guess what?  They had — everybody had to get a piece of it — (laughter) — and my county wouldn’t get what it needed.  Any rate. 

I followed that with the most significant investment

in our nation’s infrastructure in generations: roads, bridges, railroads, ports, airports, public transit, clean water, high-speed Internet, and so much more.

How can we have the best economy in the world if we don’t have the best infrastructure in the world?  Not a joke. 

We used to be number one in the world.  You know what we rank now nationally — our — our infrastructure is rated worldwide?  We’re number 13.  The United States of America is 13, from being number one.  You can’t lead the world unless you have the best infrastructure in the world.

Well, you’re helping us change that.  Now — now, we’ll — we’re going — on our way to leading the world again.

Over 4- — 40,000 new infrastructure projects announced to date and a hell of a lot more to come, with jobs now and jobs for the next decade.

I remember going through — remember we had Infrastructure Week?  (Laughter.)  And then, we had Infrastructure Week.  And then we had Infrastructure Week.  And then we had In- — (laughter).  It never happened.  Well, we’ve got an Infrastructure Decade.  (Applause.)  Because of you.

Just yesterday, I was in — I was in Raleigh, North Carolina.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT:  You got it, man.  (Laughter.)  Great city, by the way.  (Laughter.)

And we’re investing $3 billion in the entire state for high-speed Internet by the end of the decade.  (Applause.)  And we’re doing that in all 50 states. 

You know, Franklin Roosevelt brought electricity to rural America.  That’s what he did, because it wasn’t there.  And he realized that it was necessary to equalize the country and to grow the whole country. 

Well, we’re — we’re bringing high-speed Internet to everyone in America.  Rural — it’s the same — same thing, the same necessities, critical to our economy.  How do you get by in a city, a state, a town, your home without accessing Internet — affordable acc- — we’re not leaving anybody behind.

Yesterday, in North Carolina, I also highlighted a $1 billion we’re investing in a new rail line from Raleigh to Richmond.  And that’s a billion dollars.  It’s going to create good-paying jobs, make travel faster, and it’s going to improve the environment considerably by getting tens of thousands of cars off the road.  Because every study shows, if you get a chance to go by electric rail and/or your car, you go by rail if it’s the same time. 

They’ve cut the point going from point A to point B.  Look, right now, is it takes — it takes about three hours to get that route.  Cut it down to two hours.  It changes everything.

And each of you could give examples of infrastructure projects of the one happening now in your states. 

Look, with your help, we’re also making the biggest investment in fighting climate change ever anywhere in the world — (applause) — in the world.  We’ve got more to do. 

Across your cities, we’re working together to help small — small businesses install — install rooftop solar panels, electric buses — city fleets of all electric buses, planning — I just met with a lovely woman who knows a little bit about the environment, going to plant thousands of trees in her city, a million total — a million total.  It’s going to change the — protect against extreme heat and so much more.

My administration continues to work closely with you and your governors and respond quickly to the wake of devastating floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and hurricanes. 

By the way, when I started the job, I kept talking about the need for a deal with the — with the environment.  Said, “We don’t have a problem.”  Anybody think climate is not a problem, raise your hand.  (Laughter.)  Come on, man.  (Laughter.)

I’ve been around the world and on the ground with you, making sure to help strengthen the resilience and withstand the extreme weather and build back a stronger economy and bring back a stronger community.  We’re revitalizing fenceline communities smothered with a legacy of pollution.  I grew up in one of those communities, and Delaware used to have the high- — one of the highest cancer rates in the nation.

When we moved from Scranton — when jobs were eliminated in Scranton, we moved back to Delaware where my dad had been raised — to Claymont, Delaware, right on the border of Pennsylvania, that arch that goes up in it.  More — more oil refineries than any place in the nation, including Houston, at the time.

Well, guess what?  Almost all my friends, including me, we — we had asthma.  We’d go to — you know, my mom would drive us to the local school.  It wasn’t very far — a little Catholic school called Holy Rosary — up the Philadelphia pike.  And if it was the first frost, you’d turn on the windshield wipers — this is the God’s truth — and there’d be an oil slick in the window — an oil slick.

And you all come from places that have those all- — those alleys.  You know — and we’re promoting clean energy and industries of the future.  Our workers have already drawn $640 billion in private investment at home and — from home and around the world — $640 billion.  We’re building factories.  We’re creating jobs here in America. 

Let me give you one example.  America invented the microchip, about as big as the tip of your little finger.  Okay?  We invented and — went to the moon.  We — we modernized it.  We made it — it’s necessary for everything from smartphones to dishwashers to automobiles.  And over time, we went from producing 40 percent of the world’s chips to producing less than 10 percent.

And that’s when I signed the CHIPS and Science Act.  I got on a plane — and maybe I was a little nuts — and flew to South Korea.  And I said, “Why — why don’t you come invest and build us those computer chips in America” so we didn’t have a supply chain problem.  And went around — well, guess what?  They did. 

I asked the — I asked Samsung, “Why are you investing so much money in America?”  They said, “Because you have the best workers in the world, and it’s the safest investment I can make, is in America.” 

Now, semiconductors are investing literally hundreds of billions of dollars producing chips back home, here in America — your cities, your towns — so folks never have to leave home to get — excuse me — to get a good job.

And, by the way, even with those historic investments that we made over the last three years, we still reduced the deficit during this whole period.  All those investments, we still reduced the deficit by $1 trillion.  (Applause.)

And, look, you all — a lot of you come from places like I grew up in, where there used to be that factory that employed 3,000, 2,000, 1,500 people.  All of a sudden, it closed down.  It was there for generations.  People lost heart.  People lost a sense of — literally, a sense of loss.  And it’s particularly those of you from the near-Midwest and the Midwest.  Look at all the factories that picked up and moved. 

Well, our economic agenda has ignited a manufacturing boom, a semiconductor boom, a battery boom, an electric vehicle boom.  We’re making things in America, in every part of America, creating millions of good-paying jobs.  By the way, 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.  And if you work more than —

By the way, you know, these new factories, they call them — when they’re for — to build these new — these chips manufacturing facilities, they have what they call “fabs” factories.  They look like — and I’ve seen them.  They look like great, big football fields in a stadium — I mean, rectangular fields.  And guess what?  You don’t need a college degree.  You know what the average salary is?  $110,000 working there.

And what happens?  The first one is being built outside of Columbus, Ohio, in what I call the “Field of Dreams,” a thousand acres there.  What’s happening there?  Not only you build a factory, but you’re going to end up having to build more — more filling stations, more beauty shops, more drugstores, more — everything — everything moves when that’s happening, when people have money to spend. 

And it’s clean, I might add.  It’s clean.

And when folks see shovels in the ground and people going to work on these projects, they can feel a sense of pride again.

Think what we did.  Most of the major — I come from the corporate capital of the world — not a joke — Delaware.  More corporations incorporated in Delaware than any — every other state in the Union combined — combined.  And guess what?  A lot of those corporations, they’re not bad people, but they decided, “Let’s go with the cheapest labor in the world.”  So, they sent the jobs overseas — shut down the factories at home, sent the jobs overseas, and then imported the product.

Not anymore.  We are sending product overseas, and we’re importing the jobs.  (Applause.)  Pride in hometowns.  I really mean it.

Think about it.  Think about it.  What happens if you build up your — pride in America, pride in — people have pride when things start coming back — pride in knowing you can get big things done when your work together. 

Look, folks, we know pride also means feeling safe in your neighborhoods.  The fact that we’ve made enormous progress preventing and reducing crime through the American Rescue Plan.   We’ve made one of the biggest investments in local public safety ever: over $15 billion.  And much of it has gone directly to you to hire for your departments. 

You’ve done a tremendous job.  You really have.  You’ve done a tremendous job putting these resources to work.  You know how to do it.  And I’m not being solicitous.  Mayors are the people who get things done: hiring more officers for accountable community policing, investing in violence intervention programs proven to reduce crime. 

With your support, I also signed the first gun safety law in 30 years.  (Applause.)  And we’re working with you to implement it, to coordinate these efforts and create the first-ever White House Off- — I — we — what we did, my staff came along and said, you know, we need a White House Office dedicated to getting — getting guns off the street and threatening — and treating the trauma from gun violence, because there’s a lot of trauma as a consequence.

So, we’re deploying teams to meet with communities that have been victimized to make sure they get the help they need.  Working — it’s working because of you, the mayors.  But we –we’ve got to do a lot more.

You know, some of you may remember, a woman named Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden passed the first assault weapons ban back when I was a senator.  (Applause.)  And mass shootings actually went down.  So, I’m still committed to banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  (Applause.)  We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. 

And we have to pass universal background checks.  It doesn’t violate the Second Amendment, for God’s sake.  I used to teach the Constitution at the University of Pennsylvania.  Look, folks, the situation is simple.  You know, when the — when the — we passed the Second Amendment, guess what?  You weren’t allowed to have a cannon.  (Laughter.)  And you — no, I’m serious.  Not a joke.  You weren’t allowed to have certain — you weren’t — there were certain limitations of what you could have.

And I love — my friends and I come — the southern part of my state is very conservative, the Delmarva Peninsula.  We talk at you like y’all talk sometimes.  You know what I mean?  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, it’s just — it’s just kind of amazing.  They think that you could order — you could have anything.  That never was the case.  There’s always been limitations on what you could purchase.

So, anyway, look — and I love people who say, “The blood of liberty” — or excuse me, the — excuse me — “The tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots.”  Well, guess what, man?  I didn’t see a whole lot of patriots that are out there wa- — walking around making sure that we have these weapons.  Well — and if you really want to worry about the government, you need an F-16.  You don’t need an AR-15.  (Laughter.) 

No, I’m not — no, I’m serious.  I mean, think about it.  (Laughter.)  I’m not joking.  Because that’s one of the arguments made by the right, that we need to be able to protect ourselves against the government. 

Well, look —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  If Jill were here, she’d say, “Joe, hush up, boy.”  (Laughter.)

Across the country, violent crime is at — rates are falling.  In some cities, it’s going up, but overall — but not everywhere — overall, we are — we — they’re — they’re falling, these rates — down nearly in every major category.  Record declines in homicide.  It matters.

And at some time, we’ve invested, in the last little bit, billions in improving mental health services to extend care, boost coverage, and address the causes of addiction and mental health issues.  We’re expanding mobile crisis services and community clinics.  We’re helping schools hire 1,400 new counselors — counselors.  Mental health care is healthcare. It’s healthcare.  It’s no different if you broke your arm and need help.  (Applause.)  We have a moral obligation to have our folks’ backs. 

And I want to thank you all — I mean it sincerely — I want to thank you all for what you’re doing to support mental health all across the country.  And the same is true for the fight to end homelessness and move people into supportive and permanent housing.  We’re your partner in this work. 

We’ve got a lot more to do, I know.  Across the country, a record 1 million new housing units under are con- — are under construction today.  We’re expanding our rental assistance to over 100,000 additional families, the biggest increase in 20 years, and have been working to cut red tape to make it easy for people to access federal housing benefits. 

You know, I’ve sent Congress an ambitious plan to do more: lowering housing costs, helping you build affordable housing, provide assistance for renters and first-time homebuyers. 

By the way, most of you come from families like mine.  We weren’t poor, but, you know, we lived in a three-bedroom, split-level home when we moved to Delaware with four kids and a grandpop.  We lived in a decent neighborhood; it was safe.  But it wasn’t what you’d call luxurious.  There wasn’t much leftover. 

My dad used to say, “Joey, you know, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about decency.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, everything is going to be okay,’ and mean it.” 

Well, guess what?  What we’re doing is saving the government money.  Providing assistance for renters, first-time homebuyers, that’s how people build equity.  You build equity in your home, that’s how you build wealth.  So, let’s keep pushing, pass the plan into law.

And I want to talk about another top issue: the border.  Now, I love how I turn on, and “Biden — Biden is for a free open border.  Just tear down everything.  Let everybody come, no restrictions.”  Well, one — I — used to be a bipartisan issue in this country, and it should be one again.

I’ve been clear from the very beginning: The system is broken.  My first day in office, I sent Congress a comprehensive plan on immigration reform.  My friends on the other side have done nothing with that. 

Over and over, I’ve asked for resources to step up action at the border.  In October, I asked Congress to fund — for funding that would add another 20 additional bord- — 20 — 2,000 additional border agents and officers, hundreds of new immigration judges to make the judgments on the spot, a new — new detection equipment to stop fentanyl from coming into the country. 

And, by the way, I’ve worked with China and Mexico to slow the flow of fentanyl into the United States.  As I speak, it’s way down.

So, let me be clear.  My team has been at the table for weeks now on a partisan — with a bipartisan group of senators to negotiate a deal, including border, because I believe we need significant policy changes at the border, including changes in our asylum system to ensure that we have authorities we need to control the border.  And I’m ready to act. 

I think — hope — “God willing and the crick not rising,” as my grandpop would say — you know, I think next week, we ought to be able to work out something, at least in the Senate.  And I’m hopeful it’s going to be a bipartisan package the Senate is going to pass, God willing. 

Now, the question is for the Speaker and the House Republicans: Are they ready to act as well?  They have to choose whether they want to solve a problem or keep weaponizing the issue to score political points against the President.  I’m ready to solve the problem.  I really am.  Massive changes — and I mean it sincerely.

Today, folks in America, with in- — with the incredible help of you mayors, we’ve created 14 million new jobs — 14 million new jobs.  (Applause.) 

Americans have filled 16 — filed 16 new — 16 million new business applications since I became President.  That’s a record.  And every single one of them — think about it — is an act of hope.  Someone says they want to risk everything and open a new business, it’s an act of hope.

Wages are rising.  So is household wealth.  We have the lowest inflation rate and the fastest recovery of any major economy in the world.  And that’s a fact.  (Applause.)

In fact, today, costs are down on everything from a gallon of gas to a — to a carton of milk.  You know — I mean, look, I — I was down in Raleigh, as I said, the other day.  I didn’t pass by a gas station that wasn’t under three bucks: $2.99, $2.87.  I mean, come on. 

And, folks, fars are — folks are starting to see it.  Today, I learned that consumer sentiment — and you guys saw it — surged by 29 percent in the last two months, the biggest two-month jump in 30 years.  We’ve got more to do.  And that’s not all, though.  We’re lowering the costs of — for working-class families across the board.

And, by the way, it used to drive my dad crazy.  My dad was a hardworking guy, an honest man who didn’t get a chance to go to college because of the war, but he was a well-read guy.  And the thing that bothered my dad more than anything else was what I call junk fees, the add-on fee by a corporation or a business just because they could do it.

For example, we’re going after junk fees like banning banks and credit unions from charging fees for basic services, like checking your account balance.  To check your account balance, you get a bill for 30 bucks.  Come on.  Or retrieving your bank records, 50 bucks.  Some banks charge as much as, I said, 30 to 50 bucks for the services.  But not anymore.  For families like mine, that extra 30 bucks mattered when I was growing up. 

And speaking of not — being not fair, without the help of a single person on the other side, we finally were able to reduce the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs.  (Applause.)  Any prescription — any one you’re taking for any purpose in your town, you give me that prescription, and if I had the ability, I would take it to Ontario or — or Paris or Belgium and get it for anywhere from 60 to 30 percent less.  Same company, same pharmacy, same pharm- — pharmaceutical company, but that much less.

Look, folks, we finally allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices.  I’ve been fighting that as a senator for my whole 2,000-year career.  (Laughter.)  Just like the VA has been able to do for decades.

Insulin now — if you have diabetes, insulin is now cast — capped at $35 for seniors on Medicare — (applause) — after being out at $400.  They’re saving hundreds of dollars a month.

And, by the way, starting next year, out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare is going to be capped at, total — no matter wh- — how many — no matter what the cost of your — you’re paying, everything will be — you can’t — don’t have to pay more than $2,000 a year for every exp- — and even the expensive cancer drugs, which costs $14-, $16,000 a year.

Folks, I’m going to keep fighting to lower costs for families across the board. 

And, by the way, guess what?  I love it.  They say, “Well, you’re spending all that money.”  Guess what?  That’s money saved — billions of dollars the federal government does not have to pay, billions and billions of dollars.  And that’s a fact.  (Applause.)

By the way, you know how much it costs to make that insulin?  The guy who invented it didn’t want to patent it because he wanted it available for everybody.  You know how much it costs to make it?  Ten dollars — T-E-N.  Package it every way, add all the costs you could possibly think, another $2, maybe $3.  And they’re charging 400 bucks for it?  Come on, man.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  I’m not joking.

But it saves the government money.  It’s not the government spending money.  It saves the federal government billions of dollars a year — billions.  And it’s going to save more.  We have more work to do, but we’re going to keep moving forward together and, God willing, as partners.

Take student debt relief for public servants.  You know, I know I — I wanted to forgive all student debt, and the Supreme Court said, no, I didn’t have the authority to do that.  Okay.  But then I realized there’s a public service requirement out there.  If you engaged in public service for a serious amount of time —

And, by the way, the reason why any of you — I’m sure not anybody — I’m not going to ask you if you have it.  Anybody had to pay for student debt for yourself and/or a kid or anyone, raise your hand.  Guess what?  The interest you’re paying is more than, in fact, what the — the original bill was. 

Already, I’ve been able to forgive the debt for 3.7 million people — gotten debt relief.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, when I originally got this passed, it was for everybody.  You didn’t have to be a senior.  For everybody.  But my team was unable to get past — I didn’t have a bunch of mayors.  I had a bunch of senators and congressmen.  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, you know, I met yesterday in Raleigh with a dad, who was an impressive guy.  And he was a Principal of the Year — picked as a Principal of the Year in his state. He had two young boys.  He lived in a lovely small home.  And — but he had a debt that — that was $124,000 — student debt, much of it interest.  And he never stopped paying b he — but he always kept his payments going — kept going up.

Well, guess what?  That debt is now forgiven.  And, by the way — (applause) — and, by the way, he’s a former high school principal and now an executive coach for school — for a school district, teaching principals.  He said this debt relief was a game changer for he and his family.  He has two boys I met. 

One — I mean, their — I sat with them in their — in their kitchen for — and their dining room for the better part of two hours.  Now he can stay in a town that he loves, take care of his children in a way that they’re able to meet the basic needs he has. 

It’s not only fair, but it grows the economy.  It grows the economy.  So many who are being able to pay off their student debt are now able to go out and go buy a home, invest in a business, invest in other things and their families — to grow their families. 

And, quite frankly, you, the mayors, are the key to all of this.  I’m not blaming you if you don’t want to be — take credit for it.  But the point is — look, the fact is you’re — you’re the ones responsible.  You’re the ones people listen to.  You talk to people.  You speak plain English or Spanish or whatever language you’re speaking, and you’re able to speak to them directly, and you explain in simple language what we’re doing.

Because, otherwise, people get really, really, really confused.  We talk about — you know, for example, in the speech they put together for me to talk about — talk about the supplemental.  Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  (The President makes the sign of the cross.)  (Laughter.)

You all know what I mean, the supplemental request I’m making to spend money.  No one knows what — I mean, people are busting their neck.  Whether or not they have a college degree or not, you talk about a supplemental, “What are you talking about?”  We got to speak plain language to people.  And that’s what you do.

Look, let me close with this.  Last week, I visited a small-business community owners near Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Almost — almost Scranton — almost.  (Laughter.)  Close.  Almost Scranton.

And if you notice, those of us who — everybody is from Scranton these days.  (Laughter.)

But, you know, in my fam- — my mother, who was — married my dad when she was 24 years old, I guess lived in Scranton for those 20-some years and maybe another 10.  My mother was in Delaware for 35 years, and she’d be somewhere and they’d say, “Where are you from, ma’am?”  She’d say, “I’m from Scranton.”  (Laughter.)

But, look, they remind me how much our work matters.  They said, back in 2020, when we were down, that they lost businesses and they lost — this is in Allentown, all these folks I met.  I met with business leaders, a bike owner, a — shop owner, et cetera.  But then the laws we passed, they said, the work they’d all done together, helped them get back on their feet.  They’re able to support more cops, more firefighters in the community; more savings for health insurance because of the work we’ve done; more opportunities in manufacturing, infrastructure; new jobs, new businesses, and a new cycle of hope.

I know that sounds corny, but you’re probably the only group who fully understand it.  What do you want to give people who are hurting the most?  Genuine hope — hope they get something done, that there’s a way out. 

Places like Allentown, once left behind, are now coming back.  I mean, for real.  The folks I met in your cities and towns — (applause) — the folks I met in your cities and towns are a big reason why I’ve never been more optimistic about our nation’s future. 

Like I said, I know I only look like I’m 40, but a little more than that.  (Laughter.)  All kidding aside, I’ve been around a long time. 

And I’m ki- — I’ve never been more optimistic in my whole life about the prospects for America, relative to every other nation in the world.  You know all the talk — I’m supposedly an expert on foreign policy because I’ve been doing it so much.  Well, let me tell you, remember everybody said China is going to eat us alive?  Give me a break.  (Laughter.) 

China has got more problems than, as my dad used to say, Carter has little liver pills.  (Laughter.)  I don’t want them to do badly, but I don’t — I want them to play fairly. 

We’re just — we’re more — look where Russia is.  Russia has lost 300,000 forces.  I mean, we are now, if we don’t lose our footing, in the most powerful position we’ve been since the end of World War Two.  We had that post-war period where we knew exactly what we were talking about. 

But now — think about it — if we’re able to maintain support for Ukraine so they don’t fall, as Henry Kissin- — Henry Kissinger called me — asked me to call him about three weeks before he died.  And I was a young senator when he was the Secretary of State, so we had our run-ins and our agreements and disagreements.  And he said, in one part of the conversation was — when I called, he said, “You know, not since Napoleon — not says Napoleon in France has Europe looked at Russia without fear until now.”

If we walk away — if we walk away and Russia is able to sustain their onslaught and bring down Ukraine, what do you think is going to happen in the Balkan countries?  What do you think is going to happen from Poland to Hungary and Orbán?  I mean, seriously, think about it.  It changes the dynamic, magnifi- —

I won’t get on this — I’m not supposed to be talking about this, but same thing with regard to Israel.  Israel has to — has to taper this off.  There’s ways to put this together.  We’re in a position where we’re unable to — I think one of the reasons the Houthi — I can’t prove this — one of the reasons the — the — Hamas did what they did was I was about to work out a deal with Saudi Arabia, wanting to normalize relations.  I mean, fully normalize relations with Israel and bring along six other Arab nations to change the dynamic in the region.

Some of you attended the G20 and — the 20 largest cont- — the 20 heads of states from the major countries of the world.  I got a resolution passed.  Everybody thought I was nuts.  Said that we’re going to build a railroad from Riyadh all the way to England, going underwater — not with the railroad, but a pipeline through — it’s going to go from Riyadh to Saudi Arabia to Jordan to Israel to so on and so forth.

Why?  Because everybody understands their interest is better — better met when they had this inter- — this interconnection economically.

Well, guess what?  We had to remember — I’m going on too long.  I apologize.  But — (laughter) — we have to remember — I mean this from the bottom of my heart — we’ve got to remember who the hell we are.  We are the United States of America.  There is nothing beyond our capacity — nothing, nothing, nothing — when we’ve been — done it together.  Nothing.

We’re the only nation in the world — think about this — that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in — no other nation in the world has done — because we’ve worked together.  And the thing I love about you guys is you work together.

We’re going to get this done, folks. 

I want to now turn it over — (applause).

My grandfather — God bless you all.  Now I’m going to turn it over to Tom, who’s going — I’m going to take a few questions.

MR. PEREZ:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Can we give it up for Mr. President?  (Applause.)

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

MR. PEREZ:  The questions are over, Mr. President.  (Laughter.)

We’re — we’re going to first turn to Mayor Holt of the great city of Oklahoma City.

MAYOR HOLT:  Thank you, Tom. 

THE PRESIDENT:  I want the record to show he didn’t have to say, “Four more years.”  He’s a Republican.  (Laughter.)

MAYOR HOLT:  Mr. President, I know I speak for this bipartisan room of mayors when I thank you for having us here today.  Thank you for the very deep participation that your administration has had in our meeting these last three days.  And, most importantly, thank you for your obvious commitment to our urban priorities these last three years.  We’re so very grateful.  (Applause.)

I want to ask a quick question.  You alluded to this a little bit.  I think I can give you an opportunity to — to expand on it.  Obviously, as mayors, we face countless challenges and opportunities.  But it seems that, at the end of the day, the most important one is always public safety.  Obviously, public safety and law enforcement is often thought to fall under the jurisdiction of local government, but we have long had a partnership with the federal government in that.

And I think we’d all just love to hear — obviously, we’re gratified, as you alluded to, that crime rates have fallen across the country this past year.  But I think we’d all love to hear: What are your thoughts and plans moving forward for how the federal government can partner with cities to continue that momentum and to help us keep our communities safe?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor.  Look, I — I spent a significant portion of my career as Chairman of the Ju- — the Judiciary Committee, which did almost all the crime legislation that exists.  And in the last administration — in 2020, for example, we had the largest increase of murders we’ve ever had in all of America.  Not blaming it on the — that president, particularly. 

But think about what was happening.  We had a lot of crises going on.  We had the whole — the beginning of the pandemic, which wasn’t being acted on.  We had a lot of people just very, very upset, worrying about where they were.  Mental health was deteriorating.

And so, when I got elected, I acted to turn it around.  And so have you.  In 2023, violent crime came down significantly.  It’s one of the largest yearly decri- — declines of homicide ever. 

And the American Rescue Plan, which was a very, very big facility — big facility for you guys to draw on, was one of the largest investments in public safety ever.  More police officers were put on the — on the beat, invested in violence prevention, and it was because you did it and you made — you had the money and you made the investment. 

And I signed — we signed the first meeting of a bipartisan gun safety legislation.  It still helped a lot, these — these phony gun — anyway.  A whole — I won’t go into it.  But you — you did a whole lot.

But mainly, we were able to bring more police officers on and raise the standard — raise the standard expected of them.  I — anyway.

But, you know, we’re in the — it took executive action to keep illegal guns out of our cities, and that’s what we’re doing.  And you’re doing it as well.  And I need — look, more is needed.  A hundred thousand more community police officers on the beat, I think, is what’s needed nationwide — another hundred thousand. 

And — and we have to fund mental health counselors.  You know, what we found is that if — in fact, you know where most — most law enforcement officers are getting killed?  Responding to domestic violence.  You know, we — we expect our cops to do everything.  We except them to be counselors, we expect them to be psychologists, we expect them to be tough guys and women. 

But, you know, the — what you want to do, you want to have someone stop — trying to stop someone from jumping off the top of the roof, you need somebody who has a background and expertise.  So, we’re hiring into the police departments people with different skills than just being able to tote a gun and — and physically protect. 

And so, I think that, you know, one of the reasons I appointed Vivek Murthy — Admiral Murphy to become this — the solic- — excuse me, become the guy in charge of the whole mental health piece of this operation is because he understands it.  And he talks all the time about what we can do to engage in providing for mental health facilities around the wor- — around your cities and — and communities so people can have the help they need.

And, look, you know, we — and, look, I know it’s very controversial.  I know it’s a red, hot-button issue for a lot of Democrats and Republicans.  I come from a state that, back when I was a senator, had — I think it was the third-highest gun ownership in America.  And I don’t know what it is now, but — because of a lot of duck hunting in the — in the Delmarva Peninsula and a lot of other reasons. 

And — and I know how unpopular it was when I started talking about banning assault weapons.  Who needs an AR-15 that can hold a hundred rounds?  Not — not a joke. 

I was — I was campaigning when I was running for reelection as the last time as a senator, and I was down in the — in the Delmarva Peninsula, just on the Maryland border, in where — in the swampy area, a lot of — and I’m walking through, and that’s how — like you guys do.  You campaign.  You go where the people are.

I go through — and so, I’m walking through in a pair of high boots, and a guy said, “Biden, you SOB,” — (laughter) — and I said, “What?”  He said, “You want to take my gun away.”  And I said, “I don’t want to take…” — he was fishing.  And I said, “I don’t want to take your gun away.”  I said, “You’re able to have your gun.”  He said, “You want to take my AR-15.”  I said, “You must be one hell of a lousy hunter.”  (Laughter.)

And — and he looked at me, and he said, “What do you mean?”  I said, “You need an AR-15 that’s basically a semi-automatic and can fact — fire off 20, 30, 50, 60 rounds?”  I said, ”My — the best — last time I checked, deer weren’t wearing Kevlar vests.”  (Laughter.)  And we — we got in the — and then he calmed down, got into conversation, started talking practically about what, in fact, happens — what, in fact, happens.

And, you know, the other thing is background checks.  There’s always been a requirement of a background check.  And now this 16-year-old kid was able to buy an AR- — anyway.

So, I think we have to support community violence intervention programs as well.  Many of you have those programs going in your cities, in your communities.  And you’re seeing they work.  You get people engaged, and you get them involved.

And so, there’s a lot we can do — I think a lot more we can do.  But two of the things are making sure there’s background checks for people to purchase weapons, number one.  And, number two, certain weapons you shouldn’t be able to purchase because you never have — you’re nev- — you’re not able to go out and purchase a machine gun.  I me- — anyway.

There’s certain basic principles that are ma- — just make common sense.  And I think — and, again, you can go back and look — if you want, I’ll send you a copy of the study we did after the — the assault weapons ban lapsed, because it only could last for 10 years.  I couldn’t get it done again.  And it’s interesting.  The number of mass shootings dropped precipitously — dropped precipitously when we had that limitation.  It doesn’t solve every problem.  It’s one of the things we can do.

But any rate, there’s a lot more to say.  I’m probably already saying too much.

MR. PEREZ:  Our second and last question comes from Mayor Katie Rosenberg from the great city of Wausau, Wisconsin. 

MAYOR ROSENBERG:  Thank you so much.  This is an absolute — (applause) — this is an absolute honor.  Thank you for hosting us.  You have a wonderful staff. 

Just about a year ago, the Vice President hosted a lead pipe summit here in Washington.  And I attended that, and it was like shooting me out of a cannon.  I ran home, and we started working on our plan to shore up, pull out all of those lead pipes, and we made our plan — a 15-year plan down to a 5-year plan.

But I’m curious, what other progress are we seeing about these lead pipes being removed across our nation?  It’s really important that we get that out of our drinking water.  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, thank you for what you’re doing.  I agree. 

Let me put this in perspective.  The research by the doc shows that reducing lead exposure for children has — this is a study that was done — has the same effect on test scores — just take test scores at school — on test scores as reducing class size from 22 to 15 students and less — one tenth of the cost.  Let me just give you one example of the impact it has on IQ formation and the ability to think and the like.  So, it’s a — it’s a significantly smart investment, number one.

Number two, we have enough money and we’re going to eliminate every lead pipe in America.  (Applause.)  Every one. 

It’s going to take us — it’s going to take us about 10 years, but every single one.  Because you shouldn’t — think about it.  You got 400,000 schools, kids going to the water fountain and drinking wa- — you know, water.  You got so much else that’s going on.  And it can just — and it makes a lot of sense.

And, by the way, it creates a hell of a lot of jobs too.  (Laughter.)

But my point is, it just is — look, exposure to lead impacts on brain development — we know that, particularly for as it’s developing — a hazard to the health of people, it can damage the brain and the kidneys, and interferes with the production of blood — of red blood cells that need to carry the hydrogen.  And studies show that lead exposure hurts cognitive function in children and can even knock off several points of their IQ.

Despite these dangers — the knowledge of how dangerous this is, we’re in a fact where the CDC estimates that over half of American children could be exposed to lead, with the exposure often coming from their own homes with lead pipes.  And it costs a hell of a lot of money to take that pipe from the watermain to the house.  It costs a lot of money.  A lot of people can’t even remotely afford doing it.

But everybody is better off — everybody is better off when we get the lead pipes out of the system.  And, look, our ambitious goal is to remove all lead pipes in America by — within 10 years.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law financed over 1,200 drinking water and wastewater projects, and it’s going to replace hundreds of thousands of lead service lines in America beginning right away.  Ongoing efforts in cities like Wausau and Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey.  They create good-paying jobs as well — good-paying jobs.

And I visited the Hero Plumbing in Milwaukee, by the way, a Black-owned small business that was — replaced over 600 lead pipes in homes and daycare centers.

Well, guess what?  Ten-year effort to bring these — is to bring your states, tribes, and labor unions water utilities and private companies together to deliver clean drinking water to every community in the — in the world — in America.  And so, it just seems to me that it’s one of those things — who the hell can be against clean water?  Except some of the people I know.  But — (laughter).

But all kidding aside, if there’s anything you’re going to expend — expend money on, you want to increase the prospect of growth in schools, I mean, this was a — that study, extensive study done.  It makes a big difference in terms of the ability to learn and ability — and long-term impacts on cognitive capability.

But I’m convinced we can get it done.  I’m convinced we can get it done.

Thank you all very much.  You’re very patient.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You’re all welcome to spend the night.  (Laughter.)

By the way, have you — have you had the chance to see most of the White House yet?  Not all the — well, you ought to take — I don’t know, I might get myself in trouble here.  (Laughter.) 

But, you know, there’s — downstairs, there’s a lot of interesting rooms you can check out.  And up here, the — the dangerous part of up here is that it’s hard to know what room you’re in because all of them are identified by color.  (Laughter.)  The Red Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room — it’s not —

But all kidding aside, welcome to the White House.  This is your house, and I was getting in the elevator to — to come up, and my introducer — where is she?  There she is.  I said every time that I hear “Hail to the Chief,” I wonder, “Where the hell is he?”  (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) playing your song.

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  That’s what my sister says about me being mayor.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you do.  (Applause.)

4:56 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting appeared first on The White House.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.  The President and Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas.  The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the situation in Gaza and the shift to targeted operations that will enable the flow of increasing amounts of humanitarian assistance while keeping the military pressure on Hamas and its leaders.  The President welcomed the decision from the Government of Israel to permit the shipment of flour for the Palestinian people directly through Ashdod port while our teams separately work on options for more direct maritime delivery of assistance into Gaza.  The President also discussed the recent progress in ensuring the Palestinian Authority’s revenues are available to pay salaries, including for the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank.  The President discussed Israel’s responsibility even as it maintains military pressure on Hamas and its leaders to reduce civilian harm and protect the innocent.  The President also discussed his vision for a more durable peace and security for Israel fully integrated within the region and a two state-solution with Israel’s security guaranteed. 

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.  The President and Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas.  The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the situation in Gaza and the shift to targeted operations that will enable the flow of increasing amounts of humanitarian assistance while keeping the military pressure on Hamas and its leaders.  The President welcomed the decision from the Government of Israel to permit the shipment of flour for the Palestinian people directly through Ashdod port while our teams separately work on options for more direct maritime delivery of assistance into Gaza.  The President also discussed the recent progress in ensuring the Palestinian Authority’s revenues are available to pay salaries, including for the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank.  The President discussed Israel’s responsibility even as it maintains military pressure on Hamas and its leaders to reduce civilian harm and protect the innocent.  The President also discussed his vision for a more durable peace and security for Israel fully integrated within the region and a two state-solution with Israel’s security guaranteed. 

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The post Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel appeared first on The White House.

On Friday, January 19, 2024, the President signed into law:
 
H.R. 2872, the “Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024,” which provides fiscal year 2024 appropriations to Federal agencies for continuing projects and activities funded in four of the 12 annual appropriations bills through March 1, 2024. For the remaining eight annual appropriations bills, the CR provides funding through March 8, 2024.

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The post Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 2872 appeared first on The White House.

On Friday, January 19, 2024, the President signed into law:
 
H.R. 2872, the “Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024,” which provides fiscal year 2024 appropriations to Federal agencies for continuing projects and activities funded in four of the 12 annual appropriations bills through March 1, 2024. For the remaining eight annual appropriations bills, the CR provides funding through March 8, 2024.

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The post Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 2872 appeared first on The White House.

Today, my Administration approved debt cancellation for another 74,000 student loan borrowers across the country, bringing the total number of people who have gotten their debt cancelled under my Administration to over 3.7 million Americans through various actions. 

Of the 74,000 borrowers approved for relief today, nearly 44,000 of them are teachers, nurses, firefighters and other individuals who earned forgiveness after 10 years of public service, and close to 30,000 of them are people who have been in repayment for at least 20 years but never got the relief they earned through income-driven repayment plans. My Administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers – and millions more – because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law.

Today’s announcement comes on top of all we’ve been able to achieve for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years.  This includes: achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law; and creating the most generous Income-Driven Repayment plan in history – the SAVE plan.  Borrowers can go to studentaid.gov to apply. And, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.

From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity – not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt.  I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams. 

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The post Statement by President Joe Biden on Nearly $5 Billion in Additional Student Debt Cancellation for 74,000 Borrowers appeared first on The White House.

Since President Biden took office, EV sales have more than quadrupled – with over four and a half million EVs on the road

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and Bidenomics, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to lower the cost of electric vehicles (EVs) for Americans and build a convenient, reliable, Made-in-America EV charging network. Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration is already delivering major progress to electrify the great American road trip. Since the President took office, EV sales have more than quadrupled, with more than four and a half million EVs on the road. EV ownership is more affordable than ever before, with prices down over 20% from one year ago. The number of publicly available charging ports has also grown by over 70 percent, with 170,000 publicly available EV chargers across the country, putting us on track to deploy 500,000 chargers by 2026 – achieving the President’s goal four years early.

To continue building on this unprecedented progress, today, the Department of Treasury and the Department of Energy are releasing intended definitions for eligible census tracts that will confirm thatthe Inflation Reduction Act’s 30C EV charging tax credit is available to approximately two-thirds of Americans. This tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities.

In addition, the Departments of Transportation and Energy are announcing $325 million in new investments this week across three programs to increase the reliability and resilience of publicly accessible chargers, advance EV technologies, and support workforce development for EV charging deployment and maintenance. This new funding for EV chargers will repair and replace existing, non-operational chargers across the country; reduce costs for deploying charging in underserved communities; and cut battery costs. These investments follow the $623 million in awards announced last week to deploy public charging in communities and fill gaps in the national network.

The Administration’s historic investments in EV technologies are also spurring private companies to invest alongside the federal government in EV charging. More than $25 billion of investment in the U.S. EV charging network has been announced to date, including more than $10 billion from the private sector. And under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. EV charging manufacturing footprint has grown from almost nothing to a robust and thriving sector. Just three years ago, there was almost no U.S.-based production of fast chargers, but since President Biden took office, at least 40 U.S.-based EV charger factories have been announced or opened. These facilities now have the capacity to produce more than a million chargers each year—including 60,000 fast chargers.

The Biden-Harris Administration is making it easier and cheaper for Americans to ride and drive electric – and to ensure that the EV future benefits American workers and families. But Republicans in Congress are trying to thwart this progress by passing a measure that would eliminate the federal government’s strong domestic manufacturing standards for EV chargers. The President has pledged to veto this resolution, which would hurt American workers, undermine domestic manufacturing, and benefit competitor nations like the People’s Republic of China.

Announcements made today and recently are the latest proof that while Republicans in Congress try to undermine historic progress, President Biden is delivering for Americans and the country. See below for more about how the Biden-Harris Administration is building an EV charging network that benefits communities everywhere:

• Lowering Costs for Installing EV Chargers: Today, the Department of Treasury is releasing a notice of intent to propose regulations related to the 30C tax credit, re-enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act, which plays an important role in lowering costs for EV owners and encouraging EV adoption. The tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in eligible census tracts. Today’s announcement proposes definitions for eligible census tracts that will clarify eligibility of the tax credit to approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population – focusing on those in low-income communities and non-urban areas. Alongside Treasury’s guidance, the Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing a mapping tool to help households and businesses quickly identify whether they are eligible for the tax credit under the proposed regulations.
  
• Strengthening the Foundation for the EV Charging Industry: Today, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced over $46 million in awards through their Ride and Drive Electric program to continue building a convenient, affordable, reliable, and equitable EV charging network that benefits diverse American workers. As part of the awards, for example, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., is receiving funding to recruit and prepare people from all backgrounds – including underrepresented minorities and women – for electrical apprenticeships, and train diverse IBEW Local 48 electricians with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) certification, while the Research Foundation for SUNY at the University of Buffalo is receiving funding to develop a resiliency plan for New Jersey Transit electrification.
  
• Increasing EV Charging Reliability and Accessibility: Yesterday, the Department of Transportation announced nearly $149 million in grants to repair or replace existing but non-operational EV chargers. This announcement is critical to ensure the reliability of the existing network of EV chargers, and will put nearly 4,500 EV charging ports back online.
  
• Advancing EV Technologies Through Research and Development: Yesterday, the Department of Energy announced over $131 million in funding for research, development, and technology integration projects for zero-emission vehicles and mobility; and for an advanced battery R&D consortium. This funding builds on the $32 million announced by DOE for the same program earlier this month. Projects include reducing costs such as permitting and utility interconnection to improve EV charging infrastructure in underserved communities, providing consumer information on EVs and EV charging, and developing batteries that use low-cost, abundant materials. 
  
• Opening Federally Funded EV Charging Stations Across the Country: States are accelerating progress on deploying EV chargers using federal formula funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program. To date, nearly $2.4 billion has been made available through the NEVI program. Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania have all brought NEVI-funded chargers online in the last several weeks. States like Maine and Vermont will soon follow, having recently broken ground on their own NEVI-funded sites. 
  
• Delivering Grants to School Districts to Purchase Clean Buses: Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1 billion for the purchase of over 2,700 clean school buses in 280 school districts across 37 states. To date, EPA’s Clean School Bus Program has awarded nearly $2 billion and funded approximately 5,000 electric and low-emission school buses across the country.
  
• Deploying Chargers in Communities to Fill Gaps in the National Network: Also last week, the Department of Transportation announced $623 million in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grants to help build out an EV charging network across the U.S. Half of this funding is going to 36 projects in communities that will invest in EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities in convenient locations like schools, parks, libraries, multi-family housing, and more. These chargers are especially critical for people who live in multifamily homes and don’t have access to home charging options. The other half is going to 11 projects along corridors to fill gaps in the national charging and alternative fueling network.
  
• Making EVs More Affordable at the Dealer: On average, EVs are now 20 percent cheaper than they were one year ago. As of January 1st, Americans can get up to $7,500 off the sticker price of many of the new electric vehicles eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act’s 30D New Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, and up to $4,000 off the price of a used EV for vehicles eligible for the 25E Used Clean Vehicle Credit. Already, over 9,500 dealers across the country have registered with IRS Energy Credits Online, most of which also registered to provide this tax credit at the point of sale.

Additionally, as a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership, more than a dozen private companies have announced major commitments to expand EV charging. See a list of commitments here.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Cut Electric Vehicle Costs for Americans and Continue Building Out a Convenient, Reliable, Made-in-America EV Charging Network appeared first on The White House.

Today, my Administration approved debt cancellation for another 74,000 student loan borrowers across the country, bringing the total number of people who have gotten their debt cancelled under my Administration to over 3.7 million Americans through various actions. 

Of the 74,000 borrowers approved for relief today, nearly 44,000 of them are teachers, nurses, firefighters and other individuals who earned forgiveness after 10 years of public service, and close to 30,000 of them are people who have been in repayment for at least 20 years but never got the relief they earned through income-driven repayment plans. My Administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers – and millions more – because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law.

Today’s announcement comes on top of all we’ve been able to achieve for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years.  This includes: achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law; and creating the most generous Income-Driven Repayment plan in history – the SAVE plan.  Borrowers can go to studentaid.gov to apply. And, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.

From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity – not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt.  I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams. 

###

The post Statement by President Joe Biden on Nearly $5 Billion in Additional Student Debt Cancellation for 74,000 Borrowers appeared first on The White House.

Since President Biden took office, EV sales have more than quadrupled – with over four and a half million EVs on the road

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and Bidenomics, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to lower the cost of electric vehicles (EVs) for Americans and build a convenient, reliable, Made-in-America EV charging network. Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration is already delivering major progress to electrify the great American road trip. Since the President took office, EV sales have more than quadrupled, with more than four and a half million EVs on the road. EV ownership is more affordable than ever before, with prices down over 20% from one year ago. The number of publicly available charging ports has also grown by over 70 percent, with 170,000 publicly available EV chargers across the country, putting us on track to deploy 500,000 chargers by 2026 – achieving the President’s goal four years early.

To continue building on this unprecedented progress, today, the Department of Treasury and the Department of Energy are releasing intended definitions for eligible census tracts that will confirm thatthe Inflation Reduction Act’s 30C EV charging tax credit is available to approximately two-thirds of Americans. This tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities.

In addition, the Departments of Transportation and Energy are announcing $325 million in new investments this week across three programs to increase the reliability and resilience of publicly accessible chargers, advance EV technologies, and support workforce development for EV charging deployment and maintenance. This new funding for EV chargers will repair and replace existing, non-operational chargers across the country; reduce costs for deploying charging in underserved communities; and cut battery costs. These investments follow the $623 million in awards announced last week to deploy public charging in communities and fill gaps in the national network.

The Administration’s historic investments in EV technologies are also spurring private companies to invest alongside the federal government in EV charging. More than $25 billion of investment in the U.S. EV charging network has been announced to date, including more than $10 billion from the private sector. And under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. EV charging manufacturing footprint has grown from almost nothing to a robust and thriving sector. Just three years ago, there was almost no U.S.-based production of fast chargers, but since President Biden took office, at least 40 U.S.-based EV charger factories have been announced or opened. These facilities now have the capacity to produce more than a million chargers each year—including 60,000 fast chargers.

The Biden-Harris Administration is making it easier and cheaper for Americans to ride and drive electric – and to ensure that the EV future benefits American workers and families. But Republicans in Congress are trying to thwart this progress by passing a measure that would eliminate the federal government’s strong domestic manufacturing standards for EV chargers. The President has pledged to veto this resolution, which would hurt American workers, undermine domestic manufacturing, and benefit competitor nations like the People’s Republic of China.

Announcements made today and recently are the latest proof that while Republicans in Congress try to undermine historic progress, President Biden is delivering for Americans and the country. See below for more about how the Biden-Harris Administration is building an EV charging network that benefits communities everywhere:

• Lowering Costs for Installing EV Chargers: Today, the Department of Treasury is releasing a notice of intent to propose regulations related to the 30C tax credit, re-enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act, which plays an important role in lowering costs for EV owners and encouraging EV adoption. The tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in eligible census tracts. Today’s announcement proposes definitions for eligible census tracts that will clarify eligibility of the tax credit to approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population – focusing on those in low-income communities and non-urban areas. Alongside Treasury’s guidance, the Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing a mapping tool to help households and businesses quickly identify whether they are eligible for the tax credit under the proposed regulations.
  
• Strengthening the Foundation for the EV Charging Industry: Today, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced over $46 million in awards through their Ride and Drive Electric program to continue building a convenient, affordable, reliable, and equitable EV charging network that benefits diverse American workers. As part of the awards, for example, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., is receiving funding to recruit and prepare people from all backgrounds – including underrepresented minorities and women – for electrical apprenticeships, and train diverse IBEW Local 48 electricians with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) certification, while the Research Foundation for SUNY at the University of Buffalo is receiving funding to develop a resiliency plan for New Jersey Transit electrification.
  
• Increasing EV Charging Reliability and Accessibility: Yesterday, the Department of Transportation announced nearly $149 million in grants to repair or replace existing but non-operational EV chargers. This announcement is critical to ensure the reliability of the existing network of EV chargers, and will put nearly 4,500 EV charging ports back online.
  
• Advancing EV Technologies Through Research and Development: Yesterday, the Department of Energy announced over $131 million in funding for research, development, and technology integration projects for zero-emission vehicles and mobility; and for an advanced battery R&D consortium. This funding builds on the $32 million announced by DOE for the same program earlier this month. Projects include reducing costs such as permitting and utility interconnection to improve EV charging infrastructure in underserved communities, providing consumer information on EVs and EV charging, and developing batteries that use low-cost, abundant materials. 
  
• Opening Federally Funded EV Charging Stations Across the Country: States are accelerating progress on deploying EV chargers using federal formula funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program. To date, nearly $2.4 billion has been made available through the NEVI program. Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania have all brought NEVI-funded chargers online in the last several weeks. States like Maine and Vermont will soon follow, having recently broken ground on their own NEVI-funded sites. 
  
• Delivering Grants to School Districts to Purchase Clean Buses: Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1 billion for the purchase of over 2,700 clean school buses in 280 school districts across 37 states. To date, EPA’s Clean School Bus Program has awarded nearly $2 billion and funded approximately 5,000 electric and low-emission school buses across the country.
  
• Deploying Chargers in Communities to Fill Gaps in the National Network: Also last week, the Department of Transportation announced $623 million in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grants to help build out an EV charging network across the U.S. Half of this funding is going to 36 projects in communities that will invest in EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities in convenient locations like schools, parks, libraries, multi-family housing, and more. These chargers are especially critical for people who live in multifamily homes and don’t have access to home charging options. The other half is going to 11 projects along corridors to fill gaps in the national charging and alternative fueling network.
  
• Making EVs More Affordable at the Dealer: On average, EVs are now 20 percent cheaper than they were one year ago. As of January 1st, Americans can get up to $7,500 off the sticker price of many of the new electric vehicles eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act’s 30D New Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, and up to $4,000 off the price of a used EV for vehicles eligible for the 25E Used Clean Vehicle Credit. Already, over 9,500 dealers across the country have registered with IRS Energy Credits Online, most of which also registered to provide this tax credit at the point of sale.

Additionally, as a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership, more than a dozen private companies have announced major commitments to expand EV charging. See a list of commitments here.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Cut Electric Vehicle Costs for Americans and Continue Building Out a Convenient, Reliable, Made-in-America EV Charging Network appeared first on The White House.

Abbott’s Creek Community Center
Raleigh, North Carolina

2:02 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, everybody. How are you? (Applause.) Hello, Raleigh. What a great crowd.

Please have a — take a seat, if you have one. I once said that an event, and people didn’t have chairs. (Laughter.) And the press looked at me and said, “What the hell is the matter with that guy?”

Anyway, Edward, thank you. Sergeant First Class.

I was telling him — my son, Beau, who I lost because of what happened in Iraq — anyway, my — my son, Beau, when he made Major in Iraq, I was — I was there — I wasn’t with him when he made that — when he got promoted. But I was with him later at an event — at an event at his — anyway — in Iraq. I didn’t want to say where I was, but — (laughter) — and I said, “Beau, congratulations. You’re now a field grade officer.” He looked at me and said, “Dad, I know who runs the United States Army. Sergeants First Class run it.” (Laughter.) And that’s a fact.

So, Sarge, thank you very, very much.

Folks — Governor Cooper and all the state officials here today — and, by the way, you got the best governor in the country. Where are — where — (applause) — where is he? Roy, stand up. No, I mean it. (Applause.)

You know what I love about him most? I mean this from the bottom of my heart: He has absolute, total integrity — integrity. (Applause.) Thanks for the welcome back to North Carolina, Gov. I appreciate it very much.

I also want to mention your Congresswoman Deborah Ross. Where’s Deborah? Did she — I just had my picture taken with her. That’s probably why she left. (Laughter.) No, all kidding aside — but, anyway — you — oh, she couldn’t be here, actually. That’s not true. I got it mixed up. And she has — you know, she fights very hard for the people of this district, and she is up in Washington right now.

And, folks, I’m here today to talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention, and that’s the progress we’re making in investing in America — all of America.

You know, there was a — there was a law written back in the ‘30s that says when the Congress passes a bill that has money in it to be spent to build something in America — whether it’s an aircraft carrier or — or it’s a highway or whatever it happens to be — that the president should use American workers and American products.

For the longest, longest time, Democrats and Republican presidents didn’t abide by that very much. But I do, because I want to make sure that we make it in America, build it in America with American products. And that’s why we’ve created 14 million new jobs. (Applause.) Folks — bringing opportunity and hope to people and communities across this country.

Let me give you one example of bringing high-speed Internet to every person in America.

Nearly a century ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act, bringing electricity to every home and farm in America, because it was in cities but it wasn’t in a lot of rural areas. Because electricity had become an essential part of modern life, so he wanted — (inaudible) everyone had access to it. He was determined that no American should be left behind, no matter where they lived, whether in a big city or a rural area. (Applause.)

Well, I tell you what, I’ve made the same determination about our time: affordable high-speed Internet. It really is critical. It’s just as essential today as electricity was a century ago.

Who remembers, you know, during the pandemic when schools were shut down and the mas- — the Sergeant First Class mentioned it — kids weren’t able to attend schools. They had to go online. How many of you spent time in McDonald parking lots tapping into their Internet so you could do the homework with your kid?

Look, think of all the workers who need Internet to do their jobs when they’re working from home. So many are working from home — have to work. Small businesses need Internet to reach more customers here at home and literally around the world. And our seniors who need it in connection with their doctors through telemedicine because they can’t make it to the doctors in person.

High-speed Internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s an absolute necessity. It’s an absolute — (applause) — no, it really is. And yet, when I became president, around 24 million Americans didn’t have access to affordable high-speed Internet. And for millions more, their Internet connection was limited or unreliable.

That’s why, as soon as I came into office, I took action with what we call the American Rescue Plan. And it included — (applause) — it included more than $25 billion to invest in affordable Internet, high-speed Internet all across America.

A few months later, I signed a piece of legislation, which many people didn’t think we could get done: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Applause.) A once-in-a-generation investment to rebuild America’s infrastructure — our roads, our bridges, our railroads, our high-speed Internet — all of it paid for.

And, look, our goal is to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet by the year 2030 — everyone in America — just like Franklin Roosevelt did a generation ago with electricity.

I promised to be a president for all America, whether you voted for me or not. These investments help all Americans in red states and blue states as well. And we’re not leaving anybody behind. (Applause.)

Look — look around North Carolina — and with the leadership of Governor Cooper — with the partnership of your Governor, we’ve invested more than $3 billion to expand high-speed Internet in every county across this state — $3 billion. (Applause.) Fiber-optic cable is being laid in the ground as we speak.

Over the next three years, over 300,000 homes and businesses all across North Carolina will be connected with affordable high-speed Internet.

And today, I’m announcing another major step. We’re investing another $82 million to connect 16,000 additional homes and businesses, bringing high-speed Internet all across the state of North Carolina, from top to bottom. (Applause.)

And by the end of the decade, we’re going to finish the job, reaching all the remaining homes, schools, libraries, small businesses, healthcare facilities in North Carolina that don’t have access to high-speed Internet today.

Let me say that again: universal high-speed Internet in all of North Carolina by the end of this decade — by the — (applause).

Folks, you just heard from Sergeant Smith a few minutes ago why it matters. He’s retired Army — 22 years of service, which we owe him. He and his wife, Emma, live in Tar Heel, as he mentioned, North Carolina — population — staggering population of 100 people. (Laughter.)

They’ve been using dial-up Internet for years, just like everyone else in town. It took Edward far too long to download medical paperwork, as he mentioned — the VA. It was hard for his grandkids, who live nearby, to use the Internet to do their homework.

And then, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which I signed into law, fiber-optic cable was laid and the town got high-speed Internet.

And now, Edward and Emma and the kids and their grandkids can use the Internet quickly and easily, from getting care from the VA to doing their homework. Look, their neighbors include folks who can’t attend local church service, as he mentioned. They can stream these services at home every single Sunday.

High-speed Internet has been a game changer for their town and so many counties all across America. Look — and we’re just getting started.

But it’s not enough to just have Internet access. It needs to be affordable — affordable. (Applause.)

So, here’s what my administration did. We work with Internet service providers to bring down prices for people struggling with their payments. It’s called Affordable Connectivity Program. It’s already helped 880,000 households in North Carolina save a total of $440 million on their Internet bills collectively. (Applause.)

That’s about one in five families across the state are saving $30 a month for their Internet bills, and some save a lot more. That savings in — matters in homes like the one I grew up in. Another 30, 40 bucks a month was the difference between how many groceries, you pay the gas bill, all other necessities. It matters. It matters.

Plus, the investment we’re making in high-speed Internet means something else as well: good-paying jobs. (Applause.)

And, folks, just ask the folks at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, the IBEW, or the Communication Workers union or the Laborers Union. (Applause.) We’re putting thousands of people to work laying fiber-optic cable all across America.

And that cable will be made in America, put in by Americans. (Applause.) Even better, a lot of that cable will be made in North Carolina. (Applause.)

Two American companies — two American companies, CommScope and Corning, are investing more than $550 million to manufacture fiber-optic cable, creating around 650 good-paying jobs in Hickory, North Carolina, the single sta- — (applause). And there are going to be more.

Already, 40 percent of all the fiber cable — -optic cable in America is being manufactured in Hickory. And, though, that number is going to continue to grow and jobs are going to grow. And when jobs grow, everything grows. Everything grows. Everything in the community grows.

All told, during my presidency, we’ve invested — and I know it’s going to sound like not much to you all — but $11 billion in North Carolina — (applause) — $11 billion — in infrastructure, clean energy, everything from high-speed Internet to clean water, new roads and bridges.

For example, we’re investing $1 billion — $1 billion — in a new rail line connecting Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia. (Applause.) Not only creating a whole hell of a lot of jobs, but it’s going to take a lot of vehicles off the road, it’s going to help with pollution. And guess what? It’s going to cut the time — well, let me give you an idea. Right now, the trip takes about three hours by train. With the new rail line, it’s going to take you two hours. (Applause.)

Think of what that will mean for people traveling to work and visiting families. Think what it means in the reduction of highway bills.

We’re also investing $110 million to replace the Alligator River Bridge. Look, that bridge is a major hurricane evacuation route for the Outer Banks, so it’s high time it get replaced, because it’s in trouble. The bridge now is far too low for boat traffic, which means cars have to stop and wait, sometimes several times a day, for the bridge to swing open so boats can pass underneath. And because the bridge mechanism is 60 years old, sometimes when it swings open it can’t close, which stops cars in traffic for hours and sometimes days.

Now, we’re building a new higher bridge that boats can easily pass under. It will be wider and more accessible to more cars to travel across every single day, saving time and saving money.

Folks, what we’re doing here in North Carolina is just one piece of a much bigger story. To date, 400- — excuse me, 40,000 infrastructure projects have been announced across this nation. Since I’ve been to office, we’ve created 14 million new jobs — 440 [thousand] new jobs in North Carolina alone, just since I came to office. (Applause.) And that’s because of this guy right here. Nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide.

And unemployment has been below 4 percent for the longest stretch in American history in the last 50 years. And here in North Carolina, unemployment is even lower. It’s 3.5 percent. (Applause.) And the stats coming out today show that seeking unemployment insurance has even gone down. Fewer people are needing help.

That’s lower than it was in every single month under the last president.

Wages are up. Household wealth is up — not only for middle-class Americans — for Latinos, for Black Americans, for minorities.

Costs are still too high, but inflation continues to fall. And mortgage rates are falling, and they’re going to fall more.

Last week, we learned that America filed 16 million — 16 million in America — 16 million new applications for businesses — for a new business since I became President. Folks, that’s a record. Every single one of those new small businesses is an act of hope — an act of hope. It generates progress.

People are beginning to have — and if you look at the consumer confidence, it’s way up. Sixty-four percent — I think it may be 62 percent of Americans think their personal circumstance is good and it’s getting better.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Investing in America agenda, private companies have invested over $640 billion — let me say it again — $640 billion in advanced manufacturing here in America. (Applause.)

By the way, you know, we invented that little computer chip, which everything from your cell phone to your automobile needs. Guess what? We used to control it. We got down to the point where we were hardly manufacturing any of it.

And so, what happened when things went bad? We didn’t have access to all those computer chips that were being made in Asia and other parts of the world, so I got on a plane and went to South Korea. And I said, “Why don’t you come invest in America?” And one thing led to another, and over $50 billion, people coming to America, investing and building these computer chip factories. (Applause.)

And guess what? It’s just getting started. But guess what? The fact is that these computer factories — they build what they call “fabs.” They’re about as big as a football field. And they manufacture these chips. You don’t need a college degree to work in it. And you know what the average starting salary is? $116,000. $116,000. (Applause.)

And, look, put it all together, America has — this is a fact — the strongest growth rate of any — and the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world — in the world.

We have a lot more work to do, but there’s no question our plan of investing in America and the American people is working. It’s all part of my economic vision: building an economy from the middle out — from the middle class out and the bottom up. That way the poor have a shot, the middle class does well, and the wealthy still do well. Well, they got to start paying their taxes. (Applause.)

You know, I’m serious. I — I don’t mean paying 60 percent. I mean just paying the top rate of 38 percent.

Look, folks, you know how many billionaires we have in America today? One thousand. You know what their average rate — the tax rate — the federal tax rate is — (the President walks away from the podium) — oh, I shouldn’t walk away from this — (laughter) — the federal tax rate is? Eight and a half percent.

Raise your hand if you’d trade your tax rate for 8 and a half percent. (Laughter.) I’m serious. Think about this. There’d be $40 billion raised if they just paid 38 percent — if they even paid 25 percent. (Applause.)

Folks, look, we all do well when the middle class does well and we grow. Everybody does well.

You know, I’m so tired I — of trickle-down economics. I grew up in a family where not a lot trickled down to my dad’s kitchen table. My dad was a hard-working guy. We weren’t poor. But we lived in a three-bedroom split-level home with four kids and a grandpop. And, you know, we were fine. It was okay. But there wasn’t anything leftover. There was nothing leftover.

But now, a lot of middle-class folks are having enough leftovers they can do things.

Our approach is a fundamental break from trickle-down economics super-charged by my predecessor. My predecessor, everything was trickle-down, but not a lot trickled. (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. Which tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations, shipping goods [good-paying jobs] overseas.

How many people do you know in this state and other states — there was a factory in town that employed 300, 400 people, and all of a sudden you found that factory shipped overseas? Why was it shipped overseas? Cheaper labor costs. So, we were shipping factories overseas and importing the product they made here.

Well, guess what? We’re doing the opposite. (Applause.) We’re making it here and shipping the product overseas. I’m serious. (Applause.)

And also, that trickle-down shrank public investment in education — infrastructure and education. It hollowed out communities, closing factories, leaving too many behind.

And now, my predecessor likes to say America is a failing nation. In my faith — (the President makes the sign of the cross) — bless me, Father, for he has sinned. I mean, come on. (Laughter.) A failing nation?

And, by the way, did you hear he wants to see the stock market crash, because he does not want — now. We’re doing well. He’s acknowledging — by that — we’re doing pretty damn well economically and we’re getting better. He wants to see the stock market crash. You know why? He doesn’t want to be the next Herbert Hoover.

As I told him, he’s already Hoover. (Laughter.) He’s the only president to be president for four years and lose jobs, not gain any jobs. Come on, man. (Laughter.)

You know, some of the things he sa- — well, I don’t want to get started. (Laughter and applause.) But, look, frankly, to put it very politely, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress voted against our infrastructure law. We got enough to make it work, with 30-something. But the vast majority voted against it. They all voted against all the other bills that I had. I mean, 100 percent voted against.

And guess what? Whether it’s Marjorie Taylor Greene or whoever (inaudible) out, when these new projects come, they’re there. They’re welcoming it to their state. They voted against it all. So, I told them I’ll be there for the groundbreaking with them. (Laughter.)

You know, look, what was mentioned as well — look at what — I’ve fought my whole career — I’ve been arou- — I know I don’t look it, but I’ve been around for a little while. (Laughter.) But all kidding aside, look, you know, I’ve spent the bulk of my career as a senator trying to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

If you have a prescription from your doc and you take it to a pharmacy here in North Carolina or in Wilmington, Delaware, where I’m from, or wherever, guess what? I can take that same prescription from here and go to Toronto, Canada; London, England; Rome, in Italy — anywhere around the world — and it will be somewhere between 50 percent less and 70 percent less. How does that work? Why?

Why is it, in America, you’re paying — were paying $400 a month for insulin if you have diabetes, and — and in other places, they’re paying 35 bucks?

Well, guess what? You’re paying 35 bucks now, and it’s going to go down even further. (Applause.)

And, by the way, at $35, they’re making 350 percent gain. It costs 15 — it costs 10 bucks to make it, 12 bucks to package it. So, come on, man. It’s about time we start to be a little fair to ordinary people. (Applause.)

When it comes to voting against the infrastructure law, it doesn’t stop many of our Republicans from calling up and saying, “We need a project in my district.” Now, what I haven’t done is I haven’t blocked projects in their districts, because they’re all Americans. The fact they have a g- — a senator or a g- — a congressman that doesn’t know what they’re doing, it doesn’t mean they should be denied. (Laughter.)

But it’s okay. (Applause.) It’s okay, because I promised to be a president for all Americans. And I mean that sincerely. It’s not hyperbole. I promised to be a president for all Americans. And, like I said before, I told them all I’ll see them at the groundbreaking.

Let me close with this. When you see shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky, and people hard at work on these projects, I hope you feel pride in America — pride in America, pride knowing we can get big things done when we work together.

You’re all the real heroes. That’s not hyperbole. You’re the real heroes of this story: American workers, the American people, neighbors and community leaders doing the work to bring our cities into the future.

That’s what America does. That’s why I’ve never been — and I mean this — and I’ve been saying this for a while. And the press has to — the press has to cover me everywhere. I’ve been saying I’m optimistic. I’m optimi- — I’ve been — I’ve been around for a while. I’ve never been optimistic about America’s prospects than I am in the last three years. I really mean it.

Because there’s nothing — nothing, nothing, nothing — we have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America, and nothing is beyond our capacity when we work together. Nothing, nothing, nothing. (Applause.)

And I’ll say one last thing. We’re the only major company [country] in the world that has come out of every crisis stronger than we went in. And that’s what we’re doing again today because of you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

Let’s go get them. Thank you. (Applause.)

2:24 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden on High-Speed Internet Investments | Raleigh, NC appeared first on The White House.

Abbott’s Creek Community Center
Raleigh, North Carolina

2:02 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, everybody. How are you? (Applause.) Hello, Raleigh. What a great crowd.

Please have a — take a seat, if you have one. I once said that an event, and people didn’t have chairs. (Laughter.) And the press looked at me and said, “What the hell is the matter with that guy?”

Anyway, Edward, thank you. Sergeant First Class.

I was telling him — my son, Beau, who I lost because of what happened in Iraq — anyway, my — my son, Beau, when he made Major in Iraq, I was — I was there — I wasn’t with him when he made that — when he got promoted. But I was with him later at an event — at an event at his — anyway — in Iraq. I didn’t want to say where I was, but — (laughter) — and I said, “Beau, congratulations. You’re now a field grade officer.” He looked at me and said, “Dad, I know who runs the United States Army. Sergeants First Class run it.” (Laughter.) And that’s a fact.

So, Sarge, thank you very, very much.

Folks — Governor Cooper and all the state officials here today — and, by the way, you got the best governor in the country. Where are — where — (applause) — where is he? Roy, stand up. No, I mean it. (Applause.)

You know what I love about him most? I mean this from the bottom of my heart: He has absolute, total integrity — integrity. (Applause.) Thanks for the welcome back to North Carolina, Gov. I appreciate it very much.

I also want to mention your Congresswoman Deborah Ross. Where’s Deborah? Did she — I just had my picture taken with her. That’s probably why she left. (Laughter.) No, all kidding aside — but, anyway — you — oh, she couldn’t be here, actually. That’s not true. I got it mixed up. And she has — you know, she fights very hard for the people of this district, and she is up in Washington right now.

And, folks, I’m here today to talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention, and that’s the progress we’re making in investing in America — all of America.

You know, there was a — there was a law written back in the ‘30s that says when the Congress passes a bill that has money in it to be spent to build something in America — whether it’s an aircraft carrier or — or it’s a highway or whatever it happens to be — that the president should use American workers and American products.

For the longest, longest time, Democrats and Republican presidents didn’t abide by that very much. But I do, because I want to make sure that we make it in America, build it in America with American products. And that’s why we’ve created 14 million new jobs. (Applause.) Folks — bringing opportunity and hope to people and communities across this country.

Let me give you one example of bringing high-speed Internet to every person in America.

Nearly a century ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act, bringing electricity to every home and farm in America, because it was in cities but it wasn’t in a lot of rural areas. Because electricity had become an essential part of modern life, so he wanted — (inaudible) everyone had access to it. He was determined that no American should be left behind, no matter where they lived, whether in a big city or a rural area. (Applause.)

Well, I tell you what, I’ve made the same determination about our time: affordable high-speed Internet. It really is critical. It’s just as essential today as electricity was a century ago.

Who remembers, you know, during the pandemic when schools were shut down and the mas- — the Sergeant First Class mentioned it — kids weren’t able to attend schools. They had to go online. How many of you spent time in McDonald parking lots tapping into their Internet so you could do the homework with your kid?

Look, think of all the workers who need Internet to do their jobs when they’re working from home. So many are working from home — have to work. Small businesses need Internet to reach more customers here at home and literally around the world. And our seniors who need it in connection with their doctors through telemedicine because they can’t make it to the doctors in person.

High-speed Internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s an absolute necessity. It’s an absolute — (applause) — no, it really is. And yet, when I became president, around 24 million Americans didn’t have access to affordable high-speed Internet. And for millions more, their Internet connection was limited or unreliable.

That’s why, as soon as I came into office, I took action with what we call the American Rescue Plan. And it included — (applause) — it included more than $25 billion to invest in affordable Internet, high-speed Internet all across America.

A few months later, I signed a piece of legislation, which many people didn’t think we could get done: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Applause.) A once-in-a-generation investment to rebuild America’s infrastructure — our roads, our bridges, our railroads, our high-speed Internet — all of it paid for.

And, look, our goal is to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet by the year 2030 — everyone in America — just like Franklin Roosevelt did a generation ago with electricity.

I promised to be a president for all America, whether you voted for me or not. These investments help all Americans in red states and blue states as well. And we’re not leaving anybody behind. (Applause.)

Look — look around North Carolina — and with the leadership of Governor Cooper — with the partnership of your Governor, we’ve invested more than $3 billion to expand high-speed Internet in every county across this state — $3 billion. (Applause.) Fiber-optic cable is being laid in the ground as we speak.

Over the next three years, over 300,000 homes and businesses all across North Carolina will be connected with affordable high-speed Internet.

And today, I’m announcing another major step. We’re investing another $82 million to connect 16,000 additional homes and businesses, bringing high-speed Internet all across the state of North Carolina, from top to bottom. (Applause.)

And by the end of the decade, we’re going to finish the job, reaching all the remaining homes, schools, libraries, small businesses, healthcare facilities in North Carolina that don’t have access to high-speed Internet today.

Let me say that again: universal high-speed Internet in all of North Carolina by the end of this decade — by the — (applause).

Folks, you just heard from Sergeant Smith a few minutes ago why it matters. He’s retired Army — 22 years of service, which we owe him. He and his wife, Emma, live in Tar Heel, as he mentioned, North Carolina — population — staggering population of 100 people. (Laughter.)

They’ve been using dial-up Internet for years, just like everyone else in town. It took Edward far too long to download medical paperwork, as he mentioned — the VA. It was hard for his grandkids, who live nearby, to use the Internet to do their homework.

And then, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which I signed into law, fiber-optic cable was laid and the town got high-speed Internet.

And now, Edward and Emma and the kids and their grandkids can use the Internet quickly and easily, from getting care from the VA to doing their homework. Look, their neighbors include folks who can’t attend local church service, as he mentioned. They can stream these services at home every single Sunday.

High-speed Internet has been a game changer for their town and so many counties all across America. Look — and we’re just getting started.

But it’s not enough to just have Internet access. It needs to be affordable — affordable. (Applause.)

So, here’s what my administration did. We work with Internet service providers to bring down prices for people struggling with their payments. It’s called Affordable Connectivity Program. It’s already helped 880,000 households in North Carolina save a total of $440 million on their Internet bills collectively. (Applause.)

That’s about one in five families across the state are saving $30 a month for their Internet bills, and some save a lot more. That savings in — matters in homes like the one I grew up in. Another 30, 40 bucks a month was the difference between how many groceries, you pay the gas bill, all other necessities. It matters. It matters.

Plus, the investment we’re making in high-speed Internet means something else as well: good-paying jobs. (Applause.)

And, folks, just ask the folks at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, the IBEW, or the Communication Workers union or the Laborers Union. (Applause.) We’re putting thousands of people to work laying fiber-optic cable all across America.

And that cable will be made in America, put in by Americans. (Applause.) Even better, a lot of that cable will be made in North Carolina. (Applause.)

Two American companies — two American companies, CommScope and Corning, are investing more than $550 million to manufacture fiber-optic cable, creating around 650 good-paying jobs in Hickory, North Carolina, the single sta- — (applause). And there are going to be more.

Already, 40 percent of all the fiber cable — -optic cable in America is being manufactured in Hickory. And, though, that number is going to continue to grow and jobs are going to grow. And when jobs grow, everything grows. Everything grows. Everything in the community grows.

All told, during my presidency, we’ve invested — and I know it’s going to sound like not much to you all — but $11 billion in North Carolina — (applause) — $11 billion — in infrastructure, clean energy, everything from high-speed Internet to clean water, new roads and bridges.

For example, we’re investing $1 billion — $1 billion — in a new rail line connecting Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia. (Applause.) Not only creating a whole hell of a lot of jobs, but it’s going to take a lot of vehicles off the road, it’s going to help with pollution. And guess what? It’s going to cut the time — well, let me give you an idea. Right now, the trip takes about three hours by train. With the new rail line, it’s going to take you two hours. (Applause.)

Think of what that will mean for people traveling to work and visiting families. Think what it means in the reduction of highway bills.

We’re also investing $110 million to replace the Alligator River Bridge. Look, that bridge is a major hurricane evacuation route for the Outer Banks, so it’s high time it get replaced, because it’s in trouble. The bridge now is far too low for boat traffic, which means cars have to stop and wait, sometimes several times a day, for the bridge to swing open so boats can pass underneath. And because the bridge mechanism is 60 years old, sometimes when it swings open it can’t close, which stops cars in traffic for hours and sometimes days.

Now, we’re building a new higher bridge that boats can easily pass under. It will be wider and more accessible to more cars to travel across every single day, saving time and saving money.

Folks, what we’re doing here in North Carolina is just one piece of a much bigger story. To date, 400- — excuse me, 40,000 infrastructure projects have been announced across this nation. Since I’ve been to office, we’ve created 14 million new jobs — 440 [thousand] new jobs in North Carolina alone, just since I came to office. (Applause.) And that’s because of this guy right here. Nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide.

And unemployment has been below 4 percent for the longest stretch in American history in the last 50 years. And here in North Carolina, unemployment is even lower. It’s 3.5 percent. (Applause.) And the stats coming out today show that seeking unemployment insurance has even gone down. Fewer people are needing help.

That’s lower than it was in every single month under the last president.

Wages are up. Household wealth is up — not only for middle-class Americans — for Latinos, for Black Americans, for minorities.

Costs are still too high, but inflation continues to fall. And mortgage rates are falling, and they’re going to fall more.

Last week, we learned that America filed 16 million — 16 million in America — 16 million new applications for businesses — for a new business since I became President. Folks, that’s a record. Every single one of those new small businesses is an act of hope — an act of hope. It generates progress.

People are beginning to have — and if you look at the consumer confidence, it’s way up. Sixty-four percent — I think it may be 62 percent of Americans think their personal circumstance is good and it’s getting better.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Investing in America agenda, private companies have invested over $640 billion — let me say it again — $640 billion in advanced manufacturing here in America. (Applause.)

By the way, you know, we invented that little computer chip, which everything from your cell phone to your automobile needs. Guess what? We used to control it. We got down to the point where we were hardly manufacturing any of it.

And so, what happened when things went bad? We didn’t have access to all those computer chips that were being made in Asia and other parts of the world, so I got on a plane and went to South Korea. And I said, “Why don’t you come invest in America?” And one thing led to another, and over $50 billion, people coming to America, investing and building these computer chip factories. (Applause.)

And guess what? It’s just getting started. But guess what? The fact is that these computer factories — they build what they call “fabs.” They’re about as big as a football field. And they manufacture these chips. You don’t need a college degree to work in it. And you know what the average starting salary is? $116,000. $116,000. (Applause.)

And, look, put it all together, America has — this is a fact — the strongest growth rate of any — and the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world — in the world.

We have a lot more work to do, but there’s no question our plan of investing in America and the American people is working. It’s all part of my economic vision: building an economy from the middle out — from the middle class out and the bottom up. That way the poor have a shot, the middle class does well, and the wealthy still do well. Well, they got to start paying their taxes. (Applause.)

You know, I’m serious. I — I don’t mean paying 60 percent. I mean just paying the top rate of 38 percent.

Look, folks, you know how many billionaires we have in America today? One thousand. You know what their average rate — the tax rate — the federal tax rate is — (the President walks away from the podium) — oh, I shouldn’t walk away from this — (laughter) — the federal tax rate is? Eight and a half percent.

Raise your hand if you’d trade your tax rate for 8 and a half percent. (Laughter.) I’m serious. Think about this. There’d be $40 billion raised if they just paid 38 percent — if they even paid 25 percent. (Applause.)

Folks, look, we all do well when the middle class does well and we grow. Everybody does well.

You know, I’m so tired I — of trickle-down economics. I grew up in a family where not a lot trickled down to my dad’s kitchen table. My dad was a hard-working guy. We weren’t poor. But we lived in a three-bedroom split-level home with four kids and a grandpop. And, you know, we were fine. It was okay. But there wasn’t anything leftover. There was nothing leftover.

But now, a lot of middle-class folks are having enough leftovers they can do things.

Our approach is a fundamental break from trickle-down economics super-charged by my predecessor. My predecessor, everything was trickle-down, but not a lot trickled. (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. Which tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations, shipping goods [good-paying jobs] overseas.

How many people do you know in this state and other states — there was a factory in town that employed 300, 400 people, and all of a sudden you found that factory shipped overseas? Why was it shipped overseas? Cheaper labor costs. So, we were shipping factories overseas and importing the product they made here.

Well, guess what? We’re doing the opposite. (Applause.) We’re making it here and shipping the product overseas. I’m serious. (Applause.)

And also, that trickle-down shrank public investment in education — infrastructure and education. It hollowed out communities, closing factories, leaving too many behind.

And now, my predecessor likes to say America is a failing nation. In my faith — (the President makes the sign of the cross) — bless me, Father, for he has sinned. I mean, come on. (Laughter.) A failing nation?

And, by the way, did you hear he wants to see the stock market crash, because he does not want — now. We’re doing well. He’s acknowledging — by that — we’re doing pretty damn well economically and we’re getting better. He wants to see the stock market crash. You know why? He doesn’t want to be the next Herbert Hoover.

As I told him, he’s already Hoover. (Laughter.) He’s the only president to be president for four years and lose jobs, not gain any jobs. Come on, man. (Laughter.)

You know, some of the things he sa- — well, I don’t want to get started. (Laughter and applause.) But, look, frankly, to put it very politely, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress voted against our infrastructure law. We got enough to make it work, with 30-something. But the vast majority voted against it. They all voted against all the other bills that I had. I mean, 100 percent voted against.

And guess what? Whether it’s Marjorie Taylor Greene or whoever (inaudible) out, when these new projects come, they’re there. They’re welcoming it to their state. They voted against it all. So, I told them I’ll be there for the groundbreaking with them. (Laughter.)

You know, look, what was mentioned as well — look at what — I’ve fought my whole career — I’ve been arou- — I know I don’t look it, but I’ve been around for a little while. (Laughter.) But all kidding aside, look, you know, I’ve spent the bulk of my career as a senator trying to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

If you have a prescription from your doc and you take it to a pharmacy here in North Carolina or in Wilmington, Delaware, where I’m from, or wherever, guess what? I can take that same prescription from here and go to Toronto, Canada; London, England; Rome, in Italy — anywhere around the world — and it will be somewhere between 50 percent less and 70 percent less. How does that work? Why?

Why is it, in America, you’re paying — were paying $400 a month for insulin if you have diabetes, and — and in other places, they’re paying 35 bucks?

Well, guess what? You’re paying 35 bucks now, and it’s going to go down even further. (Applause.)

And, by the way, at $35, they’re making 350 percent gain. It costs 15 — it costs 10 bucks to make it, 12 bucks to package it. So, come on, man. It’s about time we start to be a little fair to ordinary people. (Applause.)

When it comes to voting against the infrastructure law, it doesn’t stop many of our Republicans from calling up and saying, “We need a project in my district.” Now, what I haven’t done is I haven’t blocked projects in their districts, because they’re all Americans. The fact they have a g- — a senator or a g- — a congressman that doesn’t know what they’re doing, it doesn’t mean they should be denied. (Laughter.)

But it’s okay. (Applause.) It’s okay, because I promised to be a president for all Americans. And I mean that sincerely. It’s not hyperbole. I promised to be a president for all Americans. And, like I said before, I told them all I’ll see them at the groundbreaking.

Let me close with this. When you see shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky, and people hard at work on these projects, I hope you feel pride in America — pride in America, pride knowing we can get big things done when we work together.

You’re all the real heroes. That’s not hyperbole. You’re the real heroes of this story: American workers, the American people, neighbors and community leaders doing the work to bring our cities into the future.

That’s what America does. That’s why I’ve never been — and I mean this — and I’ve been saying this for a while. And the press has to — the press has to cover me everywhere. I’ve been saying I’m optimistic. I’m optimi- — I’ve been — I’ve been around for a while. I’ve never been optimistic about America’s prospects than I am in the last three years. I really mean it.

Because there’s nothing — nothing, nothing, nothing — we have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America, and nothing is beyond our capacity when we work together. Nothing, nothing, nothing. (Applause.)

And I’ll say one last thing. We’re the only major company [country] in the world that has come out of every crisis stronger than we went in. And that’s what we’re doing again today because of you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

Let’s go get them. Thank you. (Applause.)

2:24 P.M. EST

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We will never forget the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in their classrooms during a senseless mass shooting carried out with a weapon of war. In the days and months since they lost their lives and 17 others were injured, the families in Uvalde have channeled their anguish into advocacy – demanding accountability, justice, and action to change the unacceptable fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in our nation.

With their help, President Biden and I fought to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. Working with gun safety organizers and advocates including young leaders across the country, we have also taken more executive action to reduce gun violence than any other Administration in history. This includes establishing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But we know more must be done.

Today’s devastating report by the Justice Department makes it clear that there were multiple failures in Uvalde that hold urgent lessons for our nation, and our Administration remains committed to ensuring that communities have the resources and support they need to respond more effectively.

As we do so, I am continuing to call on Congress and state legislators throughout America to have the courage to act by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, passing red flag laws, and making background checks universal. These commonsense solutions will save lives and ensure that fewer children, families, and communities experience the trauma and pain that Uvalde has suffered.    

# # #

The post Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on Today’s Justice Department Report on the Uvalde School Shooting Response appeared first on The White House.

We will never forget the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in their classrooms during a senseless mass shooting carried out with a weapon of war. In the days and months since they lost their lives and 17 others were injured, the families in Uvalde have channeled their anguish into advocacy – demanding accountability, justice, and action to change the unacceptable fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in our nation.

With their help, President Biden and I fought to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. Working with gun safety organizers and advocates including young leaders across the country, we have also taken more executive action to reduce gun violence than any other Administration in history. This includes establishing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But we know more must be done.

Today’s devastating report by the Justice Department makes it clear that there were multiple failures in Uvalde that hold urgent lessons for our nation, and our Administration remains committed to ensuring that communities have the resources and support they need to respond more effectively.

As we do so, I am continuing to call on Congress and state legislators throughout America to have the courage to act by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, passing red flag laws, and making background checks universal. These commonsense solutions will save lives and ensure that fewer children, families, and communities experience the trauma and pain that Uvalde has suffered.    

# # #

The post Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on Today’s Justice Department Report on the Uvalde School Shooting Response appeared first on The White House.

Capital Hilton
Washington, D.C.

2:02 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon.

AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And, President Schieve, thank you for convening us.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you, Madam Vice President.  And say hello, Mayors, to the Vice President.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.)

We are delighted and honored to be with you, but we also discuss an important topic.  Following the onset of the pandemic and the nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd, we saw a spike in homicides in cities across the country.  Innocent lives were being lost; communities were being shattered. 

But when you and the President took office, you immediately began to address the scourge of gun violence in our country.  The President issued several important executive orders, and federal agencies put policies in place to help reduce the problems of gun violence and to support local prevention and enforcement efforts.

And in 2022, Congress passed and President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — (applause) — for those who don’t know, the first piece of legislation to strengthen our gun laws in decades.

And last year, you and President Biden established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.  Thank you on behalf of all of our cities.  (Applause.)

We have begun to see some progress.  And during 2023, many cities had significant reductions in homicides.  But make no mistake, gun violence remains a serious problem in our cities and in our nation.  But we’re seeing a glimmer of hope, and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.

This past fall, Madam Vice President, you met with over 15,000 students across the country on your “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour.  What did you hear from them, and what was on their minds?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Well, thank you, Mayor Lucas.   It’s good to be with you today.  And to all the mayors who are here, let me start by thanking you for the extraordinary calling that you have answered to serve, in particular, at the local government level.  And as — as Tom said, I — I once served as — as District Attorney at the local level.  And so, I fully appreciate what your lives are like.

People recognize you as the face of government.  And they run into you at the grocery store, the gas station, at the — your children’s softball games, and it is you that they recognize as being responsible for and accountable for all of the concerns that they may have about their life and the world.  And you all rise to the level every day. 

And it takes a lot, in terms of personal sacrifice but also a deep commitment to service.  And so, let me start by thanking the U.S. Conference of Mayors and all of the members for the work that you do.  O- — (applause) — thank you to you.

So, on the issue of gun violence, let me start with this.  And back to the point about my previous service, I started my elected career as the elected District Attorney of San Francisco.  And I will tell — (applause) — well, and I will tell you that — and that was following a — a career of being a courtroom prosecutor, where, among the cases that I prosecuted — homicide cases.

So, I have witnessed and — and seen autopsies.  I know what guns do and gun violence does to the human body.  For so many of you, you too know what gun violence does to people, to a community, to families, to the psyche of a community, to the well-being and health of a community.

So, when we have this conversation among us, this is not some intellectual, academic discourse.  It is very real.  It is part of our lived existence.  And it is that approach that I bring, then, to my thoughts about this issue.

So, I started a college tour last fall because, you know, I have to tell you: I love Gen Z.  (Laughter.)  Yes, I know, but I love Gen Z.  And — and it will be a humbling fact to many of us when we realize that anyone who is 18 today, they were born in 2005.  (Laughter.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  Wow.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Indeed.  Yes, wow. 

And this generation, for so many of these issues, it’s a lived experience.  Think about it.  For this generation of — who I call young leaders, they’ve only known the climate crisis.  In fact, they’ve coined a term “climate anxiety” to describe their fears about having children or buying a home for fear that it may be destroyed because of extreme climate incidents.

They witnessed George Floyd being killed.  They endured a historic pandemic where they lost also significant phases of their educational process.  They have, through their lives — and I would ask at the college tour them to raise their hand in these auditoriums: “Who of you, please raise your hand,” I would ask, “had to endure an active shooter drill anytime between kindergarten and 12th grade?”  Almost every hand went up. 

And, in fact, I’d say to the press that was always in the room and the older adults, “Please take a look and take account of this.”  Because I think so many older adults don’t really understand what our children — the children of our community — have been going through.

And so — and, also, they, at the height of their reproductive years, just witnessed the highest court in our land take a freedom from them to make decisions about their own body, such that they will have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. 

So, on so many of these issues, it was reinforced for me during this college tour that these are lived experiences and it has had a profound impact on their lives.  And they, therefore, think about these issues with a sense of urgency that the solutions that are often at hand be implemented.  And they are right to demand that we, in positions of elected leadership right now, do something about it with a sense of urgency. 

They are acutely aware of what we know, which is that gun violence is the leading cause of death of the children of America — leading cause of death — not car accidents, not some form of cancer — gun violence.  One in five Americans has a family member that was killed as a result of gun violence.

I have traveled m- — most of your states over the last three years.  I have met with parents who say a silent prayer every time their child gets on the school bus or they drop them off at school that there’s nobody running around with an assault weapon, breaking into their school — the school of their child while they’re at a place where they should be fulfilling their God-given capacity to learn.

So, the young people of our country have lived through this, and they want a change.  And they understand what I think so many of us do: It is a false choice to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.

I am in favor of the Second Amendment.  But is it not reasonable that we would have an assault weapons ban, understanding that assault weapons were literally designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly and are weapons of war with no place on a — the streets of a civil society? 

They want and know — (applause) — they understand — they understand, like so many of us, the logic behind universal background checks, which is pretty simple.  You just might want to know before someone can buy a lethal weapon if they’ve been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others.  You just might want to know.  It’s reasonable.

Same point with red flag laws. 

So, on this issue, it is a lived experience, and they are aware of the solutions.  And I think, frankly, when they start voting in their numbers, we’re going to see a sea change.

But I will also say, on this issue, I was just in — in North Carolina, and I met with a — a yo- — a group of young students.  They’re in middle school.  And I convened a group of them without the press — it wasn’t about the press — to talk with them because each one of them had experienced — personally experienced gun violence, either because they witnessed it, they had a family member, or they were there wh- — they witnessed it when — when someone was shot.

And the undiagnosed and therefore untreated trauma that results from violence of any sort and, in particular, gun violence is very real.

I would urge the mayors here — there’s a book that I — I’m very fond of.  It’s called “The Deepest Well,” and it was written by a former surgeon general and talks about the prevalence in our cities — urban, suburban, rural communities — of undiagnosed, untreated trauma and how that can then lead to a number of behavioral issues, obviously, but also physiological symptoms. 

And when we think about our youngest children through — and through adulthood witnessing this kind of violence and the impact it has, then, that becomes almost inherited trauma — not genetically inherited, but inherited from the environment — and what that results in, in terms of behaviors that are not productive for a community, much less harmful to the individual. 

So, all of these issues are the issues that you address as mayors.  So many of you have been leaders in a fundamental way around what we need to do around intervention, what we need to do around community approach, what we need to do around prevention. 

And, as Tom Perez said, the work that we have done through bipartisan work, thankfully — first time in 30 years on the — on gun violence — has resulted in federal dollars flowing to you.  And hope you got it.  Call Tom if you didn’t.  (Laughter.)  But to support the work that you are doing at a local level to address all these issues, including the issue of trauma and treatment and the need for more mental health services. 

During the college tour — and I’ll end with this — I also issued a national call to our young leaders to enter the mental health professions.  And I was thinking and had in my mind from decades earlier — remember? — there was a national call for people to become social workers.  Similarly, we know some of the best treatment that can be offered for anyone who needs assistance is — is peer-based.  And thinking about our young leaders, their learned experience, and then being able to be part of the solution in terms of the — the mental health counseling is also, I think, important. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  Absolutely.  Thank you for that.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you so much.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MAYOR LUCAS:  On the topic of fundamental rights and freedoms, you’ve made clear — and I thank you for this — that every American has the right to live safe from gun violence. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  And let’s go back to what you just mentioned with North Carolina.  The administration is making historic progress, was — as was exemplified by your announcement in Charlotte last week —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — of an additional $285 million
to help hire and train school counselors across the country — $285 million for school counselors across the country.  That is just one way you are collaborating with mayors across the country.  But what is your recommendation to mayors as to how we can tackle this epidemic?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, so, you mentioned Charlotte.  And I want to thank Mayor Lyles.  I know you’re here because I just saw you a minute ago.  And we had a — we — so, what we did — Mayor Lyles convened a group of leaders in the community.  And they were teachers; they were schoolboard members; they were parents; they were also parents of — of children who had been killed because of gun violence; mental health providers.

And it was — it was a very productive conversation.  And Mayor Lyles just shared with me that — that the result of that conversation was even more work, which is always my intent. 

I have this saying, among many, which is: “We meet to do our job; our job is not to meet.”  (Laughter.)  I think all of you will appreciate that point. 

And so, that meeting, from it, actually, came more work, which is good.  And it was a — it was an opportunity, I think, for Mayor Lyles, if I can speak for her, to actually have an opportunity to bring folks together who are in some ways working in silos simply because they’re just trying to get through the days and nights with the — fewer resources than they actually need and allowing them to then think about how they can collaborate and work together. 

So, the convening power of mayors is extraordinary.  In addition to, of co- — and because, of course, you, then, as mayors, have the power to convene not only the community-based providers, but the — the folks from city agencies, folks from law enforcement, and — and to create these conversations where, invariably, ideas will come from and — and plans can be hatched to — to create greater synergy. 

So, I would encourage that.  And I would encourage you to, as often as you can, do what you do, which is be a voice for all those folks who must be seen and whose experiences must be known. 

I think there’s so much about the challenges that we face as a nation that end up being minimized through the — the political discourse in a way that really is about politics more than it is substance or policy.  And you all don’t have the luxury of doing that because of what you need to accomplish each day.  And your voices are so credible and important to amplify the experiences of your constituents. 

And I know it’s not easy to do, but it is very important when you do it.  And I thank you for that as well. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you so much for that as well.  I also want to give a shout-out.  We mentioned it before, but the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention is doing amazing work.  I had the chance to meet with them just a few weeks ago.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  I know they have met with mayors, state legislators.  I encourage you — every city, large and small, working on gun violence prevention, reducing intimate partner violence —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — which is a significant issue for us —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — and doing important work. 

So, for my final question.  You have often put the — the fight for freedoms from gun violence in the context of — of more of our fights for freedoms. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  And we know that next week you will begin your “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  And we welcome you to Kansas City as part of it. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  And thank you for doing this tour.

In light of the Dobbs decision, what are the most important things for all of us to do to assure reproductive freedom in our nation?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’ll start with this.  I think we can all agree that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. 

If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but that the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. 

And if we could perhaps frame the discourse around that so that we understand that this is not about trying to convert someone in terms of their beliefs.  It is simply saying that we respect autonomy and bodily autonomy and, frankly, that we trust women to know what’s in their own best interest.  (Applause.)  And everyone can say that.

So, that is it, in terms of — of a fundamental concept that is at play on the issue of freedoms.  But here’s the other thing about this issue.  And it’s — it — it is, again, an issue where we — we — especially those who serve in local office and — and have direct contact with your constituents on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis — understand —

You know, so, for so many of us — I’m going to judge that most of us — for our entire adult or conscious lives, Roe v. Wade was intact.  And, you know, many of us would, you know, start with, you know, “We are pro-choice; we must protect Roe,” but didn’t necessarily think it was ever going to go away. 

Well, it did.  And there has been a consequence of that that is very real to real people, who are silently suffering every day. 

We are a group of adults.  So, I’m going to just share with you what you may know. 

There are women in America having miscarriages in toilets.  There are women who have been denied emergency care because the healthcare providers at the emergency room are afraid that they may go to jail for assisting these women in giving them healthcare that they want to give.

I shared with you I was a prosecutor.  Well, many of you may not know why.  One of the reasons I became a prosecutor is my best friend in high school, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And when I learned, I said to her, “Well, you — you have to come and stay with us.”  I called my mother.  My mother said, “Yes, she has to come stay with us.”  And she did.

And I decided I wanted to take on the issue of violence against women and children, and most of my career as a prosecutor was to do just that.

I bring that up to say: There are laws that have been proposed and passed that make no exception even for rape or incest.  Understand what that means.  We are saying to a survivor of a crime of violence, a violation of their body, that you don’t have the authority or right to make a decision about what happens to your body next.  That’s immoral.

So, on this issue, I would ask us all who have a voice to consider all those who are silently suffering.

The majority of women who have abortions in America are mothers.  God help her that she has paid family leave, paid sick leave, has a bit of savings to be able to afford a bus or train or a plane ticket to go where she needs to go to get the healthcare she needs if it’s not available in her own state.  Understand what this means. 

And there is a — it is occurring in an environment that also is laden with judgment, as though she’s done something wrong, something she should be embarrassed about.

And as all of us know, when we isolate people, we strip them of their power.  And it hurts our whole community.

So, on this issue, the President has been clear.  We are clear that when Congress puts back in place what the Court took away, President Joe Biden will sign back into law the protections of Roe v. Wade.  (Applause.) 

So, elections matter.  And we’ve got to get there.  We’ve got to get there.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Madam Vice President, on behalf of the United States Conference of Mayors, God bless you. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And you.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice President of the United States.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, all.  (Applause.)

END                  2:23 P.M. EST

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Capital Hilton
Washington, D.C.

2:02 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon.

AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And, President Schieve, thank you for convening us.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you, Madam Vice President.  And say hello, Mayors, to the Vice President.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.)

We are delighted and honored to be with you, but we also discuss an important topic.  Following the onset of the pandemic and the nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd, we saw a spike in homicides in cities across the country.  Innocent lives were being lost; communities were being shattered. 

But when you and the President took office, you immediately began to address the scourge of gun violence in our country.  The President issued several important executive orders, and federal agencies put policies in place to help reduce the problems of gun violence and to support local prevention and enforcement efforts.

And in 2022, Congress passed and President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — (applause) — for those who don’t know, the first piece of legislation to strengthen our gun laws in decades.

And last year, you and President Biden established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.  Thank you on behalf of all of our cities.  (Applause.)

We have begun to see some progress.  And during 2023, many cities had significant reductions in homicides.  But make no mistake, gun violence remains a serious problem in our cities and in our nation.  But we’re seeing a glimmer of hope, and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.

This past fall, Madam Vice President, you met with over 15,000 students across the country on your “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour.  What did you hear from them, and what was on their minds?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Well, thank you, Mayor Lucas.   It’s good to be with you today.  And to all the mayors who are here, let me start by thanking you for the extraordinary calling that you have answered to serve, in particular, at the local government level.  And as — as Tom said, I — I once served as — as District Attorney at the local level.  And so, I fully appreciate what your lives are like.

People recognize you as the face of government.  And they run into you at the grocery store, the gas station, at the — your children’s softball games, and it is you that they recognize as being responsible for and accountable for all of the concerns that they may have about their life and the world.  And you all rise to the level every day. 

And it takes a lot, in terms of personal sacrifice but also a deep commitment to service.  And so, let me start by thanking the U.S. Conference of Mayors and all of the members for the work that you do.  O- — (applause) — thank you to you.

So, on the issue of gun violence, let me start with this.  And back to the point about my previous service, I started my elected career as the elected District Attorney of San Francisco.  And I will tell — (applause) — well, and I will tell you that — and that was following a — a career of being a courtroom prosecutor, where, among the cases that I prosecuted — homicide cases.

So, I have witnessed and — and seen autopsies.  I know what guns do and gun violence does to the human body.  For so many of you, you too know what gun violence does to people, to a community, to families, to the psyche of a community, to the well-being and health of a community.

So, when we have this conversation among us, this is not some intellectual, academic discourse.  It is very real.  It is part of our lived existence.  And it is that approach that I bring, then, to my thoughts about this issue.

So, I started a college tour last fall because, you know, I have to tell you: I love Gen Z.  (Laughter.)  Yes, I know, but I love Gen Z.  And — and it will be a humbling fact to many of us when we realize that anyone who is 18 today, they were born in 2005.  (Laughter.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  Wow.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Indeed.  Yes, wow. 

And this generation, for so many of these issues, it’s a lived experience.  Think about it.  For this generation of — who I call young leaders, they’ve only known the climate crisis.  In fact, they’ve coined a term “climate anxiety” to describe their fears about having children or buying a home for fear that it may be destroyed because of extreme climate incidents.

They witnessed George Floyd being killed.  They endured a historic pandemic where they lost also significant phases of their educational process.  They have, through their lives — and I would ask at the college tour them to raise their hand in these auditoriums: “Who of you, please raise your hand,” I would ask, “had to endure an active shooter drill anytime between kindergarten and 12th grade?”  Almost every hand went up. 

And, in fact, I’d say to the press that was always in the room and the older adults, “Please take a look and take account of this.”  Because I think so many older adults don’t really understand what our children — the children of our community — have been going through.

And so — and, also, they, at the height of their reproductive years, just witnessed the highest court in our land take a freedom from them to make decisions about their own body, such that they will have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. 

So, on so many of these issues, it was reinforced for me during this college tour that these are lived experiences and it has had a profound impact on their lives.  And they, therefore, think about these issues with a sense of urgency that the solutions that are often at hand be implemented.  And they are right to demand that we, in positions of elected leadership right now, do something about it with a sense of urgency. 

They are acutely aware of what we know, which is that gun violence is the leading cause of death of the children of America — leading cause of death — not car accidents, not some form of cancer — gun violence.  One in five Americans has a family member that was killed as a result of gun violence.

I have traveled m- — most of your states over the last three years.  I have met with parents who say a silent prayer every time their child gets on the school bus or they drop them off at school that there’s nobody running around with an assault weapon, breaking into their school — the school of their child while they’re at a place where they should be fulfilling their God-given capacity to learn.

So, the young people of our country have lived through this, and they want a change.  And they understand what I think so many of us do: It is a false choice to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.

I am in favor of the Second Amendment.  But is it not reasonable that we would have an assault weapons ban, understanding that assault weapons were literally designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly and are weapons of war with no place on a — the streets of a civil society? 

They want and know — (applause) — they understand — they understand, like so many of us, the logic behind universal background checks, which is pretty simple.  You just might want to know before someone can buy a lethal weapon if they’ve been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others.  You just might want to know.  It’s reasonable.

Same point with red flag laws. 

So, on this issue, it is a lived experience, and they are aware of the solutions.  And I think, frankly, when they start voting in their numbers, we’re going to see a sea change.

But I will also say, on this issue, I was just in — in North Carolina, and I met with a — a yo- — a group of young students.  They’re in middle school.  And I convened a group of them without the press — it wasn’t about the press — to talk with them because each one of them had experienced — personally experienced gun violence, either because they witnessed it, they had a family member, or they were there wh- — they witnessed it when — when someone was shot.

And the undiagnosed and therefore untreated trauma that results from violence of any sort and, in particular, gun violence is very real.

I would urge the mayors here — there’s a book that I — I’m very fond of.  It’s called “The Deepest Well,” and it was written by a former surgeon general and talks about the prevalence in our cities — urban, suburban, rural communities — of undiagnosed, untreated trauma and how that can then lead to a number of behavioral issues, obviously, but also physiological symptoms. 

And when we think about our youngest children through — and through adulthood witnessing this kind of violence and the impact it has, then, that becomes almost inherited trauma — not genetically inherited, but inherited from the environment — and what that results in, in terms of behaviors that are not productive for a community, much less harmful to the individual. 

So, all of these issues are the issues that you address as mayors.  So many of you have been leaders in a fundamental way around what we need to do around intervention, what we need to do around community approach, what we need to do around prevention. 

And, as Tom Perez said, the work that we have done through bipartisan work, thankfully — first time in 30 years on the — on gun violence — has resulted in federal dollars flowing to you.  And hope you got it.  Call Tom if you didn’t.  (Laughter.)  But to support the work that you are doing at a local level to address all these issues, including the issue of trauma and treatment and the need for more mental health services. 

During the college tour — and I’ll end with this — I also issued a national call to our young leaders to enter the mental health professions.  And I was thinking and had in my mind from decades earlier — remember? — there was a national call for people to become social workers.  Similarly, we know some of the best treatment that can be offered for anyone who needs assistance is — is peer-based.  And thinking about our young leaders, their learned experience, and then being able to be part of the solution in terms of the — the mental health counseling is also, I think, important. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  Absolutely.  Thank you for that.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you so much.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MAYOR LUCAS:  On the topic of fundamental rights and freedoms, you’ve made clear — and I thank you for this — that every American has the right to live safe from gun violence. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  And let’s go back to what you just mentioned with North Carolina.  The administration is making historic progress, was — as was exemplified by your announcement in Charlotte last week —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — of an additional $285 million
to help hire and train school counselors across the country — $285 million for school counselors across the country.  That is just one way you are collaborating with mayors across the country.  But what is your recommendation to mayors as to how we can tackle this epidemic?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, so, you mentioned Charlotte.  And I want to thank Mayor Lyles.  I know you’re here because I just saw you a minute ago.  And we had a — we — so, what we did — Mayor Lyles convened a group of leaders in the community.  And they were teachers; they were schoolboard members; they were parents; they were also parents of — of children who had been killed because of gun violence; mental health providers.

And it was — it was a very productive conversation.  And Mayor Lyles just shared with me that — that the result of that conversation was even more work, which is always my intent. 

I have this saying, among many, which is: “We meet to do our job; our job is not to meet.”  (Laughter.)  I think all of you will appreciate that point. 

And so, that meeting, from it, actually, came more work, which is good.  And it was a — it was an opportunity, I think, for Mayor Lyles, if I can speak for her, to actually have an opportunity to bring folks together who are in some ways working in silos simply because they’re just trying to get through the days and nights with the — fewer resources than they actually need and allowing them to then think about how they can collaborate and work together. 

So, the convening power of mayors is extraordinary.  In addition to, of co- — and because, of course, you, then, as mayors, have the power to convene not only the community-based providers, but the — the folks from city agencies, folks from law enforcement, and — and to create these conversations where, invariably, ideas will come from and — and plans can be hatched to — to create greater synergy. 

So, I would encourage that.  And I would encourage you to, as often as you can, do what you do, which is be a voice for all those folks who must be seen and whose experiences must be known. 

I think there’s so much about the challenges that we face as a nation that end up being minimized through the — the political discourse in a way that really is about politics more than it is substance or policy.  And you all don’t have the luxury of doing that because of what you need to accomplish each day.  And your voices are so credible and important to amplify the experiences of your constituents. 

And I know it’s not easy to do, but it is very important when you do it.  And I thank you for that as well. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you so much for that as well.  I also want to give a shout-out.  We mentioned it before, but the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention is doing amazing work.  I had the chance to meet with them just a few weeks ago.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  I know they have met with mayors, state legislators.  I encourage you — every city, large and small, working on gun violence prevention, reducing intimate partner violence —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — which is a significant issue for us —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  — and doing important work. 

So, for my final question.  You have often put the — the fight for freedoms from gun violence in the context of — of more of our fights for freedoms. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MAYOR LUCAS:  And we know that next week you will begin your “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes. 

MAYOR LUCAS:  And we welcome you to Kansas City as part of it. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MAYOR LUCAS:  And thank you for doing this tour.

In light of the Dobbs decision, what are the most important things for all of us to do to assure reproductive freedom in our nation?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’ll start with this.  I think we can all agree that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. 

If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but that the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. 

And if we could perhaps frame the discourse around that so that we understand that this is not about trying to convert someone in terms of their beliefs.  It is simply saying that we respect autonomy and bodily autonomy and, frankly, that we trust women to know what’s in their own best interest.  (Applause.)  And everyone can say that.

So, that is it, in terms of — of a fundamental concept that is at play on the issue of freedoms.  But here’s the other thing about this issue.  And it’s — it — it is, again, an issue where we — we — especially those who serve in local office and — and have direct contact with your constituents on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis — understand —

You know, so, for so many of us — I’m going to judge that most of us — for our entire adult or conscious lives, Roe v. Wade was intact.  And, you know, many of us would, you know, start with, you know, “We are pro-choice; we must protect Roe,” but didn’t necessarily think it was ever going to go away. 

Well, it did.  And there has been a consequence of that that is very real to real people, who are silently suffering every day. 

We are a group of adults.  So, I’m going to just share with you what you may know. 

There are women in America having miscarriages in toilets.  There are women who have been denied emergency care because the healthcare providers at the emergency room are afraid that they may go to jail for assisting these women in giving them healthcare that they want to give.

I shared with you I was a prosecutor.  Well, many of you may not know why.  One of the reasons I became a prosecutor is my best friend in high school, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And when I learned, I said to her, “Well, you — you have to come and stay with us.”  I called my mother.  My mother said, “Yes, she has to come stay with us.”  And she did.

And I decided I wanted to take on the issue of violence against women and children, and most of my career as a prosecutor was to do just that.

I bring that up to say: There are laws that have been proposed and passed that make no exception even for rape or incest.  Understand what that means.  We are saying to a survivor of a crime of violence, a violation of their body, that you don’t have the authority or right to make a decision about what happens to your body next.  That’s immoral.

So, on this issue, I would ask us all who have a voice to consider all those who are silently suffering.

The majority of women who have abortions in America are mothers.  God help her that she has paid family leave, paid sick leave, has a bit of savings to be able to afford a bus or train or a plane ticket to go where she needs to go to get the healthcare she needs if it’s not available in her own state.  Understand what this means. 

And there is a — it is occurring in an environment that also is laden with judgment, as though she’s done something wrong, something she should be embarrassed about.

And as all of us know, when we isolate people, we strip them of their power.  And it hurts our whole community.

So, on this issue, the President has been clear.  We are clear that when Congress puts back in place what the Court took away, President Joe Biden will sign back into law the protections of Roe v. Wade.  (Applause.) 

So, elections matter.  And we’ve got to get there.  We’ve got to get there.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Madam Vice President, on behalf of the United States Conference of Mayors, God bless you. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And you.

MAYOR LUCAS:  Thank you. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice President of the United States.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, all.  (Applause.)

END                  2:23 P.M. EST

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