The Government Shutdown: 2023

Here is everything you need to know about the Government Shutdown that took place during the Biden-Harris Administration. This is not the first time the U.S. government has faced a shutdown. In this blog post, I provided as much as I could find about the government shutdown.

In 2018-2019, (then) President Donald Trump caused a shutdown because he wanted money for a border wall. This resulted in several weeks of having the U.S. government experience a partial shutdown.

You can read more about the Trump shutdown here:

• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week One
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Two
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Three
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Four
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Five
• Will There Be Another Partial Government Shutdown?

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MARCH 2023:

March 1, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi. Good afternoon, everybody. Apologies for the briefing staring late today.

I want to start by saying: Happy Women’s History Month — a time when we celebrate the countless women who have fought tirelessly and courageously for equality, justice, and opportunity in our nation. And we reaffirm our commitment to continue advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls in the United States and around the world.

The President is honoring this commitment with action. He signed into law legislation to advance gender equity over the last year, including to support women in the workplace, such as the Pregnant Workers Family — Fairness Act — pardon me; the Speak Out Act; and the Pump for Nursing Mothers Act, as well. And to ensure all people can live free from violence through the strengthening and reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

The President is also proud of having the most diverse group of women at the highest levels of government in U.S. history, including the first woman Vice President and the first gender-equal Cabinet.

This Women’s History Month, we remain committed to continuing this important work in services of advancing the full participation of women, a foun- — foundational tenant of our democracy.

And I wanted to lift up some really good news that all of you saw this morning and you also heard from the President as well speak to this, which is the lowering health cost for American people that we heard today.

So, as you know, for far too long, American families have been crushed by drug cost many times higher than that cost to make them and what people in our – in other countries are charged for for that same very — that same prescription.

Insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it as well. As the President said this morning, it’s flat wrong. That’s why the President fought tooth and nail to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which caps the price of insulin of Americans on Medicare.

This was a critical action to lower healthcare costs for American people. But the President has been clear that the insulin cap should apply to all Americans. And that was something that we saw congressional Republicans blocked at that time.

In this — in his State of the Union address, he also called on Pharma companies to continue this process and bring prices down for everyone on their own.

Today, Eli Lilly, the largest manufacturer of insulin in the United States, heeded that call and announced that they are lowering prices, capping what patients pay out of the pocket — out of pocket for drugmakers’ insulin products at $30 — at $35.

This is great news and important progress towards lowering costs for all Americans. Unfortunately, congressional Republicans are making — are among the few left that believe insulin costs should be sky high. In fact, they are fighting to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which would increase healthcare costs for American people and increase the deficit as well.

And finally, last night, House Republicans voted to overturn the Department of Labor’s rule that investors make their own investment decision free of government interference. The Senate will vote on the measure today.

Republicans talk about their love of free markets, small government, and letting the private sector do its work. The Republican bill is opposite of that. It forces MAGA Republicans’ ideology down the throats of private sector and handcuffing investors as well. The bill would bar fiduciaries from considering significant risks like extreme climate threats and poor coop- — coop — corporate governance when they make investment decisions.

It would give investment professionals less flexibility to make prudent decisions, meaning they won’t be free to maximize the retirement savings for millions of Americans. That would jeopardize the retirement and life savings for police officers, firefighters, teachers, and tens of millions of retirees all across the country.

This is unacceptable to the President, and that is why he will veto this bill if it does come to his desk.

President Biden is focused on protecting workers’ hard-earned life savings and pensions. And that is — that is what he’s going to continue to do. You’ve heard him say that many times.

And with that, Aamer, you want to kick us off?

Q: Yeah. Thank you. So, Chicago had their mayoral — or first round of their mayoral elections yesterday. And it’s the latest big American city where frustrations about crime was a central issue of the cycle. Does President Biden — does he feel that this administration and, I guess, Washington writ large is putting enough attention on dealing with the issue of crime, particularly in areas — big urban areas like Chicago?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, let me first speak to the mayor’s race. Look, the President is committed to working with who — whoever — whomever the — you know, the people in Chicago or the people on the ground, whichever — if it’s a city or a state — whomever they choose to represent them. So that is — is the case and will continue to be the case.

And so I’m going to withhold commenting on any specific race, but I know you’re asking about crime specifically. Look, the President put forth, as you know, a comprehensive Safer Communities plan. And he put that forth after inheriting a rise of crime. That is something that he has been focused on since the beginning of his administration.

Let’s not forget, in that plan, he calls for more than 100,000 police officers to go into the community, to work with communities, and make sure that communities feel safe, families feel safe. And that’s what the President has put forward.

And you’ll see — when you see his commitment to crime — you’ll see that in his — in his budget next week. As you know, we’re going to release that March 9th, And it will reflect his commitment, as well, as we’re trying to continue to fight crime, which is — the President has been leading at from the beginning of his administration.

But what we have seen is that, for years, — for years, congressional Republicans have been doing the opposite. When you think about the COPS program, which is something that the President put forward, they have wanted to defund that, to take it away.

And if you think about that, that leads to defunding the police. Just recently, they called on defunding the FBI. And you think about the border security funding; they want to take that away as well.

So the President has been committed. And one more thing I would add: Let’s not forget the banning assault weapons. That is a key part of this — when we think about crime, when we think about gun crime — that we believe will help alleviate the crime that we’re seeing, keep families safe, keep communities safe across the country.

So, the President has walked the talk. The President has been very consistent on making sure that communities feel safe and fighting crime. And he’ll continue to do that.

Q: Okay. So just one on a different topic. If TikTok isn’t safe for federal government workers’ devices, does the President believe it’s safe for Americans’ children’s smartphones?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m glad that you asked about that because, look, we have been clear about our concerns about TikTok, apps like TikTok — and, certainly, our concerns with countries, including China, as they seek to leverage digital technologies and Americans’ — and Americans’ data in ways that can present harm and — and risk to our national security, clearly.

There was — to your point about families, there was a piece of data, of CDC data, that jus found recently nearly 60 percent of teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, and — and 30 percent seriously considered suicide.

So, this is something that the President has taken action on. If you look at the executive — executive — using his executive branch authorities. When you think about his Unity Agenda, a couple of things that he was able to do was stop collecting — stop collecting personal data on kids and teenagers online, ban targeted advertising to children, and impose stricter limits on the personal data companies collect on all of us.

And so, this is what the President calls on Congress to pass in a bipartisan way — you know, privacy legislation to hold bi- — big tech accountable.

And so, the President is going to continue to take actions. But we see that. We see that in the data how this has affected young people, especially during this pandemic in the last couple of years.

Q: Thanks, Karine. To follow on that, does the President believe TikTok is a threat to national security?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we have said that we have concerns. We have concerns about the app. And that’s why we have called on Congress to act and — including — and I mentioned earlier, just moments ago — including what China — how China is trying to collect the privacy of Americans in a way that it would have — it would — can present national security risks.

So, yes, we have concerns about that. And — and look, we’re going to continue to — again, to call on Congress. I just laid out the President’s Unity Agenda and what he’s looking to do and the actions that he wants to take from the executive branch, his authority. And so we’re going to continue to call that out.

Q: But does that — do the actions include a ban on all devices in the U.S.?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what I would — what I would say is this: The White House does not use TikTok. And — but we do believe — we do believe that — that, you know, Congress took action. And so, therefore, clearly, we’re — they took action and put this into law. And clearly, we’re taking — taking those steps as it — as it relates to the federal government.

Outside of that, we know that CFIUS has an ongoing investigation or ongoing — looking at this — looking at this situation. So I’m not going to go beyond what CFIUS is doing.

Q: I guess what I’m truing to understand is: You know, has the President not issued a federal ban on TikTok on all devices because he does not think it’s a threat to national security or because he does not have a legal mechanism to do so?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into the specifics on what he has legally to so or not to do so. What I’m saying — and we’ve been very clear that TikTok, you know, poses a problem and an issue. And so, we have concerns about that as it relates to Americans’ data — collecting Americans’ data and the potential national security risk. And we’ve been very, very, clear on that.

Again, CFIUS has an ongoing process that they’re going — they’re working through, so I’m going to let that speak for itself, what they come up with/

Q: And then just one more on the — the intelligence assessment on the Havana Syndrome. The community does not believe it was a foreign adversary that is to blame for these cases, but rather things such as pre-existing conditions, conventional illnesses, environmental factors. Can you elaborate on what that might mean and what else you’re doing to try to pinpoint exactly what caused it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, so a couple of things. So, look, nothing is more important to this admin – — administration to this President than the health and the wellbeing of our workforce. So that is a priority for this President.

With bipartisan support with Congress, we have focused on ensuring that our colleagues and their families who report anomalous health incidents receive the support and access — care that they need. And so, that also — that medical treatment, the medical care that they need has been incredibly important.

So we also asked the — the U.S. intelligence company [community] to surge resources to help advance our understanding of the AHI reports to date and examine all possibil- all possible explanations. We have committed to be transparent with the workforce because we believe that’s what they deserve and with the American people as well.

But what the IC has learned — and we would refer you to, clearly ODNI — as it relates to assessment and what the specifics of that assess – — assessment and the key judgements that the IC released, that’s something that we clearly would recommend to them.

But it is important to note that what the Director of the National Intelligence said and underscored today is that today’s IC assessment does not call into action the very real experiences and symptoms. Like, we acknowledge that, and we understand that people are truly — truly went through — went through an ordeal. And so, you know — and that’s something that, clearly, our colleag- — our colleagues and their families had to deal with.

So, our commitment and the President’s commitment to the health and safety of U.S. government personnel remains unwavering. And this is why the departments and agency will continue to provide timely care on the medi- — as we look at the medical care and make sure that — that the reports are thorough, support research efforts, and process HAVANA Act payments as requested.

So, again, when it — as it relates to the specific — any specific questions to their assessment, I would refer you to ODNI.

But this doesn’t change the commitment that the President has in making sure that, you know, these families, our colleagues in the workforce get the help and the assistance that they need. And we’re — they’re going to continue to — to work through that.

Q: Thank you. And just to follow up on that, is the President satisfied with that report, with that assessment on the Havana Syndrome?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’ll say this: You know, what’s important to the President is that we take this very seriously, as the intelligence community has.

And you saw the assessment. They laid it out pretty — pretty clearly from ODNI. What we are committed to is making sure that– that our workforce and their families get the assistance that they need through this — the medical care. And, look, the work is ongoing. It continues.

Q: So the — that extra, special financial support that came from the HAVANA Act that the President signed, the White House still believes that the people who are suffering from these symptoms, even with this assessment now, that those people should still get that extra financial support?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Absolutely.

Q: That’s the position of the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, absolutely.

But I do want to send a message to the American people: Look, it is — it is important, again, for the health and wellness of the — of our workforce to be a priority.

And that’s what you — you saw from the intelligence community assessment. And — and it — Look, and even from the assessment, that doesn’t alter that. It doesn’t alter our commitment, the President’s commitment to their health and safety. And so that’s what I would say.

There is a commitment there to make sure that we make sure that there is a safe workplace for folks who are working for the U.S. government and who are clearly employees.

Q: If I can just — on one topic that you had brought up: the Eli Lilly news. Did the President make a personal appeal directly to any company executives ahead of this announcement to lower the cost of insulin?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll say this: I mean, the President has the biggest bu- — bully pulpit, right?

Q: Yeah beyond what we heard from him, of course, in the State of the Union.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I mean, I think that’s pretty important, right? I think when people ask what is the President doing using the bully pulpit, as he did at the State of the Union, and calling out or laying out how we can help the American people is critical. It’s important here.

And we saw that, right? We saw that. He talked — he spoke to insulin and how costs need to go down. And here we see Eli Lilly taking action.

And so, look, this is something that he’s going to do. Using the bully pulpit as the President of the United States is an incredibly powerful tool, and the President uses that in a very important way not just to talk to the American people and lay out his platform, lay out how he’s working every day to make sure — in this case, lowering costs for Americans, wether it’s healthcare, whether its energy — and making sure that we continue to deliver, but it’s also speaking directly to companies out there like Eli Lilly and saying, “Hey, you know, we need — you all need to change how you move forward, especially on something like insulin that affects so many families across the country.”

Q: But one-on-one conversations with anybody —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I don’t have — I —

Q: — or other companies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have a — any conversations to preview. But I think it is important to really speak to the importance of the bully pulpit, as the — and the way that the President uses that in a way that’s effective and in a way that communicates what the American people need.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. China is going through its party Congress process right now, and they’re expected to implement the biggest government reshuffle in a decade over there.

Do you — what will U.S. engagement with the Chinese look like once this process is over? Do you have a comment?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, the approach — the approach that we have to China hasn’t changed, right? We’ve — you’ve heard us say, “We seek competition, not conflict.” You’ve heard us say that it needs to be practical. That’s the way we approach it: calm with — and resolute. And that is not going to change.

And the President will always do what is required to defend our interests, the American people’s interests. Still believes it is important to keep the lines of communication open.

As you all know, Secretary Blinken very recently, when he was in Munich, had a — had a meeting, a conversation with Wang Yi, his counterpart in China. And so, again, keeping those lines of communication open.

As you mentioned, they’re going through the annual parliament to put in place its government representative. We maintain working-level lines of communication as they go through this process. And after that’s done, as we have said, we are prepared to have high-level engagement with China from – from the President on down.

I don’t have anything to preview. I know many of you have asked me about if there’s a conversation with the President and President Xi. There — I don’t have anything to read out for you at that — at this time.

Q: Xi is expected to further tighten his grip on China after this process is over. Is that — how is the administration viewing that? How is the administration planning to engage with him?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m not going to get into what — how the process of their annual parliament. I’m going to let them — you know, that’s something political. We don’t really respond to that.

They’re going to go through their process. Once that is over, we’re going to continue having an open channel conversation.

As I mentioned, Secretary Blinken had a conversation with his counterpart, Wang Yi, very recently in Munich, when they all — when they all gathered there for the summit.

And so, we’re going to keep — continue to have those line of communication.

Look, as I said just moments ago, it’s going to be resolute, it’s going to be practical, and it’s going to be calm. And we have been very, very clear: Nothing will change on how — on our approach with handling — with dealing with our — our relationship with China in this — in this past two years.

Q: And I had one on another topic. The Ron DeSantis opportunity-ed in the Journal yesterday, where he talked about signing a law that ended Disney’s self-governing status in Florida that essentially provided the company with a favorable tax structure; they were able to get away without paying taxes around regional infrastructure developments.

How does the White House that has been cracking down on corporate tax evasion view this move by DeSantis? I mean, is there — is there any line of thinking that perhaps supports what has just happened in Florida with Disney?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to be very frank with you, Nandita. I have not read the op-ed, and I — frankly, I don’t plan to.

Look, the President has been very clear here. He’s going to deliver for the American people.

I talked about lowering costs. We just talked about Eli Lilly and their great announcement or — of capping $35 for insulin, which is going to be so important to families across the country.

We just talked about — I was just asked about crime and the work that the President has done over the last two years to fight crime in communities, something — something that he inherited, when you think about the rise of crime in the last couple of years.

And so, we’re not going to play political games. That’s not something that we do here. We’re going to continue to stay very focused — laser focused on delivering for the American people.

And I’m not going to read that op-ed.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. There’s a bipartisan rail safety bill that was introduced or proposed today in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed the broad outlines of the proposal. Has the White House seen it? Does the White House support it in the wake of the East Palestine disaster?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we’re glad to see bipartisan support. This is something that — you know, that Secretary Pete has been calling for. And this is, clearly, to bring forth several rail safety measures, which is incredibly important.

So, you know, the bill would increase the maximum fines for safety violations. It would strengthen rules governing trains carrying hazardous materials. It will accel- — accelerate the timeline for phasing in safer tank cars and establishing a permanent requirement for two-person train cars. So, this is a good first step, and we welcome it.

We encourage Republicans and Democrats to continue to work together enva- — advance these commonsense rail safety measures. And it’s an I’m- — again, an important first step, and we welcome it.

Q: Is there anything, just on the executive branch side, that you guys are considering or weighing in terms of assistance to East Palestine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as far – you’re talking about economic — more economic assistance? Look, we — you’ve heard from Secretary Buttigieg, you’ve heard from the EPA Administrator speak to how we’re going to hold Norfolk Suffolk [Southern] accountable here to make sure that they pay for the mess they created on the ground in the community of East Palestine.

This is something that we are incredibly focused on and serious about. Your’ve envy heard the EPA Administrator say that if they don’t, they will — they will have to pay this three times over.

And so, look, we’re going to keep them — keep them accountable. And that’s going to be our focus.

Q: And just one more final one. The President nominated Eric Garcetti roughly 600 days ago to be ambassador to India. I think he’s supposed to have a committee approval process next week. The vote, I think, is still kind of up in the air.

Does the administration believe that he will be confirmed? And do you feel like this is a make-or-break moment for a long process?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, Phil, — you know, Eric Garcetti was voted out in a bipartisan way — out of committee. And so, clearly he has had bipartisan support, which is very important in this process.

And we encourage and look forward to the Senate — the Senate, you know, moving forward with his nomination on the floor.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I just wanted to circle back to crime. As soon as next week, Congress could end up overturning a new sentencing law in D.C. that reduces penalties for some violent crimes, among other measures. Is the President prepared to issue a veto if that vote passes and it crosses his desk?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I know we’ve been asked this question before.

Q: Yeah, but given that Manchin has signaled support, I thought (inaudible) update.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President takes this very seriously when it comes to crime. I’m not going to get ahead of — of what — of what the — you know, of what the decision is going to be or what it’s going to ultimately look like. Don’t want to get too much into hypotheticals.

But what I can state clearly, and I’ve said this before: The President is very committed to make sure that our communities are safer, that families feel safer. That’s why he put a forth a plan very early on, making sure that we put more police in — in communities, that work with communities so that they feel safer.

That’s — and you’ll see that as it — as it relates to funding you’ll see that in his budget next month.

I’m not going to get into too much of hypotheticals from here. But the President, I believe in the last two years and throughout his career has shown his dedication in making sure that we keep communities safe.

Q: Okay. And just a second one. Since it’s March 1st, do you have any information about the President’s planned trip to Ottawa this month? It’s been reported that he’s going to be visiting Trudeau.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything to share. Nothing to preview at this time.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: I wanted to ask you about the student loan arguments that were before the Supreme Court yesterday, and many justices seem to take issue with — with the program. And I wonder if the administration has a message to those who have loans already forgiven and are kind of in limbo right now.

And given the skepticism from a lot of the justices, are there any plans from the administration in the event that you don’t have the authority or the authority is struck down?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. We, you know — the plan that we put forward in August is the plan that we have — right? — which is a — which is also a plan that you heard the Solicitor General really defend in a — in a very strong and powerful way yesterday. And that’s our plan.

And we believe in our legal authority to get that done, to get it implemented. And let’s not forget, it is a good plan. It is a plan that’s going to give American families — middle-class families who truly need it, individuals who truly need it — up to $20,000 in relief; to give that, again, a little bit of breathing room for, again, working families and middle-class Americans.

You heard — I don’t know if you saw this, but Secretary — Secretary of Education sent out a an email to borrowers yesterday, and basically saying that we have their back. And I think that’s also very important. That’s the message that we sent to borrowers who need this opportunity right now as we’re coming out of this pandemic, going through this pandemic — a little bit, again, of breathing room.

Q: I guess my question is: if that plan is deemed unconstitutional, is there a backup plan?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I just said, that’s our plan. This is our — our focus right now is getting this done.

It is – you saw — again, you saw the Solicitor General really give a strong argument yesterday in front of the highest court in the land. There’s a reason why we took it to the Supreme Court: because we believe that we have legal authority.

And it’s not forget who this helps. It helps teachers. It helps firefighters, nurses, police officers. That is who we’re talking about and giving that extra little time and extra breathing room to make sure that they can either start a family or buy a house.

And let’s not forget: When that happens, when that occurs, it actually puts money back into the community and helps the economy more broadly.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Follow-up -on —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh — (laughs) — go ahead.

Q: Is it me? Or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, it’s okay.

Q: Okay. Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’ve got the floor my friend.

Q: A follow-up on Mayor Garcetti’s nomination. It looks like he doesn’t have the bipartisan support, as this week, Florida Senator Marco Rubio placed a hold on his nomination, along with six other senior diplomatic position, including Rich Verma, Geeta — Geeta Rao.

What do you have to say on that? Is the President calling these senators — some of the senators to get these nominations through the Senate?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, it’s basically what I just said. We think that Eric Garcetti is — you know, is qualified to serve this vital role. That’s why the President nominated him, right? The President nominated him because he thought he had the experience to be the U.S. ambassador to India.

And as I mentioned moments ago to one of your colleagues, he received bipartisan support going out of committee. And we — we would like to see the — you know, the Senate to move him forward and to continue getting that support.

Q: One more. Secretary Blinken landed in Delhi today to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting — attend (inaudible) — Foreign Ministers Meeting and his bilateral with his Indian counterpart. Is he carrying any message from the President for the Prime Minister and (inaudible)?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. On his visit, Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-India relationship and express our commitment to continue working together and in groups like the Quad to advance economic growth for our two countries and expand cooperation as we have our shared priorities.

So, that’s what you’re going to hear from Secretary Blinken. That is the message that he will deliver.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Just following up on the HAVANA Act, which technically stands for the “Helping Americans Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks” Act. The predicate, obviously, of that law the President signed is that these are attacks. And now, the intelligence community is saying that the — seven agencies are saying that it was either “unlikely” or “very unlikely” that that’s the case.

So, understanding your position that obviously the administration wants to ensure that personnel across the government gets care — but that’s not what this law outlines. This law outlines care for those who have been a subject of attacks. Is that a concern of yours? And how do you plan to address that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I think what the President wants to make sure that occurs, that happens is that we show our commitment to — to government employees, to the workforce, as they’re going through a real issue here. This is a real problem that they have all experienced.

And so, I want to make sure that they continue the medical care that they’re getting, that they get the resources that is needed as they’re working for the U.S. government. That doesn’t take that away.

And — and so, that is a message that we’re going to send to the workforce, the U.S. government federal workforce, and also the families who are going through this, the individuals who are going through this right now.

And I think that’s an important message for the President to send. They had a real experience that they all went through, that they reported, that, clearly, the intelligence community looked into to see exactly what it was. They have a conclusion; they came up with an assessment. I would leave it to them to speak directly to that.

But it doesn’t — it doesn’t take away what they went through. And so, the President is committed to that. And I think that’s the message that we want to make sure that goes forward.

Q: And just quickly following up on that: Now that this assessment is in, does the President feel, does the White House feel as if this is a settled matter? Or does he have more (inaudible)?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — honestly, I would refer you to ODNI on their specific assessment and where they are and what they concluded. I’m not going to speak from — to that from here.

I just — what I want to reiterate again is that we want to make sure that the workforce, our federal workforce, understand that their health and safety is indeed our priority.

Go ahead, Jen.

Q: Yeah. On the Federal Reserve search — the search for the Vice Chair — can you say, is the President looking for a more dovish counterbalance to Jay Powell, which is what some progressives would prefer? Or is that not a factor in this search?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, this is a priority. Making sure that we fill this vacancy is a priority to this President. I’m not going to get into specifics on what the President’s process is, but I would tell you that he — he thinks it’s important to get that vacancy filled, and he’s going to clearly continue to make that a priority. And we hope to have something to share in the near future.

Go ahead.

Q: FISA 702 reauthorization. What’s the White House’s position on reforms to 702 in this round? Or is it the White House insisting that the section be reauthorized without any changes?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything new to — to share on that particular piece.

Q: Okay. If I could go back to the question about the D.C. Council action and the likelihood that the Senate will send the President a bill that forces him to make a decision. Is it fair to say the President is at this moment undecided? Has he not yet decided what he’s going to do?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals from here. I just — what I can say to you is the President’s commitment just more broadly, as it relates to crime, as it relates to making sure that Americans and families feel safe, and what he’s done in the past two years but also beyond.

And so, that’s what I can speak to at this time. Just not going to get into hypotheticals from here.

Q: Okay. So let me ask you it this way: There — basically, there are two ways to look at the question. One is to side with the mayor, who said that the Council’s action went too far and she vetoed it. The other is to side with the members of the Council who insisted on enacting it against her objections. But has the President decided where he stands? Does he stand with Mayor Bowser? Does he stand with mayors — members of the Council?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what I can say — so as it relates to D.C., I’ll say this and the President has been very clear about this: You know, we think that we must do more to — to reduce crime and save lives. And that’s why the President has taken those actions.

As it relates to more — D.C. more broadly, and the President has said this as well, it’s a clear example of why D.C. deserves statehood. Right? And that’s something that the President has called for since the campaign.

But again, I’m not going to get into — into particulars, into hypotheticals.

The Safer America Plan was something that the President has put forward to lay out how he sees making communities safer, how he sees dealing with an increase of crime that happened, — that he inherited, that happened before he walked into office.

So I’ll just leave it there, and I won’t speak further to any hypotheticals.

I’ll go to the back, and then I’ll come back down.

Go ahead.

Q: Yeah. Thanks, Karine. So I want to ask you about the Labor Secretary pick, Julie Su. While she was labor secretary of California, the — during COVID — the state lost between $20 billion and $32 billion in unemployment insurance to fraudsters. Meanwhile, 5 million people had benefits delayed and a million people had them wrongfully canceled. Is the President concerned that his will impact her getting confirmed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things, because there’s — we got to put this all in context of what was happening at the time.

It was a historic crush of unemployment claims at the onset of the pandemic. That’s what we were seeing. The design of the initial pandemic unemployment systems and years of national investments in UI modernization led to challenges — right? — including fraud attacks, as you were just stating, across the nation in red and blue states alike. That was happening across th country during the very early stages of the pandemic.

But under her leadership — under Julie’s leadership, California took important steps to process a number of claims — we’re talking about one in five, which is in the entire nation — that’s what California was deal with — to ensure that working people who were — who were out of work, and this was not their fault, could continue to pay their rent, could continue to put food on the table, continue to put the — keep the lights on.

So, look, she believes in safety nets and — need to be strengthened. That is something that she indeed believes in.

And — and I’ll add — I’ll add this as well. When the President took office, he — he prioritized combating potential frauds of relief funds, just as he did aggressively and successfully as Vice President.

So this is an issue that’s important to her, strengthening those safety nets, and also an issue that’s important to the President that he’s actually taken action on.

Q: So, does he think she can be confirmed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, absolutely. Yes. He thinks that the Senate should confirm her and she is the right person for the job and has the experience to do the job.

And let’s not forget: She has spent the last two years working hand in hand, you know, with Secretary Walsh.

Q: You talked about TikTok earlier. I’m just curious now, why did the administration then wait so long to ban TikTok in all federal employees? Twenty-nine states have already done it. And the President, his first month in office, canceled an investigation by the Commerce Department into TikTok. So why did he wait so long?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I’m not going to speak to any investigation. Look, the process is happening now. That’s what we’re seeing. What I can say is that the President has very — been very clear about his concern with apps like TikTok. And I just laid out the CDC reporting and how it’s affecting our children, and the importance of making sure that we deal with this in a real way, which is why he put forth his Unity Agenda and laying out ways that we can deal with an issue that is affecting the emotional growth and — and also — of our children.

And so, look, the Unity Agenda kind of lays out how the President wants to move forward. I’m not going to go beyond that.

Go ahead.

Q: A quick follow-up on the ESG Labor rule. You had framed, the White House has framed this as a kind of MAGA Republicans imposing their views on the free market. The fact that two Democratic senators say they’re going to vote for this bill, does that undermine that argument?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, not at all, because this is a — this is something that Republicans have pushed forward. This is their — this is their — this is their agenda, which is kind of in line with how they want to move forward with a very extreme ideology, the MAGA — the MAGA Republicans ileo — ideology. And what they’re doing, again, is they’re really pushing down the throats of private sector. That’s what we’re seeing. This is what this piece of legislation is.

Q: And a timeline question. Any timeline on when the President would issue this veto if we assume this bill passes today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, it depends on the mechanism of the Senate a what ultimately happens in the voting dynamics. I can’t speak to that here, on the timeline.

Go ahead, Peter.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Why is President Biden afraid of China?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President is not afraid of China.

Q: Well —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Did you see — did you see the President last week, when we went to — when we went to — when we went to Ukraine, went to Kyiv? This is not a President that’s afraid of anything. It was a historic trip that many of you said was brave.

So, clearly, this is a President that’s not afraid to go to a warzone. He’s not afraid to go there when there’s no military presence on the ground.

So, there’s nothing that this President fears.

Q: China flew a spy craft over the U.S. The President didn’t really do anything to China. And according to the FBI director, China may have created something that has killed more than 1.1 million people in this country. And President Biden is not punishing them.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, you’re — you’re giving me two — two things here. So let’s take them in parts.

As we talk about the Chinese surveillance — the China surveillance balloon, the President did take that down. And he did it in a way that, as it was on its path, we collected information from it; we protected our national security information on the ground; and we did it in a way that was smart, effective, and also protected the American people. That’s why the President is always going to put forth, is the — is the safety of the American people. So that’s what the President did with that particular issue.

Look, as it relates to — you’re talking about the COVID origins, we’ve been very clear. We’ve been very clear that we need the data, and we need to figure out how to get to the bottom of the COVID origins. And that’s something that the President has said since the beginning of this administration.

So, that — none of that has changed.

Q: But with his campaign, it was all about shutting down the virus and how hard it is for families with an empty chair at the kitchen table because of COVID. If we now know, according to the FBI director, who is most likely responsible for all those empty chairs at all those kitchen tables, why not do more to try to hold them accountable?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So — so, I’m going to flip that on its head for a second. It was because of this President that took action — by the way, the last administration did not; they did not have a comprehensive plan to actually —

Q: But before that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no, no, no, no. No —

Q: That is responding to COVID.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No —

Q: But where did COVID come from?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, but — but —

Q: If we know that it’s China —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Peter, you can’t tell — first of all, you can’t tell me how to answer the question. I’m going to answer it for you. Right? So just give me a second.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So because he took those actions, he actually helped to save lives. Because he — he took action to make sure that people got shots in arms and put a comprehensive plan in front of the American people and put in the work, we actually were able to get to a place where COVID is not gone, but we now are in a place — we’re in a different place in the pandemic. And that’s because of the President. And that’s because of his leadership.

So, lets not — let’s, like, be very real about what the President has done of the last two years to take on COVID, to make sure that the economy is growing again, to make sure that we’re really working for the American people. So that’s number one. I want to be very, very, clear on that.

Now, to your question about COVID origins: As we’ve known — as we know, we have seen many — Many different conclusions — right? — from — from the intelligence community. Some of them have made some conclusion on the other side. Some of them say they don’t have enough information. So I want to also be very careful there as well.

And it was because of this President, very early on — the first several months of his administration — he went to the intelligence community and said, “We need to figure out how to get to the bottom of this. We need to figure out how this all occurred.” Because, who knows we have to try and prevent any future pandemics. So that is the work that this President did.

And it included, clearly, the Department of Energy that has National Labs. And so, now, they’re continuing to double down and try to get to the bottom of this.

Our relationship with China has not changed. It is — it is very different — I’m going to be very clear — very different than how we have seen it in the last administration.

All right, I’m going to continue. Go ahead, Peter. And I’ll come to the back.

Q: Just a separate thought on China, if I can quickly. The administration has constantly described the relationship between the U.S. and China is one of strategic competition, a point that the President made himself a couple of weeks ago when he spoke about this issue.

The congressman, Mike Gallagher, who was the Republican Chair of the House Select Committee on China, yesterday, referred to this relationship as an “existential struggle.” Does the White House agree with that characterization? And is the White House understating the threat from China right now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, under this President, we are more prepared to outcompete China, protect our national security, and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific than ever before. That’s under this President. And that’s because of the Pres- — of the work that he’s done in the last two years and also the experience. This is an experienced President.

As you know, he spent more than 30 years in the Senate. He spent eight years as Vice President. And so, he understands national — how to deal with foreign policy relationships.

And so, that’s how we see our relationship with China moving forward. Many of our efforts we have been pursuing are bipartisan. They’re underscoring the alignment at home on key issues, and we will continue to work with Democrats and Republicans, because the way we have moved forward is indeed in a bipartisan way.

Q: Let me follow up on a separate question that was asked by one of my colleagues in the room about the student loans and the wait for the decision from the Supreme Court as it relates to this.

I know that you said earlier that there is no other plan. The plan right now is the one that’s being presented before the Supreme Court and you feel strongly in your case. Obviously, those who have loans that they would ow, in case this is rejected, don’t have that same ability. They have to have a backup plan in case. I know that two months would pass before they would have to pay those loans again, in case the Supreme Court rejects this here.

But what do you say to those Americans who have tens of thousands of dollars that they might be responsible for two months after the Court makes its decision, if they choose to reject it? How should they be preparing right now for that? And what would you do to protect them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And I’ll just add that, yesterday, right in front of the Supreme Court, you saw many of those Americans speaking out loud —

Q: We did.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — and clear, and saying how important the President’s plan is to them. Because they’re being crushed, right?

Q: But what’s the — what should be —

MS. JEAN PIERRE: No —

Q: – the plan B?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well —

Q: Because everybody who has their own budget at home has to have a plan B.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I totally, — I — I hear you, Peter. And you asked me what the message was to the American people. You heard — I just laid out or mentioned how Secretary of Education put out, sent an email out to those borrowers saying that, “Hey, we have your back.”

This is an administration, when you think about the President and the last couple of years here — he has — that is kind of his motto, right? “We have your back.” We will do everything that we can to protect Americans and give them, again, some space to actually be able to be part of this growing economy.

And so, look, we do not — we do not — again, we do not have another plan. This is our plan. This is it.

We believe that we have the legal authority. That’s why we took it to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court. And we’re going to continue to fight.

And you saw — you saw the solicitor general do a fantastic job in putting forth a strong argument defending — defending the President’s plan.

Q: Just to be clear, though: So you don’t have another plan? Which is to say for those other — and you have those individuals’ backs, which is to say, if this is rejected though, there isn’t anything in the works right now —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What —

Q: — by this administration to have their —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I’m saying to you, Peter —

Q: — back going forward? They would be —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I’m saying — what I’m saying to you, Peter, is: This is our plan. It is a good plan because how it helps Americans across the country, especially working Americans, middle-class Americans. So this is our plan.

And you heard it. You heard it. The reason I mentioned the folks that were in front —

Q: I get it. I’m just asking on behalf of —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — of the Supreme Court.

Q: — those folks that have tens of thousands they owe. What should they do?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) I — and — and —

Q: So what should they do?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And I sa- — and I said —

Q: Do they need to start saving money?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — they should know that we are going to continue to fight, that we feel strong in our legal authority here.

And you heard it. You heard it from the — from — form the SG yesterday, who did a — who did a — who defended it — the President’s plan in a forceful way in front of the Supreme Court.

Q: Has the President spoken to Jimmy Carter in recent days, given that fact that he appears to be doing well, considering the circumstances? Have they had any opportunity to speak?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any call to preview or to speak to. As — as you know, the President, I think, spoke to this when he did his ABC interview recently, that he as known Jimmy Carter for some time, was the first senator —

Q: But no new calls to share with us then?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — the first senator to endorse him. And so they have decades of relationship behind them. And so I would just say that, you know, he continues to wish him well.

But I don’t have a call to read out.

I’ll go to the back. Trying — all the way to the back. Go — behind you.

Q: Thank you. So, shifting gears. The Daily Beast reported yesterday that Republican Congressman James Comer invoked President Biden’s son, Beau Biden, over not being prosecute- — prosecuted, excuse me, — saying, “This U.S. attorney had had an opportunity to go after the Bidens years ago.” He goes on to say, “It was Beau Biden, the President’s other son, the one that was involved in some campaign donations from a person that got indicted.”

So, I’m wondering if the White House has a response to Chairman Comer invoking Beau Biden and whether the President thinks it’s potentially — if Mr. President thinks it’s potentially appropriate that Mr. Comer investigate his deceased son.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, it’s completely unappropriate [sic]. And it’s ugly, the comments that he made. And it says a lot about the chairman, which is not good, by the way. To — to make the statement that he did is incredibly ugly and inappropriate.

And here’s what I would say: Instead of — instead of House Republicans focusing on attacking the President and his family, why don’t they actually focus on what the American people put them in office to do, which is to deliver for them, which is to actually work with — with their colleagues — the Democratic colleagues, the President — to actually put forth pieces of legislation or put forth policies that’s going to make a difference in their lives?

And, as you know, you don’t have to listen to me: You can look at the results from — from the midterms that said just that. They want to see — they want to see Congress working for them. That’s what they want to see.

They want to make sure that their Medicare is protected. They want to make sure that we’re lowering costs. They want to make sure that their family feels protected. They want to make sure that their rights are protected.

But that’s not what the House Republicans are doing. Instead, they want to do political stunts.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: In the back. Way in the back. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, was testifying up on the Hill today, and he was asked a lot about fentanyl. I have a few questions for you on that front.

He was asked by Senator Graham — he said — Senator Graham said, quote: “Would you agree with me that whatever we are doing, as relates to sentencing guidelines, is not working?” And the Attorney General said, “I would agree with that because of the number of deaths that you pointed out.”

Does President Biden believe that sentencing guidelines around fentanyl deaths need to get stricter?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m going to just — I just caught a bit of that — of the coverage. I didn’t catch all of it. And I — I will say that the — the Secretary — or the Attorney General spoke to a number of issues from what I understand. What I know for sure that he did, he spoke to the department’s independent — the Justice Department’s independent work and his commitment to rule of law.

I’m just not going to go beyond — beyond that.

Q: The Attorney General said — was asked if he opposes making the most cart- — the senior-most cartels being labeled as “foreign terrorist organizations.” And he said he would not oppose that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, I’m not —

Q: Does the White House believe that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not — I’m —

Q: — the cartels need to be labeled “foreign terrorist organizations”?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I only saw a bit of the coverage.

What I can say is what he’s committed to. I’m just not going to go into this.

Q: So let me go a little bit broader for a second. The number of fentanyl deaths in this county has doubled in the last two years. The Attorney General descried in the last two years. The Attorney General described it as an epidemic. Can you describe what the administration has done to take on, to curb, and to try to tackle this epidemic, as he put it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So the — this administration, when you think about fentanyl and you think about the work that this President has done, it has been very much focused on getting — making sure that we keep our families safe, making sure that we keep our communities safe, and getting fentanyl off the street. And we’ve done that in record numbers.

We have seen record numbers of fentanyl, you know, come off the streets because of the work that the President has done, because of what he has committed in protecting the border’s security, making sure that he put forth historic funding.

There’s still more work to be done. We would like to do that work with Republicans. They’ve refused to work with us. If anything, they want to take away — they want to take away that border security funding. They want to defund the FBI.

But the Pres- — the President is using the tools that are in front of him right now on the executive level to seek — to make sure that we do every — he does everything that he can, without the help of many — of many Republicans in Congress, to make sure that we keep our communities safe. And that’s what he’s going to continue to do.

Go ahead, way in the back. Owen.

Q: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Karine. Two questions for you, please. Thank you. Number one, just recently in California — a very tragic story. Catholic Bishop David O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, he served the area of 45 years ministering to migrants, the poor, victims of gang violence; known as the peacemaker. And he was gunned down at his home, murdered, just — again, just a few weeks ago. I know the White House is aware if it, but do you have a statement you — or is there —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — something you want to tell the faithful there in Los Angeles?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Absolutely. And I appreciate the question.

We do have something that we want to share, which is: The President and the First Lady join Archbishop Gómez, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the entire Catholic community in the mourning of Bishop David O’Connell. We also express our sympathy and prayers for the family and friends of the Bishop, who will certainly — certainly remember his legacy of service to those on the margins of society.

And so, again, we offer up our condolences to — to the community.

Q: Thank you. And then secondly, is the President — is President Biden aware of this leaked document that recently came out of the Richmond, Virginia, field office that compared Catholics — conservative Catholics — to violent extremists?

Several attorney’s general have written a letter, and they say, quote, “Anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the Bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs.” Again, the wrote that in reaction to that leaked document.

So, my question is: Is the President aware of that document? And what would he tell Catholics seeing these headlines who might be worried “They’re coming after us — the Feds — because of our faith?”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I — look, I have not seen this leaked document. I have not spoken to the Pres- — I haven’t seen it, so therefore I haven’t spoken to the President about it. So I just don’t want to get ahead of — of that.

Q: Would you look at it eventually and give —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m happy to.

Q: Thank you.

Q: Thank you, Karine. About Labor Departments ESG rule.

I have a follow-up question on that. Today, Senator Jon Tester joined Senator Manchin, and he — he voiced his opposition to this ESG retirements rule. I understand the President will veto this bill. But what’s your reaction to his statement today?

And how does the White House feel about growing opposition to the ESG investment in Congress and in general?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I spoke to this the top of the briefing, and I laid out where the President is on this. I — as it relates to the dynamics of the Senate and where this is going to go, I’d leave that to — to Senator Schumer. That’s something for him to speak to.

What I can say is that if this bill reaches the President’s desk, he will veto it. And I’ll — I’ll leave it there for now.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks a lot. I want to ask you about Merrick Garland’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was asked a number of questions in regard to Hunter Biden and the ongoing investigation that’s being conducted by the U.S. Attorney in Delaware.

And during that particular testimony, he said it would be a “national security problem” if the President’s son had been receiving payments from a foreign government as a means to influence the administration.

Do you agree with that statement from the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S.?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re going to continue to be prudent from here and not speak to any investigation that is currently underway by the Department of Justice.

And when it comes to Hunter Biden, I would refer you to his personal representative. He’s a private citizen. So I will leave it there.

And we’re going to continue to be consistent from here.

Q: Let me ask you another question on a separate matter entirel- — entirely — a foreign policy matter. Two Iranian warships are going to dock in port in Brazil on Sunday. As you well know, the President of Brazil was just here meeting with President Biden. President Biden lauded the shared values of both countries. Do you have any issue with Iranian warships docking in port in Brazil?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And so, we’ve been very clear when we’ve been asked these types of questions of meetings or any engagement. We just won’t speak to that from here. I would refer you to the respective countries. I’m just not going to speak to a potential meeting or a potential engagement. Just not going to do that.

Court- —

Q: Well, it’s not a meeting.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I’m just not going to — clearly, there’s some sort of engagement happening. I’m just not going to speak to that — to that from here.

Go ahead, Courtney.

Q: Thank you. I wanted to ask you about the case that is before a judge in federal court in Texas about abortion medication. We’re expecting that judge to run any day now in the decision that could either temporarily, permanently — depending on how the legal process goes — ban access to mifepristone in certain places?

What’s your message to patients that are worried about this? I know that you’ve, so far, spoken out on how you disagree with this court challenge. But what should doctors know, what should patients know when tis can happen at any day, especially given that this judge has been relatively hostile to this administration?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I mean, I spoke to this very recently. Like, we don’t know what the court is going to do, as you just stated. Ultimately, it’s for the col- — court to decide. So we’re always very careful.

The decision would be unprecedented, as you know, and devastating to women’s health. And we may find ourselves in uncharted territory.

And so, we’re closely — closely working with the Justice Department and DHS — HHS on this, on how to be prepared for any range of outcome or potential outcomes. And so we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to be steadfast. We will — we’re monitoring this and waiting, like all of you, to see where the decision goes.

But again, we’re not taking this lightly. We’re taking this very seriously. This is going to be — depending on where this goes, this could be unprecedented and uncharted territory. And we’re going to continue to do our — our work internally to see which way — how we would respond.

Q: I ask wanted to ask you about education for practi- — (sneezes) excuse me – practitioners, doctors who perform abortions in certain states. When they’re in medical school now, it’s difficult to get practice with the procedure that it’s so limited or restricted.

Vice President Harris has expressed interest in working on that issue, either by sending students to other places to get practical experience or other ideas. Can you provide any update on that and if you’re engaged in that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, I know she — she spoke about this recently. I don’t have anything more to share than what she laid out about her concerns and the potential next steps. Don’t — just don’t have anything further to share with — than what the Vice President laid out.

Go ahead.

Q: If the Supreme Court rules against the President’s student debt plan, will you all consider extending the payment pause while you come up with a plan B?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, we don’t — our plan is what we — what we laid out in August. That is our plan. And we believe it’s a good plan as it delivers — as it delivers to the American people — middle-class Americans, as it relates to working people.

This is a plan that is going to give relief to tens of millions of Americans across the country. And we heard from many of them yesterday in front of the Supreme Court.

I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals.

We believe — we believe that we have a strong legal authority here. That’s why we took it to the Supreme Court. And you heard from the solicitor general. She made a very strong case for why the President’s program is important. And — and I’m just going to leave it here for now.

Q: Just another question on TikTok. You have all had TikTok influencers in the building before; you’ve briefed them before. Given the focus on the national security concerns, do you still feel like that’s an appropriate way to engage with the app?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as — as I’ve mentioned before, the White House, clearly, does not — does not use TikTok. But one thing that we do believe in is meeting the American people where they are. And the reality is some — many of them — million of them — are on this app.

So we engage with people who are using their own platforms. It’s up to them on how they use the content. But we’ve always said form here — this is something that we’ve said for a long time — that we’re going to try to communicate with the American people and meet them where they are. But we’re — also have been clear about the concerns that we have with this — with — with apps like TikTok. And that’s not going to stop.

Q: Thanks.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Oh, go ahead. You’re the last question.

Q: Thanks, Karine. We just learned the TSA officers at a Pennsylvania airport stopped an explosive device from getting onto a plane Monday. Do you have any comment on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any comment form here at this time. I would have to talk to our team.

Q: More broadly, do you have a message to Americans who are hearing about flight-safety incidents, close calls, devices on planes? How can you ensure that the airs are safe — the air is safe?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, Secretary Buttigieg has been on the airwaves today, this morning, the last couple of months on this, speaking to our commitment to making sure that we keep Americans safe, especially Americans who are — are clearly, flying.

And — and so we’re going to continue to do that. The President is committed to do that.

As it relates, for example to the — the objects — the three recent objects, one of the reasons the President took that — the actions that we took was because we wanted to make sure that we kept civilian air- — airways safe. So, you’ve seen him take really bold actions in that way.

But as it relates to, you know, just what we’ve been seeing the past couple of months and just most recently, look, we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure that we — that Americans feel safe flying.

I know there’s an FAA investigation on this most recent incident, and so, you know, we’re going to see where the investi- — investigation goes and how we can prevent that.

All right. Thanks, everybody. See you tomorrow.

March 20, 2023: The House Freedom Caucus posted the following on X/Twitter:

“The Members of the House Freedom Caucus will consider voting to raise the debt ceiling contingent upon the enactment of legislation to:

Cut current spending by ending President Biden’s $400 billion student loan bailout, rescinding all unobligated and unspent COVID-19 funds; recouping the $80 billion in IRS expansion funds, as well as billions of wasteful climate change spending in the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” and finding every dollar spent by Democrats that can be reclaimed for the American taxpayer.

Cap future spending by setting topline discretionary spending at the FY2022 level for 10 years, allowing for 1% annual growth. Doing so will cut $131 billion in FY2024 and save roughly $3 trillion over the long term by cutting the wasteful, woke, and weaponized process to address the many abuses and disasters caused by the Biden Administration, such as the chaos on the southern border, COVID vaccine mandates and discrimination policies, and the unconstitutional “pistol brace” ATF rule. Importantly, 10-year spending caps at the FY2022 level puts our budget on the path to balance while protecting Social Security retirement and Medicare benefits.

Grow the economy by enacting major policy changes and reforms to the wasteful, work, and weaponized federal bureaucracy, including, but not limited to:

• Curtailing burdensome regulations by requiring congressional approval under the REINS Act
• Unleashing the production of reliable domestic energy by ending federal regulations and subsidies
• Restoring Clinton-era work requirements on welfare programs; and
• Passing a preemptive Continuing Resolution with non-defense discretionary spending restored to the pre-COVID FY2019 level to force Congress to pass appropriations in a timely manner.

March 10, 2023: The White House posted: Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on MAGA House Republican Attack on Medicare, Law Enforcement and Manufacturing

Today, extreme MAGA House Republicans showed us what they value: tax breaks for the super wealthy and wasteful spending for special interests.

The House Freedom caucus’ proposal would be a gut-punch to the American middle class and wouldn’t cut the deficit. Let me repeat that: this proposal would bring devastating consequences to our national security, working families, and community safety, and result in $0 in deficit reduction when coupled with MAGA Republicans’ support for trillions in tax cuts.

Extreme MAGA Republicans’ proposals would ship manufacturing jobs overseas, in a crushing blow to states from Ohio to Georgia to Arizona – and would provide a windfall of economic benefits to China. They would increase health care premiums for nearly 15 million Americans and make the biggest Medicare benefits cut in decades, forcing America’s seniors to pay more for prescription drugs so Big Pharma can see new taxpayer handouts. They would defund the police, weaken our competition with China, and slash border security funding. All so that the super-wealthy and corporate special interests can enjoy their tax breaks and cheat on their taxes.

This is a blueprint for selling out the middle class, law enforcement, and American competitiveness.

Yesterday, the President laid out his budget – one that lowers costs for families, protects Medicare and Social Security, invests in more manufacturing, positions the United States to win the global competition with China, strengthens our defense, funds the police, and reinforces the border. This is what he values – and poll after poll shows Americans agree.

March 14, 2023: The Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip L. Swagel, sent the following information to Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman Committee on the Budget, and to Ron Wyden, Chairman Committee on Finance:

Re: Spending Reductions That Would Balance the Budget in 2033

Dear Chairman Whitehouse and Chairman Wyden:

In the Congressional Budget Office’s current baseline projections, the deficit reaches $2.9 trillion, or 7.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in 2023. In response to your request, this letter provides information about the two budgetary paths you specified, which would eliminate that deficit through reductions in spending. Those paths are illustrative, and the analysis presented here does not represent a cost estimate for legislation.

CBO’s calculations show the following:

The budget would be balanced in 2023 if all noninterest outlays were gradually reduced starting in 2024 so that they were 29 percent less than the amount in the agency’s baseline projections in 2023. Under that path, revenues equal the baseline amounts, which reflect the scheduled expiration of certain provisions of the 2017 tax act.

If those tax provisions were extended, revenues would be lower than they are in CBO’s baseline projections, and larger reductions in spending would be needed to balance the budget. In that case, the budget would be balanced in 2023 if non interest spending was gradually reduced from 2024 to 2023 so that in that final year it was 35 percent less than the amount in CBO’s baseline projections adjusted to incorporate the extension of the tax provisions of the 2017 tax act.

If those tax provisions were extended, revenues would be lower than they are in CBO’s baseline projections, and larger reductions in spending would be needed to balance the budget. In that case, the budget would be balanced in 2023 if non interest spending was gradually reduced from 2024 to 2023 so that in that final year it was 35 percent less than the amount in CBO’s baseline projections adjusted to incorporate the extension of the tax provisions.

The Budgetary Paths That CBO Analyzed: CBO first examined the two budgetary paths that you specified. The specified reductions in spending do not reflect an analysis of any specific policies that might be implemented to bring about those paths.

Path With Baseline Revenues. Under this path, the deficit would be eliminated by reducing noninterest outlays to 15.3 percent of GDP in 2023. Noninterest outlays would be reduced each year so that they were lower than they are in CBO’s baseline projections – 0.6 percent of GDP lower in 2024, 1.3 percent of GDP lower in 2025, and so on, until they were 6.4 percent of GDP lower in 2033. That year, noninterest outlays would be 29 percent less than they are in CBO’s baseline projections.

Revenues would be the same as they are in CBO’s current baseline budget projections. Because cuts in noninterest spending would reduce federal borrowing, net outlays for interest in 2023 would also be less than they are in CBO’s baseline. Together, those reductions would eliminate the deficit in 2033.

Path Incorporating Extensions of Certain Provisions of the 2017 Tax Act: Under this path, revenues and outlays would be adjusted to account for CBO’s most recent estimates of the effects of extending certain provisions of the 2017 tax act – namely, the changes to individual income tax provisions, the higher estate and gift tax exemptions, the changes to the tax treatment of investment costs, and changes to certain business tax provisions implemented under that law. The adjustments made to account for extending those provisions would increase deficits in relation to the amounts in CBO’s baseline projections, so larger reduction in spending than those under the first path would be required to balance the budget in 2023.

Noninterest outlays would be reduced to 14.2 percent of GDP in 2023– 1.1 percent of GDP less than they would be under the path with baseline revenues. Noninterest outlays would be reduced each year in relation to the amounts in CBO’s baseline projections: They would be 0.8 percent of GDP lower than those in the baseline in 2024, 1.5 percent of GDP lower in 2025, and so on, until they were 7.6 percent of GDP lower in 20203. That year, noninterest outlays would be 35 percent less than they are in CBO’s provisions. The spending cuts combined with the resulting reductions in net outlays for interest would eliminate the deficit in 2023.

How Paths Differ From Policies. The budgetary paths you specified are illustrative and do not correspond to any specific spending policies. Legislation could reduce mandatory spending by making fewer people eligible for benefits or by reducing benefit amounts. Legislation could reduce discretionary spending by providing less funding for certain activities. It would take time for reductions in budget authority to result in reductions in outlays.

Spending Reductions With Some Categories Excluded. In the second part of the analysis, CBO analyzed the percentage decrease in outlays that would be needed if certain categories of spending that you specified were excluded from the reductions and were instead continued at baseline levels.

If some noninterest spending was excluded from the reduction, the percentage reduction in outlays in the remaining categories needed to balance the budget would be greater than the percentage required when all noninterest outlays are reduced.

Specifically, under the budgetary path with baseline revenues, noninterest spending in the applicable categories would need to be reduced in relation to the amounts in CBO’s baseline projections by the following percentages in 2023.

• 29 percent, when the reduction is applied to all noninterest outlays;
• 1 percent, when the reduction is applies to all noninterest outlays other than those for Social Security;
• 57 percent, when the reduction is applied to all noninterest outlays other than those for Social Security and Medicare; and
• 86 percent when the reduction is applied to all noninteret outlays other than those for Social Security, Medicare, the defense discretionary programs, and mandatory veterans’ programs.

The corresponding reductions under the budgetary path incorporating extensions of certain provisions of the 2017 tax act are larger: 35 percent, 48 percent, 67, percent, and 100 percent. Under that path, eliminating all noninterest outlays other than those for Social Security, Medicare, defense discretionary programs, and mandatory veteran’s programs would, according to CBO’s calculations, result in a very small deficit rather than a balanced budget in 2023. In that case, outlays for all major health care programs other than Medicare, all income security programs, all federal civilian and retirement programs, all other mandatory programs except Social Security and veterans’ programs, and all nondefense discretionary programs would be reduced to zero.

Limitations of the Analysis

This analysis is more simplified and mechanical than the more comprehensive approach CBO would typically use when estimating the effects of particular policies and thus has several limitations.

It does not account for any behavioral effects of the budgetary changes, some of which might change revenues or spending for certain programs. For example, a reduction in spending on income security programs or Medicaid could affect spending for Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ programs.

This analysis also does not account for the effects that the reductions in spending would have on the economy in the short term or the effects that decreased federal borrowing would on the economy in the long term:

• Reductions in spending would decrease demand for goods and services in the short term below what it otherwise would be, and thus, they would be expected to hold down economic growth and income in the short term.

• Over the longer term, the resulting reduction in deficits and the associated decrease in federal borrowing would push down interest rates and thus increase private investment in capital, causing output to be higher than it would be otherwise. More private investment would increase the amount of capitol per worker, making workers more productive and leading to higher wages, which would increase people’s incentives to work and thereby lead to a larger supply of labor. Additionally, more private investment tends to reduce deficits.

Because the paths do not account for the effects of the policies that would be implemented to reduce spending, the analysis does not incorporate the ways in which changes in fiscal policy could affect productivity growth or people’s incentives to work or save.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any additional questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Phillip L. Swagel

Director Phillip L. Swagel

March 20, 2023: The White House posted: FIVE-ALARM-FIRE: The House Freedom Caucus’ Extreme Budget Proposal Endangers Public Safety

The extreme MAGA Republican Freedom Caucus has made their promises clear: imposing devastating cuts to public safety and increasing costs for working- and middle-class families, all to protect and extend tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. In fact, their tax coups would be so expensive that their deep and harmful cuts would not reduce the deficit.

That’s in sharp contrast with the President’s Budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by $3 trillion dollars over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.

Combined with other commitments extreme MAGA House Republicans have already made, the extreme Freedom Caucus proposal will be a disaster for families in at least five key ways: endangering public safety, raising costs for families, shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and undermining American workers, weakening national securities, and hurting seniors.

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that Congressional Republicans’ budget math doesn’t add up. CBO found that – in order to meet Congressional Republicans’ stated commitment to balancing the budget in 10 years without raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, and without cutting Social Security, Medicare, defense, and some veterans’ benefits – Congressional Republicans would need to eliminate everything in the rest of the Federal budget.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal will be a five-alarm fire for families – including by endangering public safety. While the President’s Budget proposes smart investments to improve public safety, strengthen border security, and improve the safety of our transportation networks, extreme MAGA Republicans are pushing draconian cuts to these critical national priorities that would endanger Americans’ safety.

Their proposals will:

• Make Our Border Less Secure The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would eliminate funding for more than 2,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and officers and severely undermine our ability to secure the border and combat drug trafficking – allowing an additional 150,000 pounds of cocaine, nearly 900 pounds of fentanyl, nearly 2,000 pounds if heroin, and more than 17,000 pounds of methamphetamine into our country.

• Defund the Police and Make Communities Less Safe. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes and keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers. Their plan would cut Federal support to 60 local law enforcement agencies, eliminating 400 local law enforcement positions, slash law enforcement, crime prevention and justice grants to local and state governments by an average of $30,000 per locality and $1 million per state. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) would have to implement a hiring freeze that would mean 190 agents, 130 Industry Operations Investigators, 180 technical and support staff would be lost to attrition – and ATF’s entire workforce of over 5,000 personnel would have to take 36 furlough days, further undermining their operations. ATF agents are often some of the first federal law enforcement on the scene of a mass shooting to help local law enforcement identify at-large shooters.

• Scale Back Rail Safety Inspections. At a time when train derailments are wreaking havoc on community safety, the extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would lead to 11,000 fewer rail safety inspections days next year alone, and almost 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually – enough track to cross the United States nearly 10 times. Since the Norfolk Southern train derailment, bipartisan Senators have called for more rail inspections, not fewer.

• Jeopardize Air Safety and Increase Airport Security Wait Times. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would shut down services at 125 Air Traffic Control Towers across the country – undermining safety at one third of all U.S. airports – and increase wait times at TSA security check points by an average of 30 minutes.

March 21, 2023: The White House posted: FIVE-ALARM FIRE: The House Freedom Caucus’ Extreme Budget Proposal Raises Costs for Families

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus has made their priorities clear: imposing devastating cuts to public safety and increasing costs for working- and middle-class families, all to protect and extend tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. In fact, their tax cuts would be so expensive that their deep and harmful cuts would not reduce the deficit.

That’s in sharp contrast with the President’s Budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.

Combined with other communities extreme MAGA House Republicans have already made, the extreme Freedom Caucus proposal will be a disaster for families in at least five key ways: endangering public safety, raising costs for families, shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and undermining American workers, weakening national security, and hurting seniors.

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that Congressional Republicans’ budget math doesn’t add up. CBO fond that – in order to meet Congressional Republicans’ stated commitment to balancing the budget in 10 years without raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, and without cutting Social Security, Medicare, defense, and some veterans’ benefits – Congressional Republicans would need to eliminate everything in the rest of the Federal budget.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom caucus proposal will be a five-alarm fire for families – including by raising costs. Unlike extreme MAGA Republicans in the House who are focused on repealing the Inflation Reduction Act – which would raise costs on everything from health insurance, to prescription drugs, to utility bills – President Biden is focused on lowering everyday costs and giving working families more breathing room.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposals will:

• Make Health Care More Expensive: Extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have signed onto a bill to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. That will increase health care premiums by an average of $800 per year for nearly 15 million Americans.

• Increase Energy Costs. The Extreme MAGA House Republicans would eliminate a law that will lower utility bills for American families by hundreds of dollars per year. Their plans would deny Americans critical savings on electric vehicles, energy-efficient windows, solar panels, and more.

• Make College More Expensive. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would not only eliminate the Pell Grants altogether for 80,0000 students, it would also reduce the maximum award by nearly $1,000 for the remaining 6.6 million students who receive Pell Grants – making it harder for them to attend and afford college.

• Eliminate Preschool and Child Care Slots. The extreme MAGA House Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would mean 200,000 children lose access to Head Start slots and 100,000 children lose access to child care – undermining our children’s education and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce and contribute to our economy.

• Strip Medicaid Coverage and Food Assistance from Millions of People: Extreme MAGA Republicans want to impose failed policies that take Medicaid coverage away from people who fail to meet bureaucratic work reporting requirements. When it was tried, this policy led to nearly 1 in 4 losing Medicaid coverage – including working people and people with disabilities, caused uninsured rates to spike and led people to go without needed care, and failed to increase employment. Their proposals also put food assistance at risk for millions of older people and parents, would lose vital nutrition assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), significantly increasing child poverty and hunger.

March 23, 2023: The White House posted: “FIVE-ALARM-FIRE: The House Freedom Caucus’ Extreme Budget Proposal Hurts Seniors”

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus has made their priorities clear: imposing devastating cuts that would hurt seniors and increasing costs for working- and middle-class families, all to protect and extend tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. In fact, their tax cuts would be so expensive that their deep and harmful cuts would not reduce the deficit.

That’s in sharp contrast with the President’s Budget, which invests in American, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.

Combined with other commitments extreme MAGA House Republicans have already made, the extreme Freedom Caucus proposal will be a disaster for families in a least five key ways: endangering public safety, raising costs for families, shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and undermining American workers, weakening national security, and hurting seniors.

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that Congressional Republicans’ budget math doesn’t add up. CBO found that – in order to meet Congressional Republicans’ stated commitment to balancing the budget in 10 years without raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, and without cutting Social Security, Medicare, defense, and some veterans’ benefits – Congressional Republicans would need to eliminate everything in the rest of the Federal budget.

Republicans in the House try to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, he will stop them – and his Budget protects these bedrock programs while investing in the health and well-being of America’s seniors.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposals will:

• Make the Largest Medicare Benefit Cut in Decades. Extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have signed onto a bill to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. That will eliminate access to $35 insulin for more than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries, eliminate the $2,000 out of pocket cap on prescription drugs for seniors, and eliminate free vaccines that are saving 3.4 million seniors on average $70 per year – all to give Big Pharma a bigger taxpayer handout.

• Worsen Social Security and Medicare Wait Times. Under the extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal, people applying for disability benefits would have to wait at least two months longer for a decision. With fewer staff available, seniors would also be forced to endure longer wait times when they call for assistance for both Social Security and Medicare, and as many as 240 Social Security field offices could be forced to close or shorten the hours they are open to the public.

• Rob Seniors of Healthy Meals. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would take away nutrition services, such as Meals on Wheels, for more than 1 million seniors. For many of these seniors, these programs provide the only healthy meal they receive on any given day.

• Cuts Housing for Seniors: The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would eliminate funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for as many as 100,000 households headed by seniors, putting seniors across the country at greater risk of homelessness.

March 27, 2023: FACT SHEET: Extreme MAGA Congressional Republicans Propose Handouts to Rich and Tax Hikes for Working Families

President Biden Asks the Super-Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share and Cuts Taxes For Hardworking Families

The President’s economic vision is to invest in American and grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down. As part of his plan to cut costs for Americans and give families more breathing room, the President’s Budget cuts taxes for working people and families with children by almost $800 billion over the next 10 years. Like the rest of the Budget’s investments, these tax cuts are more than paid for by ensuring wealthy people and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes and by cutting spending on special interests, without raising taxes on anyone with income below $400,000 per year.

Congressional Republicans have instead offered a set of top-down tax proposals. Their agenda would add over $3 trillion to the debt with tax cuts and other giveaways skewed to the wealthy and large corporations. Remarkably, even as they have put forward trillions in tax cuts, they have also advanced proposals that would raise taxes on millions of middle-class and working Americans. And now, MAGA Republicans are demanding massive cuts to programs middle-class and working families, seniors, and students rely on – from public safety to health care to education – while reportedly declining to put forward a budget, which would how how much of these cuts are going to pay for tax cuts, rather then reduce the debt.

Who would see a tax cut?

Under the President’s Plan: Families with Children, Working Households, People Buying Health Insurance, and Families Adopting a Child

• 39 million families with children. By increasing and improving the Child Tax Credit, the President would cut taxes by an average of $2,600 for 39 million families that include 62 million children. That includes 18 million children in low-income families who would be newly eligible for the full credit, helping to continue historic reductions in child poverty.

• 19 million working individuals or couples. By increasing and improving the Earned Income Tax Credit, the President’s plan would cut taxes by an average of $800 for 19 million working individuals or couples. That includes 2 million older workers age 65 and older and 5 million young adults age 18 to 24 newly eligible for the credit.

• 14.8 million people getting help purchasing health insurance. By improving and expanding eligibility for the Adoption Tax Credit, the President’s plan would cut taxes by thousands of dollars on average for 70,000 families adopting a child, reducing the financial burden on low- and moderate-income families pursuing adoption, as well as for families who opt for legal guardianship.

Under Congressional Republican Proposals: Huge Corporations, Multi-Millionaires, Wealthy Tax Cheats

• About 150 large, profitable businesses that could go back to paying less than 15% of income in taxes. Congressional Republicans want to cut taxes for an estimated 150 large and profitable companies, firms with over $1 billion in profits. In 2020, 55 of the largest most profitable corporations paid $0 in taxes.

• 120,000 households with incomes over $4 million per year. Extreme MAGA House Republican leaders have also introduced legislation to extend the expiring Trump tax cuts, including the large share that flows to the highest income Americans. That would deliver an average tax cut of $175,000 – over 2.5 times a typical family’s annual income – to the 120,000 highest income American households.

• Wealthy people and businesses who cheat on their taxes. While working people pay 99% of taxes on their wage and salary income, the top 1% hides about 20% of their income from tax, including tax havens that do not report earnings. As their very first piece of legislation, House Republicans passed the Tax Cheats Protection Act to let wealthy people and businesses to keep cheating on over $100 billion in taxes they owe.

Who would pay more?

Under the President’s Plan: Billionaires Who Now Pay Virtually Nothing, Huge Corporations Sheltering Income in Tax Havens, and Businesses Splurging on Stock Buybacks

Under the President’s plan, there are no tax increases at all for anyone making less than $400,000 per year. But taxes would go up for:

• Billionaires and multi-millionaires currently paying less tax than any middle-class families. The President’s plan includes a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest 0.01%, those with wealth of more than $100 million. Because, billionaires make their money in ways that ware taxed at lower rates, and sometimes not taxed at all, many of the wealthiest Americans are able not pay an average income tax rate of just 8 percent on their full incomes – a lower rate than many firefighters or teachers.

• Multinational corporations that use loopholes and tax havens to pay less in tax than many middle-class families.The President’s plan proposes to reform the international tax system to reduce incentives to shelter profits in tax havens and raise the tax rate on U.S. multinationals’ foreign earnings to 21%.

• Corporations with massive stock buybacks. President Biden signed into law a surcharge on corporate stock buybacks, which reduces the differential tax treatment between buybacks and dividends. This encourages businesses to invest in their growth and productivity as opposed to paying out corporate executives or funneling tax-preferred profits to shareholders. The President’s Budget proposes quadrupling the stock buybacks tax to 4 percent to address the continued tax advantage for buybacks and encourage long-term investment over handouts to executives and shareholders.

Under Congressional Republican Proposals: Middle Class and Working Families and Seniors

14.8 million middle-class and low-income Americans getting help purchasing health insurance. Extreme MAGA House Republicans have introduced legislation to immediately repeal President Biden’s improvements to ACA tax credits for people buying health insurance. Among those who would be particularly hard hit are:

• Middle-income older people with high health insurance costs: A typical 60-year-old earning $60,000 per year would face a tax increase of over $6,000 for 2023. In areas with high health insurance premiums, the impact would be even greater.

• Self-employed people and small business owners who don’t get health insurance through their jobs. In 2021, self-employed people and small business owners accounted for 25 percent of working-age people with ACA marketplace coverage.

• Working families and middle-class retirees. Some Congressional Republicans continue to push a national retail sales tax bill that would repeal most existing taxes and impose a new 30% sales tax on American families. That legislation would increase the debt by trillions of dollars and deliver massive tax cuts to the well-off – while increasing taxes by $7,000 for a retired couple with $60,000 in Social Security income and by $6,000 for a single mom making $38,000 a year.

March 28, 2023: President Biden posted the following on Twitter/X

Dear Mr. Speaker,

Thank you for your letter of March 28, 2023, following up on our last meeting to discuss the obligation of the Congress to keep our Nation from defaulting on its debts. As you know, this is a critical priority – for the Congress, for my Administration, and for the American people who will bear the pain of a default. This has been done by previous Congresses with no conditions attached and this Congress should act quickly to do so now.

We can agree that an unprecedented default would inflict needless economic pain on hard-working Americans and that the American people have no interest in brinksmanship. That is why House Democrats joined with House Republicans and voted to avoid default throughout the Trump Administration – without conditions despite disagreements about budget priorities. That same standard should apply today.

Separately, as you and I discussed earlier, I look forward to talking with you about the Nation’s economic and fiscal future. But for that conversation to be productive, we should both tell the American people what we are for.

I shared my Budget with the American people on March 9, 2023. As you know, the Invest in America budget proposal I sent to the Congress builds on the record deficit reduction achieved on my watch. In fact, I put forward specific proposals for how to cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years by having big corporations and the super wealthy pay their fair share, cutting special interest subsidies like tax breaks for the oil and gas industry – some of the most profitable companies in America, and expanding Medicare’s new ability to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. My proposals enable us to lower costs for families and invest in our economic growth, all while reducing the deficit.

Unfortunately, the tax proposals from the House Republican Conference would exacerbate the debt problem I inherited by adding over $3 trillion in new tax spending skewed to the same constituencies who should be paying more, like multinational corporations and the richest taxpayers. That is one reason why seeing your full set of proposals would be useful before we meet, so we can understand the full, combined impact on the deficit, the economy, and American families.

My hope is that House Republicans can present the American public with your budget plan before Congress leaves for the Easter recess so that we can have an in-depth conversation when you return. As I have repeatedly said, that conversation must be separate from prompt action on the Congress’ basic obligation to pay the Nation’s bills and avoid economic catastrophe.

I look forward to your response, to eliminating the specter of default and to your budget.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Biden Jr.

March 28, 2023: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy posted the following letter to President Biden:

Nearly two months ago, you and I sat down to discuss a path forward on the debt limit. Since that time, however, you and your team have been completely missing in action on any meaningful follow-up to this rapidly approaching deadline.

With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out-of-control government spending alongside an increase of the debt limit. Your position – if maintained – could prevent America from meeting its obligations and hold dire ramifications for the entire nation.

I have no interest in brinksmanship – only in doing what is best for the American people. We cannot solve the nation’s fiscal impacts overnight, and House Republicans are not demanding we do so. But we cannot continue to kick the can down the road and ignore America’s ballooning national debt., all while you continue to spend trillions more, including through unaccountable executive fiat.

House Republicans are unite in our view that the best way to reduce the national debt is to Limit Spending, Save Taxpayer Money, and Grow the Economy. I am prepared to sit down to discuss a variety of means that would achieve trillions of dollars in savings and economic growth – some of which you even agreed to during the Biden Debt Limit Talks of 2011. These include, but are not limited to:

• Reducing excessive non-defense government spending to pre-inflationary levels and limiting out-year growth, similar to what Senator Joe Manchim (D-WV) has proposed;

• Reclaiming unspent COVID funds that have sat dormant for over two years;

• Strengthening work requirements for those without dependents who can work, as was enacted under President Bill Clinton and which you voted for as a United States Senator;

• Policies to grow our economy and keep Americans safe, including measures to lower energy costs, make American energy dependent, and secure our border from the flow of deadly fentanyl that is killing 300 Americans per day.

Taken together, such policies would help address the number one issue facing Americans today: stubbornly hight inflation brought on by reckless government spending.

Mr. President, simply put: you are on the clock. It’s time to drop the partisanship, roll up your sleeves, and find common ground on this urgent challenge. Please have your team reach out to mine by the end of this week to set a date for our next meeting.

Sincerely,

Kevin McCarthy — Speaker of the House

March 28, 2023: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Speaker McCarthy’s Letter

Congress has a constitutional obligation to address the debt limit – as they did three times in the previous administration without conditions. Business leaders and economists have warned that the threat of a default risks the livelihoods of American small businesses, retirees, and working families and would hand a massive win to China – and recent events underscore the need for Congress to address the debt limit as soon as possible. It’s time for Republicans to quit playing games, pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening our economic recovery.

The President welcomes a separate conversation about our nation’s fiscal future. Earlier this month, he released a budget that cuts the deficit by nearly $3 trillion while lowering costs for families and investing in America. Speaker McCarthy and his extreme MAGA caucus have refused to put out a budget. All we’ve heard from them is a list of devastating cuts to law enforcement and border security and proposals to take health care away from Americans and raise health care and child care costs. All to pay for their tax giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations. In fact, their proposals don’t reduce the deficit at all.

March 30, 2023: STATE FACT SHEETS: White House Details Devastating Impacts Extreme MAGA House Republicans’ Reckless Plan Would Have on Hard-Working Families

Cuts would endanger public safety and worsen public health, raise costs for families and students, and harm seniors and veterans – while multimillionaires and big corporations would get massive tax cuts.

Today, the White House released 51 state and territory fact sheets highlighting the impacts of extreme MAGA House Republicans’ reckless plan to gut crucial support for hardworking families while delivering massive tax breaks for the super wealthy and corporations.

This week, Speaker McCarthy doubled down on holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage and risking economic chaos and catastrophe in order to force draconian cuts that will endanger public safety and worsen public health, raise costs for families and students, and harm seniors and veterans. The House Freedom Caucus was quick to praise Speaker McCarthy’s proposal as consistent with their own, which would slash critical investments in hard-working families by roughly 20%. What’s more, House Republicans are demanding these reckless cuts while advancing trillions in deficit increasing tax cuts skewed to the super wealthy and big corporations.

That’s in sharp contrast with President Biden’s Budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny in new taxes…

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APRIL 2023:

April 19, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Good afternoon, everybody.

All right, let’s get going because I know we’re going to have to end this earlier than usual.

Okay, I see your hand. Give me a second, Ed. I see you.

Okay, as you all know, a bit later this afternoon the President will deliver remarks contrasting his and congressional Republicans’ economic visions for the future. He’ll lay this out at a union facility training workers for the jobs his agenda is creating.

The President’s agenda is fighting inflation, investing in America, which has helped lower prescription drug and insulin costs, created manufacturing jobs, and unleashed $435 billion in private sector investments.

The President’s economic vision reduces the deficit by nearly $3 trillion by asking the super-wealthy and biggest corporations to pay their fair share and cutting wasteful spending on special interests like Big Oil and Big Pharma.

By contrast, just two days ago, as you all saw and covered, Speaker McCarthy went to Wall Street. And instead of telling the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share and stop shipping jobs overseas, the Speaker proposed huge cuts to important programs that working- and middle-class Americans rely on.

The Speaker hid the details on — of his proposal by — by — the reality is it would slash education, veterans care, Meals on Wheels, food safety, and so much more, while outsourcing manufacturing and American jobs.

Moreover, for all his talk about fiscal responsibility, they don’t have any real plan to cut the deficit. That’s because House Republicans support over $3 trillion in tax giveaways that overwhelming, benefit the rich and the biggest corporations.

The President will also call on Speaker – on the Speaker to take default off the table to – so they can have a real – have a real conversation about the budget.

Now, moving to Ukraine. Later today, the Biden-Harris administration will announce a new security assistant package for Ukraine as part of our ongoing efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s brutal invasion.

The announcement, which will come from Depart- — from the Department of State and Defense, will be the 36th use of presidential daw – — presidential drawdown authorities to support Ukraine. The package will include more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS rocket systems and anti-armor systems, as well as additional artillery rounds.

The United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to help Ukraine defend itself, to defend its democracy and protect its people.

Another thing for today. I am pleased to announce that President Biden will welcome President Pedro Sánchez of Spain to the White House on Friday, May 12th, to deepen the historic ties between the United States and Spain. The two leaders will review our efforts as NATO Allies and close partners strengthen our bilateral defense relationship, transatlantic security, and economic prosperity.

They will discuss an – our unwavering support for Ukraine and our efforts to impose costs on the Kremlin as Russia continues its brutal war of aggression.

The leaders will also coordinate on a range of issues as Spain prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in July, including climate change and expanded cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean.

And finally, before we take questions, I’m please to share that the President looks forward to welcoming Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones, Justin Pierson, and Gloria Johnson to the White House this coming Monday.

Earlier this month, the President spoke to them by phone after they were subjugated to expulsion votes in the Tennessee statehouse for peacefully protesting in support of stronger gun safety laws following the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville.

During that call, the President thanked them for their leadership in seeking to ban assault weap – weapons and standing up for the democratic values.

And the three lawmakers thanked the President for his leadership on gun safety and for spotlighting the undemocratic and unprecedented attacks on them in the Tennessee statehouse.

The President looks forward to continuing that discussion when they all meet with – with him on Monday.

With that, Darlene.

Q: Ooo, thank you. Excuse me.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just a little news.

Q: Is the White House or the President aware that a federal watchdog is investigating whether the DEA Administrator improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates? Is there any commitment on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, that’s the first time I’m hearing this. I would have to check in with – with our colleagues. I just don’t – don’t have anything to share at this time from this podium.

Q: Today, on Capitol Hill, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction testified and said specifically that State and USAID have refused to cooperate with his independent oversight of the Afghanistan withdrawal and have stonewalled the investigation. How do you respond to those allegations?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So the administration has consistently provided updates and information, and including — I’ll list out a couple of things here – thousands of pages of documents, analysis spreadsheets, and written responses to questions, hundreds of briefings to bipartisan members and also their staff, public congressional testimony by senior officials, all while consistently providing updates and information to numerous – to numerous inspector – inspectors general.

So, again, I would refer you, as I normally do when it comes to stuff like this, to my White House Counsel’s office for more details on specifics.

But, again, have been consistently providing updates to – to the committee.

Q: And just quickly, one more on Sudan. Given that the President said last year that the U.S. is “all in” on Africa, do you foresee the President at any point stepping up his involvement in trying to end hostilities that are going on it Sudan at this point?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, here – I – I do we have a – we do have a statement that we wanted to put out to all of you on an update on Sudan specifically.

Look, we condemn – the United State’s condemn in the strongest terms violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces – SAF – and the Rapid Support Forces – RSF.

As you’ve heard in today’s joint statement, people across Sudan continue sheltering in place, fearing for their lives, and running low on fuel, food, medicine, and water.

Military operations have resulted in significant civilian deaths and injuries, and are recklessly endangering the Sudanese people, diplomats, humanitarian aid workers, as well.

The toll has been high with initial estimate civilian deaths of more than 270. Access to hospitals and vital medical services have been severely disrupted. Much of this fighting has occurred in urban areas, including Khartoum.

Sudan’s military leaders must engage in dialogue without delay. Their actions across Sudan have placed countless people at risk and set back the Sudanese people’s rightful call for a peaceful democratic transition.

Senior U.S. officials are in direct contact with the leadership of the SAF and also the RSF. We continue to press the RSF and SAF to establish an immediate ceasefire and call on both to ensure all forces adhere to that.

We are consulting very closely with the regional and other partners on this situation. We call on – on SAF and RSF to adhere to international law, renounce violence, and return to negotiations.

We are consulting very closely with the regional partners on this situation. We call on — on SAF and RSF to adhere to international law, renounce violence, and return to negotiations.

The military leadership – General Burhan and Hemeti – are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and noncombatants. This includes people from third countries, including our diplomatic personnel working in Sudan and their families, along with humanitarian staff working to save lives.

We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad. We continue to remain in close contact with our embassy in Khartoum and have full accountability of our personnel.

The State Department has been communicating with U.S. citizens who may be in the region about safety measures and other precautions.

Don’t have anything more to share outside of what I just laid out.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. You said yesterday the stakes could not be higher as the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on the abortion pill case. Can you give use a sense of how the President is watching this decision today? Who’s briefing him? What is his response?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, his senior advisors will continue to brief him throughout the day. As you just said, this is – this is a high priority. We’re clearly keeping a close eye on this and what the decisions – what decisions may come down from this.

Look, as we know, this – as you just mentioned, the stay – the stay will expire tonight, and we are prepared. We are prepared for any outcome the Supreme Court may. may issue, and we are prepared for a long legal fight if necessary. You’ve heard me say this before.

And we will continue — we will continue to stand with FDA’s evidence-based approval of mifepristone. As we know, that’s been around for more than 20 years. It’s — It’s — it is used in more than 60 countries. And we will continue to support FDA’s independent expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.

Again, as you just stated in your question, the stakes could not be higher, and we are going to continue to fight. That is the commitment that this President, this administration, has made.

And we are going to continue to protect women’s — women’s reproductive rights. That is something that we have said since the Dobbs decision came down this past — this past summer in June.

Q: You say you’re prepared. Can you give us a sense of what those preparations are in case the stay is not extended? What can you tell American women who are worried about these restrictions going into effect?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, what we can tell American women is that we’re going to continue to fight. We’ve been very clear about that. We fee that the law is on our side here. And clearly, we’re going to wait to see what the Court decisions will be later — later — at some point today. As we know, the deadline — the stay will expire tonight.

But this is something that the President, the Vice President has been clear on. We are going to continue to fight for women’s reproductive rights. This is something where the majority of Americans agree with us on.

And so, again, this is a fight we are willing to have, that we will continue to have, and that we have been having. And that’s what the women — million os women across the country can — can really count on when it — when it comes to this administration.

Q: And if I could — just one more specific: Are you looking at prescribing this off-label? Is that something — one of the options that’s on the table?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to — I’m not going to get ahead of – of any – any actions that we will be taking.

What I can say is that we will continue to fight, and we are prepared for whatever decision is made on this today.

Go ahead.

Q: Just a couple on the debt ceiling. So, Speaker McCarthy is preparing to unveil a plan to lift the debt ceiling. Are you in communication with him about that? That is expected later today, we’re reporting.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can say is we — we’re — we’ve heard that there’s something coming out today — a plan coming out today. Speaker — Speaker McCarthy is engaging in dangerous economic hostage-taking.

You heard directly from the President. He was very clear about this yesterday in the Rose Garden. And taking — and that is threatening, as we all know, hardworking Americans’ jobs and retirement savings and his — and in his plan.

And so it is clear that extreme House Republicans — the MAGA House Republicans — what they want to do. They’ve been very clear about this. They have told us over and over again they want to increase costs for hardworking families, take food assistance and healthcare away from millions of Americans, and increase the debt when combined with House Republicans’ proposal for tax giveaways skewed for the super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies.

And that seems to be their priority. That is what they’ve put forth. And the President was very clear yesterday. He’s like, “What are they doing? What is the MAGA Republicans doing?” Why would the Speaker — like no other Speaker has done this before — threaten default? Why would he do this?

And so, again, we’ve heard that this is coming out today. But we’ve been very clear about how we see what MAGA Republicans have been doing these past couple of months.

Q: And a follow-up. It looks like tax collections may be down. That means that the date in which the — you know, the Treasury runs out of money could be earlier than expected, according to some analysts. Do you have any guidance for us on how quickly that could happen? And then —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, that is something, as you know, the Secretary of Treasury has spoken to, so I would refer to the U.S. Treasury on any — any — any comments on deadlines that — that relates to this.

I’m just not going to comment from here.

Q: Okay. And then just some more on the dollar. So, yesterday, Jared Bernstein, during the confirmation hearing, said there was some evidence that China wanted to see the, you know, dollar displaced or dislodged as the world’s reserve currency. We’ve had some comments from Brazil in recent days about the dollar — the Chinese currency instead. I mean, how — how concerned are you to that debt ceiling default or a U.S. default could lead to trouble with the dollar?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can say is that we’re always monitoring development in this space and ensure we maintain the centrality of the dollar in global financial markets in the global economy as well.

What I will say is: The primary — the primary focus of the U.S. — or the primary of the U.S. dollar is underpinned by fundamental advantages that the United States has held for a long time and will continue to hold. That incudes credible and longstanding commitments for — to transparency and sound government — governance, rule of law, the most liquid financial markets in the world, and the independence of the Federal Reserve system as well.

I’ll leave it there.

Go ahead.

Q: I know that you’ve said that the White House is prepared to respond to whatever decision comes from the Supreme Court. But if the Supreme Court denies DOJ’s request, how soon do you anticipate having some actual actions to unveil regarding abortion?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get ahead of the — the court decision today.

What I can say — and I think we have shown this — we have been fighting for women’s reproductive rights since the Dobbs decision came — came out back in June, and we’ll continue to fight. And we are prepared. I’m just not going to get ahead of the decision at this time.

Q: And should we expect the President to speak on this today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we have to — we have to see what the decision is. I’m just not going to give any more details until we hear what the court is going to say today.

What I can say — and I think we have shown this — we have been fighting for women’s reproductive rights since the Dobbs decision came — came out back in June, and we’ll continue to fight. And we are prepared. I’m just not going to get ahead of the decision at this time.

Q: And should we expect the President to speak on this today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we have to — we have to see what the decision is. I’m just not going to give any more details until we hear what the court is going to say today.

Q: And then on the debt ceiling, as was mentioned, House Speaker McCarthy is preparing to unveil this plan — he’s hoping — by the end of today. And one of the proposals is that it wouldn’t be raising it by $1.5 trillion or suspending it until May 31st. Taking aside any spending cuts that they want to include, would the White House support doing a short-term extension for a year?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into the mechanics. What we have been very clear about this is that there should be no negotiation. It’s been — should be done without conditions. We’ve been very, very clear these past several weeks, several months on how we view the debt ceiling and what should be done. It should be — it should be done again, without conditions.

This is something that both Republicans and Democrats came together in the last administration and did it three times. And when you have a Speaker that is threatening — threatening to default — no other Speaker has done that before.

And – and so, again, they need to do this. There should be no negotiations. They need to do this — they ned to do this again, because it is a constitutional responsibility that they have in Congress.

Go ahead.

Q: Yeah, following up on the meeting that you announced between President Biden and the three Tennessee state lawmakers, why was it important for the President that they visit the White House and that he sit down with them here? And is there something specific, you know, that he wants to get out of this — this meeting to share with the American public?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, the President has been very clear about how important it is to — to take the next steps when it comes to gun — gun reform.

And he saw these three legislators as taking — taking that next step — right? — when calling for – calling for assault wep- — weapons ban, which is incredibly important. He was proud and very — and very — you know, he was appreciative of their efforts and what they were trying to do in the statehouse and how important it is to have that type of (inaudible) — to have those type of voices to continue to call on an issue that he’s been talking about for not just the past several months, but for years, which is to ban assault weapons. Right?

And that’s what we know is killing communities. We see them in our schools. We see them in our churches. And — and we see in — we see them in our places of worship. And this is not — weapons of war should not be on the streets.

And so, he wants to — they had a conversation. He thanked them for speaking out and standing their ground and being very clear about what’s needed for — to protect their communities. And he invited them here to continue that conversation.

You all asked me: What else is the President going to do? This is another step, right? This is bringing these leaders in a — in a — in a city that was — that was harmed in the most horrible way by a shooting — or a state that was harmed in a horrible with three kids and three — three administrators being murdered in the school. And now they want to speak out.

And now they’re going to come here, and the President is going to have that conversation. And it’s important to continue to move that conversation in that way.

Q: A follow-up on that, Karine?

Q: Thanks, Karine. Just another quick follow-up on the — the three Tennessee lawmakers coming. Are — what are the plans for when they’re here? Are they having an Oval Office meeting with the President? Are they meeting with a larger group? Are they doing an event with the President?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So we’ll have more to share. Right now, today, I was able to confirm that they will be here on Monday. And as we get closer to Monday, we’ll certainly have more to share on what that’s going to look like. Just don’t have anything at this time.

Q: On Senator Dianne Feinstein, the President has obviously known her and worked with her for decades. Has he had an opportunity to talk with her to see how she’s doing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have a call to read out at this time.

What I can say is just reiterate what the President has said — and the First Lady — you know, wishing her a speedy recovery. As you know, they out that statement out some time ago.

And also what else he said is that he sees her as a friend. He was very close to — to — very close to the senator’s husband as well — late husband, Richard. And they have a close friendship. And they worked, as you just stated, very closely together while he was a senator.

And she has — the work that she has done — I was just talking about banning assault weapons — that was something that he partnered with her on. The work that she has done as senator has made the lives of Americans better.

I don’t have — again, don’t have a call to read out. But this — he has — he has been very thankful for her partnership and her leadership in the Senate over the years.

Q: What does the White House believe that Senate Democrats should do now that Senate Republicans have said they’re not going to support temporarily replacing Senator Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, let me just first state that the — this request was made by, as you know, Senator Feinstein. This is something that she had asked for — for the committee, for the Senate to do. And the President will continue to say he hopes all Senate — senators in both parties really respect and honor her requests.

Look, I kind of said this last — yesterday, and I’ll say it again: It is flat wrong to seek partisan advantage from health issues of a colleague. The American people reject that kind of scorched-earth approach to governing.

And — and so, in order to uphold the rule of law, it is imperative that we move expeditiously without unnecessarily delay. And that’s how the President sees this moving forward.

But, again, as you know, this was her request. This is something she asked for.

Q: But it appears they’re not going to go along with that request. And is this having a profound impact on the ability of the Senate to confirm the President’s judicial nominees. So what should happen now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we are going to — we’re going to leave that to the Senate. The President has been very clear that they should move forward. This is a request that she asked for, and it is a reasonable request.

And, again, I’m going to leave that to the Senate. And we’re — this should not be a partisan issue. This should just not be a partisan issue.

Q: So, how long should this position remain vacant? Is there a point at which, given the number of nominations that are piling up, that the White House believes that it’s the senator’s obligation — given that she’s been gone for a couple months now, has no timeline for returning — that for the good of the people of California and also for her party, it needs to consider steps?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we are going to — we’re going to leave that to the Senate. The President has been very clear that they should move forward. This is a request that she asked for, and it is a reasonable request.

And, again, I’m going to leave that to the Senate. And we’re — this should not be a partisan issue. This should just not be a partisan issue.

Q: So, how long should this position remain vacant? Is there a point at which, given the number of nominations that are piling up, that the White House believes that it’s the senator’s obligation — give that she’s been gone for a couple of months now, has no timeline for returning — that for the good of the people of California and also for her party, it needs to consider next steps?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look. it is her decision to make. When it relates to anything about her future, that is for her to make. The President has been very clear about that.

And it is — you know, this is something that the Senate has — all senators have to deal with and not make this a partisan issue. Make it about the — you know, make it about the people. Make it about the people of California, the people across the country.

This is important to move forward. We do — the American people do not want a scorched-earth approach. We’ve been very clear. They were very clear about that when we looked at the midterm results.

And so, again, this should not be a partisan — partisan approach. We have to make sure that these issues are dealt with on behalf of the American people.

Go ahead, Justin.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I wanted to ask you about reports that President Macron had asked his top diplomat to meet with his Chinese counterpart and try to come up with a framework for possible peace negotiations related to Ukraine. And I’m wondering if the U.S. is aware of this effort, involved in it, supportive of it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we certainly — I — we’ve heard the reporting, but we haven’t heard anything from — from the French on this, so we have to reach out and get more information. So I’m just not going to get ahead of having that conversation with the French. But certainly, we’ve seen the reports ourselves as well.

Q: There’s a report in Politico today that the Problem Solvers Caucus is working on a debt ceiling plan that would see the debt raised until the next presidential administration but an outside commission set up on fiscal reforms. Is there any White House reaction to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have a reaction to that at this time. What I can say: We — we’ve seen their one-pager. We have a very close and respectful relationship, a good relationship with the Problem Solvers Caucus. I just don’t have a reaction to share at this time.

But you’re familiar with what the President said yesterday. Our position continues to be not negotiable- –negotiate over default. This is something that is the responsibility, the obligation of congressional members. They were able to do this three times in the last administration.

And — and so, again, this has been something that both parties have been able to come together to take — to get done, and so that’s what we would like to see.

Q: A last quick one. You said — you were asked yesterday about Justice Thomas’s ethics questions. And you said you were going to be very careful not to comment on it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: And I’m wondering if you could tease out why you’re going to be careful not to comment on it. Is the basic calculus, which I think people might understand, that you don’t feel like weighing in on these ethical issues or pushing for reforms is worth possibly alienating the Supreme Court?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, we just — I’m just not going to comment on it. Really, I’m just not going to comment on it from here.

Go ahead.

Q: Karine, the President has been pretty consistent when he’s been asked about this debt ceiling fight and potential negotiations with Republican leadership that he wants to see them put forward a budget before that happens. Are we getting closer now, with what the Speaker is putting out today and with the potential vote in the House next week, to seeing both parties having at least conversations in person, beginning a process by which there might be a discussion?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, you — you saw the readout that the President had a conversation with Leader Schumer and Jeffries.

And what they said was very clear: We won’t negotiate over default. Republicans should pass a clean bill like they did. three times in the previous administration, as I’ve just stated over and over again.

And as the President said, the President is ready to have a separate conversation, as you just laid out, Emily, about the budget once the Republicans present their plan.

And we just haven’t seen that. We have not seen a detailed plan that — not just presented to the President, but to present to the American people.

Again, we’re just not going to negotiate over default. This is something that they need to get done, and they need to get done just like they did in the previous administration.

Q: This has largely been a messaging and political battle at this point. But I’m wondering if you can speak to what preparations might be undertaken behind the scenes within the administration about the potentially severe consequences of a default? We are potentially as quick as two months away from seeing this. What is the President being briefed on about contingencies about what might happen in the event of a default?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I — you know, I’m going to — you said “messaging and political battle.” Look, this is — this is their congressional — like, this is their duty. This is something that they have to get done. This is something that Republicans should not be holding hostage our nation. It is something that should not be happening.

And so, we’re calling them out, these MEGA Rep- –MAGA Republicans, these House Republicans. We’re calling them out for something that they were — easily were able to do in the last administration.

So I don’t want the American people thinking this is just some messaging — a political battle. No, this is the right thing to do. This is there duty as congressional members in the House to get this done.

On your second question, I just don’t have anything to share from here.

Q: And then, one more quick question. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., today announced his candidacy for president, potentially challenging the President for renomination.

I’m wondering — obviously, from that podium, you’re limited in what you can say about politics. But the President just spent some time with Joseph Kennedy III last week, spoke with Ethel Kennedy. He has other Kennedys within the administration. Have you had a chance to speak with the President about his reaction to this potential candidacy now announced by RFK Jr.?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So it’s 2024. The Hatch Act. I’m just not going to touch that with a 12-foot poll.

Q: The President hasn’t offered a personal reaction?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to — I’m not going to touch that with a 12-foot pole.

Thank you. Go ahead.

Q: Oh, thanks so much Karine. Just on the debit ceiling quickly, you’ve been very, very clear today, in previous days that the President wants a clean debt ceiling — a clean vote on the debt ceiling. But can you talk about whether he would want an amount — the debt ceiling to be raised an amount or by, like, a date?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I’m not going to get into the details. This is something that they should not do. They should raise the debt ceiling. This is something that the House Republicans need to get done. I’m not going to get into specifics.

Q: But is there a preference about —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I’m just not —

Q: — the way in which they do it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to get into specifics from here.

What we can lay out is what the House Republicans have told us thus far that they want to do, that they have been very clear about, which is devastating cuts to veterans and education; as I’ve mentioned before, taking food assistance and healthcare away from millions of people; sending manufaca- — manufacturing jobs overseas or manufacturing overseas, which means outsourcing good-paying jobs to countries, including China; and increasing energy costs while increasing the deficit. This is what they have said and laid out that they want to do. And — and, let’s not forget, defund law enforcement and border security.

So that’s what we’re going to call out. They need to get this done. This is their duty, their congressional duty — constitutional duty, to be even more specific and accurate. And they have to get this done. They did it three times in the last administration.

Q: And just have a really quick question, if I may. President Putin has visited Ukraine twice in about a month. Can you say anything about what that might signal about the coming spring offensive and how the U.S. interprets his decision to make those two visits?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, I know he visited the Donbas region very recently.

Look, we’ve been very clear Russia has no legitimate or legal claim to these sovereign Ukrainian territories. We’ve been very clear about that, and we’ll continue to restate that. That’s why we will continue to support Ukraine, the Ukrainian government.

There’s going to be a PDA that’s going to announced by my colleagues at the Department of Defense, so I’ll refer you to that.

And, you know, Mr. Putin’s visit seems like an indication that they know things aren’t going well for Russia. They know that. Mr. Putin seems to know that very clearly. He is likely trying to shore up his own populace since he knows his military is underperforming and struggling to achieve its objectives through this invasion that we have seen them do for this past year.

Q: Thank you. As you know, the U.S. has now surpassed China in becoming India’s largest trading partner. And the U- — India-U.S. bilateral trade is now touching around $200 billion a year; last year, it was $192 billion.

Do you know when President Biden wen to India as the Vice President of this country, he had set a goal of having the bilateral trade to around $500 billion a year. Does the President still believe in that goal? And what steps is the administration is taking to reach that goal of India-U.S. bilateral trade of $500 billion a year?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll say more broadly: As you know, the United States and India have a strong bilateral relationship, and that’s including trade as well — trade relationship.

We’re committed to continuing working together and in groups like the Quad to advance economic growth for our two countries and expand cooperation of our shared priorities. And that is a commitment that is — that you can — that you can — that you can know that that is coming from the United States.

Go ahead, Peter.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Sixty-nine percent of people polled by CNBC say they have a negative view of the economy. President Biden talks about the economy all the time. Why —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He talks about – oh.

Q: Why aren’t people buying it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He talks about the economy all the time because he wants the American people to know that he’s doing everything that he can to make sure that he’s — that his policies that he’s put forward that have shown that he’s building an economy that doesn’t leave anybody behind; it builds an economy from the bottom up, and middle out.

And he also talks about the economy. And when you hear him talk about the economy, he talks about how he’s prioritizing, making sure that we lower inflation. And that is where the American people are, meeting them where they are. He’s going to continue to have that conversation. He understands how important that is for Americans and American families. And so, he’ll never shy away from that.

I know you’re reading a poll right now; that is one poll. But he’s not going to stop talking about what the American people really care about, which is: What are we doing here to make sure that we are addressing the issues and the concerns that they have?

Q: Okay, on China: China is setting up police stations in the U.S. There’s more proof now that they created COVID. There’s reason to think that there were more spy balloons than the White House has said. Why is it taking so long for President Biden to call Xi and tell him to cut it out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We have said over and over again that the President intends to call President Xi.

I don’t have a call to read out to you at this time.

Look, and we’ve said this before — we — we believe it’s important to maintain open lines of communication with China. We believe that it is a — it is a — an important bilateral relationship, the U.S.-China relationship, even as we’re talking about strategic competition with China. And so that has not changed. We’re going to continue to move forward in that way.

Q: And then one more. So, Monday, you’re going to have three of the lawmakers who protested after —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Peace- — peacefully protested.

Q: — who peacefully protested after the Nashville Covenant School shooting. Have any of the victims or the victims’ families been invited to the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have anything at this time to read out to you — any invite.

Q: Why?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say to you right now is that the President is focused on getting things done. He’s focused on making sure that we are protecting our communities, that we’re protecting our schools, that we’re protecting our churches, we’re protecting our grocery — grocery stores. That people, as we know, in Buffalo went to the grocery on a Saturday and got murdered. Ten of them were murdered. We see what’s happening in our schools.

And that’s why he’s brining these legislators here to have that conversation and to see what else can be done to highlight that. That’s why the President is using the bully pulpit for. That’s why he continues to put pressure on Congress to get things done, make sure that they’re showing some courage — Republicans in Congress — to make sure that we’re banning assault weapons.

And so, we cannot have weapons of war in our streets. We cannot have weapons of war in our schools. And so, that’s why he’s bringing them there. He’s bringing him here to continue that conversation.

All right. Go ahead, April.

Q: Karine, three topics. One, Tennessee —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Three topics? (Laughter.)

Q: Yes, ma’am.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s been a while, huh?

Q: Been a minute.

Tennessee legislative time has been truncated. What was the President’s thoughts about that? As the governor had said that he wanted to move forward with even red-flag laws, and now Republicans truncated that time that was supposed to be longer — a couple of weeks longer — and it now ends Friday of this week.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Can you say the beginning of the question? I’m so sorry. What —

Q: I’m sorry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m sorry.

Q: What are the President’s thoughts about the Tennessee Legislative Assembly time being truncated, cut short —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Got you.

Q: — after the governor had said that he wanted red-flag laws and maybe even wanted to compromise with some other things? And now it seems like they may get the budget done and nothing else.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, it’s — look, it is — it is shameful and unfortunate what Republicans — what we see these MAGA Republicans in Congress and across the country and statehouses are doing on an issue — again, I just laid this out for Peter — on an issue that is so important to the American people.

It is — gun violence is an epidemic in our country. It’s killing our kids. Guns are the number-one killer of our children. And it’s only going up.

We should be doing — as adults, we should be doing everything that we can to protect our children. That is on us to do. This is a President that has taken action after action to do just that: to protect our community.

But as we understand, as you all know, it takes legislation to continue the work. That’s why we’re asking Congress to do more. That’s why we’re calling on House Republicans to do more.

And we should see that same type of action in statehouses as well.

Q: And next question: Do you know of any movements, any efforts to extradite the suspects in the Shanquella Robinson murder?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any information on that.

Q: Okay. And —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would refer you to the Department of Justice.

Q: And lastly, what are the efforts by this administration — as the nation is waiting to find out the decision on affirmative action in the Supreme Court, what are the next steps? Because, you know, the thought is that it will be overturned — affirmative action.

It could have tentacles not only just in that case, but in the historic Brown v. Board and in other pieces of affirmative action and DEI around the nation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So what I can say is the President supports making higher education access- — accessible to all Americans.

As the Department of Justice argued in court, it is important that our colleagues and universities produce graduates who are from all segments of society, who are prepared to succeed — to succeed and lead an increasingly diverse nation.

The Supreme Court reaffirmed this less than a decade ago in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, and it should do so again.

Q: But, again, it has — it has tentacles beyond education into the broader society — workplace, et. cet. — into the broader society, workplace, et cetera. What does the President say about that as he stood to run on equity and inclusion?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And — and you said it right there, April: He stood to run on equity and inclusion. And he has shown that throughout his administration.

One of the first executive orders that he signed was to make sure that we say that — that type of diversity that — that was — that was — we were leading with diversity in our different agencies and departments. And that is what the executive order that he — one of the first executive orders was leading with that lens and taking action to make sure that there is inclusion and diversity.

So he has walked the talk. And so — and so the President is — something that he has always said: He’s going to make sure that no one gets left behind.

As we’re talking — as we ta- — I’ve talked numerous times about his in- — his economic policies. He does that. And any other policies that he’s put forward are to make sure that, again, no one gets left behind, that we’re making sure there’s inclusion and diversity at the center of everything that he does.

I go to move around.

AIDE: Karine, we got to move.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, go ahead, Ed.

Q: Yeah, thanks, April. I — I mean, thanks —

Q: April? That’s —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: April?

Q: Yeah, thanks Karine. (Laughs.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: April, you’re up here right now. All right, come on up, April.

Q: I’m on my way. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, you ready?

Q: So, I want to — I want to ask about gas prices.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Switch — let’s switch sides.

Q: Let’s switch — switch to the economy this idea —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: — gas prices. The price of gas has been inching up 24 cents over the past month. Are there any new actions the President is going to take now to bring gas prices down for the summer?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as just — as a reminder, gas prices are not where they were a year ago because of the actions the President has taken. They have gone down by $1.30 since this summer — again, because of what the President has done.

I was being asked about why the President talks about the economy. Because he wants to make sure that the American people know the work that he’s been doing and how he has put inflation number one — as — number-one thing that he wants to get done as it relates to the economy.

And time and time again, we have seen — we have seen analysts’ predictions proven wrong.

And so, look, the President has been clear that he will do everything that he can to continue to lower — lower costs for the American people, and that includes calling on oil and gas companies to use the permits and profits available to them to increase production, which is already on track to reach a record high this year.

I don’t have any additional actions to provide to you. I’m being told that we have to go because the President is going to be leaving shortly. And all you guys — and all you have to leave.

And bye, everybody. I’ll see you tomorrow. (Laughter.)

---

MAY 2023:

May 9, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everybody. Okay. Let’s get to it.

As you know, tomorrow the President will travel to New York to drive home the impact of the current discussions on the economy to real hardworking American families. After his meeting, it’s important to the President that Americans across the country know what is at stake here.

Default threatens 8 million jobs, a recession, retirement accounts, and Social Security and Medicare payments.

The House Republican Default on America Act will cut veterans’ healthcare visits, teachers and school support staffs, and Meals on Wheels for seniors.

The President has a different vision: prevent default and invest in America while reducing the deficit tab nearly $3 trillion and cutting wasteful spending on special interest.

Now, just a few minutes ago, a while ago, we announced that President Biden will be making a historic stop in Papua New Guinea while traveling from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, to the Quad Leader Summit in Sydney, Australia — Australia later this month.

While in Papua New Guinea, President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Marape of Paupa New Guinea and other Pacific Island Forum leaders to follow up on the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit in Washington D.C., this past fall.

The leaders will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on challenges critical to the region and to the United States, such as combating climate change, protecting maritime resources, and advancing resilient and inclusive economic growth.

As a Pacific nation, the United States has deep, historical, and people-to-people ties with the Pacific Islands. And this visit — the first time a sitting U.S. President has visited a Pacific Island country — further reinforces this critical partnership.

This week marks, as you all know, the anniversary of the — of the end of World War Two in Europe and the victory of the United States and Allies forces over fascism and aggression on the continent.

President Putin had the — had the rema- — had remarks for the occasion by launching another wave of cruise missiles and armed drones at the Ukrainian people.

Since Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine last year, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed and millions have been driven from their homes.

The European continent now faces new aggression.

The United States has rallied the world in response, and we will continue to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their independence and their democracy.

As part of those efforts, today we are announcing a significant new security assistant package that will help build the capacity of Ukraine’s armed forces and to defend Ukraine’s territory and deter Russian aggression over the long term.

The package includes additional air defense systems that will help Ukraine protect its people against Russia’s missiles and drone attacks, as well as artillerary [artillery] rounds and support to enable Ukraine to better maintain its systems and equipment.

Victory Day is supposed to be about peace and unity in Europe. It’s supposed to be about the end of war and bloodshed and suffering.

Instead, Mr. Putin promised only more violence and spewed only more lies about a war he fo- — falsely claims has been unleashed against Russia.

Make no mistake, Russia is the aggressor here. Mr. Putin started this unprovoked, unjustified war against the people of Ukraine, and he could end it at any moment. He could end it today, if he chooses.

Unless and until he does, we and our allies and partners will work to help Ukraine achieve the peace and security they deserve.

With that, Josh, welcome. Good to see you, my friend. How are you?

Q: Good to see you, Karine, I’m good. How are you?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m doing well. It’s a big day today.

Q: Yes. So, three subjects.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.

Q: First, what’s the White House’s reaction to Imran Khan’s arrest in Pakistan?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just a couple of things I’d like to say about that.

Just give me a second here. Yikes.

Okay. So, as you can — as you know, we’re aware of the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. As we have said before, the United States does not have a position on one political candidate or party verses another. We call for the respect of democratic principles and the rule of law around the world. So I would refer you to the Pakista- — the government of Pakistan for any further information on that.

Q: Secondly, as part of the debt limit talks, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today called for an agreement that includes discretionary spending caps. Does the White House see all spending caps as a negative, or just the spending caps that are part of the House GOP bill?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to be very clear here. The President is going to have a conversation with the four leaders, as you all know. That’s going to happen in a couple of hours, at 4:00 p.m. local time, clearly. And we’re going to stay focused on what Congress needs to be doing here — their congressional duty — which is to prevent a default.

That’s what we’re going to be clear about. I just laid out at the top how this can cost almost 8 million jobs if — if House Republicans get their way. It could also lead us to a recession — trigger a rescission. And we’ve listed over and over again what this could be if they continue to hold the American economy hostage.

That’s going to be our focus, that’s going to be the President’s focus today, to make that clear to the leaders that they have to do their con – — congressional duty. And that’s what’s expected not just of him but of the American people. And I’m just going to leave it there.

Q: And then, lastly, the Writers Guild of America tweeted out the President saying he wants the striking workers to get a fair deal.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m just going to reiterate what — echo what the President said last night from his yesterday — yesterday’s remark: We “sincerely hope that the writers’ strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given the fair deal they deserve [and] as soon as possible.” And that is what you heard directly from the President yesterday.

Q: Is he on their side?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think his words — his words from last night make it clear where the President stand on this issue.

Go ahead, Mary.

Q: Given the conversation that is happening today, that it is not negations, as you have made very clear, how is the President going into this? How is he viewing success in this meeting? What will he consider to be a successful meeting? Is it simply just conveying his message to them and having them receive it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, what we — what we convey as a success — I mean, people have asked, “Well, will the President give — give Speaker McCarthy an off-ramp, an exit strategy?” The exit strategy is very clear: Do your job. Congress must act, prevent a default. That’s what a success — not for him. It’s not about the President; it’s about the American economy, it’s about the American people. That’s what the President view as success. That’s the way that it should be done.

Regular order. This is regular order.

What House Republicans are saying is that they are — they want to potentially, if their get their way, threaten their — the country’s first default, something that has never happened before. That’s what they’re threatening.

Again, that could lead to — trigger a recession. Eight million jobs potentially lost. That is what they are threatening.

So, it’s very easy. It’s very, very simple: Do your job, go back to regular order, do what you’re supposed to do. It’s been done 78 times and — since 1960. And that’s what he’s expecting from Congress.

Q: The Speaker says the President is ignoring the problem.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President is not ignoring the problem. We have — the four leaders are going to be here today at four o’clock to have this conversation.

The President is going to make himself very clear. The President has been clear since February. Since February, he has said over and over again: We cannot be a country that defaults. And most recently, he has said we cannot be a deadbeat nation, something that we have never done before — never done before.

And so they need to take action. Congress has to do their job. Super simple.

They are — they are manufacturing — manufacturing a crisis.

Q: And just one on immigration. The Mexican President said that he had plans to talk with President Biden this morning. Has that conversation taken place? Can yo0u give us any sense of what was discussed?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I can confirm that the President spoke to President AMLO this — earlier today, this morning. We will have a readout later on. And then that — we’ll — we’ll certainly share that readout to all of you so I can confirm.

Go ahead, Steve.

Q: Does the President plan to postpone his foreign trip in order to deal with the debt ceiling?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President could be a president anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s domestic or international. He is always President, even when he travels.

Look, this is something that Congress can take care of today, if they choose — is to do their job, do their constitutional duty.

Q: And what happens after today’s meeting, from your standpoint? Will you set up more meetings or is this a one-off?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get ahead of today’s conversation, discussion. The President hopes it’s a productive conversation. We’ll see how it goes.

Again, the President is going to make it very clear to the — to the congressional leaders that they must act and not — and avoid default.

Q: And lastly, there are some estimates that are 150,000 migrants waiting to cross the border when Title 42 expires. Is the U.S. prepared to deal with this onslaught of people?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, Steve — I’ve said this many times: I said it yesterday. Look, actually, let me just give you guys a bit of an update on the briefings that are coming up.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The State Department and Department of Homeland Security will be holding a call on our plan later today. Secretary Mayorkas and the State Department will also be holding a press conference tomorrow. And Secretary Mayorkas will be joining me at the podium on Thursday.

We want to make sure that we are transparent about the plan, how we’re moving forward. So he’ll be here to certainly take all of your questions on what’s — what’s ahead.

But we’ve been very clear. We have a multi-agency process. We believe we have a robust process to deal with what is going to occur after Title 42 lifts.

Again, we’re using the tools that are available to us because Congress refuses to do their job when it — as it relates to the border. Again, a system that has been broken for decades.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Senator Manchin this morning sharply criticized the President’s handling of these debt ceiling talks. He said it’s, quote, “not rational, it’s not reasonable, it’s not practical,” in terms of his refusal to negotiate over raising the debt limit. What’s the White House’s response to that? And — and to what extent does it weaken the President’s position to not have Democrats in lockstep with him?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s not rationable — it’s not rational — rationable – it’s not reasonable and it’s not practical for Congres to do — to be doing what they’re doing, for House Republicans to be holding this up, for threatening default. That’s is where the problem should be and that’s who should be called out.

Speaker McCarthy is going to be here. And he — you know, what we’re seeing from House Republicans, from MAGA Republicans, is that they are making — they are manufacturing a crisis. That shouldn’t be. That shouldn’t be.

The President doesn’t want to see this happen either. He doesn’t want to see our economy held hostage. He does not want to see this. That’s why he’s having these leaders here. And he’s going to make himself very, very clear. And that’s the discussion that they’re going to have.

And, you know, I’m not going to get ahead of what’s going to come out of that. And we’ll see.

Q: Given how unified Republicans have been around Speaker McCarthy, do you have any concern about, you know, Democrats not — you know, that there may be some wavering among some Democrats about the President’s position on the debt ceiling?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, the Democrats have been very clear as well that we need to deal with — deal with the debt limit. We’ve been all very clear about that; so has Leader Jefferies and so has Leader Schumer. They’ve — we’ve been all on the same page when the — with the leadership — is that Republicans in Congress need to do their job. And that’s what we’re going to see today.

Q: And then, in terms of the situation on the souther border, there have been — yesterday there were nearly 10,000 migrant encounters on the southern border. There are around 27,000 migrants currently in CBP custody. I know that the administration — you guys talked a lot about the surge that you anticipated after Title 42 would expire. Did the administration expect there to be a surge before? And ow is that going to impact your preparedness if there’s still another surge expected after May 11th?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So what you can expect from us is that we’re going to do everything that we can and use every available tool to us, as we have been, to deal with this issue in a humane — in a humane way, manage it humanely. And that’s what we’ve been very clear about.

Our focus when it — as it relates to managing the border is we’re going to do this through enforcement, deterrence, and diplomacy. And that’s what you have seen.

And we’ve been working with our regional partners, and we have just few tools that are available to the President, you know? And that’s because Congress has failed to act. So right now we believe we have a robust plan, a multiagency plan to do this in a humane way.

And we’re going to have Secretary Mayorkas here with is in the Briefing Room on Thursday, and he’ll certainly lay out the plan in a more deeper way, a more in-depth way. You all will be able to ask him this question. He was at the border very recently. He’s held multiple press conferences on this issue.

You’ve heard from the State Department. You’ve heard from Homeland Security — clearly, Mayorkas, as I just mentioned. You’ve heard from the Pentagon, who did a briefing just last week. And we’re going to continue to inform the American people and continue to inform all of you how we’re moving forward. And that’s what you could expect from this administration.

Q: But to my question, did you anticipate the current numbers that we are seeing right now, before?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I can’t — I — I can’t get into hypotheticals about the numbers and what they were going or going to be. That’s not something I’m going to do here.

What I can say is that we knew, clearly — we know from the Court that Title 42 was going to life on Thursday. That’s something that we were clearly very well aware — aware of since — since earlier this year. We have put plans in place and process in place to deal with this very moment.

And so that’s what you — I can only speak to what you can expect from us. And we’ve been very transparent about that, and we’ll continue to be.

Go ahead, Joey.

Q: Thank you. Speaker McCarthy said today he doesn’t support a short-term debt ceiling increase. “Let’s just get this done now,” he told reporters. Does the White House agree with him, with the Speaker, on this — this point?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, a short-term extension is not our plan either. That is not our plan.

This is — can be easily resolved. This is a manmade crisis that the Speaker is leading. We can get this done. We want to make sure that we move the threat of default. And that’s what the President is going to be making clear about. This is not negotiable. Default is not negotiable.

Q: And a second question. On the Writers Guild strike that the may — that the President weighted into, he says he wants a — to see a fair deal. What is a fair deal in the President’s view?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re certainly not going to get into a back-and-forth on what a fair deal looks like. We’re going to continue to encourage both sides to come together, to come to the table and have that discussion. I’m just not going to get ahead of that.

Q: Okay. Thanks.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I mean, does the — I wanted to ask: Secretary Mayorkas is going to come speak with us. Thanks for that. Just, what about the President? Will the President speak out about Title 42, share a message that Mayorkas has given or, you know, — you know, something to that effect? Will we hear from the President on Title 42?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I would say you heard from the President just this past Friday. He did a — he did an interview, a sit-down interview, with one of the networks and talked about Title 42, talked about immigration. So the American people did hear directly from the President on this issue.

I don’t have anything else to share in the next couple of days about the President’s schedule, so I’ll just leave it there.

But he was asked a question, and he answered it.

Go ahead, Josh.

Q: One more please, if I could. I mean, should Americans anticipate or expect an orderly process on the border? Or does the administration want Americans to know that this is going to be a challenging moment and there could be some hiccups or there could be some challenges and to give a little bit of patience and the transition is made?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, what we have been very clear about is that we do want to put a process in place that’s orderly, that’s humane, and using the tools that the President has in front of him to do just that.

I’ve said very clearly, we want enforcement, deterrence, and diplomacy. That’s what we’re — that’s how we’ve moving forward. Those are the three steps that we’re taking to get this done.

There are challenges at the border. This is something that the President has taken seriously, from day one, putting forth a comprehensive piece of legislation to deal with immigration reform, something that has been a problem for the past several decades. The system has been broken for the past several decades.

And again, the President would like to do more. He ha- — he’s using the tools in front of him, but Congress refuses to act. Instead, many Republican official want to make a political case out of this. They’re not looking to meet us at the table to actually deal with this issue. They want to turn this into a political stunt.

And so that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to deal with this issue. We’re trying to deal with this challenge. And again, we’ve been doing this since day one.

Go ahead, Josh.

Q: Can you say what will happen if Congress doesn’t act on the debt limit? Speaker McCarthy hasn’t budged yet. The President hasn’t moved his position. Will he let this go off a cliff if the Speaker doesn’t do anything?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, the Speaker has to do his job; Congress has to do their job. That’s what we’re —

Q: (Inaudible) the President doesn’t have any job to do?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President — historically, 78 times since 1960, this is what Congress has done. They have done their constitutional duty — is ti deal with the debt limit. That is something that they have done. This is regular order. This is the process that they have used. And we’re asking them to go back into — to — to that process.

And look, what they — what could potentially happen, as I just laid out, is a potential recession — 8 million jobs lost. That is something that Congress could avoid. They can easily avoid this and do their jobs.

So, I’m not going t get ahead of what’s going to happen today at four o’clock or get into hypotheticals from here. But the President has been very clear. He’s been very, very clear. They have to get this done.

And what they’re threatening is, and what they’re saying to us is, we have to take their whole entire agenda — which is extreme; a lot of Americans do not agree wit that agenda — or they’re going to hold the economy hostage. That’s what they’re putting forward.

Remember, a lot — 22 percent cut on veterans, on healthcare, on Meals on Wheels, all the things that we have listed out over and over again — Americans don’t agree with that. And it’s going to hurt American families.

So we’re going to be very clear. The President is going to be very clear with — with — with the leaders today that they have to act.

Q: And you’ve been talking today about two subjects where Congress hasn’t acted. One is immigration. And you’re saying you — we’ll use all the tools available to us because Congress refuses to act on the border. They also, son are, haven’t acted on the debt ceiling. So I guess I’m trying to figure out what will happen if they continue to not act and we get closer to the deadline, which could be enforced as early as June 1st or as late as August.

Will the President — does he think he has any tools to use if Congress continues to not do its job? Because it’s not clear that Speaker McCarthy can really move — right? — that he has a lot of leeway in his caucus to (inaudible).

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, that’s for Speak- — that’s for Speaker McCarthy to speak to. I can’t speak bout the leeway and the pull —

Q: Right. But what happens if he doesn’t — I guess if he can’t?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know. I – no, I hear you.

You mentioned Speaker McCarthy. I can’t speak for him. I can speak for the President.

And it’s Congress’s job. And I get your question, Josh, but this is their — literally their constitutional duty. They take an oath, and this is what they’re supposed to do. They’re supposed to deal with the debt limit — one of the many things that they have that they’re supposed to deal with.

And this is something that we — a first-ever default? That’s what they’re threatening? This is what they’re saying that they want to take us down the road on?

This is — a first-ever default would trigger a recession, erase millions of job. It’s very simple. The exit ramp for them is to do their job — into do their job. The President will make that very clear in his meeting. I’m not going to get ahead of what’s going to come out of that meeting. But the President has been really, really clear here.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Going back to Steve’s question. When the President does leave for Japan and Australia next week, he’s not slated to return until just before that June deadline that the Treasury Secretary has talked about. If we get to next week and there is no plan to raise the debt ceiling, will the President delay or cancel his trip?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, Nancy, appreciate the question. I understand the question. I’m not going to get ahead of today’s meeting. Let’s see how the meeting goes at four o’clock.

Certainly, our goal here is to make sure that Congress does their constitutional duty and to prevent default. Just not going to get into hypotheticals. Let’s see how the meeting goes. It’s going to happen very shortly, at 4:00. And let’s see how it turns out, what comes of that.

Q: Who’s going to be handling the discussions from the White House while the President is overseas?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, the President could be president anywhere. These are issues that — certainly that he will be very aware of and very involved in getting updates from his — his team.

As you know, the office of — when it comes to legislative things and things that are dealt with Congress, that’s the Office of Leg Affairs. They play point on this.

But the President, again, can be president wherever her is, in — domestically or out of the country.

Q: Should the Vice President be involved in today’s meeting since she’ll be here in the country while the President is away?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So the President is closely — has been closely consulting with the Vice President on this. They have had several conversations on this issue. And so, again, when it comes to issues that matter to the American people, they’re very much partners.

Q: What message does it send to the world that we’re now three weeks away from a potential default and it is still completely unclear how this is going to be resolved?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the United State is not a deadbeat nation. The President ma- — has made that very clear. We have never failed to pay our bills, and we should not do this now. Congress must do its job and prevent a default.

And, look, this — if there were a default, it would be a gift to China, to Russia, and to other competitors. That’s what we’re saying here. That’s what House Republicans are saying. If they were to default, it would be a gift to them.

Let me just give you a little bit about what the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, said, who, as you all know, the head of the intelligence community.

She testified last week to Congress, and she said the following: Both Russia and China would look to use a default to demonstrate “the chaos within the United States, that we’re not capable of functioning as a democracy…” Default would “create global uncertainty about the value of the U.S. dollar and the U.S. institutions and leadership, leading to volatility in currency and financial markets and commodity markets that are priced in dollars.” China and Russia “would look to take advantage of the opportunity” if we were to default.

That’s what congressional Republicans are threatening. That’s what they are potentially going to really put us into a tailspin if they don’t actually do their jobs — really simple — and their jobs and avoid default.

Go ahead.

Q: On matters of the economy, the public often holds the President accountable for the outcomes here. Does the President have a sense that he will be blamed by the American public if default actually occurs?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, Republicans are holding the entire economy hostage and saying, unless their entire agenda gets done, they’re going to cause an unprecedented default.

What the President is doing is the opposite of that. He wants to make sure that we take that off the table and have a separate conversation — a separate conversation on the budget, something that he put forth on March 9th, which shows how he values the way moving forward, what cou- — to show how he sees our economy moving forward, building on the successes that he’s had these last two years, making sure that we cut the deficit by $3 trillion for the next 10 years.

So, to your question — I have an answer to your question — polling from 2011 and 2013 makes clear that congressional Republicans were to blame for their threats to default. And polling now shows Americans want spending and default handled separately, as does the President.

That said, when it comes to threatening default, people should not be looking at polling. They should be looking at how they’re going to be delivering for the American people. They should be looking at their constituents whose jobs and retirements could be crushed by recession if they — if this is truly going to move forward in the way that they seemingly want to go, which is manufacturing a crisis.

So, again, you know, this is something that the President wants to avoid. He wants to make sure that this is not on the table, that we take default off the table. And that’s a conversation that he’s going to have very clearly with congressional members today — leaders today.

Q: There have been other instances of brinksmanship on Capitol Hill with government shutdowns, and the public has seen that. They’ve seen 11th hour resolution to things.

This is a very different beast, in terms of the potential negative impact; as you’ve pointed out, never happened before. Do you think the public has a sense of what is at stake for them, their retirement accounts, their job security, the overall economy? And do you anticipate the President will have to sepal out about this in a — in a bigger way than the daily communication that he’s done or that you speaking on his behalf? Is there a speech to be had? Is there a moment coming?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, the President is going to go to New York. He’s going to visit a district that he won in 2020. He’s going to talk directly to — to constituents and, clearly, Americans in — in that district, and have a very clear conversation and be — lay out very clearly, as he’s done many times.

I had mentioned the polling in 2011 —

Q: I was thinking — nighttime is, I guess, where I was going with that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I see. (Laughs.) I — I mentioned —

Q: So — I’m sorry. That wasn’t clear. I knew —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No —

Q: — I know he’s going to New York.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yep. No, no. I totally understand. I mentioned the polling from 2011 and 2013, how congressional Republicans were blamed by the American people about what they tried to do in those two instances. And the President is going to continue to talk about this.

Don’t have a nighttime, primetime speech to lay out for you or to preview at this time. But, look, let’s see what happens at 4:00. Let’s see how this conversation goes.

And, you know, we’ve been very clear, Secretary Yellen has been clear, the President has been clear, many — many economists who work here in the administration has been clear, businesses have been clear: This would be catastrophic. And it does not have to happen. It does not have to happen. This could be avoided.

We have never, ever, defaulted before. We cannot be a deadbeat nation. So we can avoid this. The President is going to make that very clear today.

Q: Hey, Karine. Thank you. You mentioned that the President is going to be going to New York tomorrow. You mentioned that he’s going to a district he won in 2020. It also happens to be a district that is represented by a Republican currently.

Can you talk about the decision to target this specific district and what the President plans to say? And also, can you address the fact that the Republican member of Congress, Mike Lawler, agreed to the White House’s invitation to appear alongside the President and what that means for the President’s remarks?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to let the congressman speak for himself. He can do that. He’s able to do so.

I mentioned this at the top: The President is going to drive home the impact of these current discussions that we’re having — the economy; how it affects real hardworking Americans. That’s what you’re going to hear from the President. He’ll be very clear about that. He’ll be clear about what could potentially happen.

And, yes, you know, we’ve talked about default and what that could look like — recession trigging [triggering] a recession, potentially 8 million jobs lost.

But let’s not forget the other piece of the act that Republicans in the House has put forward. Let’s not forget veterans. Let’s not forget healthcare. Let’s not forget schools, to support staff.

Those things are also embedded or part — a 22 percent cut to these programs that families really, truly need. So he’s going to talk about that.

I’m going to let the congressman speak for himself. The President is — loves to travel across the country to different district, different states. And that’s what you’re going to see from this President tomorrow.

Q: The President has talked about, you know, having a sense of unity and not questioning people’s motives and sort of brining the temperature down in politics. We’ve seen him on the stumps — we’ve seen his stump speech. We’ve seen how aggressive it can be about quote, unquote, “MAGA Republicans.” You are going to have a Republican member in front of his constituents, right there alongside the President. Will that change the way the President addresses the crowd in (inaudible)?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President is always going to be honest with the American people. There’s a — there’s a real question about where our economy is going to be going. Right? And that is something that the President is going to lay out for the American people.

And so, look, when the President speaks, it’s not just to the people who are in front of me — in front of him, pardon me — or he people in that district or state. He’s speaking to the nation, and sometimes to the world, when he’s at the podium or when he’s speaking — when the President speaks just in general. Like, everyone listens, and you all cover it, you all write about it.

And so this is a message that he’ll have to the American people about what’s at stake. Americans need to know what’s at stake. You know, it’s basically — to Kelly O’s question — they need to know what is at stake here, where we’re headed with our economy.

The President has worked the last two years to rebuild our economy, as we’ve always said, from the middle out, bottom up, and we’ve had some successes. If this occurs, it’s going to take us back. It’s going to take us back.

And so, the President is going to be very honest, very upfront with the American people. That’s what you’ll hear from him, as he always is when he speaks. And so he’ll lay out — again, lay out what’s at stake.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks. Just a quick follow-up. On — can you just give a bit more specifics on why the President chose Hudson Valley for — to give this speech? And does he think that giving this speech on avoiding the default and going after the Republican plan that they passed would actually convince them to pass a clean debt limit increase?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not going to get ahead of the President. He’ll lay out why he’s there, as he always does, why he’s in front of the audience that he’ll be speaking to tomorrow. So I’m going to let him speak to that.

But what I can say is, again, kind of what I just said to your colleague: The President is going to be very clear about what’s at stake, the impact of the current discussions that we’re having, the impact of this budget and this default that House Republicans have connected. He’s going to make it very, very clear this is going to hurt American families. It’s going to hurt our economy, and it’s going to hurt American families.

We’re talking about American families that need these programs that are having the 22 percent cut. They need it just to make ends meet. So, he’s going to lay that out, as he has many times when he talks about the economy, when he talks about what MAGA Republicans are doing.

He’s mentioned that before; he’s talked about that before over the last — especially the last two weeks. And so now he’s going to be doing it in New York in front of an audience, again, speaking to — speaking to the country as he does every time he speaks, as President of the United States. And I’ll let him speak to why now, why New York, and what it is that he wants — wants the American people to know.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Two questions on Title 42 and governors. I know you were asked yesterday about when the President — if the President had spoken to Governor Abbott about the Allen, Texas, shooting. But when was the last time the President spoke to Governor Abbott about the border situation?

MS.JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any timeline of calls to lay out to the governor. You’ve seen the governor and the President together many times over the past, I would say, year when the President visited Texas. I don’t have anything to lay out on the timeline of conversation or the last time he’s spoken to the governor.

Q: And any plans for them to talk this week?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything to preview at this time.

Q: Okay. And Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs said Monday that she’s afraid the federal government is unprepared to meet the demands of the expected influx at the border. And she said that her recent request to the White House and to the DHS Secretary asking what the plans are for more help have not been met with an adequate response. What is the response to the governor? And why hasn’t the administration responded to what she’s asking for?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we welcome the additional steps that Governor Hobbs announced. And tams in our administration remain in close contact with the border communities, including Arizona, to provide tam — timely information and resources. Just this past Friday, DHS provided $45.5 million to organizations in Arizona supporting migrants.

Look, we’re — continue to have those conversation with her. We’ll continue to stay in touch. I just mentioned the — the funding that we’ve provided — that DHS provided on Friday.

We are putting forth a robust plan, and we’re putting that in place to do this in a humane- — humane way, to do this in an orderly way through enforcement, deterrence, and diplomacy. We’ve been very clear about that not just today, not just yesterday, not just last week, but for the past several months.

We’re going to have Secretary Mayorkas, who is kindly going to be joining us in the briefing on Thursday. He’s going to take your questions. He’s going to lay out very clearly, again, what we’ve been doing. We want to provide all the information that we can, the we have to all of you. We hav been doing that not just here, State Department, DHS, and Pentagon’s well.

And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversation. Again, we appreciate and welcome the additional steps that was provided by the governor, and we’ll continue to stay in close touch.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Forty-three Republican senators signed on to a letter opposing raising the debt ceiling without budget reforms, and 217 members in the House voted for that bill to raise the debt limit with cuts to spending. Does the White House consider all of those members to be dangerous MAGA Republican extremists?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Do they understand what the cuts that they’re voting for is going to do? Do they — do — that’s the question. I mean, Republicans in Congress in the House specifically voted for cuts that’s going to hurt American families. I mean, we can’t say this enough: 22 percent cuts to veterans, healthcare, schools. That’s what they voted for. That’s what — and — and this is not —

Q: (Inaudible) off — off the table. But —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. But this not — this is not just — this is their constituents. This is what they voted for.

Q: And those constituents that they’re voting on behalf of have said they are concerned about their retirements, about the effects of inflation. And those members represent more than half of the country in the House. I mean, those — that’s the majority of districts in the country that they’re voting on behalf of those constituents who are expressing concern about where the economy is.

So, I guess, how can the White House continue to use messaging in calling this the “Default on America Act” and — and paint this legislation in such a way without having a conversation about the budget when you’ve got half the country saying that they want that conversation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, House Republicans are threatening a first-ever default. They want the President to agree on a plan in its entirety that includes cuts — that includes cuts to programs that are incredibly important for the American family — because they want to hold the American economy hostage. Because that’s what they’re saying that they want to do by threatening — by threatening a default.

Q: Their bill would raise the debt limit. They passed a bill to raise the debt limit. So they’re — the conversation —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: They’ve connect- — I hear you, but they are connecting passing whatever — this debt limit — to cuts: 22 percent cuts to veterans, to seniors. That’ what they are threatening, cuts to our schools. That’s what the twen- — that’s what is connecting. That’s what their budget plan is.

Q: The bill doesn’t have any appropriations in it, actually. And the — the Speaker has, you know, ruled out a number of those things, including defense, veterans’ benefits, senior entitlement programs. When you have Mitt Romney saying that there has to be a conversation here, is he a MAGA Republican extemist?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I’m saying is House Republicans have been very clear. They voted on a bill that’s going to cut programs that are very important to American families: law enforcement — cutting programs to law enforcement; cutting program to veterans — veteran care; cutting program to our school system. That’s what Republicans have voted on.

So those are extreme. Those are very extreme. These are things that the American people don’t want. Just look at twenty — 2022, what they voted for. They voted for — to protect — to protect their retirement accounts. That’s what the American people want to see.

And so, they’re connecting those two. They want the President to agree on its entire agenda of an extreme budget. It is an extreme budget, something that Americans do not want. And, you know, that’s something for them to answer to. This is — this is also speaking to their — they’re speaking to constituents when they’re voting for something like that.

And so, look, the President put forth a budget where it also costs spending, but not hurting American families. We’re trying to make sure that we lower the deficit by saying that we’re going to cut the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years.

But he put forth something that is actually responsible. Remember: Show me your value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value. That’s what the President said. They showed their value by showing veteran — cutting veterans’ program, cutting school programs, cutting healthcare — 22 percent. That’s what they value? That’s something that they have to answer to the American people about.

Go ahead, Ed.

Q: Thanks, Karine. So if cutting government spending would help reduce inflation faster, in this meeting today, is the President open to hearing other viewpoints?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as you know, Ed, because you asked me this question many times, when it comes to the economy, when it comes to a priority that the President have for the American people, lowering costs for families is a top priority. He talks about that often.

You’ve heard him talk about lowering prescription drug costs, which we have been able to do; capping insulin at 35 bucks a month for seniors; allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices. That’s why Inflation Reduction Act was so critical and important. Only — only Democrats voted for that. Helped lower energy bills, another — another component of the Inflation Reduction Act. I just talked about how he put forth a budget that’s going to lower the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years.

And, again, I was very clear with Jacqui: They have out forth the opposite. They want to go in the opposite direction. They want to cut programs that’s going to lower cost. They want to take our economy hostage with a default. They want to bring back failed trickle-down economy, which we know doesn’t work.

So, look, the President is always going to try and figure out how he can lower costs for the American people. He has actually taken action and been able to put policies forward; pass legislation with Democrats — with the help of Democrats in Congress; signed that legislation to deal with issues that really matter to the American people.

Q: (Inaudible.) One more on — on a different subject, if I could. So, after Title 42 ends, does the President then want to go back to the border to see the situation for himself?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any trips to — to preview for you. As you know, the President has gone to the border more Han once. We have put forth a robust multiagency plan to humanely deal with the border in a way that leads with enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy.

I’m going to have Secretary Mayorkas here on Thursday. He’ll be glad to take your questions. That’s why he’s joining us.

We’ve had multiple briefings from the different agencies that are involved in this process. We’ll continue to do that and answer your question and put out information on how we’re dealing with the real — with the — the challenges that we’re seeing at the border.

Again, the President is using the tools that he has in front of him because Congress refuses to ac.

Go ahead.

Q: Yes, Karine. On the COVID-19 public health emergency ending on Thursday, obviously, we know COVID is not over. And in fact, CDC data shows that there’s a disproportionate share of hospitalizations and infections and deaths for Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations. These are also populations that are overrepresented in lack of access to healthcare, unemployment, poverty levels. Is the administration concerned that these communities could be left behind as we move away from the public emergency, especially when you think about long COVID?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there’s a couple questions there with long COVID, and I’ll take that first.

Look, we’ve seen the progress that has been made last year that HHS has led on, and that’s deliver high-quality care for individuals experiencing long COVID; provide information and resources to help people struggling with long COVID, including our nation’s veterans, employ employers — pardon me, — in — in the workplace. And we’ve invested in care for people in underserved communities who have been disproportionately impacted by long COVID.

We are going to — there’s going to be an office that’s going to be set up, as you know, that — because of the omnibus fiscal year of twenty — in 2023. Certainly that would be a space where we’ll continue to deal with this — with the pandemic, even though we’re in a different stage of the pandemic. As you said, COVID is still here. So we’ll — we’ll certainly deal with that in an appropriate way.

And so, look, there’s Project Next Generation as well. That’s a way to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving virus that causes COVID. We need to continue to support the development of a new generational — generation of tools, and that’s what you’re going to see from Project Next Gen.

So we are taking all of this very seriously. And we’ll certainly have more to share in the next day or two.

Q: And more broadly, could you give a sense of how the administration is feeling coming out of the public emergency — public health emergency — given where we were two, three years ago? Does the administration see this as a success in terms of combating COVID or a sense of a sigh of rel- of relief at all?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look — look, we are definitely at a different point in the pandemic. Over the last two years, he administration has — has made significant progress in ability — in an ability to manage COVID-19 in a way that protects life and health and no longer meaningfully disrupts our lives. And that’s because of this President’s leadership.

Again, we’re not out of the pode- — pandemic; we’re certainly in a different place. And that’s because of what this President has been able to do — when you think about how COVID deaths have declined by 95 percent, new COVID-19 hospitalizations are down nearly 88 percent, and COVID-19 cases and deaths globally are at its lowest levels since the start of the pandemic.

You heard from the World Health Organization, saying COVID — COVID-pandem- — pandemic no longer qualifies as a global health emergency.

So, look, let the numbers speak for itself. The President — over 270 million people have at least one shot in arms because of the comprehensive plan that this President and his administration has put forward. And so — look, again, let the numbers speak for itself.

The President has taken this very seriously since day one. And now we’re in a — it’s good. It’s actually good that we’re in a different stage of this pandemic.

One more. Go ahead, Courtney.

Q: Thank you. I wanted to ask about the Labor Department. They — the department hasn’t testified before Congress yet about its budget. I know that Acting Secretary Julie Su is also up for a nomination. Is there a reason that she hasn’t gone before Congress about the budget in her acting role or that you haven’t sen someone else to take questions?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s a very good question. I would refer you to the Department of Labor about their process and being in front of Congress and speaking to their budget. I would just refer you to them.

Q: Also, on Title 42, there’s a bill emerging on Capitol Hill this week that Republicans are pushing in the House. I understand that broadly you disagree with that bill. But can you talk about if you see any points of agreement with the GOP on places of tension or problems related to the border that you agree on that you can move forward with? Maybe there’s parts of a bill you do agree with or other solutions that you know would have broad support?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I laid that out yesterday why don’t we agree with that bill. Certainly that —

Q: (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no no —

Q: Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — that — nothing changes there. That still stands. What we have seen is Congress cut — Republicans cut — wanting to cut resources to — cutting 2,000 in law enforcement to be at the border. They have not done anything to be helpful in this process. They’ve done politi- — they’ve taken political stunts. What they put forward is not going to help the issue at all, and we’ve taken this very seriously.

On day one, the President put forth an — a comprehensive immigration reform legislation to really have this conversation about how do we put more resources to deal with this challenge. And instead, they want to take away resources. That’s what they’ve — they’ve told us.

And so if they want to seriously have a real conversation, we’re willing to have that conversation. But they haven’t proven that. They haven’t proven that they want a real conversation. They want to actually make the situation — the challenges that we see at the border — worse. That’s what their legislation shows. That’s what it tells the American people.

Q: So I take it you don’t —

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I’ve been very clear. I li — I literally went almost line by line about the things that we disagree about with this — in this — legislation yesterday. It’s going to make the situation worse. It’s not going to help. And, look, they want to play political games, and that’s not what the President wants to do. He wants to do the opposite.

All right, everybody, I’ll see you on Thursday. Thank you.

May 10, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Why Congress Must Avoid Default Immediately and Without Conditions

SUNY Westchester Community College, Valhalla, New York

The President: Hello, hello, hello! (Applause.)

I asked Brian one question: What position did he play? (Laughter.) It looks like he spends a lot of time in the gym.

Please, sit down. Sit down. Sit down.

It’s good to be back. It’s good to be back. (Applause.)

Governor Hochul, thank you for welcoming us to your state. And she’s helping New York lead the way in making things in America. And I mean making things in America. Not importing them – making them. Send – sending products out, bringing jobs back.

And my friend, the Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, can’t be here today. I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s just down there in – (laughter) – trying to settle a crisis of – he’s the best there is, man. And I want to thank him for working so hard for the people of this state and for being such a great partner. (Applause.)

Nobody has been a greater fighter for women’s rights in the Congress than Senator Kristen Gillibrand. God love her. (Applause.) I’ve been backing everything she’s wanted to do for a long time. I tell you what – when she comes in and is asking for something, it’s easier to just say yes. (Laughter.) Don’t even start discussing it, because you’re just going to give in anyway.

She’s taken on the military, and she’s made it — she’s a game changer.

And it’s great to see Representative Jamaal Bowman, a lifelong educator – (applause) – champion of the next generation.

And Republican Congressman Mike Lawler is here as well. Mike is on the other team. But you know what? Mike is the kind of guy that when – when I was in Congress, they’re the kind of Republican I was used to dealing with. But he’s not one of these MAGA Republicans, which I’m going to talk a little bit about.

I don’t want to get him in trouble by saying anything nice about him – (laughter) – or negative about him. But I — thanks for coming, Mike. Thanks for being here. This is the way we used to do it all the time. (Applause.)

And I want to acknowledge all the state and local officials as well. The president, Belinda Miles, thanks for hosting us. (Applause.)

And my — Madam President, my wife teaches full time at a community college in Northern Virginia, and she’s been teaching for a long time. (Applause.)

She says two things. One, community college is the best-kept secret in America. (Applause.) Well, they are.

And two, equally as important, any educat– any — any state that out-educates us — any country that out-educates us is going to outcompete us. It’s a simple proposition.

This is a really important moment. There’s a big debate going on in this country about protecting America’s hard-earned reputation as the most trusted, reliable nation in the world, and about how — how we will fix the long-term fiscal health of this nation. A debate with an enormous and, quite frankly, for the world economy. And that’s not hyperbole. For the world economy.

It’s important for the American people to know what’s at stake. This isn’t just a theoretical debate going on in Washington. The decisions we make are going to have real impact on real people’s lives. And that’s what I’m her to talk about today.

So let me tell you a story about what’s going on. There is a very extreme wing of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives who refer to themselves now — I’ve been calling them this for a while, but now they refer to themselves as “MAGA Republicans.” And they’ve taken control of the House. They’ve taken control. They have a Speaker who has his job because he yielded it to the, quote “MAGA” element of the party.

And they’re doing the best — to the best of my knowledge what no other political party has done in our nation’s history. They’re literally, not figuratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our nation’s debt that if we’ve alrea- a debt we’ve already incurred — we’ve already incurred over the last couple hundred years, unless we give into their threats and demands as to what they think we should be doing with regard to the budget. This would be incredibly damaging.

Here’s what the Speaker has put forward for the Republican proposal. He says he’s going to take the funding that we — how we fund the government — back to what the levels were in 2022, before the omnibus bill. And they exclude any cuts in defense. They say we’re going to go back to spending what we spent in 2022, but we’re not going to make any cuts in defense, which we spent in 2023 — we’re calling for in 2023.

You may remember, in the State of the Union, I got our Republican colleagues to agree, somewhat spontaneously — (laughter) — to — (applause) — to protect Social Security and Medicare from any cuts. Remember, I said, “Now, let me get this straight. You’re not going to cut Medicare? You’re not going to cut…” They said, “That’s right.” I said, “Well, you know, you’re on — you’re on camera. They can see you.” (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: They lied!

THE PRESIDENT: Well, they — so far, they’re not cutting Social Security so far.

And not only do they rule out any new revenue, they’re still determined to make permanent $2 trillion tax cuts which is due to expire — the Trump tax cuts — without paying a penny of it.

Now, here – look, here’s what that leaves us with. This is just basic sort of math. It leaves us with a requirement to cut 22 percent of everything else in the budget in order to meet the requirements they’re demanding — that we live at the 2022 budget numbers.

The Speaker and the Republicans don’t like that I point that out. But that’s not my opinion; it’s just basic math.

And here’s what it does: It makes huge cuts in important programs for millions of working and middle-class American — programs they count on.

According to estimates, the Republican bill would put 21 million people at risk of losing Medicaid, including 2.3 million people here in New York State and 78,000 people right here in Westchester County. It’s devastating. It’s not right.

The Republican plan would cut federal law enforcement officers — 30,000 — including 11,000 FBI agents, 2,000 Border agents, DEA agents, and so on. They’ve cut — that’s why — in order to meet the requirement, they’d have to cut that many law enforcement officers.

It risks shutting down 375 air traffic control towers, including 5 right here in New York State, like Westchester County Airport, because they don’t have enough personnel.

And I’ve long believed that we have many obligations to the nation, but the only — I’ve — you’ve heard me say this before; I apologize for repeating it — but we only have one sacred obligation. We have many obligations, but one sacred obligation, and that’s to equip those we send to war and take care of them and their families when they come home. (Applause.) It’s a sacred obligation. For real.

And that’s why — one of the reasons I fought so hard and I was so proud to sign the bipartisan PACT Act that takes care of millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic materials and that take care of their families as well.

My son went to Iraq for a year, was one of the healthiest guys in his outfit, came back with stage 4 glioblastoma, having lived just a couple — less than a quarter mile from one of those major burn pits. And you saw what happened in the Trade Towers that went down, what happened to all those firemen and the exposure to toxic chemicals.

But under the Republican bill today, they would cut 30 million veterans’ healthcare visits. The way that do that — that’s including nearly 2 million healthcare visits for veterans in New York State, because there’s not enough personnel. There’s not enough personnel.

The difference between the 2022 budget — which they want to get back to — and the 2023 budget is I increased the funding for the Veterans Administration by $22 billion. And the reason I did it — (applause) – and the reason I did it — and probably some of you know of these folks — the number of — you know, more veterans are committing suicide than are being killed in battle. And so, they pick up the phone and they call the VA in their area. “I need help.” “Well, come in in six weeks. Come in in whatever.” Well, we ended that. We ended that.

Now they want to go back to the levels where we cut those folks that now provide that kind of help. This amounts to a $22 billion cut in veterans’ healthcare.

Now, they dispute this. They — nowhere in their actual proposal are there exclusive protection for veterans. But they say I’m — it’s unusual language we use with presidents these days – they say I’m “lying” when I say that. Well, the truth is: Why do so many veterans’ groups — why have they spoken out in opposition to the Republican proposal? They’re not all Democrats. They know what’s going to happen.

Folks, that’s the game Republicans are playing. Anytime you single out the impact of their overall cuts, they tell you, “No, no, no, it’s not true.” But they’re wrong. If they want to protect something, they would have written it down and say, “We’re protecting it. You can’t cut this program. You can’t cut it.” So you can see it.

Here’s another example. Under the Republican plan, nationwide, 100,000 teachers and support staff would lose their jobs at the very time we’re attempting to overcome the sufficient — the incredible deficiencies that occurred as a consequence of what happened with the pandemic. So many kids — the average student out there is about a year and a half behind. We don’t need fewer teachers; we need more teachers. (Applause.)

And by the way — no, I’m — I’m not being solicitous. What we should be doing — and I’m proposing when I try to finish this job — I’m proposing that we — for example, if we start — instead of Head Start, which they want to cut 21,000 Head Start spots in this state alone, we should be sending — all the studies show that if we sent — no matter what the background of a child, if we sent a child to a school at age three — learning reading, writing, and arithmetic – at age three and four and five — we end up increasing by 56 percent the chance that they’ll graduate from high school and go on beyond high school. (Applause.)

But look, we’re here at a community college. And, by the way, this is one beautiful community college. What a — (applause) — no, it really is. The property here is amazing.

And the consequences here would be severe. Here in New York, it would cut the maximum Pell Grant, that millions of students use to get to community college, by nearly a thousand dollars. It would eliminate Pell Grants entirely for 5,000 New York students.

And here is another devastating consequence they don’t want you to know about: Moody’s — not a Democratic outfit; a respected Wall Street analytical firm — said the Republican plan would cost the country 780,000 jobs.

Yesterday, I brought the congressional leaders together at the White House to make sure America doesn’t default on its debt and for the first time in our history.

And, by the way, I know the Speaker keeps saying, “93 days ago I said to Biden I want to talk to him.” And I said, “Fine.” I said, “You put down your budget, I’ll put down mine.” I laid my down in detail on the four – –on the 9th of – of March. He didn’t put down his so-called budget. I don’t know what — what — what you’d call it – his connecting the two items. He didn’t do that until — five days after he did it, I invited him to the White House. (Applause.)

So, folks, look, let’s be clear: The debt we’re talking about is accumulated over 200 years. The last administration alone — the last guy who served in this office for four years — increased the total national debt by 40 percent in just four years.

Over the last decade, the single largest contribution to the debt, aside from the pandemic, were the Trump tax cuts – skewed to the wealthy and large corporations – for $2 trillion.

I made it clear — I made it clear: America is not a deadbeat nation. We pay our bills. (Applause.)

And I was pleased but not surprised by the Republican Leader in the United States Senate, McConnell, who said after the meeting in the White House — and he went to the press — he said, “The United States is not going to default. It never has and it never will.”

We shouldn’t even be talking about it.

And, folks, Republicans in Congress used to understand this. In fact, under the previous President, Republicans voted to avoid default. three times.

This is not your father’s Republican Party, though.

You know, here’s what happened if MAGA Republicans get their way: America defaults on our debt; higher interest rates for credit cards, car loans, mortgages; payments for Social Security, Medicare, our troops, and veterans could all be halted or delayed.

According, again, to Moody’s, 8 million Americans would lose their jobs, including 400,000 New Yorkers alone. Our economy would fall into recession. And our international reputation would be damaged in the extreme.

We shouldn’t even be having this situ– talking about this situation.

And as you know, I do an awful lot of foreign policy with my — my stint as senator for all those years and then as Vice President. And I’ve traveled the world; I’ve met with over 80 heads of state — 88 heads of state so far. They are all looking at me: “Are you guys serious?”

No, no, I’m serious Because if we default on our debt, the whole world is in trouble.

This is a manufactured crisis. And there’s no question about America’s ability to pay its bills. America has the strongest economy in the world, and we should be cutting spending and lowering the deficit without a needless crisis, in a responsible way.

I believe in cutting spending and cutting the deficit. In my first two years in office, I’m the only President in history that’s lowered the deficit without a needless crisis, in a responsible way.

I believe in cutting spending and cutting the deficit. In my first two years in office, I’m the only President in history that’s lowered the deficit in those two years by a record $1.7 trillion. (Applause.) $1.7 trillion.

And the budget I proposed back in March would cut the deficit again by nearly $3 trillion in the decade ahead.

For example, my budget cuts $30 billion in wasteful spending on tax subsidies to the gas and oil companies. They earned two — (applause) – wait, but – here – tax subsidies aren’t all bad, they earned $200 billion last year. Do they need a $30 billion subsidy?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, it cuts wasteful spending for Big Pharma. We pay more for our prescription drugs than any nation in the world, any ma- — advanced nation in the world.

You can get the exact same drug if you fly to Paris or London or to Germany, anywhere you’ve traveled — Canada — and you — that you — than you pay here. You pay a lot more.

On Big Pharma, we cut that spending by $200 billion by expanding the Medicare’s power to negotiate prescription drug prices and making drug companies — (applause) — pay rebates when their raise prices faster than inflation.

And we’ve already cut by $160 billion in savings the bill we passed last year. And it has three parts to it, by the way. One, it didn’t — one part didn’t kick in until January 1. We said the price if insulin and other drugs — the price of insulin would be reduced to $35.

Let me put it this way: How many of you know someone with Type 1 or 2 — Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes?

And you know — you know that’s needed to keep — they need insulin to keep themselves alive or their children alive or in good health.

Well, guess what? The price if insulin went from four, five, six hundred bucks a month down to $35 a month — (applause) — for those on Medicare.

And let — here’s the deal: It’s not just it made reasonable for people to be able to stay healthy, but it saved the government $160 billion because they’re paying less out. (Applause).

And, by the way, the other cuts that are coming up because of what we did in Medi- — with regard to being able to negotiate with Medicare, it’s estimated we’re going to save another $200 billion.

For example, any of you know someone who’s on Medicare and also a cancer drug? Well, guess what? They’re paying, right now, sometimes $12-, $14-, $16,000 a year for a cancer drug.

Well, beginning this — next January, the most any senior is going to have to pay is $3,500 for all of their drugs.

And beginning in 2025 – (applause) – in 2025 they’re only — they pay no more than $2,000 for all of their drugs. (Applause.)

Well, by the way, that saves the government another $200 billion because they are not paying out for all the — the drugs come forward and they come at a reasonable price.

My budget also cuts tax loopholes. Look, I — I don’t have anything against Wall Street or hedge funds executive, but just pay your taxes, man. (Applause.) No, I’m serious. Hedge funds executives pay a lower tax rate than the middle-class worker who works for them.

No one earning less than $400,000 is going to see a single penny in increase in their taxes under me. Not a single penny. They haven’t yet, and they won’t. (Applause.)

If you’re making — if you’re making more than 400, well, start to pay your fair share. (Applause.)

Look, instead, we’re making the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share.

Just — not — I — I’m not talking about 70 percent tax rates.

For example, at least pay something. Folks, let me ask you this: Does anyone thing we have a fair tax system in America?

AUDIENCE: Noooo —

THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m — I’m being deadly earnest. I’m not being a wise guy.

In 2020 — you got tired of hearing me saying this — I pointed out there were 50 major corporations of the — 55 of the Fortune 500 companies that paid zero in federal income tax after having made $40 billion in profits. Forty billion. So we instituted and got passed a corporate minimum tax of 15 percent. (Applause.)

Well, guess what? Y’all are paying more than that. Just 15 percent. And it paid for everything we did.

Look, I proposed a billionaire minimum tax. There have now went — it went from about 760 — I think the number was — to around a thousand billionaires in America. Well, that’s great. If you want to be a billionaire, you can make it. I’m — I’m not one of these guys who say you shouldn’t be able to do that. And if you want to be a — if you’re a multimillionaire, I’m not trying to say that can’t happen. But at least pay something.

The average tax paid by the thousand billionaires in America — individual — the average tax paid is 8 percent. E-I-G-H-T. Eight percent. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or a firefighter. (Applause.)

And there’s nothing radical about this. That’s why my budget also fully funds the Internal Revenue Service.

You know, and it’s kind of interesting: Republicans have been consistent for the last 10 years, cutting the number of IRS agents. I wonder why. (Laughter.)

So we now have legislation that passed that is going to — that’s in our budget — that says were going to beef up the number of IRS agents to thoroughly look at the taxes of billionaires in America.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, a bipartisan office, they estimate that just that alone would raise another $200 billion a year.

Larry Summers, who’s not what you call a “whacko liberal” out there, right? Former president of Harvard. He says it’s more like —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Wooo! (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: My kids who went to Penn would disagree, but that’s okay. (Laughter.)

But I went to a great school. I went to a state school. I went to the University of Delaware. But anyway. (Laughter.)

But all — but all — but all kidding aside — estimates it would raise another $400 billion a year — a year. And they still wouldn’t be paying very much tax, relative to their income, to begin with.

My budget also has some of the strongest anti-fraud proposals ever. You may remember when we had that — the legislation to help with a pandemic. What — what Trump used to keep doing is cutting the number of inspectors general to be able to find out whether or not this money is actually being wasted.

Well, guess what? I turns out there was about — there were several billions of dollars that were being wasted. People were getting money they didn’t need or didn’t deserve. And the — and they were — they were playing the system.

Well, you know, I think about that — that we should have inspectors general again looking at what, in fact, we’re spending and whether it’s going to where it’s supposed to go.

It calls for an unprecedented effort to combat identity fraud for — by tripling anti-fraud strike forces to prosecute pandemic fraudsters and seize back stolen funds. There’s billions of dollars in stolen funds that we haven’t gotten back yet.

It strengthens inspector generals and watchdogs for taxpayers’ dollars. It’s estimated it — for every $10 — ever $1 we spend in hiring these folks, it’s going to save $10. Ten dollars.

This debate is about fundamental choices.

Would you rather cut — would you rather continue a subsidy of $30 billion for Big Oil, or cut $30 billion from veterans?

These are real-world choices. That’s what’s at stake, literally.

You know, I ran for President to see to it that ordinary folks got an even shake. I was raised in a family that was a typical — we weren’t poor — a typical middle-class family. My dad — we lived in a three-bedroom, split-level home in a housing development that got — it was a nice area; that was when they were developing suburbia — with four kids and a grandpop living with us. I — I look back and I wonder how thin those walls were for my mom and dad. But at any rate – (Laughter.) —

But, you know, the truth of the matter is that, you know, we — my — my dad did fine. I guess by the time he retired — managed an automobile dealership — he was probably making the equivalent of $20,000 a year, which would be like what? Sixty or seventy or eighty? I don’t know what it would be.

But my point is that I thought — I’ve always thought the middle-class folks were getting the short end of things. I think the trickle-down economy ne- — not much ever trickled down on my dad’s kitchen table that I can recall.

And so when I ran — and my whole carer as a senator was about making sure middle-class folks get an even shot. That’s why I believe we should grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. The wealthy will still do very well. (Applause.)

Because if the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. And that’s fine. We all do well.

We’ve made enormous progress. Just look at what we’ve done so far. Over the past two years, we’ve created a record 12.7 million new jobs — (applause) — more than ever in that period of time — including 800,000 manufacturing jobs.

Unemployment is at 3.4 percent, the lowest in 50 years. (Applause.)

Black unemployment is at one of its lowest levels. Hispanic unemployment, across the board.

In part, our policies are — and the pace of our annual inflation has been coming down for 10 months in a row. We still — it slowed by 45 percent. We still have more to do.

But, you know, when we’re in a position to invest in American — in all of America — the way we do that is we buy American products, we hire American workers.

I get to spend a lot of money that Congress passes. So if I have $60 billion to spend, I — and I’m going to have to put new decks on aircraft carriers, I don’t outsource the work. There was a law back in the ’30s that said “buy American.” Buy American. So we — they have to have — use American products. They have to go out and make sure that they hire American workers.

For a long time, in Democrat and Republican administrations, it was cheaper to go get the cheap labor oversees and bring back the expensive product. No more. Not on my watch. Not on my watch. (Applause.)

Instead of importing jobs abroad for cheaper labor and importing product, we’re exporting product and buying American workers the opportunity to make a living.

Folks, I signed the American Rescue Plan, which sent $27 million to this community college to keep students enrolled — (applause) – and to keep this school afloat, help vaccinate our nation, got immediate relief for folks who needed it the most, and got our economy back on track. It didn’t have a single, solitary Republican vote.

Then I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which had some Republicans voting for it, to build the roads — the best roads, bridges, airports, water system, high-speed Internet, get rid of all those — those pipes that are polluting water, et cetera.

You know, how can we be the most prosperous economy in the world without having the greatest infrastructure in the world? We used to be ranked number one in the world in infrastructure. You know what we rank now? Thirteen. Thirteen.

Next week — this infras- — is Infrastructure Week. Remember all four years of the last guy we had Infrastructure Week every week? Well, under my predecessor, “Infrastructure Week became a punchline. On my watch, we’re making “infrastructure decade” a headline. (Applause.) We’ve already announced over 25,000 projects in 4,500 towns across — across Westchester County is projects for better water, wastewater, and sewer systems; repairing dams; and doing so much more.

I signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which I felt very strongly about – (applause) – to bring back key parts of our supply chain back to America. Remember when we had real trouble — when automobiles — they Detroit said they had to stop making automobiles? You know, they’d take 30,000 chips — I mean 3,000 chips. Well, guess what? They were all being made in Asia. And when the pandemic hit, they shut down, so we were in trouble.

But over time, we went from producing up to 40 percent of the world’s chips to producing only 10 percent, despite leading the world in research and design. Now we’re turning that around. (Applause.)

The private sector — I went around the world and at home, and I convinced people that they had to invest in building the chip factories here. They call them “fabs.” F-A-B-S. Factories.

Investing — and guess what? We’ve got a commitment for investments of $470 billion in American — by American companies home and abroad for manufacturing clean energy. (Applause.) Like Micron in Syracuse investing $100 billion over the next 20 years to build semiconductors, thanks to the hard work of Chuck Schumer and Governor Hochul. IBM in Poughkeepsie investing $20 billion over the next (inaudible) — computer chip. (Applause.)

Putting America back in the game and creating thousands of good-paying jobs.

Many of these jobs in the — first of all, the construction takes a lot — a lot of jobs. They don’t require four years degrees when you’re in these fabs. You know what the average pay is going to be? Close to $100,000. And you don’t need a college degree. (Applause.) That’s progress.

But I know folks are still struggling with inflation. The way I think about it is the way my dad use to talk about it around the kitchen table. For real. He’d say, “How much are the monthly bills? At the end of the month, do you have enough to pay for all your bills and just have a little breathing room left?” Just a little breathing room.

Well, that’s why I wrote and signed the Inflation Reduction Act. Americans pay more in prescription drugs, as I said, than any advanced country in Earth. We were fighting for years to allow Medicare to negotiate those lower drug prices.

Well, we finally beat Big Pharma, and we did it without a single Republican vote. I’ll have a — it will have a profound impact and save lives. It’s already happening.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s going to reduce the deficit by $160 billion just this year.

And how many of — you know, and — like I said, diabetes: 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes. Millions need insulin to stay alive.

Insulin has been around for 100 years. It costs 10 bucks to make it. Ten dollars. Package it — a total of $12. And they’re paying hundreds of dollars, making record profits.

Well, we capped it at 35 bucks as I said. And we’re going to make sure — we’re going to make sure it’s capped at 35 for everyone, not just those on Social Security. (Applause.)

Because guess what? It saves the taxpayer money. The federal government doesn’t have to write a check for 400 bucks; it writes a check for 35 bucks.

Look, the Inflation Reduction Act also makes the biggest investment in fighting climate change anywhere in the history of the world — (applause) — and it’s creating tens of thousands of jobs. It’s a giant step toward saving the planet.

Tax credits for consumers who weatherize their homes — many of you have done it — purchase energy-efficient windows, doors, appliances, electric vehicles can save an average of 1,000 bucks a year.

Look, tax credits for states and businesses to deploy renewable energy — solar, wind, hydrogen and more. Not a single Republican voted for it, this law, and now they want to get away with — get rid of it all.

Why would they want to repeal a bill that’s creating American jobs and lowering costs for American families?

Well, when we have — when have we ever heard of a Republican opposing tax credits for businesses? Well, that’s what they’re doing this time.

Take a look at the New York Times yesterday, what they wrote. I think it was the front page. Texas now is becoming one of the leading states in the nation in renewable energy — the number of wind farms they have, solar farms, and hydrogen.

But now the Republicans want to get rid of this law and these tax credits. Well, why do you think that is? Because the fossil fuel industry wants to get rid of them. That’s why.

Even though it’d be creating jobs, taking on climate change — they don’t want it. Because it’s so, so much more costly to go the other route. They say it costs too much, but the truth is it’s too successful.

And here’s the real truth: Big Oil doesn’t want it, and the Republicans are carrying their water. That’s what this is all about.

Let me close with this. We’ve made so much progress, but there’s still so much more to do.

We’re on the cusp of a major change. We’re creating jobs again. American manufacturers are booming again. Where is it written that America can’t lead the world in manufacturing?

We’re lowering the deficit.

Towns that had been forgotten and left behind are coming alive again, bringing back a sense of pride.

All those chip factories — fabs I talked about — they’re going to be all over America. They’re not just going to be in the Northeast and the West Coast. They’re all through the central Am-

You know people who come from the m- — people like, for example, up in Scranton, where I came from, where I was born and raised. Or other states across the country, where all of a sudden the factories that employed six, eight — six, seven hundred people for years shut down and went abroad.

Not only did they lose their jobs, they lost their sense of pride. They lost their sense of belonging.

How many folks here have — know folks in the Midwest who had their kids come up and say, “Mom, Dad, I got a good education, but I’ve got to leave. There’s no jobs here, no reason to stay.”

We’re bringing jobs back all across America.

This is no time to put all this at risk, to threaten a recession, to put at risk millions of jobs, to undermine America’s standing in the world.

Republican threats are dangerous and they make no sense.

Folks, we have keep going and finish the job. I’ve long said it’s never, ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America. Never. (Applause.)

And I can honestly say, as I stand here today, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am this very day.

We just have to remember who in God’s name we are. We’re the United States of American. (Applause.) There is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.

God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

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

We’ve got to fight. We’re going to win this fight.

Thank you.

May 20, 2023: I don’t want to get him in trouble by saying anything nice about him – (laughter) – or negative about him. But I — thanks for coming, Mike. Thanks for being here. This is the way we used to do it all the time.

And I want to acknowledge all the state and local officials as well. The president, Belinda Miles, thanks for hosting us. (Applause.)

She says two things. One, community college is the best-kept secret in America. (Applause.) Well, they are.

And two, equally as important, any educat- –any — any state that out-educates us – any country that out-educates us – is going to outcompete us. It’s a simple proposition.

This is a really important moment. There’s a big debate going on in this country about protecting America’s hard-earned reputation as the most trusted, reliable nation in the world and about how – how we fix the long-term fiscal health of this nation. A debate with an enormous implication for the American economy and, quite frankly, for the world economy. And that’s not hyperbole. For the world economy.

It’s important for the American people to know what’s at stake. This isn’t just a theoretical debate going on in Washington. The decisions we make are going to have real impact on real people’s lives. And that’s what I’m here to talk about today.

So let me tell you a story about what’s going on. There is a very extreme wing of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives who refer to themselves now – I’ve been calling them this for a while, but now they refer to themselves – as the “MAGA Republicans.” And they’ve taken control of the House. They’ve taken control. They have a Speaker who has his job because he yielded it to the, quote, “MAGA” element of the party.

And they’re doing their best – to the best of my knowledge what no other political party has done in our nation’s history. They’re literally, not figuratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our nation’s debt that if we’ve alrea- — a debt we’ve already incurred – we’ve already incurred over the last couple hundred years, unless we give into their threats and demands as to what they think we should be doing with regard to the budget. This would be incredibly damaging.

Here’s what the Speaker has put forward for the Republican proposal. He says he’s going to take the funding that we – how we fund the government – back to the levels were in 2022, before the omnibus bill. And they exclude any cuts in defense. They say we’re going to go back to spending what we spent in 2022, but we’re not going to make any cuts in defense, which we spent in 2023 – we’re calling for in 2023.

You may remember, in the State of the Union, I got our Republican colleagues to agree, somewhat spontaneously – (laughter) – to – (applause) to protect Social Security and Medicare from any cuts. Remember, I said, “Now, let me get this straight. You’re not going to cut Medicare? You’re not going to cut…” They said, “That’s right.” I said, “Well, you know, you’re on – you’re on camera. They can see you.” (Laughter.)

Audience Member: They lied!

The President: Well, they – so far, they’re not cutting Social Security so far.

And not only do they rule out any new revenue, they’re still determined to make permanent $2 trillion tax cuts, which is due to expire – the Trump tax cuts – without paying a penny of it.

Now, here – look, here’s what that leaves us with. This is just basic sort of math. It leaves us with a requirement to cut 22 percent of everything else in the budget in order to meet the requirements they’re demanding – that we life at the 2022 budget numbers.

The Speaker and the Republicans don’t like that I point that out. But that’s not my opinion: it’s just basic math.

And here’s what it does: It makes huge cuts in important programs for millions of working and middle-class Americans – programs they count on.

According to estimates, the Republican bill would put 21 million people at risk of losing Medicaid, including 2.3 million people here in New York State and 78,000 people right here in Westchester County. It’s devastating. It’s not right.

The Republican plan would cut federal law enforcement officers – 30,000 – including 11,000 FBI agents, 2,000 Border agents, DEA agents, and so on. They’ve cut – that’s what – in order to meet the requirement, they’d have to cut that many law enforcement officers.

It risks shutting down 375 air traffic control towers, including 5 right here in New York State, like Westchester County Airport, because they don’t have enough personnel.

And I’ve long believed that we have many obligations to the nation, but the only – I’ve – you’ve heard me say this before; I apologize for repeating it – but we have only one truly sacred obligation. We have many obligations, but one sacred obligation, and that’s to equip those who we send to war and take care of them and their families when they come home. (Applause.) It’s a sacred obligation. For real.

And that’s why – one of the reasons I fought so hard and I was proud to sign the bipartisan PACT Act that takes care of millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic materials and that take care of their families as well.

My son went to Iraq for a year, was one of the healthiest guys in his outfit, came back with stage 4 glioblastoma, having lived just a couple – less than a quarter mile from one of those major burn pits. And you saw what happened in the Trade Towers that went down, what happened to all those firemen and the exposure to toxic chemicals.

But under the Republicans bill today, they would cut 30 million veterans’ healthcare visits. The way that do that – that’s including nearly 2 million healthcare visits for veterans in New York State, because there’s not enough personnel. There’s not enough personnel.

The difference between the 2022 budget – which they want to get back to – and the 2023 budget is I increased the funding for the Veterans Administration by $22 billion. And the reason I did it – (applause) – and the reason I did it – and probably some of you know these folks – the number of – you know, more veterans are committing suicide than being killed in battle. And so, they pick up the phone and they call the VA in their area. “I need help.” “Well, come in in six weeks. Come in in whatever.” Well, we ended that. We ended that.

Now they want to go back to the levels where we cut those folks that now provide that kind of help. This amounts to a $22 billion cut in veterans’ healthcare.

Now, they dispute this. They – nowhere in their actual proposals are there exclusive protection for veterans. But they say I’m – it’s unusual language we use with presidents these days – they say I’m “lying” when I say that. Well, the truth is: Why do so may veterans’ groups – why have they spoken out in opposition to the Republican proposal? They’re not all Democrats. They know what’s going to happen.

Folks, that’s the game Republicans are playing. Anytime you single out the impact of their overall cuts, they tell you, “No, no, no, it’s not true.” But they’re wrong. If they want to protect something, they would have written it down and say, “We’re protecting it. You can’t cut this program. You can’t cut it.” So you can see it.

Here’s another example. Under the Republican plan nationwide, 100,000 teachers and support staff would lose their jobs at the very time we’re attempting to overcome the sufficient – the incredible deficiencies that occurred as a consequence of what happened with the pandemic. So many kids – the average student out here is about a year and a half behind. We don’t need fewer teachers; we need more teachers. (Applause.)

And, by the way, – no, I’m – I’m not being solicitous. What we should be doing – and I’m proposing when I try to finish this job – I’m proposing that we – for example, if we start – instead of Head Start, which they want to cut 21,000 Head Start spots in this state alone, we should be sending – all the studies that show that if we sent – no matter what the background of a child, if we sent that child to school at age three – learning reading, writing, and arithmetic – at age three and four and five – we end up increasing by 56 percent the chance they’ll graduate from high school and go on beyond high school. (Applause.)

But, look, we’re here at a community college. And, by the way, this is one beautiful community college. What a – (applause) – no, it really is. The property here is amazing.

And the consequences here would be severe. Here in New York, it would cut the maximum Pell Grant, that millions of students use to get to community college, by nearly a thousand dollars. It would eliminate Pell Grants entirely for 5,000 New York students.

And here is another devastating consequence they don’t want you to know about: Moody’s – not a Democratic outfit; a respected Wall Street analytical firm – said the Republican plan would cost the country 780,000 jobs.

Yesterday, I brought the congressional leaders together at the White House to make sure America doesn’t default on its debt and for the first time in our history.

And, by the way, I know the Speaker keeps saying, “93 days ago I said to Biden I want to talk to him.” And I said, “Fine.” I said, “You put down your budget, I’ll put down mine.” I laid mine down in detail on the four- on the 9th of – of March. He didn’t put down his so-called budget. I don’t know what – what – what you’d call it – his connecting the two items. He didn’t do that until – five days after he did it, I invited him to the White House. (Applause.)

So, folks, look, let’s be clear: The debt we’re talking about accumulated over 200 years. The last administration alone – the last guy who served in this office for four years – increased the total national debt by 40 percent in just four years.

Over the last decade, the single largest contribution to the debt, aside from the pandemic, were the Trump tax cuts – skewed to the wealthy and large corporations – for $2 trillion.

It made it clear – I made it clear: America is not a deadbeat nation. We pay our bills. (Applause.)

And I was pleased but not surprised by the Republican Leader in the United States Senate, McConnell, who said after the meeting in the White House – and he went to the press – he said, “The United States is not going to default. It never has and it never will.”

We shouldn’t even be talking about it.

And, folks Republicans in Congress used to understand this. In fact, under the previous President, Republicans voted to avoid default three times.

This is not your father’s Republican Party, though.

You know, here’s what’s happened if MAGA Republicans get their way: America defaults on our debt; higher interest rates for credit cards, car loans, mortgages; payments for Social Security, Medicare, our troops, and veterans could all be halted or delayed.

According, again, to Moody’s, 8 million Americans would lose their jobs, including 400,000 New Yorkers alone. Our economy would fall into recession. And our international reputation would be damaged in the extreme.

We shouldn’t even be having this situ- talking about this situation.

And, as you know, I do an awful lot of foreign policy with my – my stint as a senator for all those years and then as Vice President. And I’ve traveled the world; I’ve met with over 80 heads of state – 88 heads of state so far. They are all looking at me: “Are you guys serious?”

No, no, I’m serious. Because if we default on our debt, the whole world is in trouble.

This is a manufactured crisis. And there’s no question about America’s ability to pay its bills. America has the strongest economy in the world, and we should be cutting spending and lowering the deficit without a needless crisis, it a responsible way.

I believe in cutting spending and cutting the deficit. In my first two years in office, I’m the only President in history that’s lowered the deficit in those two years by a record $1.7 trillion. (Applause.) $1.7 trillion.

And the budget I proposed back in March would cut the deficit again by nearly $3 trillion in the decade ahead.

For example, my budget cuts $30 billion in wasteful spending on tax subsides to the gas and oil companies. They earned two – (applause) – wait, but – here – tax subsidies aren’t all bad, but they earned $200 billion last year. Do they need a $30 billion subsidy?

Audience: No!

The President: Well, look, it cuts wasteful spending for Big Pharma. We pay more for our prescription drugs than any nation in the world , any ma- –advanced nation in the world.

You can get the exact same drug if you fly to Paris or to London or to Germany, anywhere you’ve traveled – Canada – and you – that you – than you pay here. You pay a lot more.

On Big Pharma, we cut that spending by $200 billion by expanding the Medicare’s power to negotiate prescription drug prices and making drug companies – (applause) – pay rebates when they raise prices faster than inflation.

And we’ve already cut by $160 billion in savings the bill we passed last year. And it has three parts to it, by the way. One, it didn’t – one part didn’t kick in until January 1. We said the price of insulin and other drugs – the price of insulin would be reduced to $35.

Let me put it this way: How many of you know someone with Type 1 or 2 – Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes?

And you know – you know that’s needed to keep – they need insulin to keep themselves alive or their children alive or in good health.

Well, guess what? The price of insulin when from four, five, six hundred bucks a month down to $35 a month – (applause) – for those on Medicare.

And let – here’s the deal: It’s not just it made reasonable for people to be able to stay healthy, but it saved the government $160 billion because they’re paying less out. (Applause.)

And, by the way, the other cuts that are coming up because of what we did in Medi- with regard to being able to negotiate with Medicare, it’s estimated we’re going to save another $200 billion.

For example, any of you know someone who’s on Medicare and also on a cancer drug? Well, guess what? They’re paying right now, sometimes $12-, $14-, $16,000 a year for the cancer drug.

Well, beginning this – next January, the most any senior is going to have to pay is $3,500 for all of their drugs.

And in the beginning in 2025 – (applause) – in 2025, they’re only – they pay more than $2,000 for all of their drugs. (Applause.)

Well, by the way, that saves the government another $200 billion because they’re not paying out for all the – the drugs come forward and they come at reasonable price.

My budget also cuts tax loopholes. Look, I – I don’t have anything against Wall Street or hedge funds executive, but just pay your taxes, man. (Applause.) No, I’m serious Hedge funds executives pay a lower tax rate than the middle-class worker who works of them.

No one earning less than $400,000 is going to see single penny in increase in their taxes under me. Not a single penny. They haven’t yet, and they won’t. (Applause.)

If you’re making – if you’re making more than 400, well, start to pay your fair share. (Applause.)

Look, instead, we’re making the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share.

Just – not – I – I’m not talking about 70 percent tax rates.

For example, at least pay something. Folks, let me ask you this: Does anyone think we have a fair tax system in America?

Audience: Nooo —

The President: No, I’m – I’m being deadly earnest. I’m not being a wise guy.

In 2020 – you got tired of hearing me say this – I pointed out there were 50 major corporations of the 55 of the Fortune 500 companies that paid zero in federal income tax after having made $40 billion in profits. Forty billion. So we instituted and got passed a corporate minimum tax of 15 percent. (Applause.)

Well, guess what? Y’all are paying more than that. Just 15 percent. And it paid for everything we did.

Look, I proposed a billionaire minimum tax. There have now went – it went from about 760 – I think the number was – to around a thousand billionaires in America. Well, that’s great. If you want to be a billionaire, you can make it. I’m – I’m not one of these guys who say you shouldn’t be able to do that. And if you want to be a – if you’re a multimillionaire, I’m not trying to say that can’t happen. But at least pay something.

The average tax paid by the thousand billionaires in America – individual – the average tax paid is 8 percent E-I-G-H-T. Eight percent. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or a firefighter.

And there’s nothing radical about this. That’s why my budget also fully funds the Internal Revenue Service.

You know, and it’s kind of interesting: Republicans have been consistent for the last 10 years, cutting the number of IRS agents. I wonder why. (Laughter.)

So now we have legislation that passed that’s going to – that’s in our budget – that says we’re going to beef up the number of IRS agents to thoroughly look at the taxes of billionaires in America.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, a partisan office, they estimate that just that alone would raise another $200 billion a year.

Larry Summers, who’s not what you call a “wacko liberal” out there, right? Former president of Harvard. He says it’s more like —

Audience member: Wooo! (Laughter.)

But I went to a great school. I went to a state school. I went to the University of Delaware. But anyway. (Applause.)

But all – but all – but all kidding aside – estimates it would raise another $400 billion a year – a year. And they still wouldn’t be paying very much tax, relative to income, to begin with.

My budget also has some of the strongest anti-fraud proposals ever. You may remember when we had that – the legislation to help deal with a pandemic. What – what Trump used to keep doing is cutting the number of inspectors general to be able to find out whether or not this money is actually not being wasted.

Well, guess what? It turns out there was about – there were several billions of dollars that were being wasted. People were getting money they didn’t need or didn’t deserve. And the – and they were – they were playing the system.

Well, you know, I think that – that we should have inspectors general again looking at what, in fact, w’re spending and whether it’s going where it’s supposed to go.

It calls for an unprecedented effort to combat identity fraud for – by tripling anti-fraud strike forces to prosecute pandemic fraudsters and seize back stolen funds. There’s billion of dollars in stolen funds that we haven’t gotten back yet.

It strengthens inspector generals and watchdogs for taxpayers’ dollars. It’s estimated it – for every $10 – every $1 we spend in hiring these folks, it’s going to save $10. Ten dollars.

This debate is about fundamental choices.

Would you rather cut – would you rather continue a subsidy of $30 billion for Big Oil, or cut $30 billion from veterans?

Would you rather cut Big Pharma or – and – or cut healthcare for Americans?

These are real-world choices. That’s what’s at stake, literally.

You know, I ran for President to see to it that ordinary folks got an even shake. I was raised in a family that was a typical – we weren’t poor – a typical middle-class family. My dad – we lived in a three bedroom, split-level home in a housing development that got – it was a nice area; that was when they were developing suburbia – with four kids and a grandpop living with us. I – I look back and I wonder how thin those walls were for my mom and dad. But at any rate – (laughter) –

But, you know, the truth of the matter is that, you know, we – my – my dad did fine. I guess by the time he retired – he managed an automobile dealership – he was probably making the equivalent of $20,000 a year, which would be like, what? Sixty or seventy or eighty? I don’t know what it would be.

But my point is that I thought – I’ve always thought the middle-class folks were getting the short end of things. I think the trickle-down economy ne- –not much trickled down on my dad’s kitchen table that I can recall.

And so, when I ran – and my whole career as a senator was about making sure middle-class folks get an even shot. That’s why I believe we should grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not top down. The wealthy will still do very well. (Applause.)

Because if the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. And that’s fine. We all do well.

We’ve made enormous progress. Just look at what we’ve done so far. Over the past two years, we’ve created a record 12.7 million new jobs – (applause) – more than ever in that period of time – including 800,000 manufacturing jobs.

Unemployment is at 3.4 percent, the lowest in 50 years. (Applause.)

Black unemployment is at one of its lowest levels. Hispanic unemployment, across the board.

In part, our policies are – and the pace of our annual inflation has been coming down for 10 months in a row. We still – it slowed by 45 percent. We still have more to do.

But, you know, when we’re in a position to invest in America – in all of America – the way we do that is we buy American products, we hire American workers.

I get to spend a lot of money that Congress passes. So If I have $60 billion to spend, I – and I’m going to have to put decks on aircraft carriers, I don’t outsource the work. There was a law back in the ’30s that said “buy American.” Buy American. So we – they have to have – use American products. They have to go out and make sure that they hire American workers.

For a long time, in Democrat and Republican administrations, it was cheaper to go get the cheap labor overseas and bring back the expensive product. No more. Not on my watch. Not on my watch. (Applause.)

Instead of importing jobs abroad for cheaper labor and importing product, we’re exporting product and buying American workers the opportunity to make a living.

Instead of importing jobs abroad for cheaper labor and importing product, we’re exporting product and buying American workers the opportunity to make a living.

Folks, I signed the American Rescue Plan, which sent $27 million to this community college to keep students enrolled – (applause) – and to keep this school afloat, help vaccinate our nation, got immediate relief for folks who needed it the most, and got our economy back on track. It didn’t have a single, solitary, Republican vote.

Then I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which had some Republicans voting for it, to build the roads – the best roads, bridges, airports, water system, high-speed Internet, get rid of all of those – those pipes that are polluting water, et. cetera.

You know, how can we be the most prosperous economy in the world without having the greatest infrastructure in the world? You know where we rank now? Thirteen. Thirteen.

New week, this infras- — is Infrastructure Week. Remember all four years of the last guy we had Infrastructure Week every week? Well, under my predecessor “Infrastructure Week” became a punch line. On my watch, we’re making “infrastructure decade” a headline. (Applause.) We’re already announced over 25,000 projects in 4,500 towns across – across Winchester County is projects for better water, wastewater, and sewer systems; repairing dams; and doing so much more.

I signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which I gelt very strongly about – (applause) – to bring back key parts of our supply chain back to America. Remember when we had real trouble – when automobiles – they – Detroit said they had to stop making automobiles? You know, they’d take 30,000 chips, I mean , 3,000 chips. Well, guess what? They were all being made in Asia. And when the pandemic hit, they shut down, so we were in trouble.

Folks, this are the small computer chips the size of the end of your little finger – nearly everything in our lives from cell phones, automobiles, refrigerators, most sophisticated weapons systems. America invented these chips. We invented them. We made them better.

But over time, we went from producing up to 40 percent of the world’s chips to producing only 10 percent, despite leading the world in research and design. Now we’re turning that around. (Applause.)

The private sector – I went around the world and at home, and I convinced people that they had to invest in building the chip factories here. They call them “fabs.” F-A-B-S. Factories.

Investing – and guess what? We’ve got a commitment for investments of $470 billion in American – by American companies home and abroad for manufacturing clean energy. (Applause.) Like Micron in Syracuse investing $100 billion over the next 20 years to build semiconductors, thanks to the hard work of Chuck Schumer and Governor Hochul. IBM in Poughkeepsie investing $20 billion over the next (inaudible) – computer chip. (Applause.)

Putting America back in the game and creating thousands of good-paying jobs.

Many of these jobs in the – first of all, the construction takes a lot – a lot of jobs. They don’t require four years degrees when you’re in these fabs. You know what the average pay is going to be? Close to $100,000. And you don’t need a college degree. (Applause.) That’s progress.

But folks I know are still struggling with inflation. The way I think about it is the way my dad used to talk about it around the kitchen table. For real. He’d say, “How much are the monthly bills? At the end of the month, do you have enough to pay for all your bills and just have a little breathing room left?” Just a little breathing room.

That’s why I wrote and signed the Inflation Reduction Act. Americans pay more in prescription drugs, as I said, than any advanced country on Earth. We were fighting for years to allow Medicare to negotiate those lower drug prices.

Well, we finally beat Big Pharma, and we did it without a single Republican vote. I’ll have a – it will have a profound impact and save lives. It’s already happening.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s going to reduce the deficit by $160 billion just this year.

And how many of – you know, and – like I said, diabetes: 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes. Million neee insulin to stay alive.

Insulin has been around for 100 years. It costs 10 bucks to make it. Ten dollars. Package it – a total of $12. And they’re paying hundreds of dollars, making record profits.

Well, we capped it at 35 bucks, as I said. And we’re going to make sure – we’re going to make sure it’s capped at 35 for everyone, not just those on Social Security. (Applause.)

Because guess what? It saves the taxpayer money. The federal government doesn’t have to write a check for 400 bucks; it writes a check for 35 bucks.

Look, the Inflation Reduction Act also makes the biggest investment in fighting climate change anywhere in the history of the world – (applause) – and it’s creating tens of thousands of jobs. It’s a giant step toward saving the planet.

Tax credits for consumers who weatherize their homes – many of you have done it – purchase energy-efficient windows, doors, appliances, electric vehicles can save an average of 1,000 bucks a year.

Look, tax credits for states and businesses to deploy renewable energy – solar wind, hydrogen and more. Not a single Republican voted for it, this law, and now they want to get away with – get rid of it all.

Why would they want to repeal a law that’s cutting American jobs and lowering costs for American families?

Well, when we have – when have we ever heard of a Republican opposing tax credits for businesses? Well, that’s what they’re doing this time.

Take a look at the New York Times yesterday, what they wrote. I think it was front page. Texas now is becoming one of the leading states in the nation in renewable energy – the number of wind farms they have, solar farms, and hydrogen.

But now the Republicans want to get rid of this law and these tax credits. Well, why do you think that is? Because the fossil fuel industry wants to get rid of them. That’s why.

Even thought it’d be creating jobs, taking on climate change – they don’t want it. Because it’s so, so much more costly to go the other route. They say it costs too much, but the truth is it’s too successful.

And here’s the real truth: Big Oil doesn’t want it, and the Republicans are carrying their water. That’s what this is all about.

Let me close with this. We’ve made so much progress, but there’s so much more left to do.

We’re on the cusp of a major change. We’re creating jobs again. American manufactures are booming again. Where is it written that America can’t lead the world in manufacturing.

We’re lowering the deficit.

Towns that had been forgotten and left behind are coming alive again, bringing back a sense of pride.

All those chip factories – fabs I talked about – they’re going to be all over America. They’re not just going to be in the Northeast and the West Coast. They’re al though the central Am-

You know people who come from the m- –people like, for example, up in Scranton, where I came from, where I was born and raised. Or other states across the country, where all of a sudden, the factories that employed six, eight- six, seven hundred people for years shut down and went abroad.

Not only did they lose the jobs, they lost their sense of pride. They lost their sense of belonging.

How many folks here have – know folks in the Midwest who had their kids come up and say, “Mom, Dad, I got a good education, but I’ve got to leave. There’s no jobs here, no reason to stay.”

We’re bringing jobs back all across America.

This is no time to put all this at risk, to threaten a recession, to put at risk millions of jobs, to undermine America’s standing in the world.

Republican threats are dangerous and they make no sense.

Folks, we have keep going and finish the job. I’ve long said it’s never, ever, ever ben good bet to bet against American. Never. (Applause.)

And I can optimistically say, as I stand here today, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am this very day.

We just have to remember who in God’s name we are. We’re the United States of America. (Applause.) There is nothing – nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.

God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

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

We’ve got to fight. We’re going to win this fight.

Thank you.

May 17, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Preventing a First-Ever Government Default

The President: Hey, everybody. Well, I’m about to take off in a few minutes, if you hear the helicopter out there, to Japan – not in the helicopter, but to Andrews. Anyway – and to meet with the leaders of G7.

America’s role in the world is vital, especially right now as we work together with other countries to support Ukraine and take on the challenges that demand international cooperation, from tackling the climate crisis to strengthening the – the global economy.

And before I leave, I wanted to say a word about the status of negotiations with the Congressional leaders. We had a productive meeting yesterday and – with all four leaders of Congress.

It was civil and respectful. And everyone came to the meeting, I think, in good faith.

I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget, that America will not default. And every leader in the room understands the consequences we fail to pay our bills. And it would be catastrophic for the – for the American economy and the American people if we didn’t pay our bills.

And I’m confident everyone in the room agreed, with the Speaker – from the Speaker to the Majority Leader to the – Majority Leader in the House and the Senate – excuse me – the Majority Leader in the Senate, the Minority Leader in the Senate, as well as the Leader – the Democratic Leader in the House, that we’re going to come together, because there’s no alternative to do the right thing for the country. We have to move on.

And to be clear, this negotiation is about the outlines of what the budget will look like, not about whether or not we’re going to, in fact, pay our debts.

The leaders have all agreed we will not default. Every leader has said that.

And I’m proud of the progress my administration has made. We’ve reduced the deficit in the first two years by $1.7 trillion in the first two years. And I’ve proposed a budget that will reduce another $3 trillion over the next decade. That includes more revenue by asking the wealthy and large corporations to begin to pay – pay their fair share and cutting subsidies that exist in the law now to Big Oil and Big Pharma.

Yesterday, we all agreed that both the Speaker McCarthy and I would designate senior members that we would negotiate to give our authority to make agreements and detail on what we wanted. So we narrowed the group. We narrowed the group to meet and hammer out our differences.

And we’ve done that. In fact, they’ve met lat night, and they’re going to be meeting again today. And – and I’ll be in constant contact with my team while I’m at G7. And I’ll be in close touch with Speaker McCathy and other leader as well.

Now, what I have done in anticipation that we won’t get it all done until I get back is I’ve cut my s- –trip short in order to be – for the final negotiations and sign the deal with – with the Majority Leader.

I made clear that – and I’ll say it again: America is not a deadbeat nation. We pay our bills.

The nation has never defaulted on its debt, and it never will.

And we’re going to continue these discussions with Congressional leaders in the coming days until we reach an agreement. And I’ll have more to say about that on Sunday, when I’m going to have a press conference on this issue.

As it stands now, the intention is to go to G7, be back here on Sunday, hold a press conference.

And in the meantime, I’m going – I’ve spoken to the Australian leader, Albanese, and I’ve spoken to – I’m going to be seeing him at the G7. He’ll be there as well, along with the Indian Prime Minister and along with the Japanese as well. So the Quad members will be there. We’ll get a chance to talk separately at the meeting, but it’s unlikely I’m going to be going on to Australia.

So, thank you very much.

Q: Mr. President, what about work requirements specifically are you still considering? It sounds like it’s still on the table and you haven’t ruled it out. Which would you be willing to accept?

The President: Well, I’m not – they’re – I’m not going to accept any work requirements that’s going to impact on medical health needs of people. I’m not going to accept any work requirements that go much beyond what is already – what I – I voted for years ago for the work requirements that exist. But it’s possible there could be a few others, but not anything of consequence.

Thank you.

Q: What message does this send –

The President: That we’re –

Q: – to PNG and Australia? I know that it was important to you to focus on Asia on this trip, but this is having to be put aside. Does this – is this almost a win for China?

The President: No. No, because we’re still meeting. We still have four good allies.

Q: Mr. President, do you intend to speak with President Xi soon, sir?

The President: That’s my – whether it’s soon or not, but we will be meeting.

May 20, 2023: Statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on a Reasonable Bipartisan Budget Agreement

On Tuesday, the President appointed a senior team to negotiate with the Speaker’s team. The President and Speaker agreed that any budget agreement would need to be bipartisan. Last night in D.C., the Speaker’s team put an offer on the table that was a big step back and contained a set of extreme partisan demands that could never pass both Houses of Congress. The President has over and over again put deficit reduction proposals on the table, from limit on spending to cuts to Big Pharma profits to closing tax loopholes for oil and gas. Let’s be clear: The President’s team is ready to meet any time. And let’s be serious about what can pass in a bipartisan manner, get to the President’s desk and reduce the deficit. It is only Republican leadership beholden to its MAGA wing – not the President or Democratic leadership – who are threatening our nation into default for the first time in our history unless extreme partisan demands are met.

May 22, 2023: Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting with Speaker McCarthy to Discuss the Debt Ceiling

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m glad the Speaker is here today. We — we’re optimistic we may be able to make some progress because we both agree that we — default is not really on the table; we got to get something done here.

And the consequence of failing to pay our bills would be the American people would have a real kick in their econ- — economic well-being. As a matter of fact, the rest of the world would too.

And so, we also agree we need to reduce the deficit. And I might add, in my first two years as president, I reduced it by $1.7 trillion. It matters. And so I’m all for reducing and continuing to reduce the deficit.

And — But we all — we both talked about the need for a bipartisan agreement. We have to be in a position where we can sell it to our constituencies. We’re pretty well divided in the House, almost down the middle, and it’s not any different in the Senate. So we got to get something we can sell to both sides.

And we need to cut spending, but we — here’s the disagreement: We have to — I think we should be looking at tax loopholes and making sure the wealthy pay their fair share. I think revenue matters as well as — as long as you’re not taxing anybody under 400,000 bucks.

And so we’re going to — we still have some disagreements, but I think we may be able to get where we have to go. We both know we have a significant responsibility.

With that, I’m going to turn it over to the Speaker. Kevin, it’s all yours.

SPEAKER MCCARTHY: I thank the President for spending time. We had a very productive conversation yesterday, even though he was coming back from the G7 meeting.

We do have disagreements. I think we — of a 50-year average, we’re having more revenue than any time coming in. But I think we both agree that we need to change that directory, that our debt is too large. And I think, at the end of the day, we can find some common ground, make our economy stronger, take care of this debt, but, more importantly, get this government moving again to curb inflation, make us less dependent on China, and make our appropriations system work when we get done, right?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m all for making appropriations work — (laughter) — now that I don’t have to be there to do it.

Q: Mr. President, is overall spending the way to resolve this, to agree on that kind of number?

THE PRESIDENT: Not alone. Not that alone.

May 22, 2023: President Biden wrote: I just concluded a productive meeting with Speaker McCarthy about at the end to prevent default and avoid a catastrophe for our economy.

We reiterated once again that default is off the table and the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement.

While there are areas of disagreement, the Speaker and I, and his lead negotiators Chairman McHenry and Congressman Graves, our staffs will continue to discuss the path forward.

May 30, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi everybody. Happy Tuesday. Hope everyone had a restful Memorial Day — an observant one, as well.

Let’s get started.

For months, the President made clear that Congress must meet its basic constitutional responsibility to prevent a first-ever default, just as it has been done 78 times before since 1960.

The President made clear that default was not an option and laid out the economic stakes of a default: a recession, millions of jobs lost, devastated retirement accounts, higher borrowing costs.

And the President said from the beginning that he would negotiate with Republicans on a budget just like it has been done every year.

He directed his team to work in good faith toward a reasonable, bipartisan agreement. This agreement will do the following:

Protect Democrats’ historic legislative accomplishments, including the Inflation Reduction Act, PACT Act, CHIPS Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Protect the economic gains we’ve made — 12.7 million jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 54 years.

Ensure we have the same level of investments in the middle class as we did in fiscal year 2023. Protect healthcare and not push people into poverty. Block devastating cuts to law enforcement, public safety, and education as well.

Negotiations require give-and-take. No one gets everything that they want. That’s how divided government works. But the President successfully protected core Democratic priorities and the historic — historic economic progress that we have made over the last two years.

Now, the House and Senate, it’s up to them. They must pass this bill so that the President can sign it into law and so that we can continue to build on those very historic economic progress that I just list out we’ve made under this President’s leadership, and so — over the past two years, as I have stated as well, as you’ve heard us lay out as well before.

Now, without further ado, I have the OMB Director — the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a Shalanda Young. Director — Director Young is here, and she’s happy to take your questions. And thank you for all the work that you’ve done in the past two weeks — or several weeks.

MS. YOUNG: Thank you. I will see my child again. (Laughter.)

And I do have a small confession to make: I’m also out of clean clothes — (laughter) — after these last couple of weeks. So I think I ran into Annie Linskey of the Wall Street Journal and Lauren Egan with Politico as they saw me trekking back to get some clothes to wear with you here today because I don’t have time to do laundry or take anything to the dry cleaner. (Laughter.) So, that’s about how my last two weeks have gone.

But as you know, the President and the Speaker — Speaker McCarthy — reached a reasonable, bipartisan agreement over the weekend. And someone who had the pleasure of negotiating this as part of a great team, I can assure you that this was no easy task to get here, but what was on the line for the American people was real.

I know I breathed a little easier — I called my parents, told them to breathe a little easier — that a deal had been reached. And that’s what this was all about.

It’s an agreement that not only prevents the first-ever default in this country, but it will protect our hard-earned and historic economic recovery. It will protect our legislative achievements, including the legislation that is creating good jobs in this country. And it’s protecting critical programs that millions of Americans count on that you’ve heard me repeatedly talk about.

I want to be clear: This agreement represents a compromise, which means no one gets everything that they want, and hard choices had to be made. Negotiations require give-and-take. That’s the responsibility of governing.

For months, the President made clear — and you may have heard me say this once or twice — that Congress must take action to prevent default. And from the beginning, he said he would negotiate with Republican leadership on a budget framework, and that will allow the appropriations process to proceed under regular order, just like we do every year.

The bipartisan budget agreement that we’ve reached protects key legislative accomplishments from the past two years, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy, corporate minimum tax, and prescription drug provisions.

It protects programs millions of hardworking families count on. It protects Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, safeguarding health insurance for millions of Americans.

It fully funds veterans’ medical care, including mandatory funding for the PACT Act’s Toxic Exposure Fund at the levels the President proposed in his fiscal year ’24 budget.

And it protects critical public health funding from being clawed back to prepare for future pandemics and possible COVID-19 surges.

This agreement is now with the United States House and then on to the Senate. And we strongly urge both chambers to pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk.

And, with that, I’m all yours.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Phil, who just came back from Beyoncé in Paris. (Laughter.)

MS. YOUNG: You did not.

Q: It was great. It was a great concert. It was my wife’s 40th birthday present. That’s not bad.

MS. YOUNG: I have feelings right now. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) I feel you.

Q: Can we talk about it after, in a very lengthy interview? We can do that at the very end of it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Phil has feelings, too. (Laughter.)

Q: This is going to be a hell of a segue. (Laughter.)

The appropriations adjustments —

MS. YOUNG: Yep.

Q: – they’re a pretty critical part of the agreement, I think. We know about COVID funds; obviously, IRS as well. Can you detail, kind of, the full scale of the adjustments —

MS. YOUNG: Yeah.

Q: — that you guys agree to, shook hands on?

MS. YOUNG: First, I think it’s important to know the appropriations process — hello, former staff director — uses adjustments all the time. They do recessions. They use emergency money. That is how the appropriations process works.

Because we were dealing with the toplines, we thought it important to memorialize some of those adjustment agreements. It does nonstop the appropriations committee from doing other things they feel is necessary to make sure that appropriations process works. But to ensure that we got to a similar level as this year, we certainly wanted to have an agreement with the Speaker’s team about what that was. Because, remember, part of this deal is to make sure we have an appropriations process that works. This unlocks that, just like budget resolutions would have.

So now we’re setting topline here. And when the appropriations committee works, you will see them use $22 billion of the COVID relief recessions, which were taken in this bill. The appropriators will use some of that money to spread around how they see fit.

We didn’t get into the individual line items in this bill. They will also, as you’ve heard, use IRS recessions from the IRA on the mandatory side. Again, we don’t dictate how, but they will rescind $10 billion both years, and they will then use that to be reinvested into non-defense discretionary.

They will also use other decisions that their appropriators will decide the mix of. But we agreed on the levels — that they could be higher, $10 billion higher than last year — and the appropriators will use that.

And building on the emergencies used in December, the appropriators will use about $23 billion in emergency for ’24 and ’25.

Q: And then, can I just ask real quick: Do you have an understanding of how many votes Republicans will provide in the House to get over the finish line?

MS. YOUNG: No, remember, I moved. I moved over here. We’re going to let the Speaker work with his conference. This is what I miss about the House, though. This is a fun day over there. Lots of meetings. I’m sure it’s very interesting and has a lot of energy.

But we’re going to leave that to them to work out the votes and how they get there. We know — we talked to them in good faith; they talked to us in good faith. But now it’s their — their chance to talk to their members.

We, from here, are making sure members know what’s in this bill. Education, education, education.

But, look, I know a lot of members of Congress. What you don’t do is call and tell them what to do. You educate. You say, “Let me know what you need to know — what — what’s in this bill, how it’s written, how it’s going to be implements. And we’re here to answer you.”

Q: Thanks, I have two questions. First, on SNAP, Karine just said that one of the President’s priorities was not to push people into poverty. But as this bill is written with the adjustments in the work requirements in SNAP, Republicans estimate 700,000 Americans are going to lose those benefits.

So, can you square that circle? How —

MS. YOUNG: Yeah. The President said to me, said to the rest of the team over and over, he would not increase poverty in this country.

So, while, yes, there will be a phase-in to add age up to 54, remember, we also got new exemptions in this bill that both parties agree to do. We will have exemptions for — from 18 to the new population of 54. So not just a new population, but these new three exemptions will go from the even existing population. So, some people who have these requirements now will no longer if they’re homeless, if they’re veterans, if they’re foster youth aged out of the system up to 24.

So, the final analysis is being finalized, but we believe those who are off of those requirements, because of those exemptions, will be about the same number as those who are phased in on age.

And you have to remember this: This entire SNAP change is sunset in 2030 to give Congress a chance to see how the new exemptions work and how the new ages work. And they can opine on a future farm bill if these changes have made a difference in the SNAP program.

Q: But do you know how many individuals would go off the program right — off government assistance right now who are not eligible for those?

MS. YOUNG: So, we think it’s about the same number. I don’t want to give you a number until that analysis by USDA is done. But the range is about what you said. But it’s also the same range of people who will take advantage and who qualify for the new exemptions.

So those numbers are going to be very close to each other, meaning a wash in those affected who go on and who are phased out over the years, and those who come off the requirements.

Q: And, sorry, different topic, real quick. Can you explain a little bit about how the Mountain Valley Pipeline made it into this bill? Was it at the White House’s request? Obviously, it’s been Senator Manchin’s priority here, but he wasn’t in the negotiations. So how did it make it in the agreement?

MS. YOUNG: Well, I believe what you’re talking about is part of the permitting piece. We all thought permitting would be part of this package. We all have an interest to make sure these projects move faster.

I talked about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. One of the things we’re focused on here is what can we do to get that money out faster to ensure that these projects really happen in an expedient manner. That’s why we’ve been for permitting. And the project you talk about is part of the permitting piece that we knew would be in the final legislation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Nancy.

Q: Thank you so much, Shalanda, for doing this. The chair in the Progressive Caucus says that it’s really unfortunate that you are expanding the work requirements for this particular age group. She says it’s terrible policy. I know that you’ve been working the phones speaking to a number of members of, I assume, the Progressive Caucus trying to convince them that this is good policy. Is she right about that, that this is bad policy?

MS. YOUNG: Look, I won’t get into individual member opinions because I think I told Phil or someone else: My job is to tell members what’s in the bill. You get into trouble when you try to tell members what their opinion is. Every member is — should have whatever opinion.

Our job is to say, “This is what’s in the bill. This is how some of the worst things Republicans wanted are mitigated.”

And, by the way, you heard me answer on SNAP. There’s a very real possibility, when we see the numbers, that the number who are phased in, who have new requirements on SNAP, is an offset by the number who will not be covered under the new exemptions.

Q: And then I heard what you’re saying about the Mountain Valley Pipeline and about permitting, but this is one project that takes up about 25 pages of a 99-page bill. Why was it so important to spend so much time on this one project?

MS. YOUNG: I think we’ve been clear about our position on permitting. We worked with senators to try and get more permitting done last year. We will continue to get more permitting. This was a small piece. It was the start of a longer process that both parties know we have to do, especially to get clean energy projects going. And I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that permitting was a key part of a compromise piece that both parties know we got a little done here but we’ll need to get more done later.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Mary.

Q: When you think big picture and you reflect on this talks, what lessons have you learned about how this Speaker and this Congress negotiate, lessons that may be applicable going forward?

MS. YOUNG: One never looks the same as the other. I’ve done this a few times. They end different each time. They feel different each time. Going in and thinking there is a formula is the wrong thing to do. Different people in the room this time. I’m used to being in a room with appropriators and a little leadership.

So it’s just always different, and you got to be flexible. The most important things to know: what they have to have. You have to be clear bout what you have to have. I want to know their value statements, and they need to know mine, and we have to find a middle ground. They shouldn’t have to compromise their values, and neither should we. That is a bipartisan compromise.

I know what’s a reach. They try with me to see maybe if I’m asleep or not, but at the end of the day, we both have to find a way to protect each other’s core principles, like not increasing people in po — on po– going into poverty in this country. And that’s how you get to (inaudible).

And first and foremost — I’ve said this, I think, in this room — I have always thought the majority of members, Democrats and Republicans, did not want to take us even to the brink of default. I think this bill shows that that assessment was correct. And we have to keep our eye on the prize: that passing the bill, getting it to the President, avoids the catastrophic thing that would hurt millions of Americans. And there’s a reason world leaders were worried about this: This would’ve impacted the global economy.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Director Young, you talked a little bit about the calls that you’ve been making and that other members of the administration have been making to members of your own party. What is the mood or the tenor on some of those calls? And where, realistically, is the whip count among Democrats right now?

MS. YOUNG: Remember, I worked there a long time. So, the mood and tenor — I tend to get patched in with people’s children so I can say hello to people I haven’t seen in a long time, so it is catch-up time for me. And these are — these are friends of mine. And I play it straight with them, and they play it straight with me. And I have a long relationship with a lot of people, and that means I’m honest with them and they are honest back with me.

And, again, this is education. I like — I play it straight with folks. They will make their own determination. And it’s incumbent upon us to make sure they know every single detail in those 99 pages.

Q: Leader Jeffries said that Republicans had pledged 150 votes. Is that still the case? And can Democrats provide 70?

MS. YOUNG: I’ll let them figure that part out. All I know is, when you enter into good-faith negotiations, you don’t negotiate to see a bill posted; you negotiate to make sure it gets to the President’s desk. And we’ll fulfill our part when it gets to the President’s desk.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Nancy.

Q: How concerned, Director Young, is the White House right now about the growing Republican opposition that threatens the compromise on the table from a procedural standpoint in the next couple of hours?

MS. YOUNG: Look, this is not — the — the House is not very different from when I was there. You have to have some faith in the governing majority, which I do, because I have a lot of respect for members on both sides of the aisle to do what’s best for the American people.

And that is not some pollyannish thing. I know them. And I’ve always thought we could get her if we let the extreme go away. Like, a lot of the things in the Republican bill just were non-starters. I get it.But we just could not do that, and they know that.

But at the end of the day, more people than not knew that default — threatening default would have been bad for — for America. The 12 million jobs added, record low unemployment – undoubtedly, that would have been wiped out almost immediately. And that would have been unacceptable.

Q: And what does this mean for future negotiations in a sharply divided Congress, as you’ve been talking about, in terms of the level of confidence you have that we just — that there’s enough goodwill that we won’t just be back in this same position later this year when it comes to avoiding a government shutdown or just a repeat of this scenario with different stakes?

MS. YOUNG: Yeah, look, I think I’ve been honest with you. I — I have always, during this process, worried about the three months from now. And I represented that. Whatever these toplines were, they had to allow an appropriations process to at least try.

We couldn’t do things that were so draconian that we knew we’d be back here. I love them — those are some of my old offices I got to sit in — but I also like seeing my child. And we don’t have to do these things where we make the American people very nervous, even though we know we’re going to get there.

So, one of the goals here was, like, let’s try not to do this again; let’s set a topline regime that allows the appropriators a fighting chance. Because it’s hard, even in unified government, to get all 12 bills done. And I think we reach the sweet spot in this agreement to give the appropriators the tools they need to get started, to get that appropriations process unlocked, and have a fighting chance to get bills done by October 1st.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Steve.

Q: Is there a mechanism for increasing defense spending if that is deemed necessary?

MS. YOUNG: They would have to — to change any of these numbers in the caps. You ha — you would have to go amend this bill. So, if you spend — the idea of caps is: If you spend more than them, they’re sequestered. To change defense or non-defense, one would have to change — change this law.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Ken.

Q: There’s been some suggestion that the X-date might move around in the final week; a Republican member said he’d heard it could move to June 8th.

MS. YOUNG: He knows more than I do.

Q: Are you getting any indication that that might move?

MS. YOUNG: He knows more than I do, then, because I don’t have that indication.

Q: And in terms of Ukraine funding, do you expect this bipartisan deal to have any impact on the administration’s ability to get more funding for Ukraine —

MS. YOUNG: I do not.

Q: — in the months, weeks ahead?

MS. YOUNG: I do not.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Phil. In the back.

Q: Thank you. The compromise gives you, as the OMB director, complete waiver authority over administrative PAYGO if you deem it necessary for program delivery. I’m wondering, if the bill as written becomes law, how frequently do you anticipate using that waiver authority?

MS. YOUNG: Look, it’s impossible to know the frequency, but I do know we negotiated all of this in good faith. We will follow the processes laid out in the law on PAYGO. And if that waiver is deemed necessary to make sure President Biden’s agenda is cared for, we’re going to use that — that authority. But we will have a process to follow the law as it’s written.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Steve Portnoy.

Q: Thanks. Can you explain to student loan borrowers, who might be confused about what’s been agreed to here, how the Supreme Court decision may implicate that and explain the President’s continued commitment to forgiveness now?

MS. YOUNG: Yeah, thank you, because I want to be clear. Because as someone who owed a lot of money once upon a time in her life, people need certainty here.

There are Court cases, which this bill does not deal with, so that continues to be where it is. Supreme Court will opine on the President’s action to forgive $10,000 in student debt and $20,000 for those with Pell Grants.

But in this bill, even though House Republican’s bill sought to do away with that, we saved it in this bill. So there’s nothing on that in this bill.

We also proceed the income-driven repayment rule, which if anyone had student loans knows it was not — it did not work as intended. And this rule is intended to really tie payments to true income.

Like, it matters to people whether they pay $50 or $500 a month. The big balance matters, but when I was a young person starting out in this town, if you asked me to pay $200, then I probably ate ramen noodles. If it was $50, maybe I could go out a little.

So that balance each — this is an important rule to make sure people have a little breathing room every month, and that was protected in this law.

The one thing is: This bill does end the payment pause. But very close to the timeframe, we were going to end it, as an administration, when it comes to repayment.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Tamara.

Q: Yeah, you talk about this as a compromise. I’m wondering if you could talk about what you lost on.

MS. YOUNG: Look, you — when the American people win and we avoid default, and retirement accounts are not in flux and the global economy is not crashing, I’m going to call that a win every day.

You know, individual people have issues with different parts of the bill. You’ve heard some of your colleagues bring up concerns that some members have.

I have to look at what was our ultimate goal. And we are in divided government. This is what happens in divided government: They get to have an opinion, and we get to have an opinion. And all things equal, I think this compromise agreement is reasonable for both sides.

And that’s what we saw. Protect the American people from the worst possible outcome: first-ever default. Allow Republicans to have some — some curbing of spending, which is flatlined for non-defense discretionary. And we move on and get an appropriations process that works. And I think that’s a good middle ground.

Q: Just —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Francesca.

Q: Just one more. Given that this process brought the U.S. to the brink, and this process isn’t quite over yet, has there been any reconsideration of doing away with the debt ceiling at some point? Is there — you know, late at night the you had no laundry to do or at other times, where is the administration’s thinking on the usefulness of having a debt ceiling?

MS. YOUNG: Right now, I’m thinking about how quickly this can get to the President’s desk and we can avoid default. And not only avoid default for a little while — until 2025, which is what this bill does. And it does give us some breathing room not to enter into these chaotic circumstances which would bring uncertainty to the American people. That’s where I’m focused.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Francesca.

Q: Director Young, progressives would say that you lost on several provisions: permitting reform, work requirements, spending cuts that they view as harmful. Congresswoman Jayapal said today that the CPC wants to immediately sit down with the President and talk about what the next two years are going to be like.

So does the White House feel, as a result of the way this process played out, that it has some work to do with repairing relationships with progressives? And would the White House also like to set up a meeting like that?

MS. YOUNG: Look, I don’t do the President’s schedule. I’ll let other people opine on who he will meet with and when.

What I will say is: I’ve worked in many divided government situations. I think this is where you would expect a bipartisan agreement to land. It’s just the reality.

There’s not a unified government. They have ideas; we have to listen to them. We have to talk about it. We have to find a place that is not harmful for the American people or try to stave off the worst. I think we did that.

And so we have to look at the big picture. That’s what I’m going to do over the next two years: What can we do to find a common ground, work together? This President has a history of bipartisanship, including over the last few years, including on veterans — PACT Act — and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

So there is opportunity to work together here. And we have seen that over the last two years with this President and Republicans, and there’s opportunity to keep that going.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks. You’ve said a couple of times that the agreement represents a compromise, and you’ve said it’s reasonable for both sides. But does the President feel like he came out ahead with this deal?

MS. YOUNG: The American people came out ahead. When you go into these things, what are you doing it for? Sure, there are some days when I have to slap myself and you’re like, “Ah, let it go. It’s fine.”

The point to avoid default, not hurt American people in the process by having draconian changes, like we saw in the Republican bill on Medicaid, which we did not care for it.

So protect the things that would have hurt hardworking Americans. Come up with reasonable spending levels — which I think most Americans, when they hear a “spending freeze,” that’s reasonable. And do our basic — have Congress do its basic constitutional duty, which is avoid default.

So, this isn’t about Republicans or Democrats. If you get into who won, who didn’t, you lost already. When you’re talking about default, it is the American people won today, especially when it gets to the President’s desk, because we have avoided what have — would have been absolutely catastrophic.

Look, we’ve seen government shutdowns, and I think people understand what the feel is.

Thankfully, we have not seen default in this country. So when we talk about catastrophe — siren we have not seen it, have not felt it, — I think people think it’s a little hyperbole. It is not. Every economist tells us that all the gains we’ve seen, we go backwards; that we’re back to situations like seen in the pandemic. That was absolutely unacceptable, and we avoided that by also protecting some key things and not violating our core values.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just a few more. Go ahead, Ed.

Q: Thank you, Shalanda. So, talking a larger view at this: Should the debt ceiling deal get signed, will it help bring down inflation over the next 12 months?

MS. YOUNG: So what I will tell you is: Would have — would have been terrible for inflation and the economy would have been a default. We have seen a moderation.

I’ll let — the credit agencies have not moved down the credit worthiness of the United States, but we needed to make sure we got a deal before that happened. We have done that successfully and hopefully staved that off.

But this is exactly why — because we risk overturning — the gains we’ve made in inflation — is not low enough, but it is moderating. And my fears even if we got closer and certainly defaulted, we would have been in a situation where we lost jobs and lost the gains we’ve made in tackling inflation.

Q: But with this deal, is this an admission by the President that maybe the government spent too much money over the past two years?

MS. YOUNG: What I’ll say is: We’re in divided government, and both sides have thoughts about the trajectory of the country, of spending.

This President takes a backseat to nobody on deficit reduction. $1.7 trillion reduction in the first two years. He presided over that. His budget put forth a plan to reduce the deficit by $3 trillion more. He also made the case over and over in this conversation that if you really want to do big deficit reduction, where’s the revenue? Where are the high-income earners putting more skin in the game?

But this is one part. We’re not going to give up on our revenue proposals. So while this will change the trajectory of spending when you see the CBO — when we all see the CBO report when it comes out — where we really need to make headway is on our revenue proposals, which has long-lasting deficit reduction abilities and just structural change to change the unfairness in the tax system.

Q: But, quickly, most of the $1.7 trillion that went off in the first two years was COVID spending that ran off. And the CBO says the deficit actually will increase next year. It’s 1.7. It was 1.4 this year, 1.7 next year, and then up to 2-point-something by — in 10 years.

MS. YOUNG: Well, that presumes this President did not preside over getting COVID under control, that it was an accident that he managed a vaccine program that was highly successful. Had we not don’t that, what additional measures would we have needed to ensure that more Americans did not die needlessly from the COVID pandemic?

So, I get the argument: You didn’t need COVID spending anymore, so you shouldn’t take credit for deficit reduction.

Well, he got it under control. He used the tools Congress gave him in the American Rescue Plan to get this virus under control and stave off the worst of economic scarring.

The rebound we have seen since COVID is not comparable to anything, including the economic recession we. saw when Vice President.

So, this is not by accident. This President managed COVID. He managed the economic fallout. And that’s why you’ve seen 12.4 million jobs added.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, James.

Q: Thank you very much, Karine. Director, I have two questions: one about this current set of negotiations and then a separate question, if you’d indulge me, on the President’s broader budget priorities.

It seems to me, in the context of these negotiations, that the White House has been clinging to a fiction, which is this deal only was negotiated on the basis of the federal discretionary spending and that the President, who promised all along that he would never negotiate on the debt ceiling, didn’t do so in these negotiations.

That’s false, right? The President and his team, you included, did negotiate on the actual debt ceiling itself and not just the federal discretionary spending. Correct?

MS. YOUNG: If you’re asking me what was said in a room, I’ll be very clear: The debt ceiling was a — what did I say earlier? — I don’t like to use the word “red line,” but the debt ceiling had to be taken care of for a long period of time.

I’m not sure what you call a negotiation, but it was certainly a declarative statement form this side of the table, So —

Q: (Inaudible.)

MS. YOUNG: — maybe you call that negotiating; I call that a statement of fact and a statement we weren’t leaving the room with. So I’m not quite sure I would call that negotiating.

The debt ceiling had to be lifted, and it had to be lifted for a long period of time. You see this bill lift the debt ceiling until 2025. You can call it a negotiation; I call it a declarative statement. And that was our position, and that’s what’s in the bill.

Q: On broader budget priorities, the President likes to say — we’ve heard Karine say many times — “Show me your budget, and that will show me your priorities.”

No one is more conversant with this President’s budgeting priorities than you. Based on the budgets he’s put together so far as President, would it be accurate to say that President Biden has been governing from the center? Or would it be more accurate to say, as Republicans would, that he’s been governing from the far left?

MS. YOUNG: The President does his own politics. I’m his OMB director.

What I will say is that his budgets absolutely show who he values, and it is working families in this country, it is the middle class in this country.

This is a President who had put out a tax fairness system in his — all of his budgets. This isn’t a new thing. This is the third budget this President has put out, the third time he has said the tax system in this country is not fair. And he means it.

That’s why you’ve seen billionaire minimum tax proposals. That’s why you’ve seen him call for the corporate minimum rate to go up to 28.6 percent.

It’s not fair to ask working families in this country to bear the brunt. And, by the way that’s not real deficit reduction. We have to have a fair tax system in this country.

This President has put forth three budgets that have been very clear about his priorities there. And again, we’re not going to give up on those. We’re going to keep pushing on those.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, last question. In the back, the (inaudible.)

Q: Karine, thank you. (Inaudible) we’ve heard a lot from Republican negotiators about the tone of this process. I was curious what your takeaway was on the tone of the conversations and where you felt like the toughest sticking points were. And when you walk away from this, is there anything you haven’t gotten done that’s going to be the next highest priority for you?

MS. YOUNG: Look, it was professional. You had people who’ve done this a long time in the room, certainly with the great team I had to work with. This is a full administration push to make sure this happened. We knew the risk of default if we did not find an agreement here. So it was a very respectful and professional working relationship between us and the Speaker’s team he had negotiated.

You’ve heard, clearly, this was a small permitting piece, but we’ve got to do more on transmission. When I comes to the — to the permitting space, it’s very clear about that. This was a starting point, and we are going to make sure that we can get clean energy expanded by working on transmission in the future.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, thank you so much, Director Young. Appreciate you.

MS. YOUNG: All right, thank you. It was starting to get hot. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It gets hot —

MS. YOUNG: It’s the lights.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — up under these lights.

MS. YOUNG: All right, thanks so much. Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you. I didn’t think she wanted to leave for a second. (Laughter.)

All right, I have one more thing at the top, and then I’ll take a few more — a few questions.

So, as you all saw, we announced this morning that President Biden looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom to the White House on Thursday, June 8th, to further deepen the close and historic partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The two leaders saw each other most recently, as you all know, in Hiroshima at the G7, and they have met several times this year, including Belfast in April and San Diego in March as well.

During the visit, the two leaders will review a range of global issues, including our shared support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s brutal war of aggression, as well as further action to bolster energy security and address the climate change crisis.

The President and the Prime Minister will also discuss efforts to continue strengthening our economic relationship as well — as we confront shared economic and national security challenges.

They will also review developments in Northern Ireland as part of their shared commitment to preserving the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

And to pre-exempt any questions that will come form here, about a two-plus-two press conference during the visit, both leaders are looking forward to hosting a joint two-plus-two press conference on June 8th. So you certainly could expect that — well, should expect that from the two leaders on that day.

Go ahead, Zeke.

Q: Thanks, Karine. There’s some news from Georgia today from the — former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia. I was wondering: Does the White House have any reaction? And has the President spoken with either the Carters recently or members of the Carter family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, thank you for the question. I can say that the Bidens have stayed in touch with President Carter’s team to ensure that their family knows that they are — they are certainly in the President and the First Lady’s thoughts. And I will leave it there.

Q: And then, secondly, in regards to the attacks — the (inaudible) attacks this morning in Moscow, has the U.S. ascertained whether American-supplied drones were used in that attack, that the Ukrainian government had knowledge of that attack?

And then, did last week’s discover of U.S.-supplied material in Belgorod, in Russia, pro- — continuing to supply the Ukrainian government with military equipment that can be used in — on Russian soil.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as you know, we saw the — we’ve seen the reporting. We’ve seen the news and are, certainly, gathering information about what happened to get a better perspective and some clarity about what happened.

But I can speak to this more generally. As you know and as a general matter — we have said this before — we do not support attacks inside of Russia. We’ve been very clear about that.

We have — you know, we have been focused on providing Ukraine — as you’ve heard from the President, as you’ve heard from National Security Advisor and many colleagues from the NCS, my colleagues form the NSC –with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory. And hat’s exactly what we’ve done for this past more than a year now.

And if you look at where we are today, today was also Russia’s 17th round of airstrikes on Kyiv just this month alone. Just this month alone — the month of May – which we’re almost, clearly, done with. Many of which have devastated civilian areas as Russia continues its brutal attacks — its brutal attack against the people of Ukraine.

So, Russia started this unprovoked aggression, this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia can end this at any time. You’ve heard us say this many times from this podium.

They can withdraw their forces from Ukraine and ins- — instead of launching these brutal airstrikes against Ukraine, in their cities and on people every day. So, we’ve been very clear about that.

Q: (Inaudible.) Does the President believe that Ukraine risks losing the moral high ground in this conflict if it strikes at — touches civilian targets in Moscow?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to be very clear. We’re gathering information. I’m not going to get into hypotheticals from here. We do not support the use of U.S.-made equipment being used for attacks inside Russia.

We’ve been very clear about that. And we’ll continue to do that. And we have been clear not just publicly but privately, clearly, with the Ukrainians.

But not going to get into hypotheticals. We’re going to look into — gather information to see exactly what happened so we can get some clarity.

But, as I said, we’ve been very clear.

Go ahead.

Q: Have you spoken to Ukraine about this attack yet?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I don’t have any calls to preview at this time on any specific conversations that have been had by this administration to Ukrainians. All I can tell you is we’ve been gathering information about exactly what happened.

Q: And separately, what happened with Defense Secretary Austin’s plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart in Singapore?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as you’ve heard us say — again, from here at this podium — it is — we value in — we see value, certainty, in military-to-military conversations to responsibility to — to responsibly manage a complex — a complex relationship and to avoid any misunderstanding or escalation of competition into conflict.

We’ve been very clear about that. And keeping the lines of communications open between the United States and China is a — is a responsible thing to do, is something that we want to do, certainly, continue to — to have that approach.

Anything else, I would certainly refer you to the Department of Defense.

Q: Thank you. And just one more. The President said yesterday there will be a review on engagement with Uganda. How long do you expect that to take?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I know the President, as you just stated, put out a statement about — about this – a pretty lengthy statement yesterday about what we saw from Uganda yesterday.

The enactment of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexually — – Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of human rights — of universal human rights, one that is worth — worthy of the — that one is not worthy, to be clear, of the Ugandan people and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country.

So, look, this certainly da- — endangers are poised — da- — the dangers of poise of — by this democratic backsliding are a threat to everyone residing in Uganda, including U.S. government personnel, the staff of our implementing partners, tourists, members of the business community, and others.

And so, as we consider — and we — as the President stated in his — in his statement yesterday – additional steps, the National Security Council and other U.S. government agencies are evaluating the implications of this law and all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda, including our ability to safely deliver services under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — PEPFAR, as you — as we call it here, as you all have reported on — and other forms of assistance and investment.

Again, we’re going to review that. We’re going to take a look at that. And just don’t have anything to share on what that — when that review will be done and exactly what steps we’re going to be taking.

Go ahead.

Q: Just following — thanks for blowing me up on that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know, but I have a question for you. (Laughter.) What’s your — what your favorite Beyoncé song?

Q: I — there’s too many to list — (laughter) – on camera in this moment.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Smart ques- — smart answer. Smart answer.

Q: It was — it was a good concert. That’s what I will say.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Phil.

Q: Following up on Steve’s question about his request for a meeting between Secretary Austin and his Chinese counterpart. Is the administration aware of anything that the Chinese want to try and open this line of communication? Where do things stand in terms of if there’s a pathway forward or if this just the reality from here on out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look — look, I don’t have any — that’s something for, clearly, for the PRC to — to –to answer to. What I can say is, we understand the importance — and we have been very clear about this for several months — about keeping the lines of communication open between the United States and China.

And so, we believe, again, it’s the most responsible thing to do. And as you know, most recently, the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, had a lengthy conversation with his counterpart about meaningful step forward as we think about the relationship — the U.S. and relationship with China.

And so — so, that is important. Those lines of communication, certainly, have been open and continue to — continue — continue to happen. But, look, military – military conversation is obviously critical, as we man- — manage, as I mentioned moments ago, this is really complex relationship that we have and — again, to avoid any misunderstandings or, certainly, avoid what we see as competition into conflict.

So, we’re going to continue to — continue to, certainly, have that approach. But any specifics that leads to — that has to deal with the Department of Defense, certainly, I would refer you to my colleagues there.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. So, there are now some 50 amendments and counting that have been proposed in the House when it comes to the — the budget debt bill. Is the White House position that this bill needs to pass as is? Are you open to some amendments depending on what they are?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what I can say is: We have a short — limited of time here, as we know from the Treasury’s letter on when — when — you know, when default can happen, which is June 5th, with the budget agreement.

We’ve been very clear. We think this a bipartisan, reasonable budget agreement that the two sides certainly have come together and that, clearly, Speaker McCarthy supports and the President supports.

And so, we’re certainly going to leave the mechanics and how this moves forward to the leadership in Congress. But as we see this budget agreement today, as we saw in the framework that came out of these really good-faith conversations, we’re certainly going to continue to — to share our thoughts about how important it is to get this done for the American people.

I’m not going into specifics about the 50-plus amendments and what it will ultimately look like.

But look, this has ben something that both sides, again, came to the table in good faith, understanding how important this is to the American people. And that’s what you saw. And you saw — American people should at least have some understanding or some comfort that, you know, government is working for them in the sense of coming forward with a bipartisan, reasonable agreement.

Q: And what does it say that this Mountain Valley Pipeline — which, you know, goes to southern Virginia — his being opposed in this bill by one of Virginia’s own senators, who says this shouldn’t happen, at least not this way.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the — as you know, and I — you guys have been reporting on this as we talk about the Mountain Valley Pipeline. It was going to move forward with or without this bill. That is just how — that is just fact. This is how it was —

Q: It was being held up because of a lot of different —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well —

Q: –environmental concerns.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, it — the bull doesn’t really do much as it relates to that — to that project, to be quite honest. Instead, it preserves the largest investment in climate protection that we have seen in history, under this administration.

It helps get hundreds of clean energy projects online faster, all while protecting the full scope — the full scope of the environmental reviews.

And so, look, we believe a bipartisan compromise that — that congressional Democrats can be proud of and — and also will accelerate on those clean energy promises.

Look, again, when you look at this — this bipartisan, reasonable budget agreement — and we have talked about negotiation — I’ve said this many times from here, and certainly Director Young said it when she was here moments ago — it’s not going to be perfect. Not everyone gets what — what they want, and that’s what negotiation looks like. This is a divided government, as you all — as we all know.

And so, look, this is — but this is really important to the American people. We have to get this done. We have to make sure that we get to the other side of these conversations.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. President Biden was asked yesterday about long-range missiles for Ukraine — ATACMS. And he said, “It’s still in play.” In the past, the U.S. would say, “No.” So what’s changed from “no” to “it’s still in play”? And what needs to happen for the U.S. to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles?

And also, I would like to follow up on Zeke’s question. I would like to clarify: Do you — you don’t support Ukraine — Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory at all or attacks with U.S. equipment?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have anything to — any changes in – to the policy to announce from here, as it relates to ATAC – — long range mi- — information — long- — I’m sorry, long-range missiles.

Look, as it relates to the drone attacks that we saw in Moscow, we’ve been very clear: We’re going to see — we’re going to gather information and see exactly what happens. So just want to be very clear about that.

But look, we do not support attacks inside of Russia. That’s it.

Q: Ever?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Period. I mean, that’s — I cannot be more clear than what I just stated: We do not support attacks inside of Russia, period. We’ve been very clear about that. That’s been a general matter that you have heard from us over and over again this past several months. And I cannot be more clearer than that.

Q: So why did the President say “It’s still in play” when asked about long range missiles?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can tell you right now is we — I don’t have any changes to our policy to — to share with you at this time.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks. I have a NATO question and then an Afghanistan-Iran question. Starting with NATO: When the Danish Prime Minister visits on Monday, is the President going to speak to her about maybe being an interlocutor and working with Turkey on getting Sweden into NATO?

And then, also, can you just update us on the F-16s and Sweden’s membership? Is that something that — that the White House expects to have sorted by the time the NATO Summit happens?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, two things I can say. As you know, the President — we read out the President’s conversation with Erdoğa yesterday. They had a — clearly, a conversation.

But in that — in that — in that dialogue, the President did express his strong desire for Turkey to approve Sweden application to join NATO, which would — which — which we would like to happen as soon as possible so that — he did bring that up in a — in that conversation.

I’m not going to get ahead of what is going to be on the agenda, what’s coming out of the Denmark visit that’s going to happen a week from this past Monday.

Look, when it comes to, you know, any conditions, as it relates to F-16s — the sales of F-16s to Turkey and — as with them approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO — look, that is not — that is not — that is not a condition. President Biden — long been clear that he supports selling F16s — you’ve heard that from this podium — to Turkey, which would help facilitate NATO interoperability.

So, look, Congress has an important role in providing arm sales. And so, I would leave the rest to Congress.

But the President has been very clear where he stands in that — on that.

Q: On Iran and Afghanistan, there have been some border clashes over the weekend over, I think, water rights. What’s the White House’s reaction? And do you have any leverage over either of these parties to get this violence to stop?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we’ve been clear about how we see the conflict there.

I don’t have anything else to provide on — on what’s currently occurring there. And so, I’ll just leave it there for now.

Go ahead, Monica.

Q: Karine, can you let us know a bit more about the President’s engagement on all this, calls that he has made?

He talked about reaching out to Leader McConnell yesterday. Is he also making calls to other Republicans — besides, of course, his conversations with Speaker McCarthy — on this? And what should we expect in terms of his level of outreach today and tomorrow ahead of an expected possible vote tomorrow night?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. I do have some — some — some items to share here. Look, the President has been engaging with members of Congress throughout this process, as you all know, and he’ll continue to do so.

And so, the President and his team are having conversations with Democratic members of Congress across the ideological spectrum — moderate and progressive. That includes more than 100 one-on-one calls with members of Congress. That’s with — between the President and his team. In the past 24 Horus or so, our senior team made individual calls to all House Democratic leadership, all committee ranking members, and all Tri-Caucus and ideological caucus chairs as well.

So, we have hosted numerous separate briefings on the entire bill for the House and Senate Democrats, as well as six issue-briefings for House Democrats on energy policy, appropriations, TANF, and SNAP. That doesn’t include the numerous briefings for their staff.

We’ve also briefed or offered to brief each of the Tri-Caucuses and ideological caucuses as well. In addition, our policy experts had numerous conversations with members of their staffs to answer specific questions about the bill that members have had.

And so — so, again, we’ve been in constant contact with leadership from both parties in the House and the Senate to provide information. As Director Young was stating is that her — their job is to provide information on the facts and what they know and how we can make sure that they have the — all of the details that they need.

So, as you know, we don’t provide private conversations from here, but I just list out all of the — all of the — all of the conversations and what we’ve done specifically coming out of this administration as it relates to this budget negotiation.

Q: And is there still a concern about the U.S. credit rating being downgraded, given the Fitch warning last week? How (inaudible) is that right now? And how is that factoring it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we believe this is a reasonable bipartisan compromise that — that, you know, House congressional members should be proud of. We believe that it is important to get this done. We believe that, again, we are a country that pays our — pays our debts and that — and that, you know, we should not — we should not be defaulting on those debts.

And so, what the President wants to see: He wants to see the House and the Senate take this up. He wants to see this pass in clearly both chambers. He wants to see this on his desk so h can sign it into law.

And — and that’s what we’re going to continue to have those conversations to make sure that occurs.

Go ahead, Peter. I haven’t seen you since Japan.

Q: Nice to see you again.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh yeah. I’m sure. (Laughs)

Q: You can say it’s nice to see me too.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s nice to see you, too, Peter.

Q: It’s been more than a month since the re-election announcement. Is President Biden going to hold a campaign event ever?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I will say this to you, Peter. As you know, we follow the rule of law here. We believe in following the rule of law as it relates — hold on — as it relates —

Q: I’m not asking you to weigh in on the impact of an election —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I’m about —

Q: — just his schedule.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I’m —

Q: You’ll have to schedule around rallies.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I’m about to answer your question here. As it relates to anything that — that is connected to the campaign, any rallies, any events, any — any endorsement, anything that is connected to the 2024 re-election, that is not going to certainly come from here. That is going to come from his campaign or the DNC — and/or the DNC.

Q: So you can’t say if he will be campaigning for re-election.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to comment from here.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — on 2024 re-election.

Q: Another story.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The Hatch Act does exist.

Q: A group of experts now say that AI poses an extinction risk right up there with nuclear war and a pandemic. Does President Biden agree?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say — you’re speaking to the letter that was provided today, made public/ And so, look, the President and the Vice President has been very clear on this: As it relates to AI, it is one of the most powerful technologies — right? — that we see currently in our time. But our — but in order to seize the opportunities it presents, we must miti – — first mitis — mitigate its risk, and that’s what we’re focusing on here in this administration.

As you know, the AI — we brought some CEOs here recently — that the President and Vice President hosted — to the Whi — White House to reiterate their responsibility for these specific companies — have to ensure that products are safe before they are released to the public. And so, I will leave it there.

I — as — again, I know there’s a letter that went out today from — from Elon Musk and CEOs. I will let the public read that letter. But again, we have been very clear on that — how companies need to be responsible in — as it relates to AI.

Q: It’s been months, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Following up on the question about Erdoğan and President Biden’s call, yesterday the President said that when it refers to Sweden’s membership in NATO, we’re going to talk about it next week. Do they have another call scheduled? Do you know what that refers to?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I don’t have a call to read out to you at this time.

Q: Okay. And then, Florida Governor Ron De- —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But as I — but let me just say, as I just stated, the President did bring up that up in their conversation.

Q: Sure. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said late last week that he would take an aggressive approach issuing pardons to January 6th rioters if elected to higher office. Given the recent sentencing [sic] — sentencing of members of the Oath Keepers, including 18 yers in prison for leader Stewart Rhodes, who DOJ called the archite- — architect of the plan to storm the Capitol, do you have any comment on that proposed use of clemency?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to be very — very careful because he is a candidate in the 2024 pres — presidential election, so going to be really mindful to not respond directly to the governor in this case.

But we’ve been very clear. We’ve been very clear. This President has been very clear as it relates to January 6th: It was one of the darkest days in our democracy, and we need to get to the bottom of what happened. As we know, there were law enforcement officers that were injured, that were harmed. And what the saw was devastating on that day. It was devastating.

So we need to get to the bottom of this, but I’m not — certainly not going to respond directly to a 2024 presidential candidate.

AIDE: Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, okay. One more. Go ahead, Aurelia.

Q: Thank you so much. So, Elon Musk is in China today, meeting with the foreign minister, announcing new investments. In November last year, the President said that Elon Musk’s relationships with foreign countries are, and I quote him, “worth looking at.” So, is the administration looking at Elon Musk’s relationship with China? And what conclusions does it draw?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have anything to add or go beyond what the President said.

Okay? Thanks, everybody. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you.

---

JUNE 2023:

June 2, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Averting Default and the Bipartisan Budget Agreement.

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, when I ran for President, I was told the days of bipartisanship were over and that Democrats and Republicans could no longer work together. But I refused to believe that, because America can never give into that way of thinking.

Look, the only way American Democracy can function is through compromise and consensus, and that’s what I worked to do as your President — you know, to forge a bipartisan agreement where its possible and where it’s needed.

I’ve signed more than 350 bipartisan laws thus far in almost two and a half years, including a historic law that — rebuilding American so that we can rank number one in the world in infrastructure instead of where we’re ranked now, number thirteen in the world.

Another historic law, rebuilding our manufacturing base so that we’ll lead the world once again in making semiconductor chips so much more — and so many more and so many sophisticated ones.

And now, a bipartisan budget agreement. This is vital because — it’s because it’s essential to the progress we’ve made over the last few years — is keeping full, faith, and credit of the United States of America and passing a budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values as a nation.

That’s why I’m speaking to you tonight: to report on the crisis averted and what we’re doing to protect American’s future.

Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher.

If we had failed to reach an agreement on the budget, there were extreme voices threatening to take America, for the first time in our 247-year history, into default on our national debt. Nothing – nothing would have been more irresponsible. Nothing would have been more catastrophic.

Our economy would’ve been thrown into recession. Retirement accounts for millions of Americans would’ve been dec- — been decimated. Eight million Americans would have lost their jobs.

Default would have been — ha– have destroyed our nation’s credit rating, which would have made everything from mortgages to car loans to funding for the government much more expensive. And it would have taken years to climb out of that hole. And American’s standing as the most trusted, reliable financial partner in the world would have been shattered.

So it was critical to reach an agreement. And it’s very good news for the American people.

No one got everything they wanted, but the American people go what they needed. We averted an economic crisis, an economic collapse.

We’re cutting spending and bringing the deficits down at the same time.

We’re protecting important priorities from Social Security, to Medicare, to Medicaid, to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

I want to commend Senator — Speaker McCarthy. You know, he and I, we — and our teams — we were able to get along and get things done. We were straightforward with one another, completely honest with one another, and respectful of one another. Both sides operated in good faith. Both sides kept their word.

And I also want to commend other congressional leader: House Minority Leader Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader McConnell. They acted responsibly and put the good of the country ahead of politics.

The final vote for both chambers was overwhelming, far more bar — bipartisan than anyone thought was possible.

So, I want to thank the members of Congress who voted to pass this agreement, which I’m going to sign tomorrow and become law.

So, here’s what the deal does:

First, it cuts spending. And over the next 10 years, the deficit will be cut by more than $1 trillion. And that will be on top of the record 1.7 trillion — $1.7 trillion I already cut the deficit in my first two years in office.

And it’s clear: We’re all on a much more fiscally responsible course than the one I inherited when I took office four years ago. When I came to office, the deficit had increased every year the previous four years. And nearly $8 trillion was added to the national debt in the last administration.

And now, we’re turning things around, and that’s good for America.

You know, my dad used to have an expression, He said, “Joey, don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget; I’ll tell you what you value.” And that’s at the heart of this debate. What do we value?

Protecting seniors. You may remember, during my State of the Union Address there were a spir- — there was a spirited exchange between me ad a few Republicans spontaneously occurring on the floor of the House of Representatives. I was pointing out that, for years, some of them were putting forward proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare.

And some of them that night took exception, and they said very loudly that it wasn’t true.

So I asked them on the House that night. I said — asked them a simple question: Will you agree not to cut Social Security and to not cut Medicare? Would they agree to protect these essential programs the are a lifeline for millions of Americans? Programs that these Americans have been paying into every single pay check they’re earned since they started working and that provide so much peace of mind.

With the bright lights and cameras on, those few Republicans who were protesting, they agreed. They said they wouldn’t cut it. That’s how we protected Social Security and Medicare from the beginning and from it being cut, period.

Healthcare was another priority for me — a top priority. I made it clear from the outset I would not agree to any cuts in Medicaid — another essential lifeline for millions of Americans, including children in poverty, the elderly in nursing homes, and Americans living with disabilities.

Hou- — the Hou — the original House Republican proposal would have cut healthcare for up to 21 million Americans on Medicaid, and I said no. And Medicare [Medicaid] was protected and so were millions of people most in need.

Look, I’ve long believed that the only one truly sacred obligation that the government has is to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when the come home and when they don’t come home.

That’s why my last budget provided VA hospitals with additional funding for more doctors, nurses, and equipment to accommodate the needs of veterans and more appointments.

The House Republican plan would have meant 30 fewer million VA healthcare visits for our veterans. But we didn’t let that happen.

In addition, this bill fully funds the bipartisan PACT Act, the most significant law in decades for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and for their families. It expands access to those veterans and their families to healthcare and to disability benefits.

Look, we’re investing in America and in our people and in our future.

We’ve created over 13 million new jobs, nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.

Where is it written that America can’t lead the world again in manufacturing?

Unemployment is at 3.7 percent. More Americans are working today than ever in the history of this country.

And inflation has dropped 10 straight months in a row.

In this debate, I refused to put what was responsible for all this economic progress on the chopping block. This bipartisan agreement protects the law that will help us build the best infrastructure in the world.

It fully protects the CHIPS and Science Act, which is going to bring key parts of our supply chain to America so we don’t have to rely on others — like semiconductors, those tiny computer chips smaller than the tip of your finger that affect nearly everything we rely on, from cellphones to having — building automobiles, to the most sophisticated weapons systems, and so much more.

We protected another law that I passed and signed last year that finally beat Big Pharma, which I’ve been trying to do for over 30 years. It finally gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, just like the VA has been able to do for veterans.

This law has already dramatically cut the cost of insulin for seniors from as much as $400 a month to just $35 a month for insulin.

Negotiating lower drug prices not only saves seniors a lot of money, it saves the country a lot of money — $160 billion that is not having to be paid out, because we have drug prices that are more rational. We pay the highest drug prices of any industrial nation in the world.

And it’s just the beginning.

You know, we also protected the most significant breakthrough ever — ever — in dealing with the exist- — existential threat of climate change.

Today, new wind and solar power is cheaper than fossil fuel.

Since I’ve been in office, clean energy and advanced manufacturing have brought in $470 billion in private investments. That’s going to create thousands of jobs — good-paying jobs — all across the country and help the environment at the same time.

And remember, at the beginning of this debate, some of my Republican colleagues were determined to gut the clean energy investments. And I said now, and we kept them all.

And there’s one — and there’s so much more to do. We’re going to do even more to reduce the deficit. We need to control spending if we’re going to do that. But we also have to raise revenue and go after tax cheats and make sure everybody is paying their fair share.

No one — and I promise no one making less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.

But like most of you at home, I know the federal tax system isn’t fair. That’s why I kept my commitment, again, that no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.

That’s why last year I secured more funding to go — more IRS funding to go after wealthy tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — and it is nonpartisan — says that this bill will bring in $150 billion, and other outside experts expect that it would save as much as $400 billion, because it’s forcing people to pay their fair share.

Republicans may not like it, but I’m going to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share.

I’m also proposed closing over a dozen special interest tax loopholes for Big Oil, crypto traders, hedge fund billionaires — saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

Republicans — Republicans defended every single one of these special interest loopholes. Every single one. But I’m going to be coming back. And with your help, I’m going to win.

Right now — catch this: Right now, the average billionaire in America pays just 8 percent in federal taxes. Eight percent. Teachers and Firefighters pay more than that.

That’s why I proposed a minimum tax for billionaires. Republicans are against it, but I’m going to keep fighting for it.

No billionaire should pay less in federal taxes than a teacher or a firefighter.

Look, let me close with this. I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard, but we can never stop trying, because in moments like this one — the ones we just faced, where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing – there is no other way.

No matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Treat each other with dignity and respect. To join forces as Americans to stop shouting, lower the temperature, and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity and keep the promise of America for everybody.

As I’ve said in my inaugural address, without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fu- — fury. And we can never become that country.

I can honestly say — I can honestly say to you tonight that I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future. We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is nothing — nothing we can’t do when we do it together.

I thank you all for listening, taking the time tonight to listen to me.

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

Thank you.

June 25, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on Tentative Agreement Between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

I applaud the Teamsters and UPS for coming together, negotiating in good faith, and reaching a tentative agreement today that will avoid a shutdown at UPS. While this agreement still awaits final ratification by Teamsters members, today’s announcement moves us closer to a better deal for workers that will also add to our economic momentum.

I’ve always said that collective bargaining works by providing workers a seat at the table and the opportunity to improve their lives while contributing fully to their employer’s success. This agreement is a testament to the power of employers and employees coming together to work out their differences at the bargaining table in a manner that helps businesses succeed while helping workers secure pay and benefits they can raise a family on and retire with dignity and respect.

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JULY 2023:

July 24, 2023: The White House posted “Statement of Administration Policy” (Rep. Granger, R-TX)

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4366, making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year (FY) ending September 30, 2024 and for other purposes.

In May, the Administration negotiated in good faith with the Speaker on bipartisan legislation to avoid a first-ever default and protect the Nation’s hard-earned and historic economic recovery. The overwhelming bipartisan support set spending levels for FYs 2024 and 2025.

The agreement held spending for non-defense programs roughly flat with FY 2023 levels, a compromise that protected vital programs Americans rely on from draconian cuts House Republicans proposed. The agreement also protected historic legislative accomplishments from the past two years, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, CHIPS and Science Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).

House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process, but instead, with just over two month before the end of the fiscal year, are wasting time with partisan bills that cut domestic spending levels well below the FRA agreement and endanger critical services for the American people. These levels would result in deep cuts to climate change and clean energy programs, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education and healthcare.

These bills include billions in additional recessions from the IRA and other vital legislation that would result in unacceptable harm to clean energy and to energy efficiency initiatives that lower energy costs and critical investments in rural America.

The draft bills also include numerous now, partisan policy provisions with devastating consequences including harming access to reproductive healthcare, threatening the health and safety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans, endangering marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the Administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Administration stands ready to engage with both chambers of the Congress in a bipartisan appropriations process to enact responsible spending bills that fully fund Federal agencies in a timely manner.

If the President were presented with H.R. 4366, he would veto it.

The Administration would like to take this opportunity to share additional views regarding the House Appropriations Committee’s (Committee) version of the bill.

Department of Defense

Reprioritization of Military Construction Funding to Unrequested Projects. The Administration opposes the bill’s realignment of military construction funding from priority projects to other projects. Contrary to the Administration’s fiscally responsible policy to fully fund executable projects, the bill proposes to fund 22 military construction projects incrementally.

This would effectively create an unfunded obligation of more than $2.3 billion needed to successfully execute these projects over time, divert those funds to projects that either are not executable in FY 2024, or were not requested by the Administration, and, given the already agreed upon ceilings FY 2025 appropriations under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, reduce the amount available for other high priority military construction requirements in FY 2025 by a comparable amount.

Guantanamo Bay Prohibitions. The Administration strongly opposes section 412 and 135 of the bill, which would prohibit construction or modification of facilities in the United States to house transferred Guantanamo Bay Detention Facilities (GTMO) detainees. This provision would interfere with the President’s ability to determine the appropriate disposition of GTMO detainees.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

VA Medical Care. The Administration appreciates the $121 billion in discretionary appropriations that the Committee provides for VA Medical Care. Along with previously provided Toxic Exposures Fund funding, this level would enable VA to support key Administration priorities such as ending veteran homelessness, increasing access to mental healthcare, and providing suicide prevention services, as well as investments in other critical areas, including caregiver support programs and overdose prevention and treatment programs. The Administration also appreciates the continuing flexibility to provide veterans with the robust array of medical care services they deserve.

VA Abortion Final Rule. The Administration strongly opposes section 258 of the bill, which would prevent VA from using funds to implement, administer, or otherwise carry out the Interim Final Rule (IFR) published on September 9, 2022, which expanded access to abortion for certain veterans.

VA’s IFR specified that VA is able to provide access to abortions when the life or health of the pregnant veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. VA beneficiaries enrolled in the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs also have this access under the IFR.

The provision would restrict abortions to the case of rape or incest, or “where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless the abortion is preformed.” This change would prevent VA from providing needed care to veterans when the health of the woman is endangered.

Gender Affirming Care. The Administration also strongly opposes section 259 of the bill, which would prevent VA from using funds to provide hormone therapies for the purpose of gender affirming care and surgical procedures for the purpose of gender affirming care. This would prevent VA from providing the full extent of quality care to veterans and legislature on decisions that should be left to the patient and their healthcare provider.

Lease Restriction. The Administration opposes section 252 of the bill, which would restrict VA from using funds to pay the rent currently required for the medical facility in Bakersfield, CA, which may force VA to vacate the facility, potentially creating a service gap for Bakersfield veterans.

Flags at VA Facilities. The Administration opposes section 260 of the bill, which would prevent VA from using funds to display any but the listed flags, thereby preventing VA from displaying flags demonstrating support for historically marginalized groups such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex veterans.

Advancing Equity. The Administration opposes sections 414, 415, and 417 of the bill. These provisions would limit efforts by the Federal Government to implement a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality and cultivate a workforce that draws from the full diversity of the Nation.

Protection the Rights of Veterans and Their Loved Ones. The Administration opposes section 416 of the bill, which would prevent VA from using funds made available in this Act or in previous Appropriations Acts to take “discriminatory action” regarding persons who do not support same sex marriage due to a “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.” This provision would undermine same sex marriage while also unduly complicating the routine business of the Department to provide healthcare and other services for veterans.

Constitutional Concerns

Certain provisions of the draft bill raise separation of powers concerns, including by conditioning the Executive’s authority to take certain actions on receiving the approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. The Administration looks forward to workin with the Congress to address these and other concerns,

The Administration looks forward to working with Congress as the FY 2024 appropriations process moves forward.

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AUGUST 2023:

August 15, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton En Route Milwaukee, Wisconsin”

MS. DALTON: Hi, everybody. How are you today?

Okay. As you heard — I just want to do a word on Hawaii at the top, which I know is front of mind for everyone.

As you heard from FEMA Administrator Criswell yesterday, the Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized a robust, whole-of-government response to support immediate and long-term rescue and recovery efforts in Maui.

Since the onset of the horrific fires in Maui, dozens of federal departments and agencies hav been working with state and local partners on the ground to assess ongoing needs and provide resources and personnel to support the response efforts.

This morning, we released a factsheet detailing all of the actions underway, which you can find on WhiteHouse.gov. And as of this morning, there are almost 500 federal personnel deployed to Maui to assist residents in their greatest time of need.

FEMA has deployed more than 140 Urban Search and Rescue personnel, who have integrated with the Maui Fire Department to help conduct search and rescue operations across a search zone that is several miles wide and encompasses thousands of predominantly residential structures.

In Maui, FEMA has provided 50,000 meals, 75,000 liters of water, 5,000 cots, and 10,000 blankets, as well as shelter supplies to the county government for distribution.

As the President has said, we will be in Maui as long as it takes and provide everything they need. You can expect to hear more from the President at the top of his remarks today about the ongoing whole-of-government response he has marshaled to support the people of Hawaii.

And when — and I would also just like to add, because I know many of you have asked, that we’re currently having active conversations about when a visit to Hawaii might be possible.

Turning to today’s visit to Milwaukee. As you know, tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history. In Milwaukee today, the President will discuss how Bidenomics and his Investing in America agenda are ushering in a manufacturing boom and attracting more than $110 billion in business investment and clean energy manufacturing.

Today, the President will tour Ingeteam, a clean energy manufacturing company that produces on-shore wind turbine generators. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the company expects orders to double next year.

Ingeteam also recently announced that, spurred by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, they will begin expanding and manufacturing of EV charging — charging stations across Milwaukee.

In addition, today, Siemens is announcing that will – it will manufacture solar inverters in Kenosha County thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

Across Wisconsin, companies have committed over $3 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments under President Biden’s leadership.

The President will be joined today by state and local leaders, including Governor Tony Evers, Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Congresswan [sic] — Congresswoman Gwen Moore.

Also today, ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, the Vice President is traveling to Seattle to visit McKinstry, a company working on the design, construction and operation of energy efficient buildings. She’ll be joined there by the Second Gentleman, Energy Secretary Granholm, and Washington state leaders.

Today’s lists are examples of the impact the Inflation Reduction Act is having across America just one year after it was signed.

Tomorrow, the President will discuss the law at length, not just the impact it has had unleashing a manufacutring boom, but also how it is lowering costs — healthcare costs, from insulin to prescription drugs to insurance premiums.

Speaking of lowering costs, the President promised to fight for hardworking families to fix problems in the student loan system. This administration is already — has already approved over $116 billion in debt cancellation for 3.4 million Americans, no matter how many lawsuits, challenges, or roadblocks Republican elected officials or special interests put in our way.

Also today, ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, the Vice President is traveling to Seattle to visit McKinstry, a company working on the design, construction and operation of energy efficient buildings. She’ll be joined there by the Second Gentleman, Energy Secretary Granholm, and Washington state leaders.

Today’s lists are examples of the impact the Inflation Reduction Act is having across America just one year after it was signed.

Tomorrow, the President will discuss the law at length, not just the impact it has had unleashing a manufacutring boom, but also how it is lowering costs — healthcare costs, from insulin to prescription drugs to insurance premiums.

Speaking of lowering costs, the President promised to fight for hardworking families to fix problems in the student loan system. This administration is already — has already approved over $116 billion in debt cancellation for 3.4 million Americans, no matter how many lawsuits, challenges, or roadblocks Republican elected officials or special interests put in our way.

And we’re not done. As the President announced earlier this summer in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, we will continue to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible. We will use every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.

With that, Fatima.

Q: Does the President intend to address all the criticism that it’s taken, you know, a long time actually make comment about the Hawaiian fires?

MS. DALTON: Well, first of all, I would point out that the President first addressed in public remarks the wildfires last Thursday in Salt Lake City. He spoke to this. He put out a statement last week. And he began marshaling a whole-of-government response from day one.

So, the fact of the matter is: This President has been on it from the beginning, marshaling a response across dozens of agencies, across the government to get Hawaii everything that they ned. He’s been in regular contact with the governor, with other officials, with his senior team. And we have provided and are continuing to provide everything that the state is asking for.

Today, you’ll hear from his – from the President directly on the latest stats of the — of the recovery efforts. And I won’t get ahead of that he’ll — he’ll share in those remarks today, but certainly, from the very beginning, the President has been on top of this, and he will continue to be.

Q: Olivia, can I ask you: Does the White House have comment n the indictments out of Georgia?

MS. DALTON: Certainly not going to comment on that. Would refer you to the local authorities.

Q: And just to follow up on that question broadly — I’m not surprised you’re not commenting; that’s what you’ve been doing for the other three as well. But the issue of democracy was one that President Biden ran on in 2020 and in the — ahead of the midterm elections. At what point does he wan to or will he comment on the broader implications about democracy that are represented in these cases, without delving into the legal part that he obviously wants to stay away from?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, I think you’ve heard the President speak on a number of occasions about restoring the soul of our nation, making sure that we’re protecting our foundations of our democracy. But you’ve also heard this President, even before he was in office, talk about the importance of restoring the independence of the DOJ. And so, you know, we have to hold both of those things.

And with respect to the cases that are underway, with the respect to ongoing criminal cases, that’s certainly why we’ve continued to observe the independence of the DOH, to respect that and same sure that we don’t — to weight in and — and overstep here.

Q: Do you have any concern at all that the atten- — the country’s attention won’t be on the IRA anniversary that you’re promoting some and other parts of Bidenomics because people are so focused on the legal issues involving the former President?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, you all will make your editorial decisions, but this President will stay focused on delivering for the American people. That is his job. That is his priority.

And, you know, I think we’ve seen this movie before, actually. Right? You know, the President has continued to — over the pa- — in recent months to travel around the country and talk about the ways in which the Investing in America agenda, all of the legislation over the past two and a half years that he’s managed to get passed — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, that we’re celebrating today and tomorrow — are delivering major private-sector investment, bringing supply chains and manufacturing back to our shores, delivering good-paying jobs to the American people. That’s what the President is foc- focused on. That’s what he’ll continue to talk about.

You know, we certainly can’t speak to what others are spending their time on.

Q: Is the President and is the White House confident that the President’s message on selling is economic agenda is reaching Americans? And are they giving him the credit that you all see is — is enough on these economic pieces?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, I think when you look across the country, you know, the polling that we see is that indi- — individually, these — the legislation the President has passed, the policies he passed is incredibly popular — you know, when you look at the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supported by 76 percent of the American people, 72 percent of the American people strongly supporting the CHIPS and Science Act, 80 percent of the American people supporting the IRA that cut costs for prescription drugs and bring down healthcare premiums.

So, his agenda is incredibly popular. The — what we’re doing today is getting out there and talking to people about it.

Q: Why do you think that people don’t connect that agenda with him in public polling?

MS. DALTON: Look, I think — you know, you’ve heard me and other officials talk about the fact that we recognize the American people have been through a rough few years coming out of a pandemic, facing the spikes in inflation that were created by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine just 18 months ago. And so, coming out of that, we’re now starting to see the impact of, again, all of this historic legislation the President has managed to get passed, the impact of Bidenomics taking root.

We’re starting to see that in terms of almost record low unemployment, inflation coming down two thirds over the past year, and the United States embracing the — the strongest and fastest economic recovery of any G7 economy in the world – you know, talking about real wages rising for the American people, faster among people in low- and middle-paying jobs.

And so, these are the kinds of things that — you know, they’ll take time for people to feel. But we believe we’re headed in the right direction and people are going to increasingly see that, and the President is going to keep talking about it.

Q: Olivia, I have two. Both are at the risk of being a little pedantic. But when you said that you’re discussing times to potentially go to Hawaii, does that mean the President is committed, in fact, to visiting Hawaii when the time is right?

MS. DALTON: Well, I would — you know, first of all, I don’t want to get ahead of what the President may say in his remarks today. But what I can tell you is: We’re actively having conversations about the possibility of visiting Hawaii, when that might be possible. I think the — as you know, the issue here is there’s an active search and rescue underway that we want to be mindful of.

The President is constantly, whether — you know, in these kinds of situations, mindful of not wanting to divert resources of any kind away from that. And so, you know, we’ll continue to be in conversation with the FEMA Administrator and state and local officials to understand what timeline —

Q: But you’re not committing yet to going?

MS. DALTON: I’m not going to get ahead of the President. But I — I think, you know, as I’ve communicated, we’re actively discussing the timeline on a possible visit.

Q: And I wanted to ask: Karine was asked yesterday about the President’s remarks in the Park City fundraiser, about the “ticking time-bomb” in China. There were sort of two elements of it. One was him broadly saying that the Chinese economy was struggling and had some demographic challenges, which I think everybody agrees with. But he cited some specific economic data, the GDP. Some of the demographic stuff ha he spoke about, the — the Chinese say just simply isn’t true.

Im wondering if the difference here is that the President garbled some data, as can happen to anybody, you know, if they’re talking about the economy, or if he was, in fact, saying what the U.S. has sort of concluded is the actual state of the Chinese economy.

MS. DALTON: I think I’m going to let the President’s words speak for themselves. But, you know, I’ll also say: The President will continue to be forthright and direct about his views on PRC.

And separately, we’re going to remain focused on managing competition with China responsibly and making sure that the United States is equipped to outcompete the rest of the world in decades ahead.

That’s why you see the President prioritizing an econo- — and economic agenda that is focused on reversing the failed trickle-down policies of the past and embracing, sort of, the Bidenomics agenda — right? — the — attracting private investments to our shores, bringing back manufacturing and supply chains that for decades flew oversees to China.

These are the kinds of policies the President is focused on that we’re seeing are strengthening the United States’ ability to compete in the decades ahead vis-à-vis the rest of the world.

Q: May I follow up on that?

Q: The President is going to Milwaukee today. It’s a week before the GOP debate next week. Was that in any calculation in why you guys are going to Milwaukee today?

MS. DALTON: Well, as you know the — the Hatch Act precludes me from speaking about politics from here. But what I can tell you is: Today we’re going to visit a clean energy manufacturing plant that is bringing manufacturing and investment and good-paying jobs to Milwaukee.

We’re also highlighting an investment by Siemens in Kenosha County, which is bringing more jobs and investment to the region — that coupled with the fact that we see Bidenomics is delivering for people across the state of Wisconsin.

Over the past two and a half years, we’ve seen 150,000 jobs created in Wisconsin, 155,000 small business starts, and unemployment has now come down to 2.5 percent in the state.

So, we think that all adds up to a really great reason to travel to Milwaukee and highlight the Inflation Reduction Act ahead of the anniversary tomorrow.

Q: I just wanted to follow up on Justin’s good question. I understand saying that you’ll let the President’s words speak for themselves, but the question he was asking is because his words weren’t clear. Are — is that U.S. data or is it Chinese data that he was referring to — that 2 percent?

MS. DALTON: I don’t have, you know, cross tabs for you here, Jeff, but I’m happy to follow up with you on that. But I think I’m going to let the President’s words speak for themselves on that.

Q: I mean, that’s just — just to explain why we asked that. Like, it — it’s totally — as Justin said, like, people mess up numbers all the time. I do. We all do. But if the U.S. has different figures for China, that’s interesting. And he revealed that — or maybe he didn’t — at that fundraiser, and that’s why we’re asking.

MS. DALTON: I’m not going to — I don’t have anything further to illuminate on that question.

Q: Just two of my questions. Is the President worries about a government shutdown at the end of September?

MS. DALTON: Look, I — you know, we worked in good faith to negotiate a bi- — good — a bipartisan agreement a couple of months ago. We’ve held up our end — upheld our end of the bargain. They’ve upheld theirs so far. We c- — expect that to continue.

We don’t believe that there’s any reason we should have to have a government shutdown — that congressional Republicans should bring us to that point. We think that we can work together to meet the needs of our country and the urgent needs that we put forward. And beyond that, I won’t get into, sort of, speculating about that kind of possibility.

Q: And there was a report a few days ago that the President was preparing to roll out additional executive action on background checks, and I wondered if you had any update on that or if we can expect any additional movement on — on gun violence.

MS. DALTON: Well, certainly, as — as you know, the President has been a vocal advocate for stronger gun safety laws for his entire career, championed the Assault Weapons Ban back in the Senate in 1994, and has never stopped being the tip of the spear on this issue.

As President, he has signed more executive action than any president in history on gun safety to strengthen our community safety, our school safety, and combat the scourge of gun violence that has become the number one killer of kids in America.

So, certainly, you saw that with the historic legislation, the Bipartisan Safer Communities law, that we’re continuing to implement and work with law enforcement to make sure we’re maximizing the full implementation and intensifying our efforts to implement that law completely.

And, as you know, one of the most recent executive orders that he announced back in Monterey Park in — in March, I believe, included initiating a rule making at the Department of Justice that would expand the use of background checks to the full extent possible without passing new legislation.

So, I don’t have any new action to announce on that today. But certainly, back in March, he previewed that rulemaking would be coming at some point.

Q: Can I follow on — it’s a two-part. One is: Congressional Republicans have floated a CR that would go to early December. Would you — would the President be willing to sign that?

And the second is: Senator Schatz has said that he wants to add emergency relief for Hawaii into the supplemental request that was transmitted by the White House last week. Are you guys supportive of adding additional Hawaii-specific funding to that amount, or do you think it’s necessary?

MS. DALTON: I’ll have to take your first question and get back to you.

On the second, I think, you know, with respect to the supplemental request, as you know, we’ve requested $12 million in disaster assistance in the supplemental that we put forward last week The — FEMA believes that, in the very near term, the agency has what it needs to meet its urgent — most urgent emergency needs.

But, certainly, we hope Congress will work a- — work with us to deliver the assistance that we have requested in the supplemental so that we have what we need to meet their needs over the coming (inaudible) —

Q: But you don’t anticipate adding that request now that the fuller scope of Hawaii is coming into —

MS. DALTON: I don’t have anything to announce at this moment in time. But, of course, OMB Director Shalanda Young and our senior staff at the White House continue to work with members of both parties in Congress on the supplemental request and making sure that our agencies have everything they need to support the disaster response, as well as manage the border effectively and safely and make sure Ukraine continues to get everything that they need.

Thanks, everybody.

August 28, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Director of the Office of Public Engagement Stephen Benjamin”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hello. Welcome back, everybody. Okay. A couple of things. Good afternoon.

Q: Good Afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: This Saturday, our nation marked the six — 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a seminal moment in our history and in our work towards equal opportunity for all Americans.

Sadly, this day of remembrance ended with yet more American communities wounded by an act of gun violence, including communities in Boston, Chicago, and Joppa[towne]. At least one shooting this weekend was reportedly fueled by hate and carried out with two firearms.

On Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida, a white gunman went on a shooting rampage at a store near a historically Black university and killed three Black individuals. Even as we continue to — to — we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America.

As the President said in his statement yesterday, we must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school — to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no harbor. Silence is complicity, and we must not remain silent. And we must continue to do all we can to keep guns out of dangerous hands.

Sadly, this day of remembrance ended with yet more American communities wounded by an act of gun violence, including communities in Boston, Chicago, and Joppa[towne]. At least one shooting this weekend was reportedly fueled by hate and carried out with two firearms.

On Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida, a white gunman went on a shooting rampage at a store near a historically Black university and killed three Black individuals. Even as we continue to — to — we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America.

As the President said in his statement yesterday, we must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school — to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no harbor. Silence is complicity, and we must not remain silent. And we must continue to do all we can to keep guns out of dangerous hands.

The President and the First Lady are praying for the victims and their families, and this entire administration grieves with the people of Jacksonville.

Earlier today, the President spoke to Governor DeSantis and told him he quickly approved the emergency declaration for Florida. The President also expressed the administration’s full commitment and support to Florida.

At the President’s direction, FEMA has deployed two incident management teams to Tallahassee and has one in Atlanta ready to pivot as needed. The President continues to be briefed on the current trajectory of Tropical Storm Idalia, and the team here will continue to update him as the system progresses.

Unfortunately, as you all know, Floridians are no strangers to these types of storms. It’s important that people prepare today; get supplies — so they get food, water; and charge your electronic devices. People should visit Ready.gov for — for tips on how to prepare.

Lastly, if you are in the storm’s path, please listen to your local state officials for guidance on evacuations or any updates.

As we just announced moments ago, President Biden will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 10th following his participation in the G20 Summit in New Delhi. While in Hanoi, President Biden will meet with key leaders to discuss ways to deepen the corporation between the United States and Vietnam.

The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of technology; focused and innovative — innovation-driven Vietn — Vietnamese economy; expand our people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce deployment — development programs, I should say; combat climate change; and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region.

And on Monday, September 11th, the President, the Vice President, First Lady, and Second Gentleman will mark — all will mark the 22nd anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001. The President will travel from Hanoi to Alaska to participate in a memorial ceremony with members of the military and their families.

The Vice President and the Second Gentleman will participate in a commemoration — commemoration ceremony at the National — at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York City. And the First Lady will lay a wreath at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial to honor the lives lost on September 11th.

Today, the President and First Lady visited students at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Washington, D.C., to mark the start of the school year. This visit kicks off a number of back-to-school activities for the First Lady this week, as well as Secretary of Education Cardona will soon hit the road for a back-to-school bus tour.

When President Biden took office less than — less than half than — less than half of the kindergarten-to-12 students were going to school in person. Thanks to his swift actions and historic investment, every school in America is open safety for in-person instruction. The administration remains committed to supporting schools and the students they serve.

And today, we are joined by the senior advisor and pres- — and president — to the President and Directo of the Office of Public Engagement, Stephen Benjamin, who is here to discuss the President’s March on Washington commemoration engagements today.

And the floor is yours, Mayor, if you’re ready. (Laughs.) This is also his first time in the briefing room, so welcome.

Q: Welcome.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, come on up. Come on up.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: That means be nice to me — (laughter) — is what it means.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Be nice to him. Yes.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: So, today, the President and Vice President Harris will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. As you may have seen, the Washington Post op-ed penned by the President to commemorate the sacred day and outline how the Biden-Harris administration is working to fulfill Dr. King’s dream of redeeming the promissory note of our nation.

The President and — and Vice President will meet privately with organizers of the march, community leaders, and members of the King family shortly, in just about half an hour. This meeting will take place exactly 60 days [years] after the initial Oval Office meeting between President Kennedy and Dr. King on the morning of the original March on Washington.

Later this evening, President Biden will host a reception as well and provide remarks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.

And I’m happy to take any questions you might have right now.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, April.

Q: Sixty years today, 1963 was a pivotal year in civil rights. Medgar Evers was shot and killed in June of ’63. The March on Washington in August of ’63. Two weeks later, four little girls were killed in a Baptist church. That was 60 years ago.

Today, we are witnessing what’s happened in Jacksonville. We’ve got laws on the books, policies, et cetera. What can the administration do to quell the hate that is on the rise that the FBI has quantified?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Sure. I would say this: The administration has, since day one — since the President signed his first executive order on making sure that everything we’ve done is focused on — on equity in this administration — and all of his work since then, including, obviously, another executive order signed on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday to make sure that the — the sacred right to the franchise is protected.

Obviously, there’s a full investigation going on in Jacksonville right now. We’re going to let law enforcement authorities do their job.

But everything in this administration is focused on making sure that we try to appeal to better angels, against, it seems a rising tide of not only racism — antisemitism, Islamophobia, violent attacks against our — our LGBT brothers and sisters, and even significant crimes against our AANHPI community. That’s why it’s so important that we remain vigilant every single day from all aspects of the administration, a whole-of-government approach, recognizing that that the work — there’s work yet to be done.

It’s important to note that — that while we’re not where we want to be, we’re certainly not where we used to be. The progress that has been made not only in the Biden-Harris administration — which has had a number of historic first, I might add — but over the last 60 years, this country has come a long way.

And we have to — I believe people of goodwill have to lean into that progress, but I realize that we are on the frontline against a rising tide of “isims.” And we’ve got to continue to push — push back together.

That’s embedded in the President’s piece in the Washington Post. I encourage everyone to lean into it.

Q: And a follow-up on that, if I could.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Yes, ma’am.

Q: There’s a lot of racial rhetoric going on in this political campaigning atmosphere. Is there going to be — or am I making a reach in this question — will there be a reach across the aisle to say, “Enough is enough, we’ve got to stop this”? Because a lot of this — people are saying are stemming from a lot of this rhetoric.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Sure. And I would give a brief response to that. The President has endeavored — and I watch it in every engagement that I have with him and every engagement he has with the public — to recognize the fact that he’s the president of all of the United States of America. He speaks to people on both sides of the line — urban, rural, and suburban America. And he speaks, again, in a way that brings people together. That will continue to be his position, as well as the Vice President’s position.

But yes, it requires the President, the Vice President, but all of us, again, to lean in and make sure we’re working to pull people together and push back against that rhetoric that we do see, April.

Thank you,

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Franco.

Q: Thanks, Mayor. Does the White House see any connection with the changes that the Florida governor has made in teaching about African American history to the kind of violence that we saw in Jacksonville?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: The President is — has been very clear — again, in the piece he penned this morning and I think probably more so in action — his actions last month in working to establish the — the monuments to Emmett Till and Mamie Till, Mamie Till Mobley, of course, recognizing, commemorating the sad event of his murder but also recognizing the courage of his mother in making sure that she helped light the fuse that set in action significant events of the Civil Rights Movement.

That action establishing these monuments in Mississippi and in Illinois was meant to make sure people understand that we cannot rewrite American history. We have to tell the good with the bad, and that is edifying to the soul of this country.

And the President — since day one, you’ve heard him talk about his personal reaction to Charlottesville. Redeeming the soul of America is cent- — central to who Joe Biden is as a man and why he chose to run for president as a — as a candidate.

So, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that — that trying to rewrite American history is not only wrong but it also encourages our children and those among us not to lean in to the — to the beautiful and also painful past of what our history looks like and encouraging people to move forward together.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Zolan.

Q: Thank you for the question. Looking at the op-ed today, a lot of the achievements that are listed in here obviously resonate but have to do with the economy: lowering unemployment, health insurance, investing in small businesses.

I’m wondering if the administration still believes that those achievements will resonate when you still have hate crimes happening across America; you still have Supreme Court decisions that have obviously led to setbacks on some of the more sweeping proposals by this administration, such as student loan relief or even affirmative action. When many people still feel that their civil liberties are being infringed upon, are — is the administration confident that some of these economic achievements will really resonate among Black Americans throughout —

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Sure. Well, we certainly hope so. Not — and not only in the context of electoral politics but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

The President has been incredibly supportive and hoping for the pass of the John Lewis Act, encouraging we protect the — the sacred right to vote, and certainly even the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to make sure, of course, we’ve led from the front as it relates to federal authorities and chokeholds and the like. But we’d like much more support from Congress in moving these things forward.

It is a difficult environment to move forward some legislation, but single thing that we can do by executive order the President has been leaning on. There are a lot of challenges that people face. but we certainly believe that part of Dr. King’s message, and all other amazing organizers on the March on Washington, focused on — on the economy — on the economy and jobs and — and freedom.

So, these amazing investments that have been maid in — in Black businesses and minority-owned businesses — small businesses across this country.

Making sure people have access to healthcare, more people insured now than ever. Thirty-five dollar insulin. Making sure that people don;’t have to make decisions between poverty and getting the medicine that they need.

Clean water. Removing lead pipes from communities all across this country.

I do believe that when the rubber hits the road, people will pay more attention to these dramatic investments in their quality of life and — and listen more closely to these important issues.

But that’s politics. I want to make sure we stay closely to the policies.

Q: Quick follow lead pipes, too. Is the administration still on track to do that in the next decade?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: As far — as far as I understand.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jeremy.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Mayor, the President said yesterday that he will speak to the people of Jacksonville. Does he have any plans to visit the city and to meet with folks? And has he spoken yet with any of the families of the victims of that shooting?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Well, as of right now, the President has spoken to the mayor and to the sheriff. Now, obviously, as Karine mentioned, he had a separate conversation with the governor today.

As of right now, I don’t think there are any travel plans. But, obviously, that is always subject to change.

Q: Has he reached out to the — to the families of victims or does he have any plans to speak with them?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: As far as I know — I think the — the victims are only identified as of this morning. So, I don’t believe that, but I can’t speak to it with any — any facts.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Toluse.

Q: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Obviously, students are going back to school around this time of year. The President has talked about book bans; a lot of these bans are going into effect. Could you talk about what the White House — what the administration is doing to address the fact that, as we — as you talked about earlier, parts of Black history, parts of American history are being impacted by these book bans in various states.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Sure. No, it’s a — it’s — it’s so important. And purely if — if some people — you know, we come from a world where we know that even two people equally (inaudible) can see the same thing very differently. Rewriting history is not necessarily one of those things.

But if you do see these things philosophically differently, it’s important to know, however, that our children, if we’re going to compete on a global state, must at least know their own history. You can’t step into a job interview on one of the other continents and the people in that room know more about your history than you do.

And I think — I think purely as a matter of competition — not equity and common sense — it’s important that children understand, again, the beauty of the greatest democratic nation in the history of the world, but also the challenges that brought us to this point.

So, I do know this is something that the President and Vice President feel strongly about and will continue to make American history available to all of our children.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Last question. In the back.

Q: Thank you. Mayor Benjamin, I’m hoping I can get your reaction — both as one of the President’s top advisors and also just a Black man living in American — to former President Trump’s supporters comparing his mugshot to that of Dr. King, given the anniversary that we’re celebrating here in D.C. this week.

I don’t know if you’ve seen that, but there have been a lot of posts on social media.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: I’ve not seen that, and I feel better that I haven’t seen that.

The reality is that the sacrifices made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — and not just him — and A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin and Whitney Young and others ought never to be minimized. And — because I sat with Clarance Jones this weekend and Ambassador Andrew Young and heard some of these stories firsthand — but they represent the sacrifices of so many people we don’t know — people who labored in anonymity who gave everything, who marched and cried and died so that this nation might live up to its better angels, might live up to its promise.

And I think it’s so important that as we look backward, that we work to preserve the importance of the legacy because it’s going to quickly determine what America is going to be like not 60 years ago, but 60 years from now.

Thank you all so much.

Q: Thank you, Mayor.

Q: Come back anytime.

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: I don’t know about that. We’ll see. (Laughter.)

Q: Please do come back.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Please do come back. Thank you, Mayor. Please do come back.

Q: Sooner than 60 years? Let’s do that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Not sure of the connection, but okay.

Chris.

Q: Hi, how are you? The President and the First Lady visited a middle school today. Test scores for this age group are the lowest in decades, despite billions of dollars in investment from this administration. Is the White House’s approach failing in not improving these test scores?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: If anything, look, there’s going to be a lot more work to do. Right? That is understandable that — that the work doesn’t — doesn’t end, you know — didn’t end when the President was able to open up schools, as I mentioned at the top.

Remember, when the President walked in, more than 50 percent of schools were shut down because of COVID, because the last administration didn’t have a plan, didn’t have a comprehensive plan to deal with COVID and what it was doing to our economy and what it was doing to our kids.

And because the President put that — put schools reopening and businesses reopening and making sure that people got shots in arms — and made that a priority — we were able to open up the schools.

Now, is there more work to do? Absolutely. As we’ve seen the pandemic — COVID has had a devastating effect on our kids. And — and so, look, the President is committed to — to making sure that education for all of our children — regardless of if you’re in rural America, urban America, all across the communities — is — it’s a priority and this — that the students and kids get what they need.

And it’s not just education, right? We talked about mental health, right? We talked about kids making sure they’re getting healthy lunches, right? That is something that this administration has provided.

And so, we’ve seen the data. We’ve seen the numbers. What it means to us is that more work needs to be done. And we’re committed and this President and this administration is committed to doing that work.

Q: So, what is that next step?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we’re going to hear — as I mentioned, Secretary Cardona is going to go on a bus tour. He’s going to go across the country as we’re — as school is opening up. He’s going to lay out what the Department of Education is doing to continue to improve our schools to make sure that students get the education and get the rightful — rightfully, the education that they deserve. And so, the work continues.

I don’t have — I don’t have a 10-step laid out for you, but I can say for sure that this President is committed. And you see that through the Secretary of Education. And, of course, this is something that’s incredibly important to the First Lady as well.

Q: Also, a new AP poll asked Americans an open-ended question on their thoughts about the President. And the most common response has to do with his age — how old he is, the oldest president in history. Does the White House have additional plans to demonstrate that he can continue to, you know, do the job at his advanced age and, kind of, allay some of those concerns?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look — look, I appreciate the question. I get the — I get it often, as you know. And what I would say — and I’ve said this many times, and many of my colleagues have said this, the President says this: If you watch him, if you’ve seen what he’s done in the last two years, this is — the President has had an historic administration in just two years.

If you look at the 13. — 13.5 — more than 13.5 million jobs that he’s been able to create; if you look at how he’s been able to turn the economy around so that it works for middle-class Americans; if you look at the Inflation Reduction Act and what its going to do to really help — to really help Americans as it relates to healthcare, as it relates to utility bills; If you think about the CHIPS and Sci —

I mean, this is a president who has done hist- — who has taken historic actions — and not just with Democrats on the Hill, but in a bipartisan way.

I just mentioned the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act. In many ways, this President has been able to do thing that is going to change how American families move forward, whether it is economic — with the economy, whether it’s healthcare, whether, you know, it is trying to make sure that they are able to — to give to their — you know, do what they can for their family, for their kids. That is important.

And so, that’s what we will happily — happily to discuss as we — as it relates to age, what the President has been able to do and how he’s been able to deliver.

Q: And the last question is — the press pool spotted President walk into the Oval Office with his personal physician, Dr. O’Connor, a few minutes ago. Did — is there an appointment? Did he have a meeting about a health concern? Did —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: This is the first time I’m hearing of that. Clearly, I did not see that, so I can’t — I can’t speak to that. I just don’t know.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Good to see you. Following up —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see you. It’s been a while.

Q: It has for a lot of us, but good to be here. Still has the new briefing room smell. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, it does. Like a new car.

Q: Yeah.

In the call with the governor of Florida this morning regarding the approaching storm and the shooting in Jacksonville, any chance the President raised his concerns iwi the governor about the state’s new slavery education standards?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, they kept it to — they kept it to what the readout was. Clearly, we will always be — are very careful not to read out private conversation. They talked about — clearly, about the President offering any assistance that the governor might need as — as we are talking about the Jacksonville shooting, as you all know, and also the storm, Idalia, that is headed to — to Florida.

That is, kind of, the — the — that is clearly what’s on everybody’s mind as we see this potential Category 3 storm and as a community is mourning.

I don’t have anything else to read out from that call. But clearly, those are the two, kind of, pertinent things at the moment that they were able to discuss.

And the President wanted to make sure that he — not just the governor, but the people of Florida knew and understood that this is the Pres — the President, the federal government is — is with them through their — through the different — through the different kinds of events that they’re dealing with at this time.

Q: And if need be, they’ll get back on the phone together in the next few days or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: If need be. Absolutely.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: If need be.

And let’s not forget the major declaration the President approved within hours — right? — as I — as I mentioned, as we are now watching this potential Category 3 hurricane that’s — that could hit Florida, which is important.

Q: Two others, if I could. Now that we know that he’s officially going to Vietnam, it raises a question we’ve sort of had throughout the year. And that is: Are there still plans to somehow, someday soon, meet with Chinese President Xi?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I’m just going to go back to what the President said during his press conference at Camp David very recently; he spoke to this. Don’t have anything else to add. He has been very clear that he is looking forward to having that discussion at some point. I just don’t have anything to share on this now.

Q: The White House would like to do that this year?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just don’t — I’m not going to put a timeline on it. But, you know, they’ve spoken multiple times in the past two years — or more than two years of this President’s tenure. I just don’t have anything else to share.

Q: And the House Speaker, yesterday, said moving towards impeachment now is, quote, “a natural step forward” and would be an opportunity for Congress to “get all the information they need.” Those were his words.

What is the White House’s response to the apparent march to impeachment by House Republicans? And does it make working with him this fall, on matters of dollars and cents especially, any more difficult?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look — look, Ed, you know, I can’t really speak to the House Republicans and what they’re focusing on. They can speak to that. You’ve heard from Speaker McCarthy. Not going to div into what’s in his head or what they’re thinking or what they want to do on the other side of Pennsylvania.

The President is focused on what real American care about — the real priorities that Americans care about.

I just talked about how the President and the First Lady visited a middle school today. And one of the message that he wanted to make sure that was hi — that he highlighted is the importance of every child in American having access to quality education — public education. And — and also, let’s not forget what’s — what we’re celebrating today — 60 years — or commemorating today. That’s what the President is going to focus on.

Later this week, he’s going to focus on lowering healthcare costs, which is something that this administration has worked on the past two years. Response to the Maui wildfire. You just asked me about his conversation with the governor of Florida and what they’re dealing with — a very devastating shooting that we saw in — in the city of Jacksonville and this hurricane that’s — that’s about to hit — potentially hit Florida. Those are the things that the President is going to focus on.

Look, and you asked me if — how the President is going to work with Speaker McCarthy. Look, this is a president who wants to work in a bipartisan way. And he has ben able to do that, as it relates to historical pieces of legislation. He wants to continue to do that. And he hopes congressional Republicans will continue to join him, or join him on doing that.

And that’s going to be — that’s going to be his focus, instead of, you know, more baseless political stunts. That’s what they — that’s what they’re focusing on.

Q: Some of the frustration appears to be the inability to get information out of the State Department, the Homeland Security Department, and other aspects of the government. Is there any validity to those criticisms, in the view of the White House? Or should the White House be, perhaps, urging departments to cooperate with ongoing investigations?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we always — we are always — of course urge — urge different agencies and departments to — you know, to — to work with Congress. Of course, that is something that we will always urge. And — and I can’t speak to — to — to that, to what they’re complaining about.

What I can speak to is what the President is focused on. And, again, we want to work in a bipartisan way with congressional Republicans. That’s what we want to do. we want to get things done for the American people — issues that actually matter to them, not these political stunts that they’re clearly focused on.

Go ahead, Mary.

Q: Three U.S. Marines were killed in this Osprey crash in Australia during a training exercise. Has the President been briefed on any early read or early information about the potential cause of this? Any sense of about whether it was, you know, weather related, mechanical?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, any specifics to what caused it and what was related to it, I would certainly refer you to the Department of Defense for any specific questions.

Yesterday, the President extended his condolences to the families of the Marines who lost their lives in his horrific, horrific crash, as well as his prayers to those who also suffered injuries.

Any — any additional information on the specifics of the crash or what — what caused the crash, I would have to refer you to the Department of Defense.

Q: Does the President have any broader concerns that we are seeing, it seems, you know, too many of these aviation incidents, — these mishaps in the military? Does he feel there needs to be some sort of reevaluation or reconsideration of — of training or focus on maintenance?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, the President is — of course is — when it comes to our military force, he’s always going to be concerned. He’s always going to want to make sure that they have everything that they need and, of course, that they’re safe.

Anything related to this — I don’t want to get ahead of what the Department of Defense might be looking into, what might be causing this. I don’t want to get ahead of them. So they would have to answer more specifically on those questions.

Q: Just one additional —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.

Q: — question on the House Speaker. He’s also said that he’s likely to investigate the federal response to the deadly wildfires on Maui, saying he’s very concerned about the response. What do you make of that? And does the White House stand by your response and your efforts in the aftermath —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things —

Q: — of this tragedy? Anything you would do differently?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I — I appreciate the question. A couple of things that I want to say. Since the onset of the unprecedented tragedy that we saw in Maui, the President has launched a whole-of-government approach — you’ve heard me say that; you’ve heard him say it directly; you also heard the FEMA Administrator say this as well — an effort to — to support the residents who were affected by — the communities.

Let’s not forget, they now only — they lost so much. They lost historical land. They lost their community.

And — and also, as soon as the governor in Hawaii, Josh Green — and he has said this himself — requested a major disaster declaration, the President signed it. And you’ve heard from the governor. You’ve heard from the two senators who have — who have lifted up and said how quickly this President responded, the federal government responded. So, I would just refer you to — to their own words.

Last week, as you all saw — a well — a well ago today, the President, the First Lady, they met with survivors. They met with emergency responders and state and local and federal officials. They saw firsthand themselves the overwhelming destruction that caused the wildfires, and it was heartbreaking.

And so, the — what I can say here and now, and as the President has said, he is committed to delivering everything that he — he can to the people of Hawaii — what they need — and we will be with them as long as it takes for them to rebuild. The President has been very clear about that. The First Lady, clearly, has supported that. The FEMA Administration has said that.

I will say this — what — what is currently on the ground: The federal government has deployed more than a thousand staff members on the ground, and the — FEMA has already given nearly $15 million in assistance to families.

And so, again, we will be there, the federal government will be there, certainly the direction of the President, as long as it takes for this community to rebuild. And, certainly, our hearts are — continue to be with — with the families and the people in Hawaii who have lost so much

Go ahead, Steve.

Q: Have you got any closer to determining what brought down Prigozhin’s plane?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, a couple of things on — a couple of things on that. I know folks have had questions on Prigozhin.

So — so we are increasingly confident that Prigozhin died in the plane crash that took place on August 23rd, this past Wednesday. I don’t have any assessment on the – — on — for you on this. So, I’ll just — I’ll just leave it there.

Q: And secondly, the President said in Tahoe that he had tentatively decided to recommend everyone get the new vaccine. When is he going to decide finally?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as — I think you’ve heard from the FDA and the CDC, they’ve made an announcement on the new vaccine. So, certainly, they said that they will have an — there’ll be an updated vaccine in September — mid-September —

Q: I think so.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — I believe.

So, we know that, as you all know, vaccinations agains COVID-19 remains the safest protection for avoiding hospitalization, long-term health outcomes, and death, which is why we are — we are going to be encouraging Americans to stay up to date on their vaccines.

I would refer you to DHS [HHS], as they have — as you — I just mentioned, FDA and CDC mentioned they will have the new vaccines by September — mid-September.

Go ahead, Jeremy.

Q: Thanks, Karine. We’re about a month away from the government running out of money and potentially shutting down. What’s the President’s plan to avert a government shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’ll defer to Congress on — on on the government shutdown, There should be no reason — right? — for Congress to shut down the government. None at all. None. They should fund vital government programs for the American people and these critical needs we’ve requested emergency funding for. There should be none. And so, that is for Congress to speak to.

And, as you know — you know, senior administration officials, including the OMB — OMB Director Shalanda Young and our Legislative Affairs shop — we have had numerous conversations with members of Congress. We’ll continue to do that. And — and we’ll continue to engage with them, and we’ll continue to underscore the importance of delivering on these bipartisan priorities that was agreed upon, that the American people want to see.

And so, look, that is for Congress to answer. There should not be a government shutdown. There shouldn’t be.

Q: Does the President support passing a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded? And does he have any plans to speak with the Speaker about this?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, you know, again, that’s something that I’ll refer to Congress on the length of the potential continuing resolution. Again, there should be no reason for a government shutdown.

I don’t have any conversation to — to read out or to — to predict for you that the President is going to have with the Speaker. As I mentioned, the OMB — OMB Director Shalanda Young has been in — in contact with members of Congress, so has his Legislative Affairs shop. They have been — have continuous conversations about this, underscoring the importance — the importance of these vital programs that the American people need.

And so, they should uphold — uphold this bipartisan commitment. That’s what the American people want to see.

Q: And then, as it relates to COVID vaccine funding, the President said that he had signed off on a proposal internally to present Congress with a request for additional funding. Do you have any additional details about the size of that funding request, what it would be used for, and what would the impact be if Congress does not provide that additional funding on Americans and their ability to get that vaccine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have anything new to say or to add to what the President — what the President said at this time.

What I can say is that we are prepared for the fall — as the CDC and FDA mentioned, that we will have vaccines available by mid-September. We are — we believe we are in the strongest position yet to — to fight COVID-19. A lot of that is because of his work that this President has done since day one of his administration.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. A couple of weeks ago, some members of Congress — it was over 50 Republicans and Democrats — they sent a letter to the administration asking for help with H-1B workers and the backlog.

In light of concerns about Canada recruiting — recruiting H-1B holders from the United States, I wanted to ask: Does the administration agree with these members of Congress that these workers — these H-1B workers — need more flexibility to do things like change jobs, travel abroad, for example?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as we have said many times before: This is an outdated immigration system.

We’ve asked Congress to update our woefully outdates immigration system — we’ve been very clear on that — including — including the temporary visa programs that haven’t been updated in more than two decades — in more than two decades.

And so, under current regulations, as you know, workers on certain temporary visas usually have 60 days to secure new employment, pursue a different visa classification, or make preparations to depart the United — the United States.

So, Congress needs to do their job and pass legisla- — legislation updating or immigration laws to reflect the needs of where we are — where we were are currently in this 21st-century economy.

So, look, the President, even on his first day — as we’ve said many times before — he put forth an immigration-reform legislation, because he took this very seriously. He wanted to make sure that we — we — that was part of — part of the — that was the first piece of legislation that he put forward on day one, because this is such a broken system.

Q: They’re — they’re asking specifically, though, for executive action. Is the adm- Is the adm- — is the administration not willing —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We —

Q: — to go that far?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We are saying that Congress needs to do their job. That’s what we’re saying. They are — they — this has been two decades since this particular visa has been updated. And so, it’s for Congress to act. That’s what they need to do.

Q: And can I ask you — just briefly, can you talk about Thursday, the Philadelphia trip? What’s — what’s the plan?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have anything to share on Thursday. We’ll certainly have more to share in a coming day or two.

Go ahead.

Q: On China, there are a lot of different tension points, but one of them has — we’ve been reminded of. And that is the fact that China retains ownership of all the pandas at the zoos in the United States, including the Smithsonian National Zoo. And is there any chance the President is going to ask President Xi to let the pandas stay?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) I think the panda is supposed to leave at the end of the year?

Q: At the end of the year.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. So, I don’t have anything new to share — any update to share on — on the panda’s timeline. But as soon as — if we have anything to share, we certainly will share it.

Q: Would the President share the concern of many Americans who love the pandas?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) Look, we all love the panda. I just — this is not a conversation I’ve had with the President. (Laughter.) I appreciate your question, Kelly O.

Q: You didn’t see that one coming?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I did not see that one coming.

Q: Okay.

Q: Let the record reflect she is grinning and bearing it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know my — my kid loves the panda, as well as so many other Americans across the country who have visited and seen this panda. But I don’t have anything to share.

I’ve missed you. Welcome back.

Q: Thank you. It’s good to be back.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah? How’s baby Karine?

Q: (Laughs.) She — she’s good. She —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Or baby KJP.

Q: — very nice to her dad.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, during your — your — your leave?

Q: Just like adult KJP. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, that’s good. I like — that’s good. Well, okay.

Q: I have another question that you probably were not expecting.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: Does President Biden want to limit Americans to two beers a week?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I — where is this coming from?

Q: It’s coming —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Maybe I did — maybe I didn’t miss you so much. (Laughter.)

Where is this — where is this coming from?

Q: All right, well —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.)

Q: Dr. George Koob, who is the director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, says that the U.S. may soon follow Canada and recommend just two beers a week. How do you guys think that’s going to go over?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Let me tell you what I’m not going to get involved in — in that in that question right there. I — I have not idea. I’ve not seen the data. I cannot speak to this. I will leave it to the experts and not weigh in.

Q: So, if the expert say two beers a week —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I —

Q: — that’s okay with President Biden?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I will leave it to the experts. I’m just not going to comment on that.

Q: Okay.

Something else: The Secret Service is paying $16,000 a month now to stage near Hunter Biden in Malibu. Who’s paying for that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s a question for the Secret Service.

Q: Okay.

Hunter Biden is reportedly selling art to pay for his $15,800 a month rent in Malibu. How can you guarantee that people are not going to be buying this art to gain favor with the President?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is a question for Hunter Biden and his representatives.

Q: It’s — it’s a question of —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I know. I hear — I hear —

Q: — of the ethics at the White House.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear your question.

Q: We know that one of the art buyers got a job from the Biden administration. Can you guarantee that there is no —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear — I hear your question.

Q: — quid pro quo?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get involved in this. That is a question for Hunter Biden’s representatives.

Q: So — but we know that from a Hunter Biden associate now that he sold the appearance of access to then-Vice President Biden. Are you confident that he has stopped doing that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is a question for Hunter Biden and his representatives.

Q: If somebody is selling the appearance of access to the White House —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is — that is —

Q: — that is a question for the White House.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, that is — that is your — your — I don’t know — how you’re perceiving that.

Q: That is my reading of sworn —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I —

Q: — testimony by Devon Archer. He said —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I am just not — Peter, I’m just not going to get into this. I’m just not.

Q: So, this testimony — since the last time I was here, Devon Archer talks about how he and Hunter Biden tried to profit off the Biden brand. What is the Biden brand?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I am not going to get into it from here. I’m not going to get into it from here. We’re going to move on.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks. I have a question. First of all, happy first day of school.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Happy first day of school.

Q: But seriously, what is the message that the administration has for the millions of girls in Afghanistan who can’t go to school because the Taliban won’t let them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President has always been very clear about the importance of girls — not just here in America but globally — being able to — to live freely and be able to go to school and get the education.

And so — and we have been very clear in laying out our concerns, such as girls’ education, with the Taliban. We have been consistent with that. We’ve been very clear of that. And so, we also remain laser-focused on trying to support and assist the Afghan people without bolstering the Taliban.

And so, that’s something that we’re going to continue to do. That’s something that the President is going to continue to be clear about — not just him but his administration. And so, that doesn’t end today or — or — and two years ago. That certainly will continue throughout his administration.

Q: Do you have a message for the girls themselves, I guess?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, we have — this is — this is a president, this is an administration that certainly supports girls being educated — again, not just here but also in Afghanistan. We are going to make that very clear as we — as we consistently assess our relationship and approach — right? — with the Taliban.

That — that is going to continue. And we’re going to assist — we’re going to assist the Afghanistan — Afghan people as much as we can — right? — without bolstering the Taliban. And that has been our commitment — our commitment — not just for the last two years, certainly, but for the past few decades.

Q: And then, quickly on Vietnam: The statement you put out doesn’t mention human rights or the fact that the chairman is the leader of a socialist communist country that has been backsliding on human rights. Is that going to be part of the conversations? And what —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And you’ve heard us say this many times — you’ve heard it from our national security advisor; you’ve heard it from — from the President; you’ve heard it from many members of this administration — that this is a president that never shies away on bringing up human rights wit any leader.

And so, I’m not going to get ahead of the agenda. I’m not going to get ahead of a conversation. But certainly, this is not something that the President — when it comes to human rights, it’s not something that the President shies away from and bring — he certainly brings that up.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. The President was asked yesterday if he would speak to Governor DeSantis and responded by saying he will speak directly to the people in Jacksonville. Did he just mean at the top of his remarks later this afternoon? Or is he planning to travel to Jacksonville?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t — as — as the Mayor just stated, we don’t — we’re not tracking, certainly any — any travel to Jacksonville.

The President — you saw the President’s statement. You heard it from me, you heard it from — from the mayor — our — our hearts go out to the people in Jacksonville. Certainly, we’re going to do everything that we can. We — the President spoke to the sheriff. He spoke to the mayor.

So, don’t — just don’t have anything to share beyond that.

Q: On Vietnam, Politico reported that part of what would be announced — and I know you gave kind of a long readout at the top — was the strategic partnership agreement on AI and semiconductors. Is the — are you expecting them to sign that while he is here?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we’ll have more to share on that trip — on the agenda, deliverables, what we’re — what we’re expecting the conversation to look like and to be. I just don’t want to get ahead of that at this time.

Q: Last one. While you were gone, there was a report that you guys were considering a meeting with MBS around the G20. He’ll obviously be attending, I think, for the first time as a — sort of the Head — Head of State designate, and it comes as energy prices have been high this summer and headed into next summer where there’s a lot of anticipation that they could remain there. So, I’m wondering if that’s something that’s actively in the works or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any — don’t have anything to share on any bilateral meetings that the President might have on — at the G20. If we were to have any, certainly, we will lay that out for all of you or announce that to all of you.

Q: Do you have any sort of topline stuff about what you’re hoping to accomplish with the — at the G2O?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The G20 more broadly? So, he’s going to reaffirm — the President will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the G- — at — to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation globally. He’ll discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, from the clean energy transition and combating climate change; to mitigating the — the economic and social impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine — obviously, that will be a big part of the conversation; to increasing the capacity of the multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty and take on the significant transnational challenges that are affect– — afflicting countries around the world.

So, we have a packed agenda, as you can imagine. And we’ll have more to share in the coming days. And, again, any bilateral or meeting that could potentially happen around the G20, we certainly will share that with all of you.

Go ahead, Toluse.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Want to get your response to some comments from Senator Sanders over the weekend, He said the President has every right to be proud of his record, but he seemed to suggest that the President should spend less time touting his record and Bidenomics and more time speaking to the anxieties of Americans who are still struggling in the current economy. He said, “Democrats, up and down the line, are going to have to be much clearer to the American people as to what they stand for.” I wonder if you have any reaction to that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, first, we’re very thankful to Senator Sanders for, certainly, being partners with us in passing some of the key pillars of Bidenomics, right? When you think about the key pieces of legislation — historical pieces of legislation that had led to unemployment being under 4 percent, when it led to millions of jobs being created, when it leads to the middle class really building — rebuilding that middle class, not leaving anyone behind, certainly Senator Sanders has been a key partner. And we really appreciate the efforts that — his leadership, I should say, in Congress, and making that happen.

And so, look, we — we agree with the — with the senator, right? When it comes to — what we’re doing is just the beginning, right? This is like — this is — this is part of trying to make sure that we do build a middle class; that we build an economy from the bottom up, and middle out. That is incredibly important to this President. That’s why he has said that in the last two years. He doesn’t believe in trickle -down economics. He knows that doesn’t work.

And so, when it comes to — when it comes to the President going out there and talking to the American people directly to let them know what this administration has been able to do with the help of — of senators like Sanders, I think it’s important — we think it’s important for them to hear directly from this administration.

And so, look, we think there’s more work to do. We’re going to hear from this President this week about how he’s going to continue to lowers cost — right? — low- — lower healthcare costs for Americans — something that the President, you know, has — has been leading on and has — his administration has continually put out ways to do that — Inflation Reduction Act, how it’s going to be able to help Americans lower costs — healthcare costs, how it’s going to be able to make sure seniors are — are not paying more than 35 bucks on insulin.

All those things are key. They’re critical. They’re important. And so, the work continues. The work continues. And so, we agree with the senator: Yes, the work continues. And we’re going to — hopefully we can work — continue to work — continue to work together with him on getting that done, getting more done — done for the American people and American families.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks. To go back to the President’s comments from Fri — Friday about the COVID funding request, when he said he was asking — or he’d signed off on a proposal to present to Congress a request for additional funding for a new vaccine, why was that not included in the $40 billion supplemental funding request to Congress that was sent out this month?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just — I don’t have anything else to share on the President’s comments at this time, So, I want to be very clear at that. Just don’t have anything else to add.

What I can say is that we are prepared for fall. We believe that we’re prepared for the fall. We believe that we’re in a better position that we’ve ever been to combat COVID-19. And that’s because of the work that the President has done. You heard from the FDA, you heard from CD- — CDC, pardon me, who have said that there’s going to be anew vaccine that’s going to be available mid-September.

And, look, because of the work that this administration has done, with the leadership of this President, we have been able to put together a comprehensive way to deal with this pandemic, to deal with COVID-19. And we have put forth multiple tools to do that. And a vaccine, clearly, is one of that.

As — as it relates to what the President said, I just don’t have anything to add at this time.

Q: And on that new vaccine that’s going to be available in mid-September, the CDC data — it says that only 56 million Americans, 17 percent of the population, received the updated shot last year. What type of public messaging campaign or effort will the administration and the White House be doing starting in mid-September to get people to get that shot — to get more people than last year to get that shot?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, Karen, this is an issue that you have followed very closely for the past two years. And you have know that this — this administration, when it comes to informing the American people about these vaccines, about the different tools that this Pres- — that this President and this administration has put forward, we have really put informing Americans as a priority. And so, we’ll continue to do that.

We know that — that COVID-19 vaccinations are the safest to protect — protection for avoiding hospitalization, long-term outcomes, and death. And that is why we are going to continue to encourage Americans to stay up to date on their vaccines. And so, you’ll hear more from us on that.

And as you know, that is something — when it comes to informing Americans, American families about this vacc- — about the vaccine, we certainly have been really — something that we put at the forefront as we move forward with our comprehensive approach to dealing with this pandemic.

I would also refer you to the HHS on anything more — specifics on this new vaccine.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Question on foreign policy. Israel’s foreign minister revealed that he met with his Libyan counterpart, which lead to her firing and demonstrations in protest. Does this complicate the administration efforts to expanding on the Abraham Accords and kill any chance of normalization now between Israel and Libya? It was reported that the administration is angry at the Israeli leak of the story.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, on that particular question, I would have to refer you to the Libyan Government of National Unity and the government of Israel. That’s where I would have to refer you on that particular question. I just don’t have anything else to share on that.

Q: Mr. Burns went to Libya, and he met with the Prime Minister. And he encouraged him, apparently, to approach Israel for this special relationship. So, the administration has an interest in this.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I understand the question.

On any conversation or meeting, I would have to refer you to the respective governments.

Go ahead.

Q: Given what you’ve said about the President’s preparing for — for COVID and being ready for any sort of fall surge and what the President said today at the middle school, does the administration believe that all of the resources are in place, that they’re adequate should there be a case uptick that maybe is concerning to some districts and they maybe consider whether or not to leave kids in the classroom?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. So, I’ve talked about the historic progress that our administration has made in the ability to manage COVID-19 so that it’s no longer a meaningful disruption- — disruption to — to the way that we move in our day-to-day life, right? So, that is something that the President has taken seriously.

We’re — we believe that we are in the strongest position yet — in the strongest position yet to deal with COVID-19, as I’ve said multiple times at this — and this point and — you know — any — anything that we might see in the fall or the winter.

And that’s because safe and updated vaccines that will be available in mid-September — widely available at-home COVID, tests. Right? I talked about the different tools that this — this administration has been able to — to put forward: widely available and effective treatments, which can reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

And we are also going to encourage — we’re going to encourage Americans to get their updated COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to their annual flu shot — let’s not forget — that is important for Americans to get — and RSV immunization for people over 60 and for infants. That is something that we’re going to continue to make very clear to Americans across — across the country.

As it relates to any uptick nationally: While the CDC is reporting an increase in infections and hospital — and hospitals — hospital administrations overall remains low.

But, again, we believe that we are in a good position — in the strongest position that we have been in the past three years or so to deal — to deal with COVID — COVID-19. There’s going to be an updated vaccine in mid-September.

We’re going to continue to encourage Americans to get their updated vaccine, to stay updated on their vaccines more broadly, but also to make sure they get their RSV and also to make sure that they’re getting the flu shot.

Q: But I guess specifically, though, is there a message to school districts as kids are back in school now? And, you know, it’s not just COVID. As you’ve mentioned, there’s a lot of things that can make kids, you know —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. No, I total- —

Q: — sick this time of year.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, that’s why we — I mentioned the RSV. That’s why I mentioned the flu, right? That — those all of those things are important for Americans to stay updated on.

So, as kids returns to school, to your point, CDC continues to — to recommend that people are up to date, again, on their COVID-19 vaccines. The agency has also laid out a number of steps people can take to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

If you — they — if folks go to CDC.gov. It’s important if — if Americans or if families across the country have any concerns, any questions, they should got to CDC.gov. And they’ll lay out ways to protect their loved ones, to protect their kids.

Decisions at the — is at the district level. As you all know, when it comes to any decisions on what tools they’re going to use, whether it’s masking or whatever — however they’re going to move forward, that is something that’s decided a local level.

But, again, the CDC has a — has laid out ways for folks to — for schools and families and — and families move forward if they have concerns.

But, again, we are encouraging — we are going to continue to encourage folks to be updated on their vaccine. The RSV –let’s not forget. Make sure that they get that. And also the flu — the flu vaccine.

All of those things are incredibly important, as we head into the fall and winter months, to keep — to keep our loved ones safe.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. The — so, on oil. The administration is engaging now with Nicolás Maduro to increase oil production. Why not, through regulation, show encouragement here in the U.S. for oil production?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. So, we continue — the U.S. is going to continue to work to support the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela. That is something that we’re going to continue to do.

And it has been our longstanding position: Should Venezuela take concrete actions toward restoring democracy leading to free and fair elections, we are prepared provide corresponding sanctions relief as well.

At this time, Venezuela has not take the necessary steps, and our sanctions remain in effect. So, nothing has changed there.

Q: So, new leases were issued for the Gulf of Mexico for drilling — yet, in that, they removed 6 million acres of land to do that. Plus, there were additional restrictions placed on ships, specifically for oil and natural gas, to deliver those products. Why constrict — continue to constrict the U.S. energy industry?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Meaning in Venezuela specifically?

Q: No. I’m talking about — I’m talking about the Gulf of Mexico. Now I’m talking about oil. Second —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Right.

Q: — second question about it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: So, there was a — new leases were offered —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — for the Gulf of Mexico. But in those new leases, the administration has reduced the amount of acreage by 6 million acres to do that.

And in addition, they restricted ships taking the oil from the rigs — and natural gas — from the rigs to the shore. So, again, why continue to add restrictions on that industry?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we don’t believe we add restrictions on that industries. I want to look specifically on what the — what you lay out those restrictions were and what was provided on the Gulf of Mexico. So I want to get back to my team and make sure that what you laid out is exactly how it — how it was announced. And we’ll get back to you on that particular questions. But that is not something we believe that we are doing.

Q: One — one more on UAW.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: Is the President going to get involved? Has he been talking with UAW at all?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, you heard from the President yesterday, and he spoke — he spoke to this when he was asked about UAW.

Clearly, he has been — this is somebody who — this is a president that believes in investing in American, has ensured — right? — when it comes to the future of automating, it will be built here in America by American workers. He has been very clear about this.

This is a president that has overseen historic increases in labor union participation during his time in office.

And unions themselves have labeled him as — you hear us say this all the time — the most pro-union president.

And so, look, we’re not going to read out every — every conversation that this President has with parties in these negotiations, but the White House remains in close touch, as we have been in many other — in many of these other discussions with the UAW and the Big Three Automakers.

And, look, the President believes in collective bargaining, as we — you hear him — and you hear us say all the time. And it has worked. We have seen it worked in the past two years.

Q: I think it’s time to gather for the next event.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Oh, that — oh, yeah, we have to gather for the next event.

We’ll see you tomorrow, guys. Thank you, everybody.

August 30, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everyone. I want to — apologies for the late start. The Administrator was meeting with the President – giving the President an update. And so, we wanted to make sure we had her with is before we came out, given the day.

So, again, good afternoon everyone. This morning, Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida as a major hurricane. Our administration is prepared to support any needs that may arise as Idalia moves through Florida and into Georgia. Personnel and resources from across the federal government and from our voluntary and nonprofit partners are ready to assist.

Later today, the American people will hear directly — they will hear directly from the President. He will speak about our efforts to respond to hurr- — to the — to Hurricane Idalia and on our — and our ongoing commitment to help the residents of Maui recover after the tragic wildfires earlier this month as well.

But before I turn it over to FEMA Administrator for an update on Hurricane Idalia, we want to make sure all of those experiencing the effects of Idalia are – or are on the path — to make sure they are staying safe.

If you are experiencing hurricane winds, storm surge, and flooding, don’t venture outside. Listen to warnings of flood officials and shelter in place. Do not enter flood waters since there can be chemicals and debris.

If you are in the projected path of the hurricane, please remain alert, closely monitoring any changes to its — to its path, listen to local and state officials for guidance and evacuations notices, and finish your preparedness.

The President and our entire administration — our entire administration are committed to supporting all communities impacted by the hurricane. With – we will be with you every step of the way, as we have been when we have — when we have to deal with these types of disastrous situation — hurricanes, extreme weather.

This is an administration that will be with this community from before — before it started, as you all know — from what you heard the President earlier this week and also the Administra- — the Administrator after it hits. And we will be there until they are able to rebuild.

With that, Administrator Criswell, welcome back.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: All right, good morning everybody. And thanks, Karine. And I’ll just jump right in.

I did just have an opportunity to brief the President on our current response efforts for Hurricane Idalia, which, as all of you know, made landfall early this morning.

While we were in there, the President contacted Governor DeSantis to let him know that the federal family continues to be there to support him. The governor expressed that all of his needs are met currently. And the President reiterated that if anything is needed from the federal government, we will be able to support, and we have over 1,000 personnel currently deployed, prepared to support not just Florida, but all of our states that are in the path as needed.

While I was in there, the governor also – or, the President also directed me to travel immediately into the area, and I will be traveling later this afternoon to join Governor DeSantis tomorrow to do assessments and see firsthand what the impacts from this store are. And I can be able to report back to the President exactly what I see, what we think the needs might be, and where the federal family can continue to assist.

Before I touch more on Hurricane Idalia, I also want to address the second reason that I am here at the White House today.

Today I will also join President Biden alongside his Cabinet and agency officials who are supporting the response and the recovery efforts on the ground in Hawaii as we continue to help the people of Maui rebuild and recover over the long term.

The whole-of- gov- — this whole-of-government approach is what is needed to get the right resources to the people of Maui — the resources and the assistance that they need and that they deserve.

Now back to a little bit to what we know so far on Hurricane Idalia. While it is still too soon to assess the total damages, we know that the storm made landfall as a Category 3, which means over 120 mile per hour winds and up to 10 inches of rain in some areas. Peak storm surge in some places along the coast — it has peaked right now, but it could surpass, once they measure, over 15 feet of storm surge. And we’ll get exact numbers as they’re able to go in and assess what the total storm surge was.

And in fact, Idalia is the strongest storm to hit this part of Florida — to make landfall in this part of Florida in over 100 years.

But FEMA and the entire Biden-Harris administration — we were prepared, and we were ready to support the needs of this storm. As I mentioned, we have actually over 1,500 federal responders that are on the ground in the affected area. This includes over 300 personnel from FEMA, as well as over 500 Urban Search and Rescue personnel ready to support any of the state’s requests.

As of 7:30 this morning — and I know these numbers are dynamic and fluid — but as of 7:30 this morning, there are nearly 300,000 customer outages for power in Florida. And we do expect those numbers to continue to rise as the storm passes through and goes into Georgia. And we’ll see power outage numbers for Georgia, South Carolina, and perhaps North Carolina.

Our partners at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are pre-positioned to support power restoration, and they have over 30 generators that are pre-staged.

Additionally, the utilities are preparing for storm impacts, including pre-staging crews and equipment outside of the projected storm track, and the state anticipates a total of about 30,000 to 40,000 linemen in Florida to begin to assist in the power restoration efforts.

People that are still in the storm’s path, however, — as you heard from Karine — they should not venture out into the storm, and remain sheltering in place if your local officials are telling you to do so.

However, if you are in trouble and need immediate assistance, please call 911.

As you do go out, do not wade in the water. Do not drive through flooded roads and streets. Just remember: “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”

Unfortunately, we see so many fatalities after the storm passes. We want to make sure that everybody is taking the right precautions to keep themselves safe.

And as always, please continue to listen to your local officials as the storm continues to pass over Georgia currently and into South Carolina.

Please check on your friends and your family and your loved ones, especially older adults and people living with disabilities, to see if they have any needs.

In closing, I just want to remind people that this is still very much an active situation. Remnants of the storm are still affecting Florida. As we speak, the storm is over Georgia and moving into South Carolina. People there and in the Carolinas will continue to experience impacts throughout the day today and possibly into the weekend.

Again, FEMA is well postured with our federal partners to support Floridians during this time of need and stands ready to support other affected states as needed.

With that, I can take any questions.

Q: Thank you. Administrator, what are you most concerned about over the next day or two, since you just said it’s too early right now to assess the extent of damage in Florida?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. My biggest concern is those people who chose not to evacuate. And I know that our local responders, the heroes that are out there in those local communities, are doing an amazing job already of going into the areas where people did not evacuate and helping to get them to safety. I think that is our priority through the day today — is to make sure that everybody is safe after the storm has passed.

As we go into the next few days, we’re going to want to assess what the total amount of damage is and see what immediate needs need to be put forth in order to help support and start the recovery process.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jeremy.

Q: Thanks. Administrator Criswell, thank you so much. Could you just take us a little bit into that briefing that you had with the President today? What is he most concerned about? What was he most focused on? Any other direction that he gave to you other than to fly down to Florida?

And then, secondly, you said that Governor DeSantis is satisfied with the federal response, doesn’t need anything additional. Was there anything else discussed on that — on that call?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. The — the President’s main concern is making sure that we are — are bringing everything that we have in to support these states as they’re having immediate response and lifesaving needs of beginning to start their assessment and their recovery process.

I think it’s incredibly important that — that our governors know that — that we are ready and postured to bring in all federal resources to support any of their lifesaving and their life-sustaining needs in the very near future.

The conversation with Governor DeSantis was that — you know, reiterating the fact that we already have over 1,500 personnel there in the area to support. And the governor currently has no unmet needs. But as we begin to asses — right? — as the governor assesses and as I get on the ground tomorrow to assess, we’ll see what additional needs might be there and if any of those resources need to be employed or we need to move more into the area.

Q: And has the President spoken yet with the governors of Georgia or South Carolina as well, or any plans for that to happen?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: I believe he was preparing to contact them after I left so I could come to this briefing.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jeff.

Q: Thank you. Administrator, to what extent do you attribute climate change as a cause of this storm and the other weather events that we’re seeing over the last weeks and months?

AMBASSADOR CRISWELL: Yeah. You know, I’m not going to attribute the cause of the storm. But what I can say is that we are seeing an increase in the number of severe weather events.

And what we saw with this storm, as we have seen with several of other hurricanes over the last few years, is that they are intensifying more rapidly due to the elevated heat of the water temperature in the Gulf or in the Pacific or whether it’s in the Atlantic. These storms are intensifying so fast that our local emergency management officials have less time to warn and evacuate and get people to safety.

This is something that we have to take into consideration as we build our preparedness plans, as our local communities build their preparedness plans and how they’re going to communicate and prepare their communities for the types of storms that they’re going to face in the future.

Q: And secondly, and more specifically, on this storm, do you have any sense or is it too early to say what the cost of recovery will require or will be?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. It’s far too early to even estimate what the cost is. It’s still unsafe in many parts to even go out. That’s what’s going to happen over the next several days is to get a good understanding and an initial estimate of what we think the costs will be and what the amount of impact to these communities has been.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Selina.

Q: Just to follow on that, with what you’ve seen so far, how long do you think it will take to get that full assessment? And how long will it take to understand the costs of the recovery efforts?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. We have rapid assessment teams that have been pre-positioned, ready to go out as soon as it is safe to do so. And so, tho- — those are personnel that will integrate in with the state personnel to go see what the damages are.

But we also use technology, right? We use aerial imagery and satellite technology, and we use geospatial information to get a better idea so we don’t have to physically put people out there. And it allows us to make these types of decisions much quicker than we’ve been able to do in the past.

And so, again, it will take several days to get a full understanding of what the initial assessment — damage assessment is. But it will take longer to get the full picture of the total amount of impact to these communities.

Q: And yesterday, you had said that FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund was running low. With what we’ve seen from this storm so far — there’s also the Maui fires — do you think there’s enough funding? Are you confident there’s enough if there’s another extreme weather event in the next month?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. So, yesterday, as I announced, I directed my personal to implement what we call Immediate Needs Funding, and that prioritizes the remaining funding within the Disaster Relief Fund to support those lifesaving efforts.

I believe, through this effort, we have plenty of funding to be able to support our ongoing efforts in Maui, as well as this event, to include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina as needed.

But we are monitoring it very closely, right? Every day, we are looking at what the cost of these storm are as we approach the end of this fiscal year. And if we have another storm, we’re going to have to closely monitor what impact that’s going to have and any other actions we might have to take.

Q: Administrator, thank you for being here. As we do approach the end of the fiscal year, as you’ve just noted — just getting a little bit down the road — these take weeks, months to recover. FEMA’s involvement will go on for quite a long time.

Back in 2013, when there was a government shutdown, FEMA had to furlough its nonessential staff. Right now, what potential impact would a government shutdown — as lawmakers have considerations about whether to fund the government — have on FEMA’s ability to care for those in both Maui and in Florida?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: I mean, we always want to take into account to what our personnel are doing and — and how we’re using our personnel to support these events. A government shutdown does not impact our personnel that are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, and so they’re able to continue operating and supporting all of the immediate efforts and lifesaving efforts that continue to go on.

And we also — for our other staff — can designate our — our emergency essential personnel to support any lifesaving efforts. And so, we have plans in place, as we have gone though this before, on how we would staff our — our agency to continue to support those efforts.

Q: And if I can follow up about the Critical Needs Assistance that was provided to those in Maui — $700 in payments to individuals there. Given the cost of living in Hawaii, specifically in the Lahaina community, is anything being done right now? Are there considerations or efforts being made to try to raise that cap — that $700 figure — for those who are there?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah, the $700 figure of Critical Needs Assistance is really just that amount of funding for some of the very immediate needs that individuals have.

Every year, the — the main part of our assistance, which is our Individual and Household Program, adjusts annually based on inflation. This year, it’s $41,000 of a cap that individuals can get. That will get raised after the fiscal year. I — I don’t know what the number is yet. But we do adjust that main portion of the funding that goes to individuals annually based on inflation.

Q: So, $700 is it for now, and then they can pursue those other monies going forward? But if people have run through that money, right now they’re on their own until they get access to the further assistance coming?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah, and we already have — I think it was 12,000 individuals that registered for assistance in Maui and somewhere over $15 million that’s out on the street. That number could be higher right now from that other program.

Q: Thank you, Administrator.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: I know that you and the governor and local officials, state officials have all told people to get out of the way of this storm. So, my first question is: Are you satisfied that people heeded those calls, both from you and — and local and state officials?

And secondly, you mentioned the search and recovery teams that are sort of deployed and ready to go. What’s your assessment so far on what those needs look like if people are sort of stranded right now?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. So, on the first question, I think many people did heed the warning, but unfortunately, many did not, right? We’re already getting reports of people that chose to stay, and they’re getting calls into the local first responders to come in and assist them.

And if anybody needs assistance, they should — they should call 911, and those local first responders will come in and help.

As far as the — the entire footprint of those resources that are available: It’s a combined effort recognizing the capability that the state already has with all of their resources, and we have additional resources that are integrated with that operation.

So, if we need to immediately augment, we have resources that are ready to deploy as soon as requested, without hesitation and without interruption.

Q: But is it clear yet how many people may be stranded?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Oh, I don’t have a number on how many. No.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: From the initial assessment, what would you say are the most damaged areas? And what was the response from the population in those areas to the government’s instructions?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: I would say that initial reports are in that Big Bend area that have the greatest impact. They have experienced the greatest amounts of storm surge. They experienced the greatest wind speeds. And so, when we do get out to start assessments, that would be my anticipation of where we could experience the greatest amount of damage and impact across Florida.

Q: And how did people respond in those areas?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Again, I think many people did heed the warnings. And there was a lot of public messaging that went out there to let people understand that the danger is not just the cone of the hurricane, but it’s the storm surge and the water, which is creating and causing the most fatalities in these events.

But, again, many people did not — as we are hearing about our first responders going in to support rescuing people from their homes that are not stranded.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. We’re going to wrap — we’re going to wrap it up. We’ll — way in the back, and then (inaudible).

Q: Thanks. On the Immediate Needs Funding, I’m curious if you have recognized the potential long-term, ongoing recovery efforts that could be at risk here.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: I — so, if I understand, the — the long-term recovery efforts based on right now, or what it looks like going into the next fiscal year?

Q: Going into the next — next fiscal year, which ones are at risk here if you do not get the funding you need?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Yeah. So, what Immediate Needs Funding does is — the work does not stop, right? The projects continue to go underway — our longer-term recovery projects for the variety of disasters that we’ve experienced over the year. The obligation of the reimbursement of the funding for those is delayed into the next fiscal year.

If it gets delayed into the next fiscal year, then that just starts us out at a smaller balance of what we had anticipated our needs would be for fiscal year ’24.

Q: Are there any ongoing efforts, though, that you’ve identified that would be at risk if it comes to that?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Again, the funding it — or the work itself does not stop. It’s the funding that gets delayed into the next fiscal year.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Ed. Last question.

Q: I’m going to take you back to Hawaii, if I could, Administrator, because there is still a lot of questions among officials in Maui and Lahaina and across Hawaii about who was in charge in the hours as the fires burned and the hours after. You’re a veteran local emergency management official, state emergency management official, now at the federal level — how do you assess how officials there responded? Are there lessons to be learned, perhaps, for other communities? And is your agency prepared to work with congressional Republicans if they launch investigations, as they say they well?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Again, I was not there during the response, so I would be out of line to assess how they responded during the time because I did not experience what they were experiencing.

What the federal government does is: We come in and we support their efforts, that’s exactly what we did. And we will continue to support their recovery and their rebuilding efforts as they move forward.

Q: Were you be properly briefed by FEMA authorities in Hawaii that would have been working with those officials?

ADMINISTATOR CRISWELL: What I was briefed on throughout the time is my Regional Administrator Bob Fenton happened to be in Oahu for another meeting. And he was engaging with the team and giving us updates as to the spread of the fire and what the population was impacted and what the potential federal resources would be needed to come help support the initial response in the ongoing recovery efforts.

Q: And if congressional Republicans want you or other agency officials to testify about what went on in Hawaii —

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: I’m happy to —

Q: — are you willing to do so?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: — testify on what the federal role was in this process.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks, everybody. Thank you so much.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: All right, thank you.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Safe travels tomorrow.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, one — one thing before we continue, Thank, again, the Administrator for — for coming today and yesterday to provide all of you an update.

So, as Acting Labor Secretary Su announced today, the Department of Labor is supporting one of the basic tenets of Bidenomics: that a hards day [hard day’s] work should lead to a fair day’s pay.

This proposed rule would deliver on the tenet by restoring and extending overtime protections to 3.6 million salaried workers. The Biden-Harris administration recognizes the benefits of a growing economy are only broadly shared when you have politics [policies] that empower workers.

We’ll continue working to build an economy that works for working families. The President and the Vice President are committed to ensuring that all workers are paid fairly for their hard work.

With that, Darlene, you want to kick us off?

Q: Yes. Thank you. Two questions. First on Africa. The President promised in December that he would visit this year. It’s now September; a trip has not been announced. Just wondering if today’s coup in Gabon, the recent coup in Niger, and others in recent years make it any less likely that he will visit. How will those destabilizing events factor into whether he ultimately goes or not?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you asked me about if there’s any U.S. concerns, domino effect potentially, as. we’re seeing what’s happening over the last couple of months or so: Look, we remain focused with our African partners and the people to address challenges and support democracy — that is something that, certainly, the President is steadfast on — which is also the best foundation for development, social cohesion, and stability in Africa.

President Biden has been clear about the United States commitment to deepen and expand our partnership between the United States and African countries, institutions, and people as well. We stand with the African people in working towards these goals.

I don’t have anything to announce about a — about a potential scheduled trip for — for this year. The President is still very much committed to going to the continent.

As you know, the Vice President has been there. The First Lady has been there. So, you’ve seen a commitment throughout. And also, other Secretaries, clearly in this administration. So, you’ve seen a commitment from us for — for the continent.

We had a very successful, as you all know, meeting with African leaders just last winter. That went very well. And that commitment continues.

As soon as we have a date and a location clearly laid out, we certainly will share that with all of you.

Q: And then a second question closer to home. Will the President stay in Washington this weekend, given what’s going on in Florida? We don’t know the extent of the damage. The week ahead had him leaving on Friday to go home to Rehoboth for the weekend.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you just heard directly from the Administrator, we do not have an assessment. Obviously, she’s going to be going to — to Florida tomorrow at the President’s direction. And she will be with Governor DeSantis throughout the day.

I can confirm, before coming out here, the — the President did connect with Governor Kemp of the – the governor of Georgia, obviously. And so, that conversation did — did happen. He’s also going to try and connect with the governor of South Carolina.

So, the Administrator said, the situation is still very dynamic. I don’t have any changes or any additions to the President’s travel. You’re going to hear from the President directly who is going to speak about the continued efforts to prepare and respond to Hurricane Idalia.

Following those remarks, as you all know, he’s going to be meeting with his Cabinet and agency officials to continue our coordination of federal response. So, that will happen.

He will always continue to — to be engaged directly with local elected officials. I just — we just mentioned that he spoke to the governor of Florida, spoke to the governor of Georgia. He’s going to reach out to, certainly, other elected officials to ensure they have what they need on the ground — the resources that they need to deal with the impacts, the — certainly the aftermath of this particular hurricane when — when we are able to asses and see what — and they are able to see what their needs are.

We – you hear us say this often – you heard it from the Administrator; you’ve heard it from — from us: We — this President is committed to being there for the community, for the people who are — certainly have been impacted by this hurricane, you know, today, tomorrow, as long as it takes to help them all get back on their feet. So, that will not change, obviously.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jeff.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Two foreign policy questions. The Kremlin acknowledged today that the plane crash that killed Prizhogin [Prigozhin] may have been a deliberate act. Does the White House have a response to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I mean — I was, you know, kind of asked this question yesterday. I don’t have any new assessment or anything to share with what the Kremlin or Russia – the government may have shared.

What we — what I have said yesterday continues to be the case. It pre- — it seems pretty evident what happened here.

You know, as the President said recently, and I’ll quote him, “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin is — is not behind.” And that was not just predictable, but it was predicted — the very same words I used yesterday.

So, we all know that Kremlin has a long history in killing its opponents. We know how — how forthcoming and — and if — if I will, how forthright Prigozhin was in the — in — in these past — past several weeks or couple of months. And so, this is not surprising.

I just don’t have any new assessment, regarding of what the Kremlin or the government of Russia wants to share.

Q: On a separate topic, Nigerian police raided a — a gay wedding and arrested 67 people there today. I’m wondering if the White House is tracking that and has a reaction.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, this is the first I’m hearing of that. I haven’t spoken to our teams here about that in particular — that particular incident.

Look, you know, we’ve been very clear: The President — when it comes to LGBTQ community, he is — he is — has been an ally and supports that community. He will continue to do so. He will always speak out when it comes to any type of humanitarian mistreatment, even across the globe. And he has always been very forthright in talking to leaders about that.

As it relates to this particular event, I just don’t have a comment for you at this time.

Go ahead, Jeremy.

Q: Thanks, Karine. There’s a report in Bloomberg that the President — sorry, that the Assistant Secretary of Health has recommended rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug. I’m wondering if the President would support that move.

And secondly, just where does the President currently stand on the issue of decriminalizing marijuana?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President actually asked the Secretary of HHS and also the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review how marijuana is scheduled.

As you know, the administration process is an independent process — led by HHS, led by the Department of Justice, and guided by evidence. So – so, I’m not going to comment on that. We’re going to let that process move forward.

And again, it’s going to be an independent process that’s led by HHS and DOJ. So, any specifics on that, I would refer you to HHS.

Q: And more broadly, on the question of decriminalizing, which would be going further than this, of course.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, he’s — he’s asking HHS and DOJ to — to take a look at it, to do an initial administrative kind of process or review, if you will. It’s going to be an independent process. They’re going to certainly use the evidence. It’s going to be guided by evidence.

And so, I’m not going to leave it to HHS and DOJ to — to move that process. And so, we’re just not going to comment specifically on it.

Q: And then, the President is about, sort of, a week away from heading off to India for the G20. He’s scheduled to be in Rehoboth this weekend. Given all of those scheduling concerns, how likely is it that that the President would make it down to Florida before heading abroad? Is that a goal of his: that he would like to try and get down there before he goes out of the country?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look. I don’t have any schedule additions or travel to add at this time or to share at this time. Clearly, as you just heard, the Administrator is going to go there tomorrow, is going to be with the governor. And that is at the President’s direction.

When it comes to any type of travel as it relates to, certainly, these types of unfortunate disasters, the President doesn’t want to take away — clearly — from what’s going on on the ground.

As you know, the President has a big footprint when he travels. So, we want to make sure that the community, the elected officials, the local leaders — certainly, the people have and get what they need in this time after it is the — we have the assessment and we see the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

So, I don’t have anything to share.

Clearly, it’s something that the President always looks forward and always wants to be there for the people who are affected by these types of disasters. And — and certainly, you’ve seen him, in many different states, and be there and talk directly to — to Americans who are — who are there and living through this moment.

But we just want to be incredibly mindful. This is a dynamic situation, and we want to make sure they have everything that they need at this time.

Go ahead.

Q: Obviously, lots of issues facing the President – the presidency this week, but two others that, sort of, gauge the sense of presidential awareness or involvement.

You were asked yesterday about the situation in Guatemala. I noticed the Secretary of State reiterated support for the results there. Is that something that’s reached the President’s attention, who has expressed a lot of concern about democracy versus autocracies in the world? This is a situation two doors down from the United States. Is he aware of it? And would he be willing to meet with Mr. Arévalo were he to come to Washington before becoming president?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President obviously is kept up to — up to date by his National Security Council and his — his foreign policy advisors on all of — any dynamic or any situations globally. Clearly, that is something that the President — is kept — kept abreast.

I just don’t have anything to share on any future upcoming meeting at this time. And you know, we congratulated the new leader. And – and, clearly, all – his – his election was confirmed by – by the certified vote results.

And so, just don’t have anything to share or anything to announce about a potential meeting.

Q: You were also asked yesterday about potential White House involvement at least awareness of the UAW labor situation. How about the Writers Guild, Screen Actors Guild negotiations? We’re at about 120-plus with the writers, 47-plus with SAG-AFTRA. These are members and these are companies that have close, at least, political, ties to this President. Just curious if he’s been briefed at all or if anybody involved in those —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I —

Q: — or who in the administration might be talking to them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, regardless of political ties — right? — this is a president that has been called by many labor folks — right? — that he is the — the most pro-union president ever. And so, this is a president that believes in collective bargaining. This is a president that believes, certainly, of the right of — of workers to strike. We’ve been very clear about that.

And as it relates to the writers and also the actors, we believe they have the right to — to be able to — to — you know, to — to ask for fair wages and fair benefits. That’s why collective bargaining is so important. And we have seen it worked over the — even the past several years while this president, during his tenure.

So, that’s what the President is going to continue to call for — for folks to come to the table in good faith, have those conversations, do that collective bargaining that the President supports.

And so, I don’t have anything else beyond to — to share. But again, this is the most pro-union president, and this is a — he’s incredibly proud of that record.

Go ahead.

Q: In the hours and days ahead, how frequently does President Biden intend to get briefed on the storm?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Regularly. Daily. Multiple- — multiple times a day. You’re going to hear from him in — in a few minutes. You heard — the Administrator was here today briefing him. He was here – she was here yesterday, in person, briefing him.

This is something that the President is keeping a very close eye on, as all of you are following this very closely.

This is important. It doesn’t matter if we are in a — this is not about politics. We should take politics out of any type of disaster that we see that the American people are having to suffer or deal with.

And so, this is not about politics. This is — for the President, this is about being a president – a president for all Americans. And so, he is going to be closely watching this, getting updated regularly to make sure that the people in Georgia, in South Carolina, in Florida are getting exactly what they need. And so, that’s going to be the President’s focus.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I wanted to ask about a possible government shutdown. Some conservatives have been — on the Hill have been talking about it not being a big deal, that no one will really notice. Can you talk a little bit specifically about would continue to work during a shutdown and what would stop?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I appreciate the question. I’m not going into hypotheticals.

Here’s what we know, and here’s what I have said when I’ve been asked the question: It is that there’s no reason — there’s absolutely no reason at all for the Congress to shut down the government. There isn’t. And this is a question for Congress to answer.

The — this should not be happening. And they should fund these vital, vital government programs that the American people rely on. And these are critical needs we’ve requested — when you think about what we’ve requested and asked for when it comes to emergency funding – right? — when it comes to what we can to the table for, when it comes to the budget agreement.

This was a bipartisan agreement from both sides. And so, there’s no reason — no reason at all — that Congress should be — should be going down the path of shutting down this government.

Q: Can you — can you confirm, through, at least that federal criminal proceedings would continue in a shutdown, including those involving the former president?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That would — you would have to ask the Speaker of the House and the Congress on that question. That is not something that I can speak to to — here.

Q: But not federal criminal proceedings?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — you — you would have to reach out to Department of Justice. You would have to reach out to Congress, whatever it is that they’re doing on that side. That is something for the Department of Justice to speak to. That is not something for me to speak to.

But I will say that our – when it – as it relates to the engagement that we have been having with the Hill on whether it’s the — whether it is government funding or any kind of legislative process. Look, we have our OMB Director, Shalanda Young; our Legis- — Legislative Affairs Office have been in regular contact with them. We are engaging with congressional members on the Hill, and that’s going to certainly continue.

Go ahead.

Q: I want to ask you quickly, the President — President Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to two Fulton County election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, in the past.

A federal judge ruled in favor of those women, who had sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation, ordering that the attorney — that Giuliani pay sanctions.

Just your thoughts on this now that it has been completed? It’s no longer in the hands of the courts. The judge has delivered her ruling. What do you make of that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to comment on that at this time.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had another episode in which he froze while answering questions today. I know the President spoke to him the last time this happened and when he has had previous health issues. Do you know if the President is aware of this, and whether or not he’s likely to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I haven’t spoken to the President, so I — I don’t know if he’s aware of this.

Q: And then, secondly, on Labor Day. I wanted to follow up to see if there are any announcements for how the President is going to mark Labor Day this year.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I just — just to step back on your question about Senator McConnell. Clearly, we — we wish him well, a speedy recovery. As you know the two of them are — are — have — have worked together and have known each other for some time. But I can’t speak to a call or a conversation. I just haven’t asked the President about that.

As it relates to Labor Day, clearly, that’s a day that the President enjoys celebrating, as it is an important day for the labor community. I just don’t have anything to share.

Once we get closer to that — to that date, certainly, we will lay out what the President plans to do.

Q: At the beginning of June, the White House announced the Education Department was going to be appointing a coordinator to address book bans. I asked Education Department for a status update and couldn’t get an answer. So, I’m — since we’ve got students returning to the classroom now, can you give us an update on when this effort is going to start?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So that is something for the Department of Education to speak to. I don’t have an update for — for — for you at — on that particular question.

But, again, that’s something for the Department of Education. I know they’re going to announce somebody. I just don’t have it right at this time.

Q: So they are going to be announcing someone in the next —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have — I know they said that — that there was announced that there was going to be a book czar. Sorry, I just don’t have anything for you at this time.

Q: Would it be possible at some point to get a description of what this coordinator has done, what schools they’ve reached out to, what that outreach has looked like?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, that’s for — something for the Department of Education to speak to directly.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is meeting with Chief of Staff Jeff Zeints today to discuss migration. Can you tell us a little bit about that meeting? And then I have a follow-up to that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, as you just mentioned, we are hosting Governor Hochul today here at the White House to continue our close collaboration and to underscore all the ways in which this administration has supported communities who are ho- — who are hosting asylum seekers and ways we are working together to increase access to work authorization. So we’ll have more to share about the meeting later today.

But yes, she is indeed here and is going to be meeting with members of the President’s team.

Q: Okay, I have another follow-up. But will there be a readout of that from the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We will have more to share later today on the meeting. I just don’t have anything specific on how that’s going to look like.

Q: Okay. And Hochul and other Democrats have been pushing the administration to expedite work authorizations for asylum seekers who are already here. Does the administration see that as a viable solution to getting people out of shelters faster?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not going to get ahead of — of the conversation that they’re going to have.

I do want to say that DHS met recently with state and local. This is the assessment team that you’ve — you’ve heard us announce not too long ago. They met with local and state officials and to — to outline — and they outlined nearly two dozen ways or recommendations to strengthen certainly their operations.

The administration, across several departments and agencies, identified a number of federal sites across New York State for housing. Additionally, the Department of Interior is negotiating a lease of Floyd Bennett Field with the city and state, so that conversation that continues to happen. Again, that happened, I believe, on Monday.

When it comes to the work auth- — authorization, look, this administration has led the largest expansion as it relates to pathways — lawful pathways in decades, and we are committed to building a humane and safe and orderly immigration system. Those who arrive through those lawful pathways are immediately eligible to request an employment authorization document. That’s how the process works.

As it relates to this con- –this particular conversation and what has been requested by New York, I’m — I’m just not going to get ahead of the meeting that they’re going to have today.

Go ahead.

Q: A couple of follow-ups on the spending questions that you got. Lawmakers are already, sort of, talking about a proposal that would be a CR in the December — kind of a shorter-term deal. Is that acceptible to the President? Would he be okay with that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is something — I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. That is something that Congress — Congress should — should kind of decide on — on the length of a continuing — continuing resolutions. That’s som- — something that I defer to them.

Q: And then related to that, I know you said that the administration — Director Young, others — are already engaged with lawmakers. Are you’re — has there been an expression of sort of red lines, sort of priorities or cuts or provisions that would be unacceptable to President Biden that would not get signed into law?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as I said, we have had continued calls with them, continued engagement with members of Congress to lay out the urgency and the important nature of making sure that we do not shut down and we continue funding the government. That’s going to continue. I’m not going to get into red lines. I’m not going to get into hypotheticals from here. There is no reason for Congress to shut down the government. And we’ll be — continue to be very, very clear about that.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you very much. There’s a new book coming, “The Last Politician: Inside Joe – Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for American’s Future.” The Guardian has excerpts today saying the President has told aides in private that he felt tired and that explains why there are so few events before 10:00 a.m.

So, two questions: Is this why we’re seeing brunch lids in recent weeks? Today we had a breakfast lid. And has the President admitted to you —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait, say that last part.

Q: So, is that why we had a breakfast lid this morning? I mean, there — the book is —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: A what?

Q: There was a break- — the breakfast lid can to the press —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, okay.

Q: — for the first time, I think. We’ve had some brunch lids in recent weeks as well. So my question is: Is that a reflection —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, you think we’ve had those lids because the – because of this excerpt?

Q: Not because of the excerpt. The book is suggesting the President tells aides he’s tired.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But that’s in the excerpt, right?

Q: Yeah. And that that’s why there have been so few public events before 10:00 a.m.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, that’s a ridiculous assumption to make.

Q: (Inaudible)?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, that’s a ridiculous assumption to — to make.

Go ahead, Peter.

Q: Thank you. Eric Adams, the New York mayor, is saying about these migrants in New York City, “Any plan that does not include stopping the flow at the border is a failed plan.” So, why aren’t you guys stopping the flow at the border?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We are stopping the flow at the border. If anything, the — what the President has been able to do on his own, without the help of Republicans in Congress — something that he had to do on his own, again, because Republicans refused to give the funding necessary to deal with a situation imm- — a broken immigration system that has been broken for decades.

They choose — what they choose to do is play politics, but the pers- — the President has put a plan that is — indeed, the data is showing is — that it is indeed stopping, slowing down the flow of unlawful migration. And that is because of the work that this President continues to do without — without the help of Republicans.

Q: Okay. And it seems like the hurricane response so far is robust. Did you guys realize that the initial Hawaii wildfire response was not that good or is it just easier for people to get help from the White House when the President is not on vacation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, the premise of your question and the way you pose your question, I disagree, just for the record.

So, if you talk to — if you were to do your reporting and speak to the governor of Hawaii, the senators of Hawaii, the folks on the ground, they would say that the President reacted in record time when it came to dealing with the wildfires, when it came to dealing and making sure that they got everything that they need on the federal level to deal with what was going on on the ground.

Let’s not forget, there were more than 600 federal employees on the ground already to assist with the wildfires in Maui.

So, your question is — is wrong — it’s flawed in many, many ways. And I would — I would — I would advise you to go speak to the governor and the local and state officials in — in Hawaii.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Putin is supposed to visit China in October. This is the first visit — if it happens, this is the first visit after a warrant of his arrest has been issued. What do you make of that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to speak to Putin’s travels. I — I was kind of asked about this question yesterday. It doesn’t change. I’m not going to speak to his travels.

Q: One more question on Russia. I know — I understand you don’t want to comment on the Prigozhin plane incident. But many U.S. officials went on the record and said having him march toward Moscow, it was a sign of weakness. Now, killing him, doesn’t that reflect a sign of strength in your assessment?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I — I’ve answered the question. I mean, the President basically said there is not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind.

I mean, you know, this is — this was not just predictable, but it was predicted. We have said: We know that when it — the Kremlin has a long history — a very long history in killing its opponents.

So I think we’ve been clear here about — about — about our thoughts. I’m just not going to — I don’t have any new assessments. I don’t have assessment to make. But there is a history here, so I’ll leave it there.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I wanted to go back to the question you were answering about legal pathways for migrants and the work authorizations. When I’ve spoken to advocates, people who work with parolees when they arrive in the United States, sponsors, the number one thing they say is how long it takes to get work authorization.

I didn’t hear you talk about necessarily what you’re doing to speed that up, given that you’ve opened these pathways so that people can come here temporarily from certain countries.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just to give — give a little bit of how this works: The process for applying for asylum and applying for an employment authorization based on asylum applications is established under current immigration laws and can only be changed by Congress. That’s how this process works.

The law established 150-day waiting period to apply for work authorization and an additional 30 days to be eligible for approval. That’s how the process works.

Again, this is something that Congress put forth. And the only way that it can change is with — through Congress.

Q: And have you asked Congress to work on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we’ve had — had — asked Congress to help us just revamp and —

Q: But that issue specifically.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — deal with a broken — in — in many different ways, including this, to help us revamp and actually fix a broken system. We have asked Congress to do that from day one.

Remember, the President put forth a comprehensive immigration reform legislation. So, this is something that the President has made a priority. The first piece of legislation that he put forward dealt with the immigration system.

Again, this is something that — this is — when it comes to this system, the President wants to do this in a humane way. And he has taken actions to work on this issue on his own without help, certainly, from Republicans in Congress.

Q: I also wanted to ask you: Administrator Criswell, when she was here yesterday, talked about — and again, today about the rise of extreme weather, this idea of FEMA having to deal with an unprecedented workload. Is the President thinking about at all — outside of your funding request to Congress — any changes in structures within the White House, any changes within agencies that would help support what we’re seeing, which is more extreme weather more often, more people needing help?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I don’t have — I don’t have anything to share about structure within the administration. But I would say this —

Q: Or resources beyond — without Congress?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’ll say this. We’ve asked for $12 billion — right? — FEMA has asked for — for FEMA to continue to doing its work. That conversation is going to continue. Obviously, she — the — the Administrator laid out what that means for — for her work.

As it relates to extreme weather, one of the reasons the President has called climate change a crisis and done the work — historic work that he’s done on dealing with climate change is because of that — right? — is because we’re seeing this change of pattern. We’re seeing how rapidly and how quickly this — this extreme weather –hurricanes are coming about. That’s what the Administrator just said.

And so, look, there’s a lot of work to do. The President has taken this very, very, seriously. That’s why the Inflation Reduction Act was so critical and important — the biggest investment in dealing with climate change. That’s why the Bipartisan — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is so important.

So, this is work that the President is going to continue to do to deal with an issue that is a crisis not just here, but globally.

As it relates to any changes within the administration, I don’t have anything for you on that.

Go right behind you. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks.

Q: The Afghanistan withdrawal ended two years ago this week. Does President Biden plan to commemorate the events and the people who were killed or left behind as that happened?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, the President put — had a statement that we’ll for – — “forever honor the memory of the 13 service members who were stolen far too soon from their families, loved ones, and brothers- and sisters-in-arms while performing a noble mission on behalf of our nation.”

And the First Lady, certainly the President, and our entire nation will always support those families.

And so, look, the President has said on many occasion that ending our longest war after 20 years was the right thing to do. He refused to send another generation — you’ve heard him say this — of Americans to fight a war that should have ended a long time ago.

America is no longer — is — is no longer there, obviously. It is on a stronger footing, more capable to — to meet our security needs around the world because we are not fighting a ground — on the ground — a ground war in Afghanistan. And we continue to put our assure- — to put pressure on al-Qaeda and ISIS-K, while also focusing on terrorist threats elsewhere.

And so, that’s going to be the President’s focus: to make sure that our homeland is protected, that Americans are protected. And that’s what the President’s focus is going to continue to be.

(Cross-talk.)

I have — I have one more question.

Go ahead, Peter.

Q: A question about North Korea – the missile launch earlier this morning.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: Anything you can say about that?

And then, also, we heard about increased cooperation between the Russians and the North Koreans with respect to weapons for the Russians. I’m wondering if the President would consider meeting with Kim Jong Un because of this increased cooperation and he can’t seem to get a response from the North Koreans,

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. And I know my colleagues spoke to — spoke to — this is Russia and North Korea — just recently during a gaggle. So, just to reiterate what he said is – in part due to the success of U.S. sanctions and export controls, you know, Russia has been forced to turn rogue regimes, like the DPRK, to try and obtain weapons and equipment to support its military operations in Ukraine. We have previously warned that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from the DPRK.

Today, as my colleagues shared, we shared new information that arms negotiations between Russia and DPRK are actively advancing. Russia’s Minister of Defense recently traveled to the DPRK to try and convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia. And our information indicates that, following that visit, another group of Russian officials traved [sic] — traveled there for follow-up on discussions about important potential arms deals.

Any arms deal between the DPRK and Russia would directly violate a number of U.N. Security Council res- — resolutions. We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia. And we are taking action directly to exposing and sanctioning individuals and entities working to facilitate arm deals between Russia and the DPRK. So, we will continue to identify, expose, and counter Russia attempts to acquire military equipment from the DPRK or any other states that is prepared to support its — to support its war in Ukraine.

As it relates to the — to the missile, we condemn — we’ve been very clear about this — condemned the DPRK’s latest b- — ballistic missile launch. This launch is in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and possesses [poses] a threat to the DPRK’s neighbors and international community.

We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on DPRK to engage in dialogue, as we have for some time now.

Our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea, Japan remains ironclan [ironclan].

Any specifics on that, I would refer you to INDOPACOM and for – for any additional comment. And just don’t have anything else to add on that.

Q: If they’re unresponsive to your calls for engagement, would the President consider a meeting?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have a meeting to — to speak to at this time. But look, we are —

Q: Would he consider one?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We just don’t have anything to share on that at this time.

What I can say is that we are — we — our lines of o- — communication is open. We’ve been very clear on that.

I just don’t have anything to share on a potential meeting.

With that, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks, everybody.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

August 31, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hello. Good afternoon, everybody.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you for your patience today. As you saw, the President went to FEMA to thank the workers there — and their hard work over not just this past couple of days, but these past several weeks. So, thank you for your patience with all of us.

I have a quick intro, and then we’ll — we’ll get going.

As the President said earlier today, the entire administration is committed to supporting all the communities impacted by Idalia, and he has directed a whole-of-government response to ensure those impacted have everything they may need.

Now, before I turn it over to Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, we want to make sure everyone who was impacted continues to listen to the guidance and direction of local officials and first responders.

Do not put your lives at risk by attempting to transverse flooded or damaged areas. FEMA Administrator Criswell, as you all know, is in Florida to survey the damages firsthand and will continue to brief the President and the White House team.

The administration will stand with the impacted communities every step of the way, as we have for the past two years and as long as it takes.

With that, Liz, thank you for coming back again.

DR. SHERWOOD RANDALL: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s been too long.

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Happy to be here. Hello, everyone.

Q: Hello.

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Good afternoon. The President is intensely focused on extreme weather that has impacted people across the country. And as you know, we’re experiencing more of it every day.

He has been receiving regular updates from Administrator Criswell and from me on the latest developments with Hurricane Idalia and also, of course, with the ongoing recovery operations in Hawaii on the Island of Maui.

He continues to guide the response to both — to the devastating fires on Maui, as we;; as to the remnants of Idalia now that it has moved off the coast of North Carolina.

He and Deanne Criswell have been talking daily. He spoke to her this morning before he went over to FEMA headquarters.

He’s also been in regular contact with Governor DeSantis. He spoke to the governor twice today. He spoke to him yesterday as well to check on the circumstances on the ground and today, when he reached him this morning — let him know that he was approving the governor’s overnight request for a major disaster declaration.

He also talked yesterday to Governor Kemp, Governor McMaster, and Governor Cooper and committed the federal government to support each of those states as they responded to and recovered from what we, at the time, did not know would be, relative to some of the early predictions from the National Hurricane Center, a consequential but not a catastrophic hurricane in those states.

Yesterday, he also convened key Cabinet members who are leading the federal recovery and rebuilding efforts on Maui and asked them to report to him on their progress. That is essential to supporting the people of Maui.

He has directed us to do everything that we can do to accelerate recovery wherever people are impacted by extreme weather, whether it is in Maui, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, or any of the other communities that have been impacted by extreme weather events since the beginning of his administration.

He is particularly focused whenever we talk about these events on the lives torn apart and how we can help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

For example, yesterday, when we were briefing him with respect to Maui, he was focused on the opening of the school year and how the kids of Lahaina don’t necessarily have schools they’ll be able to attend and what can we do, using federal resources from the Department of Education to support the local community in finding a way for kids to get back to school this fall.

I also want to thank the brave first responders, the Coast Guard, the search and rescue teams, the local law enforcement personnel, and so many other who, in a moment like yesterday, run toward danger. They’re the ones we pre-deploy – the search and rescue teams, the Coast Guard. They’re out there under extremely dangerous circumstances taking personal risk to make it possible to save lives.

I was talking to Admiral Poulin, the deputy of the Coast Guard, when we were over at FEMA just now about the Jayhawk helicopters that fly when a hurricane is still happening in order to be able to rescue people who may need their assistance.

So, as you’ve heard, he – the President did just visit FEMA. The reason he went over there was principally to thank the personnel there on the floor of the National Response Coordination Center, who work 24/7 to make sure that we’re capable of responding to whatever is happening across the country. He walked the floor and thanked people for what they’re doing.

It’s incredibly important that we acknowledge this work, because these are really the unsung heroes — the FEMA folks both here in the headquarters and also those who are out in the field all around the country helping Americans.

He has directed us to ensure that we have a fully coordinated whole-of-government effort to support people in the aftermath of this storm.

At his direction, Administrator Fe- — Chriswell flew down to Florida yesterday just as soon as she had completed briefing him both on what was happening in Florida and then during the meeting that he convened on Maui. And she is joining Governor DeSantis today, conducting the initial damage assessment in the state.

As the President just announced when he was over at FEMA, he will fly to Florida on Saturday to visit the areas most impacted by the hurricane.

There are currently approximately 1,500 federal responders on the ground in Florida. This includes over 500 Urban Search and Rescue personnel, who were there ready to save lives and help people get to safety.

One of the decisions we took early on was to pre-deploy personnel. That’s something we do regularly to make sure that we’ve got what it takes in a disaster, rather than wait until it happens and then be late to need.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was pre-positioned before this storm to provide power restoration. It brought in more than 30 large generators that are pre-staged if needed to support critical infrastructure assets in particular, like hospital or water treatment plants.

There’s also a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that the electrical grid can be maintained for people to have access to power after a storm.

One of the benefits to the citizens of Florida is that during the Obama-Biden administration, we spent more than $200 million on hardening the grid in Florida by putting stronger power poles and smart meters on those power poles — something the President referenced yesterday – which has enabled Florida to recover more quickly from a series of extreme weather events that they face.

I want to also acknowledge the pre-positioning of critical supplies, including more than 1.3 million meals and 1.6 million liters of water in the region, in case that’s necessary. It may not all be necessary, but, again, we want to be ready.

The Red Cross is our critical partner in much of this work. They pre-positioned personnel and resources to support sheltering for up to 20,000 survivors. That may not be necessary, but we know that there are thousands of people who are in shelters as of this morning. The evacuation orders have been lif- — lifted in most places in Florida, and so some people may be able to go back to their homes.

We also have approved, through USDA, early issuance of September SNAP benefits to all households that receive those benefits.

We will be with the citizens of these impacted states as long as it takes. We know that there is some very heavy rain in North Carolina today, lowland flooding. We’ve asked people to be sure to pay attention to what their local officials are telling them about where it is safe to move, because often people think the hurricane has passed but that doesn’t mean that all the storm surge and flooding is over.

We won’t know the full extent of the damage done for several days. The assessment teams are out in Florida today, as I mentioned. What we do know is that we will stay there as long as it takes to help, in partnership with our state and local counterparts, to get people back on their feet.

Now I’m glad to take a few questions.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Just a couple of questions.

Go ahead.

Q: Can you say a few words about the state of the U.S. electrical grid? The outages that we saw with Idalia raise concerns about that. I mean, can you — have you done an assessment? Do you know what percentage of the electrical grid is in need of upgrades? And how serious of a threat is that? How concerned should Americans be?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: So, we are investing an enormous amount in grid resilience through a number of pieces of legislation that the President has passed. Just this week, from the infrastructure law – the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — the President announced $95 million to assist the state of Hawaii in hardening its grid and making the grid more resilient to the effects of extreme weather and also potentially other threats. And that’s the kind of work that has to take place all across the country.

We’re looking to invest from similar funds in other states, working in partnership with the private sector, to make sure that we do modernize the grid in a way that both employs clean sources of energy and enables us to sustain power for the American people under all hazardous conditions.

Now, it’s inevitable that there will be outages. And indeed, sometimes it’s preferable that a utility takes the power off certain parts of the grid in order to prevent fires. And that’s a decision that’s made by state and local utilities; it’s not something we would decide at the federal level. But it’s a way of managing for the possibility that you could have a circumstance in which it would be preferable not to have power on the line — for example, in a circumstance in which you’re concerned about the spread of a fire in a community.

So, this is an ongoing effort which the President is driving from the White House, in conjunction with the Secretary of Energy and other agencies, to ensure that we have the grid of the future that we need, both to power our clean energy future and also to provide resilient power to the American people.

Q: But can you say how much of the grid is in danger or is at risk or antiquated?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: I think we should go on to others. Thanks.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Kayla.

Q: Thank you. President Biden said today that he will be visiting Florida —

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Yeah.

Q: — on Saturday. He said that he should have a direct line to Governor Ron DeSantis at this point based on how much they’ve been speaking. Should we expect the President to be meeting with Governor DeSantis? Will they be touring some of the hard-hit areas together?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: We’re just planning the visit, but I will say that every time I’ve been to Florida with the President, he has met, of course, with Governor DeSantis and traveled the disaster zone, whether it’s from last year’s hurricane or when the Surfside condominium building collapsed.

Often, they’ll meet, have a briefing from the emergency responders. It can be in the open, as it was from the hurricane last year. It could be in a briefing room, as it was at Surfside. They are very collegial when we have the work to do together of helping Americans in need, citizens of Florida in need.

Q: And you mentioned what the federal government is doing in response to Hurricane Idalia and the assistance provided to some of these states. But NOAA has predicted above-normal hurricane activity for the duration of this hurricane season. So, I’m wondering what other actions are being taken proactively to prepare for that?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Well, I’ll tell you that one of the things we’re doing proactively if we — is that we have submitted to Congress a supplemental request that would replenish the Disaster Relief Fund, because that fund has been depleted.

We have requested $12 billion, because we know that every American expects FEMA to be there if they are experiencing a disaster. And we want to be sure that we can fund that support that these communities will need, whether it’s hurricanes or wildfires.

We have an extremely intense wildfire situation in a number of Western, Southwestern states right now. And in each of those communities, the expectation is the federal government will come in in support of the state and local partners to help people.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, last question, Selina. And then we have to wrap up.

Q: What are the biggest concerns on the ground at the moment? And is there any more clarity on just how long that road to recovery will be for the hardest areas?

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: So, we’re just getting the initial assessments. The President heard from Deanne Criswell when she briefed him on the telephone before we went to FEMA that the greatest concern right now is flooding and the impact on people’s homes and businesses of that flooding.

It currently doesn’t look, from arial surveillance, as if there has been widespread destruction of many buildings. Some homes have been harmed. Some businesses have been harmed. But principally, it looks like it’s about flooding in areas that are low lying, where there was a storm surge in that bend in Florida — the Big Bend in Florida. And so that — that will likely be the area in which we have to invest the most in recovery.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Liz, thank you so much.

DR. SHERWOOD-RANDALL: Thank you all.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, thank you. All right, please come back.

All right, just a couple of things at the top, and then we’ll get started.

So, as you all know, in March, President Biden signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to move as close to universal background checks as possible within existing law.

Today, as a result of that executive order that the President signed and also the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Department of Justice is talking lifesaving action to reduce the number of guns sold without background checks and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Now, this action that a majority of Americans want to see, a majority of gun owners also want. It’s just common sense, because we know that background checks are one of the best tools we have to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals.

This administration respects the right of responsible gun owners while also believing Americans have the right to live free from gun violence as well. Those two things can exist.

The President will continue to call on Congress to build upon this step and pass universal background checks, legislation, as well as other commonsense legislation to save lives.

And this administration will continue to do everything it can to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is tear- — tearing up our families, our communities, and also our country apart.

Now, President Biden — as you all know if you heard the back-and-forth of the Q&A that he — he was able to take at FEMA — that this week he also announced Overdose Awareness Week to focus the nation’s attention on the devastation caused by the illicit fentanyl and other illicit drugs and recognize the pe– — and recognize the people who have lost their lives or a loved one to drug overdose.

This is an issue that affects red states and blue states. And its a key pillar of President Biden’s Unity Agenda.

That’s why today the White House announced more than $450 million in new funding to strengthen treatment for addiction and disrupt drug trafficking.

The Second Gentleman and the Director of Drug Policy Officer [Office] Dr. Gupta also hosted family members across the country here at the White House today who have lost loved ones to drug overdose.

Now, the reality is that far too many Americans have lost someone to the overdose epidemic. Every day, and especially today, we want you to know we see you, we grieve with you, and this administration is committed to ensuring that our nation has the resources we need to beat — to beat the crisis.

And today, as you all saw from the P- –the PCA — PCE — pardon me — report came out. It showed further evidence that inflation is easing with monthly inflation at 0.2 percent, the same rate as last month.

Economists often look at inflation over three months to understand trends. As the chart behind me shows, over the last three months, PCE inflation averaged about 2.1 percent, in line with the pre-pandemic trend that we saw, and core PCE over the last three months also fell to the lowest rate in two and a half years.

Now, our economy and labor market remains strong. Yesterday, we learned the economy grew faster than 2 percent last quarter. And we’ll get an update in tomorrow’s jobs report. As you all know — I know some of you track that very closely.

But we know unemployment has been near historic lows and below 4 percent for the longest stretch in 50 years.

With that, William, it’s good to see you. It’s been a while.

Q: It has. Thanks. I have two questions. On disaster relief funding, does the President think that $12 billion is going to be enough or is it possible that he’ll go back and have to ask Congress for more?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, $12 billion, as you know, is part of his – what this — is in the supplemental fund — supplement request. And, you know, Criswell, the Administrator, has been here for the past several days. I think today is the only day that she hasn’t been here.

And so, she explained the — the reasoning behind the $12 billion. it is incredibly important. I do want to make very clear that FEMA will continue to do its job and to — to– continue to do the incredible work that they have been doing – dealing with extreme weather, dealing with these kind of disastrous storms that we’re been seeing.

But it’s important — we think and we believe that it’s important for Congress to do its job and to really — to really move forward with the supplemental request.

Look, that is something that FEMA certainly asked for and requested. And we believe that this is needed. You heard directly from the President when he was asked about this just moments ago.

And so, I will leave it there. I’m not going to get ahead of — of the request that we c- –that is currently in front of Congress at this time.

What’s your second question?

Q: Well, picking up with that: You know, the White House also asked Congress today for a short-term funding resolution. Can you elaborate why that’s necessary not just for natural disaster response, but on social programs like WIC?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So it’s — what we — what we asked for today is basically anomalies. That’s what they’re called. They’re called CR anomalies, just to be very clear about that.

And just to give you a little bit of rundown: On August 10th, we sent Congress a supplemental request for critical emergency funding. As you just asked, William, that includes funding for disaster relief — the $12 billion, as you’ve heard from the Administrator, and also from — from Liz just moments ago — supporting the people of Ukraine and combating the fentanyl crisis, which is all incredibly important.

Today, OMB sent a technical package to Congress called anomalies to avoid disrupt- — disruptions to government programs during a continuing resolution. So that included an adjustment to WIC, the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children.

Without this adjustment, states would be forced to implement wait- — waiting lists, causing women and children to go hungry while pushing vulnerable families into poverty.

So, just for some clarity, this is what Congress should pass. They should pass both the supplemental requests and the technical packages I just laid out with a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown.

This is something that Congress can do. They can prevent a government shutdown. They need to prevent a government shutdown. What I just listed out are critical, critical programs that Americans across the country — American families across the country certainly need.

Go ahead, Selina.

Q: President Biden had campaigned on fully decriminalizing marijuana. Even if the DEA request goes through, marijuana would still be illegal at the federal level. Could you provide some more information on exactly what impact this would have in Americans?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just — I don’t want to get ahead of the process. I was asked this question before. So just so that everybody is clear: The President asked the Secretary of HHS and also the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review how marijuana is scheduled, as you just kind of laid out.

The administration’s process is an independent process — I want to be very clear on that — that is led by HHS and DOJ. It is going to be very much guided by evidence. And it — so I’m not going to comment on that. I want to be also clear on — on that piece. So, I would refer you all to HHS.

As it — as it — as we speak to legislation and the legal piece of it, as you’re always asking me in your — in part of your question: So, look, the President has always supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes — he’s been very clear about that — where appropriate, consistent with medical and scientific evidence. That is why it is important for this review — this independent review that is going to be, again, guided by evidence to go — to go through.

And so, I’m just not going to get ahead of what HHS is going to — the decision that they’ve made or get ahead of eventually what the DOJ is going to move forward with.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Three months ago, the President struck a deal with Congress that set spending limits, guardrails on federal spending that were supposed to allow negotiators to reach a deal on full-year government spending. Why does the White House believe that — that the two sides couldn’t reach that deal for full-funding in the last three months now that the White House is suggesting that a continuing resolution will be needed to keep the government open?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, we have said — this is — let’s not forget: This deal was made — right? — in early June was a bipartisan — a bipartisan decision — right? — bi- bipartisan deal. And we truly believe, as I have said almost every day this week when I’ve been asked this question, that Congress can avoid a shutdown, right?

We — they need to uphold their part of the deal, right? This is what the country wants to see. They want to see us coming together in a bipartisan way.

And so, there is no reason why this should occur. There’s no reason why Congress cannot do their job, as we’ve been very clear about this. They should keep their word; they should keep their word and do their job.

This is what the American people want to see. We saw that in the midterm election — the results of that. They want to see us coming together and working on these issues in a bipartisan way, which we were able to do, as you just listed.

But, look, Congress, again, needs to avoid a government shutdown, and they need to do their job.

Q: But what has been the involvement of the White House, the Office of Legislative Affairs, and some of those who are involved in these negotiations more recently to try to work toward that full-year spending deal?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I talked about that the last couple of days. I’ve talked about — not even the last couple of days. I’ve talked about this for the last couple of weeks when I’ve been asked.

And I’ve — I’ve talked about the engagement — the Hill engagement that this White House has had with the Office — the OMB director, Shalanda Young, right? And she has led this process along with the Legis- — Legislative Affairs folks. And we have had multiple conversations and multiple calls with congressional members on the Hill.

But this does not take away their job and their duty and to keep — to keep their word, right? We came to an agreement in a bipartisan way. They should keep their word. And they can avoid — Congress — “they” being Congress — can avoid a government shutdown.

And yes, we have been not just for what led to the agreement going into June when we finally had a bipartisan agreement, but also these past several months. And I’ve been very clear about that right here from this podium — about our engagement with the Hill, which is going to continue.

Go ahead.

Q: Karine, I asked the President about President Xi from China potentially attending or not attending — we have reports saying that he’s not expected to attend the G20 Summit. Does that complicate the plans to try to facilitate a meeting with — between President Biden and President Xi? Do you now anticipate that that kind of meeting would more likely take place at the APEC meeting in San Francisco? And have you had any communication with the Chinese government about whether he would be attending that meeting?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as it relates to his attendance — President Xi’s attendance to G20, I would leave that to, you know — to his spokesperson to answer that question, not for me to answer.

Look, the President has said multiple times that he is looking forward to his engagement and conversation with President Xi. I don’t have anything to preview as to when that’s going to happen.

But, look, this is, you know — I’ll just let the President’s words stand for himself. He spoke about it during his press conference at Camp David. You heard him speak of it just moments ago. He’s looking forward to having that conversation, continuing that ongoing engagement.

As far as President Xi’s participation or attendance, that’s just really for his government to speak to.

Q: Just following on from that, Secretary Raimondo had a longish trip there. She was in multiple cities and spoke multiple times. You know, I know you were asked about this “uninvestable” comment, but, like, just looking back, would you — would you assess the — the, you know, outcome of her meetings? She said that, you know — she has spoke about needing to draw a hard line on some of the issues. I mean, do you feel like these visits by Cabinet members have been successful? Or, you know, is — is the U.S.-Chinese relationship still in — in trouble?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll say this, and she has been speaking to this these last couple of days. I think she’s been doing interviews. I saw her, I believe, just moments ago on — on MSNBC doing an interview on this. And so, I would certainly — she had the experience, so I would certainly let her speak to her trip.

But I’ll say this: No president has put the United States — and you’ve heard us say this many times — in a stronger position to outcompete China than President Biden. And managing — I think she has said this, too, in her interviews: Managing that intense competition requires intense diplomacy.

That’s what you’ve been seeing from this administration. That’s what you’ve been seeing from these events. And we have never viewed these trips as about deliverables or particular policy outcomes.

We see this an — as it being incredibly important to have those conversations, to make sure we have those diplomatic conversation. And they are going to be intense, and that’s okay. This is part of this — of this process.

As far as it relates to her trip, I’m going to let the Department of Commerce speak directly to that. She has been very vocal, as I said — has done a couple of interviews. I know she had a — a media availability, I believe — if not yesterday, the day before — when she was in China. So, certainly would point you to that.

But again, this is about intense – intense diplomacy. We understand this. That’s what competition requires. That’s what it means to manage these types of relationships. We welcome it, and we think it’s — it has been important to move forward in that direction.

Q: In the back, Karine?

Q: (Inaudible) on China, Karine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead, Patsy.

Q: Thank you, Karine. So, still on China. They just published this new map that includes territories of Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Philippines. We know that the President will be in New Delhi and in Hanoi; the Vice President will be in Jakarta meeting with ASEAN leaders. What can we expect from them on this issue of territorial disputes? And how forward-leaning would they be?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things on — on this trip in Hanoi. Since day one — look, the administration, we have focused on rebuilding and investing in our allies and partners — right? — throughout the world, and especially within the Indo-Pacific. You saw that most recently with the trilateral that he held at Camp David — a historic meeting there.

As the United States looks to deepen our ties with the region, Vietnam is going to be a key partner. And so, the deliverables that will be announced as part of this visit will reflect both the breadth and also the depth of that relationship.

As you know, we try not to get ahead of this President as we — as these trips are — are upcoming.

As it relates to the Vice President — as you just mentioned, she’s going to Jakarta. Will be a continuation of her work as well. She has been a partner in this, when it comes to strengthening our partnership with ASEAN nations on maritime security in the South China Sea.

The Vice President has spoken extensively throughout the Indo-Pacific about the importance of international rules and norms. And you can expect that conversation and that kind of approach to continue on her trip as well.

She has spent significant time working on these issues with leaders from Southwest Asia. You can expect the Vice President to discuss the South China Sea as well.

Throughout her meetings in Jakarta — a couple of things — she will reaffirm our support for the freedom of the seas, peaceful resolution of disputes, and adherence of international law, including freedom of navigation. She will advance our work with ASEAN partners to preserve martial [international] law. And she will make clear, peace and stability in the Shout China Sea is vital to the entire– to the entire world.

Again, I’m not going to get ahead of those — that specific engagement. But it is consistent, and it is a continuation of what her work has been as she’s, clearly, in partnership with this President as we move forward in the Indo-Pacific.

Q: But can you specifically say whether the President or the Vice President will discuss specifically about this new Chinese map?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m not going to get into — get ahead of that. I just laid out what we have been working towards — right? — deepening that relationship, which is incredibly vital – that Indo-Pacific relationship.

So, it’s certainly going to be a continuation of that. You know, those trips are upcoming. And so, once we have more to discuss and lay out and read out, we certainly will do that.

But, look, we look forward to these — these types of diplomatic conversations. And, again, deepening — deepening those important, critical relationships that the President has been leading on since the beginning of his administration.

Go ahead, Ed.

Q: Should we anticipate an on-camera briefing with Jake or someone about the trip beforehand?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yes, you can anticipate —

Q: Okay. Good.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As we normal do —

Q: Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — ahead of the trip. So —

Q: As for something completely different, I have a question —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: It’s something that happened here at the White House yesterday. Because the President, justifiably, understandably, was focused on natural disasters.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: He talked to the four governors of the states affected by the storm.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Absolutely. Yep.

Q: He met with the Cabinet on that issue. Also had time for a meeting with Bernie Sanders. But when the governor of New York came by to discuss a very urgent matter in the state of New York and across the country in a lot of big cities, he did not meet with her. Why not?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, as you just stated, there’s a lot going on, and his Chief of Staff met — met — was part of that meeting. I believe Secretary Mayorkas was part of that meeting. Some of his very high-level senior staff participated in the meeting with the governor, which is, as you said, a very important meeting to have.

He has a — has a good relationship with the governor. We’ve been — every time we’re in New York, the President engages with the governors. They have a very good relationship.

Look, the President has a lot on his plate. As you said, this is an important — important issue as well. But when you have the Chief of Staff, when you have the Secretary of Homeland Security there meeting with the governor, I think that shows how important the President though this meeting was to make sure he had his top people speaking with her as well.

Q: Part of why I ask this is because, in a recent New York Times interview, the New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, quote, “Immigration is arguably this administration’s weakest issue. This is one area where our policy is dictated by politics, arguably more so than any other.”

Your response?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well — (laughs) — I will — I would agree with her, certainly, on the last part, where it is dictated by politics.

This is a president — and you hear me say this over and over, Ed. The first day of his administration, he put forth a comprehensive immigration piece of legislation. The first piece of legislation in his — in his tenure as president was that. And he took it incredibly seriously and wanted to put forth a path to deal with an issue — a system that has been broken for decades upon decades upon decades.

And so, the President has asked and has said,: “Hey, let’s do this in a bipartisan way. Here’s the funding that we would need to actually try to — to fix what’s going on and to work what’s going on — work with — work on what’s going on in the — on the border.” And they refuse. They want to make it — “they” meaning Republicans in Congress — want to make it a political issue.

Look, the President has done what he can from — from here, from the federal government, from the White House, to put forth and manage our border in a safe and humane way to respect the dignity of every human, as he says all the time, and making sure that our communities are safe. And you have seen him do that.

But the system is broken. We want to do this in a bipartisan way. Republicans refuse to do that.

Q: But to the charge from the congresswoman that the White House hasn’t taken up recommendations from fellow Democrats on how to deal with this issue more through executive action or otherwise because of concerns of how Republicans might react, you would say?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I will say this: The President has done more to secure the border and deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else. He really has.

June say the single largest month-to-month drop in lawful — unlawful border crossing because of the policies this President put in place.

We’ve got a record number of federal agents and officers — more than 24,000 — working to secure the border because of the funding this President secured.

We brought — we brought 21 world leaders on the West Coast, as you all remember, together for the first time to — ever to deal with this issue in a — a regional way because of the alliances that this President has put forth. And we secured record funding for border security and management.

And let’s not forget, we expanded — we’ve expanded the pathway to citizenship under this President. And mind you, he’s been doing this on his own. Does he want to do it in a bipartisan way? Absolutely. That’s why he put forth his first piece of legislation to be on immigration to fix this broken system.

We are — we are willing to work with Congress and with Republicans. We need Republicans to do this. We just do. But they keep turning it into a political stunt.

Go ahead.

Q: I just wanted to follow up.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, sure.

Q: You said that this administration has expanded the pathway to citizenship?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The pathway of legal – legal pathway — pardon me — the legal pathway for migrants to enter this —

Q: Okay. You were talking about —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The legal pathways to mi- — to migrants coming. Yes.

Q: From — from the parole program?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Right. From the parolee program. That’s –

Q: Which don’t have any — which don’t lead to any sort of permanent legal —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, it — it’s a legal —

Q: Right — it’s a — it’s a two-year program with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I agree. You’re right.

Q: Okay.

MS JEAN-PIERRE: — that’s what I’m talking about — in trying to prevent the unlawful pathways.

Q: And —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just to clear it — clear — clear what I was trying to say.

Q: And when the two-year parole for those folks — whether they be folks from South and Central America, or Afghanistan or Ukraine — when the parole ends, does this President intend to renew the two- — two-year paroles for those? Or are they — or is he going to send them back?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, that’s a very good question. That’s why we keep asking for help from Congress to help us fix this bro- –broken system. That is why we’re —

Q: And –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — like – like I said, we’re going to continue to do what we can, right? This President is going to continue to do what he can do to — to deal with it — to deal with a broken system. So, we’re taking these steps to do that. And that’s where were are today.

Q: Thanks.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: In the President’s conversation with Senator McConnell, did he bring up at all the White House supplemental funding request?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, the President talked about what he — that he had a conversation with Mitch McConnell. He basically said — you heard him; you were there, I believe, at FEMA — that this — he’s an old friend and — and while they may have disagreements, they try to find ways to work together.

The President was calling to check in on him, to see how he was doing. I don’t have anything further than what the President shared with you — with you directly.

Q: Should we expect any more interactions between Biden and Republicans specifically urging them to pass this package?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any direct conversations or direct engagement with the President and Congress. But the President has been very clear. You heard from him, again, at FEMA; you’ve heard from him multiple times. You have his OMB director, you have Leg Affairs reaching out, talking, engaging with Congress on a regular level.

This is their job. I’m talking about them doing their job and making sure that the government doesn’t shut down.

It is not a difficult thing. It is very simple. this is what they are supposed to do: make sure the government works and key — key vital pieces of programs continue to get funded. That’s their job. Pure and simple.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. I have a question about Saudi Arabia. The regime just sentenced to death a man who had been critical of corruption, human rights abuses on social media. Would you have a comment on that? And what role does that play when there is speculation that the President could meet with the Crown Prince at the G20 Summit?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we are aware of those news re- — new reports. Obviously, human rights remain a pillar of our engagement around the world. We’ve been very consistent about that, including, of co- — of course, with our partners in Saudi Arabia. We don’t shy away from — from raising those concerns, whether with Saudi Arabia or anyone else. And that is not going to change.

Anything specifically on this particular new — new report, I would definitely refer you to the – to the State Department.

But, again, we’re — we’re aware of this. But we will never shy away – never shy away on talking about human rights, regardless of who — who that leader might be.

Okay, I’m trying to go to the ack, because I know folks —

Q: It’s been a while, Karine, for some of us.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) You ju – — you got to ask the President a question today.

Q: I haven’t gotten to ask you a question —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Alex.

Q: Karine, how — how concerned is the White House by the new COVID wave in the fall? And how are you thinking about, you know, masking, boosters, and just broadly about the state of the pandemic right now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. So — and I spoke to this on Monday. Happy to — to talk about this now.

So, nationally, the — while the CDC is reporting an increase in infections, as you all know, and hospital’s admissions, overall levels remain low, which is important.

The U.S. has experienced increases in COVID-19 during the last three summers, so it’s not surprising that we’re seeing this uptick. I’d say, you know, it’s been a long — a long period of declining — declining rates.

And so, when updated COVID shots become available in mid- Se- — in mid-September — we’ve heard from the FDA and CDC; they announced this last week, that there will be new — new — new vaccines next — this — wow, are we in September? — next month — mid S- — mid-September — we will be encouraging all Americans to get updated COVID — COVID vaccines.

And also, let’s not forget the RSV. Let’s not forget the influenza shots as well. All are very critical and important, so we’ll be encouraging Americans to do that.

And vaccinations, as we all know, as you’re heard us say from here, against COVID-19 remains the safest protection for avoiding hospitalization, long-term health outcomes, and death. And so, this is why we’re going to encourage Americans to make sure they keep up to date — up to date with their — with their vaccines.

Look, because of this work that this — this President has done from the beginning of his administration, making sure there was a comprehensive approach with dealing with this pandemic, with dealing with COVID-19, we have tools at our — at our disposal now.

Whether it’s vaccines, whether it’s home tests, whether it’s masks, we do have — and effective treatments, obviously — we do have these tools at our disposal. And I think that’s incredibly important.

And so, you’ll hear more from FDA and CDC.

Any more information about those vaccines, certainly I would refer you to — to CDC.

As it relates to – to masking, n- — no protocol has changed — has changed here. That is up to the individual. If the — if an individual wants to wear a mask, they can do that. That is up to them. That is why we made sure we provided these different tools.

Again, there will be more to share in mid-September.

All right, guys. Thank you so much. See you next week. Have a great weekend.

August 31, 2023: The White House posted: “Remarks by President Biden on the Ongoing Federal Response Efforts to Hurricane Idalia and on Maui, Hawaii”

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t know why I’m paying attention to these few guys up here, so if every — but all kidding aside, my — as my mother would say, “I apologize for my back.” (Laughter.) I apologize.

But, folks, look, yesterday I convened the entire Cabinet for a long meeting to make sure that we had a whole-of-government response. Every single Cabinet agency has some contribution they can make and some responsibility.

And I’m here at FEMA today. Just a few minutes ago, I received a call from your Administrator and — Criswell – and – who is Florida and helping them recover — at least doing the initial assessment — of that Category 3 storm that made  landfill [landfall].

And this morning, I spoke again — we’re — it seems like we — there should be a direct dial, the two of us — Governor DeSantis and I. We spoke again this morning, and I let him know that I approved his major disaster declaration.

And I also spoke with Governor McMasters [McMaster] and – and with the – for South Carolina’s emergency declaration as well. And — and I spoke the day before to the governors of not just Florida and South Carolina, but of North Carolina as well as Georgia.

And, look, it means we’re making available federal assistance for Florida survivors, whose homes were damaged or destroyed, by the declaration that I agreed to.

And we’re helping both Florida and South Carolina with the delivery of free meals, waters, and debri- debris removal that’s going to help both states begin their road to recovery and do it immediately.

But before we do anything, I’m here to thank all of you. And I really mean this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are making an incredible contribution.

I mean, it’s — I don’t think — I hope the American people have a sense of — and it’s hard to understand because, you know, we usually don’t — we’re — we’re not engaged this often. But this last couple of years with climate change and — really kicking in, you guys are going 24 hours a day and 365 a year. And it seems to keep piling up.

And I mean it sincerely: I admire — I admire what you do.

I’ve been to almost every one of the areas you’re talking about, that you’ve had to deal with. And your sister organ- — your brother and sister organizations — from the Coast Guard, military — I mean, across the board, it’s amazing the sacrifices and, I might add, risks — risks your folks are taking out in the field. And so, thank you, thank you, thank you.

It’s important the American people understand it, because we’re in a situation where, you know, we’re — how can I say it? There’s still some deniers out there in terms of whether or not climate change had anything to do with any of this, and we’re going to need a whole hell of a lot more money to deal with emergency appropriations, to deal with all you’re taking care of.

And on behalf of the country, I want to deliver the heartfelt thanks of — to the emergency personnel in our federal communities all across the federal government, including right here — all of you in front of me — FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center.

And — and those out on Maui, you know, you’ve — it’s just amazing. You’ve seen it. Some of you have been there. It’s just pure devastation, that whole part of the island just leveled. There’s nothing left.

And before this week’s storm we — we pre-deployed 1,500 federal personnel and Coast Guard throughout the southeast. Federal search and rescue team have been helping people whose homes have been surrounded and inundated by water. An FEMA and the Small Business Administration are on the ground to help residents whose Holmes and businesses have been destroyed or damaged.

And I want to, again, thank you all. It really, really, really matters.

And on more thing: Every American expects FEMA to show up, and when they — in the middle of a disaster. And I’m calling on Congress to make sure you’re able and have the funds to be able to continue to show up and meet the needs of the American people to deal with immediate crises that we’re facing right now, as well as the long-term commitments that we have to make to finish the job in Maui and elsewhere.

Showing up for the moment to save lives is critically important, but that’s — that’s just the beginning. Just the beginning. And some of this is going to take months and years to make sure we restore the — people to the circumstances they were at before this disaster hit.

And I said, you know, and — to the people of Florida and throughout the southeast, I’m here to make clear that our nation has your back. And we are not going to — we’re — we’re not going to walk away. We’re not going to give up. We’re not going to slow down.

And again, you know, we — we — we’re in a situation where — how can I say it? Some of my colleagues — my former colleagues in the Senate and people I work with every day in the — in the United States Senate think this disaster relief money we’re asking to continue to finish the job so far and have enough money to continue to work to save the American people’s — their lives, their homes, their well-being, is somehow — I don’t know — not needed or — I’m not even sure what their thinking is.

But we need this money done. We need this disaster relief request met. And we need to do it in September. We can’t wait.

But, I’ll take a few questions from the press if you have any right now. But then I’m going to go talk to these folks.

Q: President Biden, do you have any comment on Overdose Awareness Day?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Look, I’ve been dealing with the drug epidemic in America since I was the chairman of the Judiciary Committed when I was a U.S. senator. And it has, in many cases, gotten much worse because of the nature of the drugs that are being consumed.

And fentanyl is a new and really, really dangerous addiction. More peop- — more young people — no, not just young people have been dying as a consequence of ingesting fentanyl. Sometimes it’s not even know it’s in the drug they’re taking.

And – one of the other things I’m — I’ve been asking the Congress for — there was a need of about $15 billion along there border to be able to deal with the technology needed to be able to determine whether or not this — these precursor drugs are making it into — into Mexico or the United States and dealing with that. So there’s more to do there as well.

Q: Have you spoken to Leader McConnell?

Q: Mr. President, are you concerned about a government shutdown and how would that affect the work that’s being done here at FEMA?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I have. I spoke to Mitch. He’s a friend. And I — I spoke to him today. And, you know, he was his old self on the telephone.

And having a little understanding of dealing with neurosurgeons and people and — and one of the leading women on my staff, her husband is a neurosurgeon as well. It’s not un- — at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you’ve had a severe concussion. It’s part of — it’s part of the recovery.

And so, I’m confident he’s going to be back to his old self.

Q: President Biden, do you have any concerns about his ability to do his job?

THE PRESIDENT: No.

Q: Do you have any concerns about his ability —

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t.

Q: President Biden, Speaker McCarthy —

THE PRESIDENT: Do you want me to talk about —

Q: Will you give your bank records to Congress, as Speaker McCarthy requests?

THE PRESIDENT: Do you — do you want me — (laughs). Let’s talk about why I’m here.

Q: I have one question about President Xi. Are you expecting President Xi to attend the G20 Summit?

THE PRESIDENT: The answer is I hope he attends the G Sum — -20 Summit.

Thank you. All right.

Q: Will you be going to Florida, sir? Are you going to Florida?

THE PRESIDENT: By the way, I am going to Florida. I am going to — I’m going to Florida Saturday morning.

---

SEPTEMBER 2023:

September 6, 2023:The White House posted: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon. Hey, hey.

All right. A couple of things for – for you all at the top, and then we’ll get going.

So, in an hour, President Biden will meet with leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents 22,000 workers of – at – at West coast ports, and the Pacific Maritime Association whi- which represents shipping companies.

The President will congratulate them on finalizing a new contract, which was ratified with overwhelming support from union members.

He will also recognize the work of Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, who helped reach an agreement

The contract covers 29 ports, including the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handles 40 percent of our nation’s cargo containers. It guarantees a 32 percent pay increase over six years.

The President will also discuss his administration’s pro- –progress strengthening America’s port and supply chains.

Thanks in part of the work of the President’s Supply Chain Distribution [Disruptions] Task Force, we’ve suppli- we – we’ve seen supply chains unsnarl.

Our port moved record cargo levels over the last two years. We have overcome the massive supply chain problems that increased prices around the world, and East-West ocean shipping prices have plunged nearly 90 percent. That’s all helped lower inflation.

And thanks to Bidenomics, we are working our infrastructure and supply chains even stronger.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation Law – or, I should say, Law – is making significant investments to modernize our ports. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act is cracking down on foreign shipping companies to lower prices for goods. And the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act are strengthening our supply chains for things Americans use every day.

Today, Russia launched a new wave of air strikes against the people of Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens more.

These brutal Russian attacks underscore the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory against unprovoked, unjustified Russian aggression.

That’s the message that the Secretary sent. Secretary Blinken, as you all know, is carrying that message with him on his trip to Ukraine today. And its esp- –and it’s a message the United States is sending today by announcing a new security assistance pa- package, which includes more ammunition for artillery and HIMARS systems, Javelin, and anti-armor systems as well; tank ammunitions for our Abram tanks, which will be arriving in Ukraine soon; and air defense system to help Ukraine protect its people from air strikes like those faced today.

The Kremlin could end this war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks. Until it does, the United States and our allies and our partners will stand united with Ukraine as long as it takes.

Earlier this year, when we made our bipartisan budget agreement, we made promises to the American people, along with congressional Republicans and congressional Democrats. Unfortunately, House Republicans, unlike Senate Republicans, are considering breaking that explicit promise due to demands from extreme members of their party.

Breaking this promise would inflict painful costs on the country, making troops and Border Patrol agents work without paychecks, hurting our economy, and undermining our ability to fight for high-stakes, real-life crisis like fentanyl and natural disasters.

As part of this Unity Agenda, the President – President Biden is urging Congress to provide $800 million in emergency funding to fight fentanyl trafficking and counter the deadly substance being illegally imported from China.

Congressional Republicans are – are on a – on record talking – talking about the urgency of fighting fentanyl. Now is not the time to set us back; it is time to fight that and to keep their promises.

We should all work together to give the DEA, the Border Patrol, and Department of Homeland Security the anti-fentanyl funding President Biden is seeking so that we can save lives. Remember, real lives are at stake here.

And finally, too – I know folks are having – have this question, so I’m going to preempt the questions, hopefully – your first question on this. The President tested negative for COVID-19 this morning, following negative tests on Monday night and also yesterday. He is not experiencing any symptoms, which, of course, is a good thing.

The First Lady is doing well, as well. And she remains in Delaware, which is also a good thing.

The CDC guidelines recommend, as I said before, as you all know, a combination of masking, testing, and monitoring for symptoms. The President is doing all he can, of course, in consultation with the – with his physician. And so, he’s keeping – keeping with the CDC guide- — guidelines, as you all know.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. You did preempt my first question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, good. That’s good.

Q: But, on that, will he be testing again tomorrow before he boards the flight? And will he be testing in India and Vietnam?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any timeline on his test – on his testing cadence. I can tell you that he’ll be doing that in – regularly, as – in consultation, as I’ve said before, with his physician, as you – as – and we’ve been, you know pretty – pretty – pretty transparent on letting you all know when he’s tested. We shared that on Monday. We shared on Tuesday, and certainly, we shared that today.

And so, we will, certainly, let you know what that will – what that will be.

But we’ve been very clear: All travelers who are going to India will be tested, including the President. As I mentioned, the President was tested today and tested negative, which is a good thing. We’re happy to hear that.

Q: Secondly, the Vice President gave an interview to my AP colleague, Chris Megerian, today. And she told Chris that all those responsible for the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and ensuing violence must be held accountable, even if that means former President Trump.

In short, does the President agree with those sentiments?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, let me just step back for a second – just try to go beyond the past the – the headlines for a moment, because I think it’s really important. You’ll see that the President – the – that he – that the Vice President – Vice President Harris spoke very clearly about how everyone is entitled – everyone is entitled to their rights but that everyone has to follow the rules as well.

So, as you know, she is a former prosecutor. She knows that very well and understands that. She was affirming – certainly, affirming her belief in our systems of laws, which is of – something that, of course, the President shares and believes in.

I’m not going to go beyond that. I think her remarks were very clear, if you go beyond – certainly, beyond the headlines. And so, again, she was re- –reaffirming – or affirming her belief in our system.

Again, this is something that, of course, the President believes in. And we’re going to be – continue to be very mindful – I’m going to continue to be mindful here, and I’m going to let the Department of Justice do – do their job independently. And so, I’m just going to leave it there.

Q: Thanks, Karine. CDC guidelines for people who are exposed to COVID say that you should wear a high-quality mask anytime you are around others inside your home or indoors in public.

The President, of course, did wear that mask in the Medal of Honor ceremony, but then he took it off and didn’t ta- — put it back on. Was that a mistake?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to be – I’m going to share a couple of things with all of you here and just start with what the ceremony was all about, because it’s incredibly important.

The President took off his mask, as I said he would, to deliver incredibly powerful remarks about this captain – Captain Taylor – and what he did in service to our – our nation. And he wanted to honor the captain.

And for a brief time afterwards, he also didn’t have his mask on, as you just laid out. And as he left, as planned, – as it was planned, he left when there was a pause in the program in order to minimize – to minimize his close contact with attendees who were – who were about to participate in a reception.

And I – you all reported that, noticed that he left when there was a pause in the program, because, again, he wanted to minimize, certainly, his impact on folks who were there.

And so, look, we have to take all of this into context. I think it’s important that we do this. We are in a different phase – right? – as we have said many times with COVID. This is kind of going on the third year of – coming out of this pandemic. We believe we’re in a very strong position to fight – to continue to fight COVID. And this is not new. People – you know, people know what it’s like to have COVID, know what it’s like during this time.

I think what’s most important is: The President tested negative a couple of hours before this event. He tested negative yesterday. As I just mentioned, he tested negative on Monday. He tested negative today. He has no symptoms.

And I think it’s important to also look at the context as well. And for a brief moment afterwards, yes, he did have – his mask was not on, and then when the brief- –when the program paused for a moment, he stepped out.

Q: But he didn’t put it back on. Is he out of practice? Is he, like so many Americans, in a different phase?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I – what I can say is: We got to put this all in context. Afterwards, we – we planned for the President to leave when there was a pause in the program so that it would minimize – it would minimize him being in the room. He did just that.

And I also out – would want to add is: Before the – the event even started, the President spent a good amount of time with the captain – Captain Taylor – and his family. And everybody was masked because he wanted to spend that quality, important time hearing from this hero, hearing his stories, and really thanking him one on one – also with his family around him.

And so, the President, in every way that we could, yesterday, followed the CDC guidelines. He, again, he had – yes, he had his – his mask off briefly. And then where – when there was a pause, he walked out.

Q: Just very quickly, should those guidelines still be the same? They’re a year old now.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is –

Q: Do you stand by those recommendations?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is not for me to speak to. It truly isn’t. This is something that CDC decides on. They are the experts. They – they are the ones who – who, certainly, provide the guidelines. It is not for me to speak to.

Go ahead.

Q: So, the trip tomorrow is a go?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: There is no change. There is no change. I mean, remember, Steve: tested negative on Monday, tested negative on Tuesday, tested negative today. Has no symptoms – the President doesn’t have any symptoms. Nothing has changed with his travel.

Q: And do you have a dollar figure on the new Ukraine package?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have a dollar figure. I would – I would refer you to the State Department and the Department of Defense. I know that the State Department talked about this a little bit, so I would refer you to them.

Q: And the Saudi decision to extend their oil production cuts – what’s your reaction to that? How does that complicate your effort to lower gas prices?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, it – it doesn’t complicate our efforts. We’ve been very clear. The President said at the – at the – at the top, or the center, of his economic policy is lowering costs for Americans, right? And – and so, our focus is going to be abou- about American consumers, how we can continue to do that.

If you look at what we’ve been able to do th- from last summer to this summer – lowering gas prices by a – by a dollar twenty cents – that is – that is because of the work that this administration has done. And so, we’re always going to be focused on how – what – you know, what – what steps we can take to continue to lower prices for Americans.

That’s why last week was so important, when the talked about the first 10 drugs – that first tranche of – of drugs – pharmaceutical drugs that Medicare is going to be able now to negotiate, right? Another way, coming out of the Inflation Reduction Act – one of those key provisions to make sure that we continue tp lower – lower costs for Americans. That’s going to be our focus.

Q: And is Brett McGurk going to bring this up while he’s meeting with Saudis this week?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not – I don’t have anything to share about – about the agenda. I know that Jake Sullivan – clearly, our National Security Advisor – laid out that it was an array of – of items that was going – was going to – was being brought up on his trip. So, I just don’t have anything beyond what Jake shared on that particular piece.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Given the President’s departure is now 24 hours away, have you formulated any sort of contingency plan if he can’t attend? Would the Vice President go in his place? Would he participate virtually? Can you elaborate on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say: There’s no changes to his travel. I think – again, he tested negative on Monday, tested negative Tuesday, — Tues – on Tuesday, tested negative today, which is very good, right? And he is – he is certainly – doesn’t have any symptoms, as I mentioned at the top. And so, I think that’s a good things, right? And so, the President is going to continue to do his – his job.

We – we are expecting to – to travel tomorrow.

Q: Then on oil. I know the administration is currently trying to refill the Strategic Pe- Petroleum Reserve, but if prices continue to spiral out of control, would you consider tapping it and selling more on the market to lower prices?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t want to get too much into hypotheticals of what may or may not happen. Just want to be very careful. Clearly, that’s something that the Energy Department focuses on, as it relates to that piece of refilling – refilling.

So, I’m just not going to get ahead of what the Energy Department might do. And so, I’m just going to leave it – kind of leave it here.

Q: And then, lastly, on the auto workers strike – or a potential strike. The President is going to talk today; he’s talked many times about being the pro un- — the most pro-union President in U.S. history. So, would he rule out invoking the Taft-Hartley Act to stop a strike or if the auto workers do decided to invoke a strike on September 14th?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, not going to get ahead of hypotheticals.

Look, the President truly believes in collective bargaining, right? And one of those things that we – I think, if anything, what this event that we’re about to see the President speak at should show is that it works, right?

You have the West – the West Coast ports – they came together, and they were able to come to an agreement in a good-faith –good-faith way. They came to the table. And that’s what the President wants to see. And so, he’s optimistic that that’s going to be the way forward – that they’re going to come to an agreement.

But again, you know, he believes in collective bargaining.

Not going to get ahead. Not going into hypotheticals from here. But doesn’t – doesn’t take away form the support this President has for the u- — for the union, as he’s had not just as president, but as the vice president and as senator.

Go ahead, Gerren.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Today is the funeral for Angela Carr, one of three victims of the Jacksonville murders. I know the President said that he did not reach out to the family — because one of the family did not want to be contacted. Has that changed? Has there been any additional communication with the family or the community in Jacksonville?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have calls to read out to you at this time. I would refer you to the powerful words that the President said when he was in Florida on Saturday. He ended his remarks – while he was there on the ground, of Cours, dealing with another tragedy – right? – of folks who lost so much in a rural area after – after the – after Hurricane Idalia hit – and he – but he wanted to make sure, while he was in Florida, and that he spoke to the people of Jacksonville.

And he talked about where we are as a country and how everybody needs to step up and fight back and speak out against – against what we’re seeing – right? – against- against these hateful attacks. And so, that’s – the President is going to continue to do that. He’s going to continue to be the incredibly forceful and speak – speak agains this type of hate.

And when you’re silent, you’re complicit. You heard that directly from this President.

I don’t have any calls to read out at this time, but if we have – if we make – if those calls do happen, certainly we would share that with all of you.

Q: And just a follow-up?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.

Q: During the President and Vice President’s meeting with civil rights leaders on the anniversary of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington there – there were – there were requests for the United We Stand Summit to be brought back, to be brought to Jacksonville, in particular. Have there been any prelim- preliminary conversations about that?

And, more broadly, does the White House believe that there should be legislation, perhaps an anti-Black hate crime similar to the anti-Asian one that was signed in 2021? Or does the White House believe that the laws on the book, including the Antilynching Act, is sufficient to address the – the rise of Black hate crimes?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there’s a couple of things that you just asked me there. The first thing is there has been preliminary discussions, conversations with the organizers of the summit and us, clearly – or – or the civil rights leaders, I should say – on the summit. Don’t have anything that – to share at this time on – but we’re looking at when we could have this, as a date.

I can’t speak to Jacksonville. Don’t have a location about Jacksonville. But certainly, there’s – are initial conversations happening.

As it relates to the antilynching bill or any other piece of legislation, don’t have – don’t have anything to announce. But, look, let’s not forget – and I know you’ve reported this – the antilynching bill took decades upon decades to get where it was, where it got passed, and the President was able to move – was able to sign it. It took a long time together that piece of legislation. A lot of hard work was put into getting that done.

And so, as you know, it’s an important piece of legislation. As it relates to – as it relates to anything additional, I just don’t have anything to share at this time.

Go ahead.

Q: If the President continues to test negative, will he wear a mask in India? For how many days? And will he do anything else to change his behavior as he’s around so many world leaders?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, it’s a good question. Look, as you know, there’s about, I believe, a 10-day window – right? – once the person who was in close contact. The President is going to follow CDC guidance. And, as I mentioned at the top, that includes masking; that includes testing – testing is not recommended to – to be every day for a person who was close consultation with his physician. I just don’t have anything else to add.

Q: Sure. So, he would continue to mask up then for 10 days past the exposure point? Is that the plan at this point?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say is that the CDC – when it comes to the 10 days, the CDC guidelines recommends a combination of masking, testing, and monitoring for symptoms. And the President is going to do all of that in close consultation with his physician, as he has been doing the last three days. As I mentioned tested negative on Monday, tested negative on Tuesday, tested negative today, and doesn’t have any symptoms.

Q: And then, just really briefly, the White House has obviously been pushing Congress to pass a CR. We are coming closer to that end-of-September deadline. What is the President doing specifically to make sure this happens? Is he speaking with Democratic leaders? Is he speaking with Republican leaders?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I can say this – and I’ve mentioned many times our Hill engagement from here with OMB Director and also our Legis- Legislative Affairs Office and – and others – senior-level officials here from the White House. And so, those folks, as you can imagine, meet – they meet regularly with the President, and they give – they give him updates on budget negotiation. So, he is constantly being updated by – by those staffers.

And while I don’t have any specific calls to read out, he’s in regular touch with members of Congress, as he has, about a numerous amount of issues, and – and – you know – and also in order to keep up on – on the government-funded – government-funded process that’s going on on the other side of Pennsylvania.

So, I’ll say this: His message in private is the same as it is in public – as it has been, as we have been saying as well – which is there is no reason to – for a government shutdown. It is important for Congress to keep their promise that they made to the American people and do their job. That is it. We’ve been very clear about that.

And, you know, I’ve said this, and he’ll continue to say this as well: When it comes to the government supplemental funding, lives are at stake. The key, important government programs need to continue to be funded.

And so, we’re going to continue to say that. Congress has a job to do. They need to keep the government open.

I’m going to go around. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. I wanted to ask you about G20. What is the President’s view about the achievement the G20 has done so far under India’s presidency?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we commend the Prime Minister – Prime Minister Modi and his leadership of the G20 this year. And we are committed to helping ensure that India has a successful G20 host – as – as they host it this year. And so, that’s going to be – continue to be our commitment.

During – during Prime Minister Modi’s visit here in June, as you covered very closely, President and Prime Minister shared their determination to deliver on shared priorities at the summit. And so, the President is very much looking forward to continuing that work with the Prime Minister and other leaders later this week as we head out tomorrow.

Q: And when they meet on a bilateral meeting, I think on Friday, what will the main issues to be discussed during that time?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to – we’re going to have more to share as we get closer. Tomorrow, we’re going to do a gaggle on the plane on our way out – out to – on our way – headed to the G20. And I’ll have someone form NSC join as well and – who will be able to lay out specifically some more – some more meat on the bones, if you will, on what the G- G20 is going to look like, especially the first day.

And so, I’ll, I’ll let that – let that happen. And you’ll hear directly from NSC on that piece.

But look, you know, we are – we’re – again, we’re committed for this to be a successful – a successful summit. We’ll have more to share, certainly, on – on the bilateral with the Prime Minister.

Go ahead.

Q: Hi Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I haven’t seen you in a while.

Q: Good to see you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see you.

Q: House Republicans have just sent a letter to National Archives requesting unreacted records from the office of then-Vice President Biden. Does the Whi- –does the White House support transparency on these records?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m just going to let – I know the White House – my – my team at the White House Counsel’s Office has responded to this. I’m just going to let them deal with that – that information. I just don’t have more more to share –

Q: Okay. The – the letter –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: – on that question.

Q: The letter sites email traffic between Kate Bedingfield and Eric Schwerin – who’s a longtime Hunter Biden business associate – in which Bedingfield signed off on quotes that should be used to respond to media inquires about Hunter’s involvement in Burisma. How do you respond to criticism that shows there was no wall between then-Vice President Biden’s work and his family’s business dealings?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I understand the question. I appreciate the question. I get the question. I’m just going to let the White House Counsel team answer that question.

Q: I have another question about fact-checking here at the White House. The initial statement from the President about the passing of Governor Bill Richardson included condolences for his wife of 50 years, Barbara, and their daughter. Heather. That line about Heather, the daughter, has been removed because they didn’t have a daughter named Heather – or a daughter. So can you walk us through how these press releases are factchecked; who signs off on them in the end; and then, in this case, how this error was made?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we apologize for the error. Certainly, that is not something that, you know, we want to do, right? We want to make sure that we get this information out clearly and in a straightforward way to the American people. So, that was not done intentionally.

And certainly, when we realized that error, it was removed from the website.

We do have fact checkers here. We do have multiple people who take a look at – at the press releases, especially from the President. This was just a miss, unfortunately. And we apologize for that miss.

And so, again, as soon as we realized it, we removed it from the website.

It is – you know, we do – I just want to reiterate our condolences to the family. And I think the President actually spoke – he was shouted a question over the weekend about – I believe on Saturday – about Bill Richardson. And he spoke to – he – he responded to that. And I know Bill Richardson was a friend to the President.

And so, again, our – we apologize for – for that error. And certainly, that is not something that we want to see happen. And it is not – it is not a common occurrence – right? – that happens from this White House.

Q: Has the source of the error been identified and dealt with to prevent it from happening again?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You know, we will do our best. What I can say from here – and committed to saying from here is that we will do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

Again, it was an error. We apologized. I apologized just now. And we certainly removed that, as you just stated, the moment that we realized that that error was made.

Q: Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Yeah, thanks, Karine. You mentioned the President’s supplemental request earlier and lives being at stake. Senator Rubi- Rubio, whose sate is recovering from Hurricane Idalia, says the $16 billion in dis – –in additional disaster relief should be decoupled from the additional funding sought for Ukraine. Of course, that’s the part of the request that seems to be opposed by many Republicans.

Is the administrat- is the administration willing to separate these requests and seek the FEMA disaster aid independently to ensure it gets to the hurricane victims and Hawaii wildfire victims as quickly as possible? Or do you see that these things have to be grouped together for the request?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’ve been asked this question multiple times over the last – I don’t know – 10 days about – your specific question about this – about the supplemental funding for Ukraine and also what has been requested by FEMA, which his the $16 billion.

Look, we see them both as incredibly important. I just laid out at the top what we saw happen in Ukraine: 16 civilians died.

We – we are going to see the President go to the G20, talking about our commitment for Ukraine and making sure that the people of Ukraine – who are bravely fighting for their sovereignty, for their democracy – has what they need to fight against Russia’s aggression.

We have been very clear about that. We believe that has been done in a bipartisan way, and we have said we appreciate the bipartisanship that has come out – out of – out of Congress in getting this done.

It is important. It is important to help a country to continue to fight for their democracy.

And so, we believe, as the United States – this President believes, as a – as a leader, that this is part of our – part of our job – right? – part of our duty to make sure that Ukraine continues to fight, again, for their sovereignty, for their democracy.

And look, $16 billion to make sure – we’ve seen, you all have covered what’s happening the last two years under this administration, specifically on what we’ve seen with extreme weather, extreme temperatures, and what that’s doing to our communities.

We were in a rural community on Saturday. The President was there. You all saw what – what – what happened to these communities. There should – it should be done. It should be – that $16 billion should be moved forward for communities across the country.

We’re not going to get into hypotheticals form here about decoupling anything at this time.

What we believe are these are vital, important government programs that need to be funded, that Congress should act on, that has been done in a bipartisan way. And so, that’s what we’re going to continue to stick to.

Q: But if it could more quickly get that FEMA funding to them –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I –

Q: – why not do that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear – I hear your question. I just laid out why each are incredibly important to move forward with. And so, our goal here is to get that done. We’re having those conversations here at the White House with folks on the other side of Pennsylvania, as I just mentioned, to get this done.

These are vital programs. These are vital, important government programs that need to be done. And so, that is the message that we are going to be very clear about. As I said, the President says that privately and also publicly.

Go ahead.

Q: On the UAW, as the deadline gets closer, does the stance or the position of the administration change? I know in previous labor disputes, for instance, you know, you’ve invited the negotiators here and tried to hammer out a deal as that deadline approached. Is that something that rises to the level with – with the UAW and the automakers?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, we’ve – have had conversation – I had mentioned Gene Sperling being the lead on having and – being part of the conversations for us at the White House, which is , I think, incredibly important.

We’ve seen what Julie Su has been able to do – the West port – the West Coast ports, as you’ll see in less than an hour, from – hearing from the President.

Look, we believe in collective bargaining. I don’t have anything else to sha- — to share. Don’t want to get into hypotheticals from here.

We believe that, you know, if both sides come in good faith that, you know, we’re going to continue to be optimistic here. We’re going to be optimistic on moving forward.

So, just going to leave it there. I’m going to let the unions and, certainly, folks who are at the table continues to have the conversations. But I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals from here.

Q: I guess what I’m trying to ask – and apologies for not doing it better the first time – (laughs) is that –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Inaudible.)

Q: – you know, with the ports and with the freight rail – those were seen as very important to keep the economy moving forward – the supply chain. Is that how this is viewed with the automakers? Is this – if there were a strike, does the administration view it in the same kind of harm as the other two situations?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we’re going to – I want to be careful. Don’t want to get into hypotheticals about what could or could not happen.

What we are saying is that we know collective bargaining works.

I mentioned the West Coast ports, the Teamsters and the UPS, which we just saw a month or two ago. And that’s important.

The President is going to continue to encourage parties to negotiate in good faith towards an agreement that prevents any kind of shutdown, and that’s what we have done – that’s what we’ll continue to do – many times before this.

And so, we’re going to continue to monitor the negotiations. I just don’t have anything beyond that, besides being very clear in how – and what the President believes and wanting to make – make sure that folks negotiate in good faith.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thank. Is the First Lady the only member of the Biden family that’s tested positive for COVID since this weekend?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would – I would refer you to the First Lady’s office. I don’t have anything further besides, like, you know, if there were close contacts on that side, I just don’t have anything to else to share besides the First Lady.

Q: And to go back to the medal ceremony from yesterday. You said, today, to my colleague that “the President, in every way that we could, followed the CDC guidelines.” And you made a point to say that beforehand, when he was meeting with Captain Taylor, he was masked so he could have that time with him. Then why not wear a mask when he was putting the medal around his neck and he was so close to him like that? Was that an oversight by the President?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can –

Q: Was he supposed to there?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can tell you is that the President took off his mask to deliver incredibly powerful remarks about the captain.

That was done, certainly, on – I think, on purpose – right? – wanting to give him that Medal of Honor. And it’s important. He – it was important of him to speak to – to speak to the heroics of – of the captain, and that’s what you saw.

And afterwards, obviously, he still – he didn’t have his mask on. But afterwards, as we planned – as it was planned, we made sure that when the program paused, that he was able to leave right after. We wanted to make sure there was a short amount of time that the President was there. And so, that’s what you saw.

And, look, their, the CDC guidelines, as you know is – is masking; is testing; and is, certainly, having close con- –monitoring – monitoring any symptoms. The President doesn’t have symptoms. He tested negative a couple of hours before the event. He tested negative today.

I think what’s really important is that the President – to put this all in context – that the President doesn’t have any symptoms, and he’s been testing negative.

Q: And you’ve emphas- emphasized the pause and that he got out of the room to minimize that. But yesterday, you said that he would remove his mask when “sufficiently distances from others indoors.” That was not sufficiently distanced when he was next to Taylor yesterday.

So, going forward, if he is that close to people, over the next couple of days – as he goes to these meetings at the G20 – should we expect him masked if he is engaging with world leaders like that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, the President is going to be masking in the next – in this 10-day period. He is going to be masking. He’s going to be making sure that he is getting tested regularly, in consultation with – certainly in consultation with his physician. And – and so, we will keep those CDC guidelines.

Again, he wanted to make sure he had those really important remarks to share about the heroics and what the captain – Captain Taylor did on behalf of his country. So, yes, he took off his mask.

And then – but what we made sure to happen is that there was a brief pause – when there was a pause in the program, the President left, so to minimize his – his impact or his – in his impact towards the attendees who were there. And so, that was done on purpose. That was done very purposefully so that, again, he wasn’t – he wasn’t there for too long.

Again, before – and he reason why I mentioned the before piece: Because the President saw this to be so important that he did take some time with the captain and his family – and everyone was masked – and wanted to make sure that he did his part as well and was protecting – being protective of – of – of the family and the captain.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. We’ve asked a lot about the President’s use of a mask and CDC guidelines. But I want to ask about CDC guidance specifically, because there is – you know, going into the fall, kids going back to school, CDC still recommends universal indoor masking for kids in school, students, staff. And that seems out of step with some of the studies around the usefulness of masks for kids.

There was a piece in the Atlantic, and I’ll just read you a quote from it. It says, “We reviewed a variety of studies – some conducted by the CDC itself, some cited by the CDC as evidence of masking effectiveness in a school setting – to try and find evidence that would justify the CDC’s no-end-in sight mask guidance for the very-low-risk pediatric population, particularly post-vaccination. We came up empty handed.”

So, especially with the President going to Congress to ask for more money and a new vaccine and more money for the CDC, should we keep funding these studies if the CDC is not making guidance that follows the results of those studies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s what I’ll say: We did something that the last administration was incapable of doing, which is putting forth a strategy to really, truly deal with COVID-19 and this pandemic. They were incapable of doing that.

We put forth a comprehensive plan, and we are now in a different place than we were two years ago, a year ago. We are in much better place to fight COVID-19. And we have the tools, and that includes masking, that includes vaccinations.

And as you know, CDC and FDA said they’re going to have vaccine by mid-September. And we’re going to make sure – –continue to do what we have done in the past couple of years – is inform folks – let them know that these new vaccines are here, that they have to make sure to take the – and their flu vaccine and also the RSV.

All of these things are incredibly important because we know what works. We do. I mean we know what works. We are in a different place than we were two, three years ago.

Q: Do – do we know what works though?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But let me –

Q: I mean, the CDC does not –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But –

Q: – seem to be responding to the data.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ll say this – and you’re taking about schools?

Q: Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: CDC – they’re the experts. They’re – they use science to come to – to come forward with their guidelines. And it is important that we allow them to do their work.

And we believe that we are in a different place. And all you got to do is look around. Look around to where we are today and where we were when we first started in this administration. And that’s because we put forward an – an – a comprehensive plan with tools to make sure that we dealt with the pandemic, that we dealt with COVID in a real way.

Let’s not forget where we were when the President started off: Thousands of people were dying a day. A day. A day.

And so, that is – that is, like, the reality. So, clearly, something that we have done, from the moment that we stepped into this administration to now, has worked. And that’s because we followed the guidance of the CDC. We let FDA do their work. That’s the scientists. That’s the experts. And that’s why we are in a much better place than we are today.

I know you’re asking me about data, but all you got to do is look at where we are as a country.

Q: I – I know, and I – I am looking around. And you know, 16 states don’t have any mask mandates – or, sorry, 16 states follow CDC guidance closely for schools. Nine states have banned school mask mandates. There’s a patchwork, basically, of – of –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, but here’s the thing –

Q: – protocols. And – and so, when the CDC is saying one thing and people are obviously –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: These are –

Q: – in a better place –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s the thing, these are guidelines by CDC. These are not mandates –

Q: Should they be revised?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hold on. These are not mandates. They are guidelines by CDC – what they recommend, what they believe would work.

It is up – is it up to the schools. It is the decisions of the districts at – level – right? – to decide what they want to do with the guidelines that they’ve been provided by CDC. That’s why we always say: Go to CDC.gov, where you’ll get information on how that works.

But I do want to say: CDC advice for individual and community actions – you know, they’re – they’re tied to hospital admissions level. And want to be really clear: When you look at that, they are about 93 percent of the country. And so, they – they have the best information for us.

These are guidelines. To be very, very, clear: These are guidelines. And it is up to local officials and local – local leaders to decide how they want to move forward. That’s why what you just laid out – it’s different. There’s a reason why it’s different: because they make the decision.

I’m going to keep going.

(Cross-talk.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, we – oh, okay. All right. We’ve got to go. We’ve got to go. Sorry guys.

Q: Catch you next time.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Next time, my friend.

Q: Thank you, Karine.

September 12, 2023: STATE FACT SHEETS: House Republicans’ Funding Bills Would Have Devastating Impacts for Hard-Working Families Across America

House Republicans’ bills would raise a host of costs for families, hurt students, seniors, and rural communities, slash support for law enforcement, and undermine our economy – while Congressional Republicans fight separately for multi-millionaires and big corporations to get massive tax cuts.

Earlier this year, the President and Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan budget agreement that averted a first-ever default and protected our historic economic progress. The President, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, and Senate Republicans all stand by this promise. Unfortunately, Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans are ignoring the bipartisan budget agreement they passed and instead advancing extreme, partisan appropriations bills that break their public promise and gut key investments in the American people.

House Republicans claim these cuts are about fiscal responsibility – but they aren’t. Not only would their bills add at least $100 billion to deficits over 10 years by making it easier for the wealthy and big corporations to cheat on their taxes, but House Republicans are separately pushing corporate tax giveaways that would cost over $500 billion if made permanent – including at least $30 billion in retroactive tax breaks for investments companies made last year. These retroactive tax cuts alone would erase the saving from their deep cuts to education, health, and labor programs. (1)

(1) The House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill cuts these programs by a total of $30.7 billion, not counting recessions included in the bill.

Today, the Office of Management and Budget released 51 fact sheets highlighting the devastating impacts of these extreme cuts on states and the District of Columbia. Below are some of the most harmful elements of House Republicans’ appropriations bills that they will begin to consider this week.

The cuts in the House appropriations bills would:

• Slash Funding for Schools with Low-Income Students: House Republicans’ 80 percent cut to Title I funding would impact 26 million students in schools that teach low-income students by forcing a reduction of up to 226,000 teachers, aides, or other key staff.

• Eliminate Tens of Thousands of Preschool Slots: House Republicans’ cut to Head Start would mean as many as 82,000 children would lose access to high quality preschool – undermining their education, leaving fewer children ready to enter kindergarten ready to learn, and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce.

• Slash Funding for Law Enforcement: The proposed cut to the FBI would eliminate up to 1,850 personnel, including up to 673 agents, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be forced to eliminate approximately 400 positions, including more than 200 agents. The House bill also cuts funding for U.S. Attorneys by roughly 12 percent, which would eliminate approximately 1,400 position

• Raise Housing Costs for Tens of Thousands: The proposed cuts would raise housing costs by eliminating funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for 20,000 households, including approximately 6,000 households headed by seniors. In addition, nearly 70 percent cut to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program would result in 20,000 fewer affordable homes being constructed, rehabbed, or purchased in communities across the country.

• Slash Critical Job Training and Workforce Development Programs: The proposal would result in half a million fewer people receiving job training and employment services. These harmful cuts would deprive businesses of the skilled workforce they need to thrive, and would cut off workers’ pathways to good jobs.

• Undermine Critical Health Research: House Republicans’ cuts would undermine critical research efforts to find treatments and cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s by cutting $3.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health. They would also eliminate funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which would end the Long COVID research at the agency and delay other priority health services research.

In addition to demanding these draconian cuts, House Republicans are also fighting to rescind vital funding that is helping make our tax code fairer, rebuilding America’s infrastructure, lowering costs for families, and tackling the clime crisis. Their proposals would:

• Increase Risks of Lead Exposure: The proposal would rescind over $564 million in funding for programs that mitigate housing-related risks of lead poisoning and other illnesses and hazards to lower income families, especially children, resulting in 55,000 fewer homes safe of hazards and adversely impacting approximately 78,000 children.

• Protect Wealthy Tax Cheats: While House Republicans separately lay the groundwork for more than $3 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations, they are also fighting to make it easier for wealthy tax cheats to avoid paying what they owe – proposing to rescind $67 billion dollars in funding for the IRS enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, which would increase the deficit by more than $100 billion.

• Increase Energy Costs for Rural Americans: Rescinding $2 billion in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for programs at USDA would undermine programs that help agricultural producers and rural small businesses to convert renewable energy systems, and that help rural Americans to build clean, affordable, and reliable energy by working with approximately 900 electric cooperatives in 47 states.

• Shortchange Home Electrification Projects: Rescinding $4.5 billion in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program would impact at least 250,000 home electrification and appliance upgrade projects in low- and medium-income homes across all States, territories, and tribes.

• Undermine Clean Technology Investments and Pollution Reduction: Rescinding $20 billion in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for programed at EPA would take away funds designed to help committees access grant opportunities to reduce pollution and mobilize private capital into clean technology projects, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities. These programs will spur investment in clean technology produces and expand economic opportunities in communities, helping to cut harmful pollution and protect people’s health whole tackling the climate crisis.

• Slash Support for Teachers: Rescinding $1.7 billion – or 77 percent – in the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II) program would severely undermine the program’s ability to improve the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom.

A deal is a deal. The President and the Speaker already made a bipartisan budget agreement – one that would result in $1 trillion of deficit reduction over the next decade. Every party to that agreement except House Republicans – House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and President Biden – are honoring their word. It is a balanced deal that protects critical investments while ensuring fiscal responsibility. We urge House Republicans to follow the law they helped enact and the Senate’s bipartisan approach to funding the government according to the deal.

September 19, 2023: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities posted a Statement titled: “House Republican Budget Reflects Disturbing Vision for the Country” From the Statement:

Statement of Sharon Parrott, CBPP President, on House Budget Committee Chair Arrington’s budget resolution released today:

It’s tempting to ignore a budget resolution released just days before the start of the fiscal year that it’s meant to guide, and amid the chaotic debate around a short-term extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown. But House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington’s proposed budget is important for the country: health care stripped away from millions of people, higher poverty and hunger, capitulation to climate change, and more tax cheating by high-income people, and large-scale disinvestment from the building blocks of opportunity and economic growth – from medical research to educational child care. It would narrow opportunity, worsen racial inequities, and make it harder for people to afford the basics. It reflects the wrong priorities for the country and should be soundly rejected.

Chair Arrington made clear in his remarks the intent to extend the expiring tax cuts from the 2017 tax law, which included large tax cuts for the wealthy. In addition, the budget resolution itself would pave the way for unlimited, unpaid-for tax cuts that could go well beyond those extensions. The extensions alone would give annual tax breaks averaging $41,000 to tax filers in the top 1 percent and cost more than $350 billion a year, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. The budget reflects none of these costs and fails to explain how – or whether – they will be offset.

A shocking share of the spending cuts Chair Arrington specifies target people with low and moderate incomes, including $1.9 trillion in Medicaid cuts and hundreds of billions in cuts to economic security programs, such as cuts to assistance that helps people afford food and other basic needs. Just last week the Census Bureau released data showing that poverty spiked last year, more than doubling for children. Rather than proposing policies that could reverse this deeply troubling trend, the budget proposal would deepen poverty and increase hardship.

The budget would also make deep cuts in the part of the budget that is funded annually through appropriation bills. Disingenuously, the budget resolution shows that these cuts total more than $4 trillion over ten years – but hides the program areas that would be cut, labeling them “government-wide savings.” But this year’s House Appropriations bills – which include substantial cuts – make clear that the cuts would fall on a wide range of basic functions and services that support families, communities, and the broader economy, including services that support families, communities, and the broader economy, including Social Security customer service, support for K-12 and college education, funding for national parks and clean air and water, rental housing assistance for families with low incomes, and more.

Chair Arrington claims the budget’s deep and damaging program cuts are in the name of deficit reduction. But the failure to identify a single revenue increase for high-income people or corporations – and in fact, to potentially shower them with more unpaid-for tax cuts – is an extreme and misguided approach. Moreover, calling for a balanced budget in ten years is merely a slogan that has little to do with addressing our nation’s needs – and the budget resolution resorts to gimmicks and games to even appear to get there, including $3 trillion in deficit reduction it claims would accrue from higher economic growth it assumes would be achieved by budget policies.

A budget plan should focus on the nation’s needs and lay out an agenda that broadens opportunity, invests in people and families, reduces the too-high levels of hardship and financial stress faced by households across the country, and raises revenues for those investments. But the Arrington budget blueprint would shortchange much-needed investments and lock in wasteful tax cuts to the already wealthy for the next decade.

House Republicans are pursuing a damaging agenda at every turn – first threatening the nation with default, and now demanding deep cuts in an array of priorities in this year’s appropriations debate, risking a government shutdown, and proposing a budget blueprint that would take the country in the wrong direction.

September 19, 2023: By the Numbers: Impacts of House Republicans’ Extreme CR 8% Cuts

With less than two weeks before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown instead of working in a bipartisan manner keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people.

The continuing resolution they introduced this week makes indiscriminate cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – violating the agreement the Speaker negotiated with President Biden and rejecting the bipartisan approach of the Senate. House Republicans have made clear that these cuts are designed to force longer-term cuts, in-line with their extreme and damaging appropriations bills. So, what would it mean for the American people if House Republicans’ proposed 8% cuts were extended for the entire year?

IMPACT OF HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ EXTREME CR:

• 800 fewer Customs and Border Protections (CBP) agents and officers

• 50,000 pounds of cocaine, more than 300 pounds of fentanyl, more than 700 pounds of heroin, and more than 6,000 pounds of methamphetamine let into our country due to cuts to CBP.

• 100,000 children would lose access to Head Start slots

• 65,000 children would lose access to childcare

• 60,000 seniors would be robbed of nutrition services like Meals on Wheels

• 2.1 million women, infants, and children would be waitlisted for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• Up to 40,000 fewer teachers, aides, or other key staff across the country, affecting 26 million students in schools that teach low-income students and 7.5 million students with disabilities

• Nearly 70 fewer Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, who are often some of the first federal law enforcement on the scene of a mass shooting to help local law enforcement identify at-large shooters- and 13 furlough days for ATF’s entire workforce.

• 4,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year alone, with nearly 11,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually – enough track to cross the United States more than 3 times.

• 145 fewer members of law enforcement due to cuts at the Department of Justice

• Nearly 300,000 households – including 20,000 veterans and 90,000 seniors- would lose housing choice vouchers, putting them a greater risk of homelessness

• A roughly $500 reduction to the maximum Pell Grant for 6.6 million students

• 4,000 fewer FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes

• 250,000 American workers would be denied job training and employment services – resulting 35,000 fewer workers gaining the opportunity of a Registered Apprenticeship

• 50,000 workers would lose an average of $1,000 in back wages they are owed

• People applying for disability benefits would have to wait 2 months longer

September 20, 2023: The White House posted: Extreme House Republicans’ Chaos Is Marching Us Toward A Government Shutdown

While President Biden continuous delivering for the American people, extreme House Republicans are consumed by chaos and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would damage our communities, economy, and national security.

Instead of following the bipartisan example of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, extreme House Republicans continue to demand a reckless laundry list of partisan proposals as a condition of keeping the government open – from an evidence-free impeachment that even some of their own members don’t agree with to reckless cuts to programs millions of hardworking families and seniors count on, to a litany of other extraneous ideological demands.

Just three months after threatening to default on America over their partisan agenda, extreme House Republicans are back at it again. Their latest 30-day continuing resolution is just more of the same – a shutdown bill that doubles down on extreme, partisan proposals that can’t pass the Senate and will never become law. Their bill not only makes devastating, indiscriminate cuts to food safety, education, law enforcement, housing, public health, Head Start and child care, Meals on Wheels, and more- it also fails to provide the urgent funding President Biden requested to support disaster-struck communities, counter fentanyl trafficking, support Ukraine, provide critical food assistance for pregnant and post-partum women and young children, and avoid disruptions to FAA air traffic operations.

And here’s what’s clear: if extreme Republicans fail to ram through their radical agenda, they plan to take their frustration out on the American people by forcing a government shutdown that would undermine our economy and national security, create needless uncertainty for families and businesses, and have damaging consequences across the country.

Consider just some the impacts of a Republican shutdown:

• Threaten Vital Nutrition Assistance for Nearly 7 Million Vulnerable Moms and Children: Women and children who count on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) – a program that serves nearly half of babies born in this country – would soon start being turned away at grocery store counter, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program.

• Force Servicemembers and Law Enforcement Officers to Work Without Pay: Under a Republican shutdown, all active-duty military personnel and many law enforcement officers would remain at work, but receive no pay until appropriated funds are available.

• Endanger Disaster Response: A Republican shutdown would create an increased risk that FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is depleted and would complicate new emergency efforts if additional catastrophic disasters occur. Funding for long-term recovery projects would also remain halted, worsening ongoing delays as FEMA awaits new appropriations.

• Undermine Research on Cancer and Other Diseases: A Republican shutdown would stall critical research on diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s because the National Institutes of Health would be forced to delay new clinical trials. New patients, many of whom are desperately waiting for a chance at new treatment through a clinical trial, will be turned away.

• Eliminate Head Start Slots for Kids: Under a Republican shutdown, 10,000 children across the country would immediately lose access to Head Start, as the Department of Health and Human Services wouldn’t be able to award Head Start Grants during a shutdown – with the impacts only growing worse over time.

• Risk Significant Delays for Travelers: Air traffic controllers and TSA Officers would have to work without pay – potentially leading to significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country like there were during previous shutdowns.

• Undermine Public Health and Environmental Protections: Most EPA-led inspections at hazardous waste sites as well as drinking water and chemical facilities would stop. EPA would halt oversight and review of permits and plans to ensure safe water and clean air in communities. Additionally, efforts to address dangerous contaminants, like PFAS – which are linked severe health effects, including cancer – would be delayed, and cleanup activities at Superfund sites would slow or cease.

• Deny Capital for Small Businesses: The Small Business Administration would not accept, review, or approve any new business loans – including SBA’s primary loan to small businesses – cutting off an important source of funding for small businesses across the country.

• Undermine Food Safety: The Food and Drug Administration could be forced to delay food safety inspections for a wide variety of products all across the country.

• Delay Infrastructure Projects: A Republican shutdown could delay major infrastructure projects across the country due to delay in EPA and DOI environmental reviews, which would affect multiple federal agency projects. In addition, permitting could be disrupted. For example, no USDA loans or grants would be made for modernizing utilities infrastructure in rural America, including permitting actions for rural electric transmission and broadband projects.

• Impair Workplace Safety and Accountability: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would be forced to limit workplace inspections, denying workers a key protection against safety risk, and Americans who are owed back pay for their hard work would face delays due to the majority of Department of Labor investigations being suspended.

These consequences are real and avoidable – but only if House Republicans stop playing political games with peoples’ lives and catering to the ideological demands of their most extreme, far-right members. It’s time for House Republicans to abide by the bipartisan budget agreement that a majority of them voted for, keep the government open, and address other urgent needs for the American people.

September 20, 2023: The White House posted “State by State Impacts: House Republicans’ Extreme CR Would Decimate the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program as Temperatures Drop”

With less than two weeks before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with people’s lives an marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts all across the country.

Instead of working in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people, House Republicans introduced continuing resolution this week that makes an 8%, across-the-board cut to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – violating the bipartisan budget deal the President and Congress agreed to earlier this year. On top of these indiscriminate cuts, their continuing resolution makes even deeper cuts to several other key programs, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – which families depend on to heat their homes during the winter. With colder weather approaching, House Republicans’ extreme CR would cut LIHEAP by over 60%.

Here is what House Republicans’ draconian over 60% cut to LIHEAP would look like across all 50 states and the District of Columbia:

Cut To LIHEAP Households served by LIHEAP (FY 2022)

• Alabama: $40 Million 59,725
• Alaska: $7 Million 4,117
• Arizona: $21 Million 6,377
• Arkansas: $22 Million 45,711
• California: $159 Million 98,075
• Colorado: $36 Million 84,096
• Connecticut: $49 Million 92,180
• Delaware: $9 Million 8,445
• Dist. of Columbia: $8 Million 8,035
• Florida: $72 Million 36,141
• Georgia: $57 Million 81,558
• Hawaii: $4 Million 6,337
• Idaho: $14 Million 36,969
• Illinois: $118 Million 258,424
• Indiana: $53 Million 109,750
• Iowa: $38 Million 112,451
• Kansas: $25 Million 33,688
• Kentucky: $38 Million 62,668
• Louisiana: $37 Million 17,437
• Maine: $26 Million 36,688
• Maryland: $52 Million 82,046
• Massachusetts: $90 Million 133,635
• Mississippi: $24 Million 28,891
• Missouri: $55 Million 117,891
• Montana: $14 Million 16,418
• Nebraska: $22 Million 41,587
• Nevada: $10 Million 22,753
• New Hampshire: $19 Million 24,425
• New Jersey: $87 Million 236,094
• New Mexico: $13 Million 34,123
• New York: $246 Million 1,166,291
• North Carolina: $72 Million 14,020
• North Dakota: $14 Million 14,020
• Ohio: $106 Million 231,446
• Oklahoma: $26 Million 58,421
• Oregon: $27 Million 60,070
• Pennsylvania: $137 Million 342,419
• Rhode Island: $16 Million 25,481
• South Carolina: $34 Million 13,921
• South Dakota: $13 Million 23,966
• Tennessee: $47 Million 62,373
• Texas: $120 Million 76,572
• Utah: $18 Million 18,912
• Vermont: $14 Million 26,854
• Virginia: $67 Million 106,279
• Washington: $42 Million 89,121
• West Virginia: $22 Million 59,194
• Wisconsin: $72 Million 194,705
• Wyoming: $7 Million 8,260

September 21, 2023: The White House posted “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everyone.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you can see, we have the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan joining use today to talk about – give a little bit of a preview and talk abotu the President’s visit with President Zelenskyy today. As you know, he’s all in tow- –he’s in town, and he’ll take some of your foreign policy questions as well.

With that, Jake, the podium is yours.

MR. SULLIVAN: Thanks, Karine. And thanks for letting me come back here just a few days after I was last before you at this podium.

President Biden returned from New York last night, where he held a series of engagements and meetings at the U.N. General Assembly. He launched important initiatives, he engaged with heads of state from around the world, and he laid out a substantive agenda for effective American leadership at a pivotal moment in the world.

In his remarks to the General Assembly, President Biden highlighted all that is at stake as we continue to rally the world to support Ukraine, including the fate of core principles of the United Nation’s Charter; sovereignty, territorial integrity, and human rights, which are the pillars of peaceful relations among nations.

As you all know, President Biden underscored that it’s not just the future of the people of Ukraine that hangs in the balance as they bravely fight every day to defend their rights and their sovereign territory from a brutal Russian invasion. The President spoke about how critical it is that the U.S. and the world send the unmistakable message that in the 21st century, a dictator cannot be allowed to conquer or carve up his neighbor’s territory by force and threaten the fundamental values of freedom and independence that matter to every American.

If we allow that here, it will happen elsewhere in ways that will undermine the fundamental security, not to mention the values that the American people hold so dear.

Following up on that speech at the U.N. earlier this week, today President Biden is hosting President Zelenskyy of Ukraine here at the White House, where he will emphasize the continued need for the American people to step up and support Ukraine as they battle on the frontlines of the free world.

Today’s meeting will be the sixth in-person meeting between President Biden and President Zelenskyy. And it’s President Zelenskyy’s third visit to the White House during the Biden administration.

Of course, they have talked many times over the course of the past year and a half by phone, on video, and our teams are in constant, daily communication.

This meeting comes at a significant moment, as Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in their counteroffensive, and just after Russia launched yet another brutal wave of airstrikes against five cities – five cities in Ukraine that hit critical civilian infrastructure and knocked out power for many people in many different parts of the country.

To help defend against assaults like this one – assaults from the air – President Biden will announce a new package of military assistance today that includes significant air defense capabilities to help Ukraine protect its people. These capabilities will help Ukraine harden its defense ahead of what is likely to be a tough winter filled with renewed Russian attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure to try to deprive innocent people of necessities like heat and electricity.

Because President Putin cannot achieve his objectives on the battlefield, he has re- –reduced to and is resorting to attacks that are intended to plunge ordinary people’s lives into cold and darkness. And we are going to do everything wor- workin with Ukranians to make that task more and more difficult for Russia to be able to pull off.

The package the President will announce today will also include weapons and equipment to help Ukraine maintain its momentum in the counteroffensive. That includes additional ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS systems, anti-armor capabilities, artillery, ammunition, and more DPICMs, which have helped Ukraine make gains and crucially helped Ukraine defend against counterattacks.

President Biden and President Zelenskyy will also discuss our joint efforts to support Ukraine’s economic recovery. And he will introduce a special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, Penny Pritzker, who will focus on engaging the private sector, partner countries, and Ukrainian counterparts to generate international investment in Ukraine and work with Ukraine to make the reforms necessary to improve Ukraine’s business climate.

President Biden, of course, is also looking forward to hear directly from President Zelenskyy in person – his perspective on the war and the road ahead and all of the more specific operational issues that have been a feature of all their conversations over the course of the past year and a half.

Above all, though, President Biden wants to us today to reaffirm his commitment, this administration’s commitment, this country’s commitment to continuing to lead the world in support of Ukraine for as long as it takes, and that’s what he intended to do today.

And with that, I look forward to taking your questions.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you. (Inaudible) Canada and India’s relationship?

MR. SULLIVAN: Actually, I was calling on her. But go ahead.

Q: Thank you so much.

MR. SULLIVAN: You can go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Can you give us a sense – your sense of what’s happening between Canada and India? India is fuming at a Canadian allegation that India was involved in the death of a Canadian citizen (inaudible) in India. Canada is saying they have informed you about the proof of these allegations. What’s your sense of it?

MR. SULLIVAN: As soon as we heard from the Canadian Prime Minister publicly about the allegations, we went out publicly ourselves and expressed our deep concern about them, our support for a law enforcement process to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable.

I’m not going to get into the substance of private diplomatic conversations, but we are in constant contact with our Canadian counterparts. We are consulting with them closely, we support the efforts that they are undertaking in this investigation, and we have also been in touch with the Indian government as well.

And I will leave it at that for today, only to say that I have seen in the press some efforts to try to drive a wedge between the United States and Canada on this issue. And I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between U.S. and Canada. We have deep concerns about the allegations, and we would like to see this investigation carried forward and the perpetrators held to account.

That is what the United States has stood for from the moment this emerged in public, and we will continue to stand for that until this fully plays its way out.

So, you can go ahead, sorry.

Q: Hi. So, I know that ATACMS have been on the table, been in consideration by President Biden. I’m wondering if you can talk about what those consideration factors are. Is it a stocks/money issue? Is it a – we’re not ready – they’re not ready at this point in the war to start longer-range fires? Can you tell us about that?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I can only tell you so much from this podium, because operational considerations about any given weapons system – some of that is quite sensitive.

What I would say is that the President is constantly speaking to both his own military and to his counterparts in Europe and to the Ukrainians themselves about what is needed on the battlefield at any given phase of the war and then what the United States can provide while also ensuring that we are able to provide for our own defer- –deterrence and defense needs.

As he’s weighted all that up, to date, he has determined that he would not provide ATACMS, but he has also not taken it off the table in the future, I don’t have anything to announce about that today.

Yes.

Q: Thanks, Jake. House Republican leaders are heavily laying the blame at President Biden’s feet today for the fact that the House has not passed that additional package of Ukraine aid. House Speaker McCarthy saying today that President Biden hasn’t made the case to the American public – what is victory, what does it take to be able to win.

You met with Speaker McCarthy and other Republicans recently. What was your message to them? And then, what is your response to Speaker McCarthy today?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not going to get into a debate with Speaker McCarthy from the podium. I would say that Speaker McCarthy has himself been an advocate for the supply of military assistance to Ukraine, has voted for previous packages, and that Republicans in the House and Senate in very large numbers have been strong advocates and supporters for this. Haven’t just wanted to hear the case from us – they’ve been going out and themselves making the case to their constituents and to the world for what this is so important.

And it is that level of bipartisan support that we’ve seen to date that has sustained the immense and impressive levels of assistance that we’ve been able to provide to Ukraine.

We believe that that will continue because we believe that there is strong majorities on a bipartisan basis in both the House and the Senate to provide this aid. That’s what we look forward to seeing.

Now, I did have the opportunity to see the – the Democratic and Republican leadership in the Senate and the House and the chairs and ranking members of the key national security committees in two separate sessions.

I thought they were incredibly constructive sessions. They were deeply substantive. The members had excellent questions. They also had a lot of constructive suggestions for how we most effectively pursue continued to Ukraine and rally the world to help Ukraine defend its territory.

So, on the basis of those conversations and further consultation we’ve had since then, I continue to remain of the view that when all is said and done – after all the back-and-forth, and the to-ing and fro-ing, and all the other elements going into these negotiations that have nothing to do with Ukraine – that there will be strong bipartisan support to continue funding Ukraine to the extent we believe is necessary to get Ukraine what it needs.

Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. Go back to India for a minute. Does the U.S. have any intelligence or investigative evidence to support Canada’s claims?

And then, secondly, Ambassador Garcetti had suggested that President Biden was going to return to India in January to celebrate Republic Day. And I’m wondering if that trip is now in question, given this diplomatic row between two U.S. partners.

MR. SULLIVAN: I am not going to speak to either intelligence or law enforcement matters from this podium. I will let that process play out.

We are in, as I said before, continuous communication and consultation with the Canadian government. And we will remain so as we go forward.

And I do not have any thing to announce about travel by the President to India in January or at any other time today.

Yes.

Q: Jake, you’ve expressed your confidence that Congress will, in the not-too-distant future, pass the necessary $24 billion in funds that you say is – are necessary going forward in Ukraine. By what date doe that need to occur to not have an impact? What is the urgency? And how soon does that need to happen to make sure that there is no let-up in the effort to help support the Ukrainians?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, just to be clear, the supplemental funding package that we put forward to the Hill was for the period from the end of the fiscal year to the end of the calendar year – basically, September 30th to the end of the year.

So, there’s not a single dar – –dollar amount that is necessary for all time. We need funding to keep going, meaning that if, for example, the Congress passes a shorter package, you could have a proportional amount or a longer package, et. cetera.

Q: And at what point would there be a disruption if we passed – what date would there be a disruption, given the fears about this not passing?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, I mean, there’s a sliding scale of disruption. But the day after the funds lapse or run out at the end of the fiscal year, there would be a break if we do not get the funding starting October 1st.

That’s why we are making the case to the Congress that we should see additional funding at that time.

Q: Quick follow-up on the Congress. Speaker McCarthy, as has now been reported, turned down President Zelenskyy’s desire to speak for a joint session of Congress. Obviously, they control Congress; you don’t. But what do you think that says to the American people if Zelenskyy was not given that opportunity, given the stakes that you say exist right now?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’ve read the reports of that. I haven’t heard it directly. So it’s hard for me to comment or speculate on it.

What I will say is that President Zelenskyy just spent hours up on the Hill with Democrats and Republicans – and not just behind closed doors, but out in public – to be able to explain his case and to stand, frankly, with members who want to also make the case that this should continue.

So, I keep saying basically the same thing, standing up here, that I genuinely believe, which is: There is a vocal, quite small minority of members who are raising questions. There is a very strong, overwhelming majority of members, both Democrats and Republicans, who want to see the aid continue. And I believe that’s where the American people are as well. So, I believe that will shine through in the end.

Yes.

Q: Is the U.S. concerned about Poland’s decision to stop sending arms to Ukraine and whether that signals any sort of broad waning of Western support for Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN: When I read the headlines this morning, I was, of course, concerned and had questions. But I’ve subsequently seen the Polish government spokesman come out to clarify that, in fact, Poland’s provision of equipment, including things like Polish manufactured howitzers, is continuing and that Poland continues to stand behind Ukraine.

So, we will stay in consultation with them to ensure that we understand fully what the nature of Poland’s stance is on these issue, but I believe that Poland will continue to be a supporter of Ukraine.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Jake. What are you telling congressional leaders about how much more aid is needed to ensure Ukraine can win the war, not just sustain the war? And what timeline are you sharing with them?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, we’ve put forward a proposal. We’ve actually laid out in some detail every element of assistance that we believe is necessary to get us to the end of this year, and then we have begun talking to them about what next year looks like as well. But that’s in military support, economic support, humanitarian, energy assistance, and so forth.

War is inherently unpredictable, of course. So, I can’t look you in the eye and I certainly can’t look them in the eye and predict exactly what’s going to happen on exactly what timetable. And therefore, we need to have a degree of flexibility and adaptability in our approach, as we have sine the beginning of this conflict. That will continue.

But what we know is that there is core capabilities – in ammunition, in air defense systems, and in other critical military elements – that Ukraine will continue to need from its partners in NATO and other countries around the world.

In fact, Secretary Austin had the opportunity to host another round of the Ramstein Group, the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, this week in Germany. And we continue to see a level of urgency and intensity in the support to – for this kind of assistance to go to Ukraine from dozens of countries around the world. The United States has got to step up and do its part.

Q: And you talk about the bipartisan support, but the issue here is just how does this even get to the floor for a vote. So, what is the path forward here?

MR. SULLIVAN: In a way, that’s above my paygrade because it involves questions related to the entire budget, much of which goes well beyond the national security remit.

So, I will not handicap, kind of, overall budget negotiations. What I’m laser focused on is: When all is said and done, will there be the support and the resources necessary for Ukraine?

I believe, based on my consultations on the Hill with both Republicans and Democrats, that there will be.

Yes.

Q: Thank you, again, for being here. You are – you expressed confidence that ultimately there will be money provided as requested, if not more or whatever. And that’s the understanding here at the White House.

How do you explain, then, all of this to Zelenskyy or to other world leaders who might be watching this domestic fight and thinking, “Should we really believe that the United States is on board with Ukraine and with this effort?” I mean, how do you explain congressional dysfunction, I guess, to your counterparts?

MR. SULLIVAN: I mean, one thing you definitely do not need to explain to democratically elected leaders in Europe – frankly, even to autocrats – is politics. Okay? Leaders know politics. And President Biden’s counterparts understand that budget negotiations take place and there’s difficult give-and-take in them. And that’s in the nature of a democratic system.

So, President Zelenskyy is not coming here like a babe in the woods not having any understanding that, you know, we have to work through, as we approach the end of the fiscal year, funding for the government going forward. He recognizes that that’s going to be contested, that there are different perspectives.

What he wants to hear from the President is kind of similar to what you are trying to elicit from me, which is what is the degree of confidence we have that we can deliver in the end. And we believe that we can, which doesn’t means that the road ahead is entirely straight or I can predict to you exactly how this is all going to play out. What I believe is that when all is said and done, the support will be there.

Q: One – one real quick on – when we talk about Canada, there’s an issue with Mexico today because AMLO suggested he’s not coming to APEC in November amid concerns with its relationship with Peru. Have they given formal notice they’re not coming? And what do you make of this dispute between the two?

MR. SULLIVAN: I actually had not seen him go out publicly and say that. But without going deep into our diplomatic conversations with them, they had raised the possibility that that might happen. We’ll have to talk to them. And I don’t want to comment on it at the podium before I’ve had a chance to talk to them directly.

Yes.

Q: Thank you so much. I would like to ask you a question about Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, the Crown Prince said that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, then Saudi Arabia would get them too. How do you react to that? And is it a way to put pressure on the administration at a time when the President is trying to broker a deal with Israel?

MR. SULLIVAN: No, I don’t think so. This has been a longstanding position of Saudi Arabia. And, frankly, one of the major reasons that we are working overtime with partners and allies to insure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon is that if they did, not only would it be a direct threat to the region and beyond, but it would likely trigger a regional arms race.

So, it has been core to the American principle and policy with respect to ensuring Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, this risk that potentially other countries in the region would seek nuclear weapons. That’s not something that emerged yesterday in an interview. That has been a feature of the landscape going back many years.

Now, from our perspective, we will do all that is necessary – and we have said this repeatedly; the President himself has said it – to ensure that Iran never gets an nuclear weapon so this hypothetical never comes to pass. And that’s the stance that we take, and nothing about the comments made yesterday change or alter that.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you so much, Jake. Is it me here or Steve?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah, go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Just first of all, does the administration support every part of the 10-part peace formulation that President Zelenskyy is promoting? And if the answer to that question is no, which parts might you edit?

And then, secondly, when President Xi hosts President Putin in Beijing next month, what does the White House hope he will communicate to President Putin about the need for peace in Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN: Each of the individual elements of the peace plan, if you sat one of them down – sovereignty and territorial integrity, food security, ecological security, nuclear safety – to us, it’s not even a question of whether we agree. Of course, we do. These are just basic principles of the international system. They’re consistent with the U.N. Charter.

And we have said that President Zelenskyy’s vision of a just peace is fully consistent with the United Nations Charter and with, kind of, decency and common humanity. So, we have no concerns about any of that.

What President Biden has said is that at the end of the day, the baseline for peace are the core principles of the U.N. Charter, particularly sovereignty and territorial integrity and human rights. That’s what we’re going to continue to drive at. That’s what President Biden and President Zelenskyy will speak about today.

Yeah.

Q: And in Xi –sorry.

MR. SULLIVAN: Oh, sorry. What was your question?

Q: What do you hope that President Xi will communicate to Putin when they meet in Beijing about the need for peace in Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN: The number-one point in – I can’t remember if its 10 or 12 points in the principles that the PRC has laid out with respect to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is respect for sovereignty, respect for every nation’s sovereignty.

So, I would like to see every leader who goes and speaks to President Putin reinforce that that basic proposition is inviolable and that every country, including countries that have better relationships than [with] Russia than we do, are going to stand by that principle as we go forward. That’s fundamentally their responsibility.

Yeah.

Q: I had two quick follow ups. First, with regard to the United States’ commitment to Ukraine, there are 26 Republican lawmakers, including 6 senators – a small minority, as you mentioned before – who sent a letter to the OMB director saying that they were unaware of just how much the administration has spent thus far in support of Ukraine. They don’t know how much has been spent thus far. Do you have a general figure you can give us?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not going to stand here and give a precise figure. What I will tell you is that we have supplied to the Congress every dollar that has been obligated. So, if they are unaware, it’s because they are not looking at the reports that we are submitting to the Hill.

In fact, when I was up on the Hill just a few days ago, I walked through in some detail – and I don’t have the notes in front of me – exactly what we had spent in the military space.

We’ve done 47 presidential drawdown packages. We give the dollar figure for every one of them.

We’ve done USAI packages. We give the dollar figure for every one of them.

We obligate money under economic support funds. That money is notified to the Hill in a public way.

So, you all have access to exactly how much we’ve spent. The Congress has access to exactly how much we’ve spent. We have not hidden a single thing on this, and I find the claim in that letter somewhat bizarre.

Q: And then you reiterated the importance of territorial sovereignty and you noted that in the 21st century, neighbor cannot be allowed to conquer another. And I think that you – you got to – the point seemed to say that if we were to allow this to happen in Ukraine, it could happen elsewhere. Where were you referring, by chance, to any other particular threat in any other theater towards one of our allies?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not referring to a particular threat. I’m referring to the fact that history has taught us this lesson painfully many times that aggression unchecked can be aggression unleashed. That could mean further aggression by Russia or it could be aggression by another autocratic power against its neighbor somewhere else in the world, not specifically zeroing in on a particular threat or conflict.

But we have to be prepared for that if we do not stand up and help defend this – the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Q: Thanks, Jake.

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah.

Q: Yeah, thanks, Jake. I appreciate you doing this. So, you’ve laid out how the President is standing up to Russia through action, but largely giving China and India a pass on their aggressions, as well as economic support for Russia. Why is that?

MR. SULLIVAN: What – what do you mean by “aggression”?

Q: Well, so, for instance, India – they’ve made a deal with – well, economic aggression, I guess – eight- –they made a deal with 18 countries to not use dollars to trade in. India has – is on a U.S. watchlist for intellectual property theft of U.S. companies. India has been – is part of BRICS. And so, that’s what I’m talking about with India.

With China, the aggressions – the hacking that they’ve done, the spy balloons, as well as their intellectual property issues.

MR. SULLIVAN: I mean, first of all, we’ve stood up over – I – I’m not sure if your question is about Ukraine or just about things generically –

Q: It’s about China and India.

MR. SULLIVAN: – and so forth.

Q: I mean, why – why aren’t we seeing the same kind of actions standing up against China and India?

MR. SULLIVAN: I mean, we’ve taken a variety of actions to protect American’s national security vis-à-vis threats from the PRC. You know, we have an entire strategy with respect to our technology export controls to make sure that American technology cannot be used against us.

President Biden, in fact, is the first person to take some of those steps. No previous administration has done so.

And where we have concerns with India, whether it comes to issues related to the very watchlist that you’re describing or otherwise, we make those concerns clear. And we defend U.S. interests, as we do with every country in the world.

Now, India is not Russia and China has its own set of challenges that we deal with in its own context. So, of course, there is going to be differences in how we deal with countries one by one.

But the idea – the North Star of this administration is: If you represent a threat to the American people’s security, prosperity, or basic sense of fairness, we will take action to defend that. I think our record on that – across multiple countries, including the ones that you’ve mentioned – is quite clear over the last two and a half years.

Yeah.

Q: Just back on India quickly. Do you – do you know whether President Biden intends to speak to Modi about this – these allegations from the Canadians? And do you see that this incident and – and that this concern could drive a wedge between the United States and India at this very moment when you’re trying to sort of rebuild that relationship?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m – I’m not going to get into private diplomatic conversations that have either already happened or are going to happen on this topic, only to say that we have been and will be in contact with the Indians at high levels on this issue.

It – it is a matter of concern for us. It is something we take seriously. It’s something we will keep working on, and we will do that regardless of the country. There is not some special exemption you get for actions like this. Regardless of the country, we will stand up and defend our basic principles. And we will also consult closely with allies like Canada as they pursue their law enforcement and diplomatic process.

Yeah.

Q: On – on Ukraine – I’m sorry, just on Ukraine. You – you’ve talked about the, sort of, need for, you know, kind of, discussions about what weapons will go and what – when they will go. There are some members of – of Congress, some senators who say that there is some sort of equivalency, like, you know, you’re not sending ATAC – you shouldn’t send ATACMS, for instance, or weapons to Ukraine because you should preserve them to send them to Taiwan.

Can you unpack that for us in terms of what the store of weapons that are available, the weapons that can be produced, and whether there are sufficient weapons to respond to eventual needs in other places besides Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, when we think about our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to continue to provide defensive articles to Taiwan, we take a look at our – what we have in our inventory and what they put on contract to purchase. Most of what we require, of course, is through foreign military sales, which they put on contract to purchase and don’t take out of our stocks. So, we look at that.

We obviously look at both what we provide through drawdown to Ukraine and also what we put on contract for purchase to Ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

And then we look at what we need – what we need for any contingency anywhere in the world. And not just in the Indo-Pacific, but in Europe and the Middle East, elsewhere.

And we lay those three considerations out on the table, and we make a determination about whether there are, in fact, trade-offs that – that would make our life difficult in some way or whether we feel we can manage and balance everything while doing the needful for all of the major contingencies we might face.

We do not think right now that the notion of one-for-one trade-offs in any context is really a rate limiter on us being able to provide support for Ukraine. We think we can provide support for Ukraine and also be in a position to deter aggression elsewhere or respond to it if it takes place.

Q: Does the U.S. –

MR. SULLIVAN: So, we have confidence in that.

Q: Does the U.S. industry need to increase productions?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes. Our view – just for example, I’ve stood at this podium before and talked about artillery ammunition. We want to see a dramatic increase in artillery ammunition production. That is underway. It will take some time. We think there are other munitions where additional production additional capability, and – and not just for munitions, but critical platforms as well.

We inherited a defense industrial base that – from a supply chain and workforce and overall capacity perspective – was not operating at the level we believe it should be operating at. President Biden has given direction, Secretary Austin has given direction to remedy that, and we are actively doing so.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Jake. CNN asked Zelenskyy earlier this week if a military breakthrough is possible this year, and his answer was “I think nobody knows, really.” What is the U.S.’s assessment of whether the provision of all this aid can actually ensure success on the battlefield?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, let’s define “success,” kind of stepping back for a moment. Number one: Kyiv stands, Kharkiv stands, Kherson stands. Major cities of Ukraine are not under Russian dom- –domination and occupation today because, first and foremost, of the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines and the people – the Ukrainian people who are supporting them but also, in on small part, because of the material assistance we have provided. And that is a significant fact.

Second, Ukraine is, in fact, taking back territory. It is doing so methodically, step by step. And the weapons that we have provided have allowed them to de-occupy more territory in the last three months than the Russians were able to take in eight months over the course of its fall and winter offensive last year.

So, we will keep at this. And we believe that the weapons we are providing are helping Ukraine not only make forward progress, but also critically defend the territory that they continue to hold against Russian efforts to overrun it and occupy it, because Putin has not given up on his fundamental goal, which is to subjugate the country of Ukraine.

And we will not permit that to happen, and the Ukrainian people will not permit that to happen.

I’ll do one more. Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. When President Zelenskyy was here last December, he and President Biden had a joint press conference after their meetings. That’s not on the agenda for today. Why was that not scheduled for this visit?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, President Zelenskyy came in from New York. He’s going off to other destinations tonight. He has a limited number of hours here. We wanted to make sure that he spent plenty of time on Hill engaging with Democratic and Republican members, answering their questions making his case.

And then, President Biden wants plenty of time to sit with him one-on-one in a small group and then with his Cabinet to be able to work through everything. They will have the opportunity to make, I think, two statements to the press during that time.

But we chose how to allocate the time based on what we think is going to generate the best possible results for Ukraine. And – and President Biden is looking forward to the set of engagements this afternoon.

I’ll just say one more thing to the – the question of how much assistance that we’ve provided lest anyone say, “Oh, Jake doesn’t know how much assistance we’ve provided.”

This is just off the top of my head, so you can confirm these numbers, but roughly $47 billion in military assistance between PDA and USAI; roughly $1- to $1.5 billion per month in direct budget support that is sent not directly to Ukraine, but to the World Bank so that the World Bank can ensure every amount – all the amounts of that aid, those doctors are being appropriately spent; and then in the range of 10-or-so billions dollars being spent for a range of humanitarian, energy, and other purposes to ensure that the basic livelihoods of Ukrainians, their humanitarian needs, basic food security needs, and otherwise are being taken care of.

That’s not a precise estimate, because I didn’t come bringing this. But I spend my days making sure that we know that every dollar that we’re spending is being accounted for effectively and is being shared very much with the Hill and is bearing – being shared with you all.

And, of course, we will make sure that the members that you’ve referred to who don’t seem to know what we’re doing with the aid to Ukraine get the same information that has long been available to everybody else.

And with that, I’ll let you guys have a good day.

Q: Jake, one on the (inaudible)-

Q: Thank you, sir.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks, Jake.

Q: Thank you, Jake.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much, Jake. Okay.

Just one thing at the top, and then we’ll continue.

Today, extreme House Republicans showed yet again that their chaos is marching us toward a reckless and damaging government shutdown. Extreme House Republicans can’t even get an agreement among themselves to keep the government running or to fund the military. They keep demanding more extreme policies as a condition to do their job and keep the government open – from a fact-free impeachment that their own members – their own members say isn’t supported by the evidence, to severe cuts to food safety, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, education, law enforcement, and much more.

And they’re failing to deliver needed funding for communities recovering from disasters, to countering fentanyl trafficking, for food assistance for pregnant mothers and babies, and to support Ukraine.

All this while pushing for more trickle-down tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, which they did again yesterday in their budget markup.

And they’re failing to deliver needed funding for communities recovering from disasters, to countering fentanyl trafficking, for food assistance for pregnant mothers and babies, and to support Ukraine.

All this while pushing for more trickle-down tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, which they did again yesterday in their budget markup.

The solution is very, very simple. Extreme House Republicans need to stop playing political games with people’s lives. There’s so much at stake here. They should abide by the par- — bipartisan deal we made May, which two thirds – two thirds of House Republicans voted for.

A deal is a deal. House Republicans need to do their job, keep the government open, and work with us to deliver – to deliver for the American people.

With that, Seung Min.

Q: Thanks. Two quick topics. Has OMB given guidance yet to federal agencies on what they can and can’t doin case of a government shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, don’t have any specific – what that – what that would look like. But certainly, agencies are looking at how to move forward in case there is a shutdown.

But I will say this, I mean, very plainly: The best plan – the best plan right now is to not have one – is to not have a shutdown. House Republicans know exactly what they need to do, which is do their jobs.

Q: Will OMB be sending like guidance this week? I think typically it’s sent seven or so days before a shutdown.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, again, I told you that, as I mentioned, agencies are looking at how to move forward in case there is one, but we want to be very clear – we want to be very clear here – the ble- — the best plan is for there to not be a shutdown. This is something that can be avoided here. This is something that can be avoided here. This is something that House Republicans know very well – that they have to do their jobs. They’re the ones – they’re the ones to fix this problem.

Q: And will the White House send an administration official to the picket lines with those striking UAW workers or would President Biden himself go?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, don’t have anything to – to lay out on – on any – as regards to the President’s schedule. What I can say is the President is – is very, I guess – seeing – seeing the continue to be at the negotiating table. All parties continuing to be at the negotiating table is a positive. That is important. They’ve been certainly doing that for the pack 24/7.

It is important to have that collective bargaining. The President has been very clear about that. And – and so, we are going to assist – the White House, along with the Department of Labor with the – with the leadership of Acting Secretary Su – to make sure that they – we provide assistance or any guidance or any guidance as it is requested to all parties.

But certainly, we appreciate the fact that they are still at the negotiating table having this this conversation. It is important that we result in a win-win agreement. It is important that UAW workers are certainly being able to have a deal where they could take care of their family, raise their family.

The President is, as you know, pro-union. The President is pro-workers, pro-UAW workers, and that’s what we’ve going to continue to make clear.

Go ahead.

Q: Let me just ask you: On the UAW strike, what – to what extent do you have any kind of leverage to, sort of, lean in with companies? Is the President picking up the phone and speaking with the company executives? And, you know, is there a limit to how much he can – he can do on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, you heard from the President – Andrea, you heard from the President last Friday, where he said – he said that record corporate profits should lead you to record UAW contracts. He was very clear about that. You’ve heard that from me and you’ve heard that from others here in the administration. And he’s going to obviously continue to get daily briefings from his – from his team on what is going – where – what’s going on or where the negotiations are.

And the President has spoken to all parties in the past couple of weeks. And so, he has stayed in touch. He’s had those conversations.

But again, the parties are negotiating at the table. That is a positive thing. That is important. They are working 24/7 to get a win-win agreement.

And so, look, I’ll just add this. The President fought and won the type of major investment needed – really, truly needed to ensure that we have an EV future with – with EVs that are made in America. That is something that the President was able to do.

And let’s not forget: The folks who want to repeal this or what we saw in the administration was certainly not about investments. They – if anything, they tried to – to push sending American jobs to China. That’s what we’ve seen them do.

The President is a pro-union president. That’s what labor – labor and – labor and union have called him and called – called him as a – the most pro-union president in this – ever in this – in any administration

And so, we’re going to continue to – continue to be helpful in any way possible as these negotiations continue.

Q: And could you just say a word about the, kind of, negotiations on that to stop the shutdown or, you know prevent a shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’re talking about the government shutdown?

Q: Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look –

Q: Yeah, I was going to ask you – I know you’ve got people working on this, but, you know how severe, how significant do you think the impact would be if there is a shutdown? You know, in the past, these things have been resolved in a few days. So, you know, do you expect that it would have a significant impact or do you think that it would have a significant impact or do you think it would be something that could be rolled over?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I appreciate this question. Because what House Republicans are doing is – would hurt Americans, American families. And we’ve been very clear: Here are a couple of things that we think that might hurt American families and hurt military families:

Force active-duty military personnel, law enforcement officers to work without pay.

Endanger disaster response, as I said at the top, which will risk FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and complicate new emergency responses. As we know FEMA has been very busy these past couple of months dealing with extreme weather, dealing with responses.

Undermine cancer and Alzheimer’s research that will delay new clinical trials. That’s what we’ll see.

If you think about eliminated Head Start slots for 10,000 kids.

Risk significant delays for travels that we – that we’ll see across the country with air traffic controllers and TSA officers, who would have to work without pay.

Undermine public health. Most EPA hazardous waste and drinking water inspection would stop.

Hurt small businesses. We’re talking about SRA would not be able to approve new loans.

And undermine food safety.

So, this is what we think the impacts of the shutdown might be. And look, again, this is something that they can fix. This is something that House Republicans – these extreme House Republicans, they can fix this. All they have to do is their jobs.

And let’s not forget, we had a deal. We had a bipartisan deal the President led on back in May. A deal is a deal.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Speaker McCarthy said today he would be, quote, “more than willing” to look at the $24 billion request for Ukraine aid if the President first looks at their Republican border bill that they put forward. What’s your response to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You know, there is no conversation to be had because the deal was made already back in May, as I just stated to Andrea. There was a deal that the – that the Speaker and the President came together on to move forward on behalf of the American people, that Republicans voted on, that Democrats voted on.

You know, a deal is a deal. There is no discussion to be had. There’s no discussion to be had. And I just am not going to negotiate from here, obviously. But we made a deal in May. We did. Something that the American people want to see – they want to see both sides coming together, actually – actually delivering on matters that – that are important to them. So, this could be fixed by them – by them, not by us. WE made a deal already, and that was back in May.

Go ahead.

Q: Maybe you can tell is about tomorrow’s schedule?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have – I don’t have anything to share at this moment on tomorrow’s schedule. Certainly, we’ll have that out for all of you later today.

Go head, Peter.

Q: Karine, the –

Q: Thank –

Q: – the administration said yesterday it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. At the same time, the city of Eagle Pass in the Rio Grande has announced a state of emergency because of immigrants surge. Is there any concern that the timing of the Venezuelan TPS announcement might exacerbate what’s happening in Eagle Pass right now? And – and, you know, essentially, is this going to make the situation In Eagle Pass worse?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we have worked very hard – the President have worked very – very hard to pleme- implement a strategy, when it comes to the border, that is humane, safe, and orderly enforcement. That is something we have tried to do and worked really hard to do these last two years.

I do want to add a couple of things that we also announced yesterday, as you – just to note – I’m sure you know – which is escalating the fight against smuggling and smugglers as well as non-citizens who are violating our laws, Right? This is an announcement we made yesterday.

Also, in deploying 800 new active-duty military personnel to support border efforts and get CBP agents and office out in the field. This is up to – up to – this on top of the 2,500 National Guard personnel also deployed.

And expanding the Fentanyl [Family] Expedited Removal Management.

So, those are three other pieces that we announced, as well as the Venezuela TPS yesterday.

Let’s not forget the 24,000 CBP agents and officers along the southwest border.

So, we have taken steps without the help of – of Republicans inCongress to do everything that we can to deal with this issue.

And let’s not forget what the Republicans proposed. Their continuing resolution would lead 800 CBP agents and officers being fired and (inaudible) 50,000 pounds of cocaine, more than 300 pounds of fentanyl, more than 700 pounds of heroin, and more than 6,000 pounds of – of other drugs to – to enter the country.

That is what they proposed just a day – a day ago. And that’s what that would do to the – to the border; it would hurt and harm and not deal with the issue.

So, they are doing the opposite of what the President is trying to do – is actually move forward in a way that is humane, safe, and has an orderly enforcement pathway process here.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. So what do you call it here at the White House when 10,000 people illegally cross the border in a single day?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what do you call it, Peter, when GOP puts forth a – wait, no –

Q: Asking are you –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no, no, no, no, no, you can’t –

Q: Karine –

MS JEAN-PIERRE: I’m answering.

Okay, we’re going to move on.

Q: You’re answering a question –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No no, no, no, –

Q: – with a question.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no, no – no, no, no. We’re moving on.

Q: Karine, please –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re moving. In the back. Go ahead.

Q: You said he was stopping the –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead, in the back.

Q: – flow at the border.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no –

Q: Ten thousand migrants –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: – I tried to answer. Peter –

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: – I tried to answer the question, and you stopped me.

Let’s go. Go ahead (inaudible).

Q: So, there was footage yesterday of Border Patrol cutting some of the razor wire that Texas had installed. Governor Abbott has vowed to reinstall it. They have pic – –his border czar has picture of people taking fresh razor wire out to the border to reinstall it.

Is there now a federal policy of removing the barriers that Texas is installing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, here’s – here’s —

Q: And why?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s what I – I’ll say: I would have to look into that. I did so – see those reports yesterday.

But as it relates to Governor Abbott, we know what he has done this past – these past couple of years while this President has been in office. He’s – he’s turned this – when it comes to the border, he’s turned this into a political stunt. And that’s what he’s done over and over again. That’s what I can speak to.

I did see those reports. I would have to go back and get a sense from the team to give you an answer on that.

Q: And there’s an enormous amount of concern. The mayor of Eagle Pass tells us at least 5,000 people crossed probably yesterday or in the last two days – maybe a lot more.

What – I mean, you’ve already talked a little bit, but what –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: – resources, specific to this surge, are being –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just laid out three additional announcement that we did to deal with – to deal with the border that we announced yesterday. We announce the TPS Venezuela announcement as well, yesterday.

And so, this is a president, again that has taken – that has taken action without the help of – of Republicans in Congress. He has taken action over and over again to deal with this issue.

But, let’s not forget – and you know this very well, having – having – as you’ve covered that region – that this is an issue that has been around for decades. This is a broken immigration system. This is why the President, on his first day, put forth a comprehensive piece of legislation to try to deal with this immigration system.

We’ve put more – we’ve put CBP 25 – –24-, 25,000 CBP agents out there. We try to make sure that we deal with the smuggling that’s happening. We’ve tried to make sure that we continue to deal with this in a humane, orderly way, and that’s what we’re going to continue to promise to do.

Again, we just announced three more additional enforcement pathways or ways to move forward on this.

And so, the President is going to continue to do what he can from – from the – from – from this administration.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. I’m going to stay, actually, with the border. How many people coming into the country illegally is enough for President Biden?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Say that last part?

Q: How many people come – how many people illegally coming into the United States is enough for President Biden’s administra- —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t what that – what do you –

Q: Well, five point –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Enough for what?

Q: Five point nine million people have – have been encountered –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know –

Q: – illegally at –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know the numbers, but enough for what?

Q: Enough – just to stop the flood.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As I mentioned, this is a problem that’s been around for some time now – for decades – a broken system. The President has done everything and is going to continue to do what he can, without the help of some Republicans on – in – in Congress to deal with this issue.

And I just laid out what he has done over the past two years – right? – 24,000 CBP agents and officers along the southwest border. This is more – a historic number – more than any other – any other president has been able to do. We’re – and that’s 26- –2,600 additional civilian personnel, those who are going to be helpful in dealing with the issue – increase border-holding capacity by 3,750 to 22,700.

And so, we’re going to deal – we’re trying to deal with the smuggling issues that we’re seeing as well at – on the border. So, the President is going to continue to do the work. He made some announcement on – as well yesterday, as I just mentioned.

And so, look. we’re going to continue to implement a strategy that is humane, that is safe, and that is orderly as it relates to enforcement. And so, that is a promise that you can see from this president.

Again, GOP – the Republicans put up a continuing resolution that actually reverses the work that the President is trying to do – makes it – the situation worse. That’s what they were trying to push.

And so, look, we would love to do it in a bipartisan way and really fix this issue that’s been around for some time now. But right now, the President is doing it on his own.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Will we see the President try and get directly involved in trying to avert this possible government shutdown? And will he be speaking with Speaker McCarthy? And if so, what’s his message?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the President talks often to members of Congress. That is something that he does pretty regularly – that is – and something that he will continue to do. I don’t have any conversations to lay out.

But I said this moments ago – right? – which is the President and the Speaker came to a deal in May. this is not for us to fix. This is for House Republicans to fix – the extreme House Republicans. This is on them.

There is a deal – a deal is a deal – they voted on in a bipartisan way. It is up to them to fix this.

The message is very clear. What he says in private is certainly what – what he says in private is the same as what he says publicly, which is there is no reason for Republicans to shut down the government. House Republicans should stop playing partisan games and keep their promises and also do their jobs. That’s the message that the President is sending.

Q: Given everything you’ve laid out, why is there so much confidence from Jake Sullivan and other members of the Biden administration that this additional funding to Ukraine will get approved?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, I mean, you’ve heard us say this before: We truly appreciate the – the strong bipartisan support that we have seen over the – over the past several months for – for Ukraine.

And it’s not just us. It’s coming – it came from our allies and our partners – right? – which has been able to give Ukrainian – the Ukrainian people the – the opportunity to fight and – and be successful in the battlefield.

And so, this is important – we think it’s incredibly important that we continue to give them the support that they need. You heard from the President in the halls of the U.N., at UNGA, just a day or two ago, speaking about the stakes, the importance of making sure that we continue to help the Ukrainians as they fight for their democracy.

That hasn’t changed; the stakes are still very high. It’s important to continue that support. We’ve made that very clear. Again, you heard directly from the President on – just a day or so ago. And so, we’re going to continue to make that very clear.

And so, look, there was strong bipartisan support. Jake actually laid out some of his conversation and what he – the feedback that he was getting when he was on the Hill.

And so, we’re going to continue to be optimistic about this because it is incredibly important. We’re talking about democracy here.

I’ll call on – go ahead, Gabe. Welcome to the briefing room.

Q: Good to be here, Karine. Thanks so much. I want to go back to immigration. In addition to Eagle Pass, El Paso is also seeing a new influx as well. I understand your comments about being a broken immigration system, but the administration also took credit following the end of Title 42 for the drop in border crossing numbers. It it now taking responsibility for the rise in numbers?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, here –

Q: And –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, I’m sorry.

Q: Go –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Gabe. I’m so sorry. Finish – finish your – finish your –

Q: Yeah, and then, secondly, you mentioned those 800 new troops that are going down to the border. Do you think that’ll be enough?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, every year, as you know, Gabe – I know you follow this very closely – US. sees ebbs and flows of migrants arriving, fueled by seasonal trends, as you know, and efforts of smugglers to encourage – encourage migration. That is something that we see over and over again. And – and so, certainly that plays into this.

And so – and I – and I understand your question, but here’s the thing: As you know, the President has taken action upon action to try and deal with what is happening at the border – historic action, without the help of Congress.

And so, we have asked over and over again to do this in a bipartisan way, which is why the President – his first piece of legislation was to deal with the immigration system and he want – and understanding how critical that is – it was to do that.

And so, we have taken actions. We have taken multiple actions.

But again, this happens. It ebbs and flows. That’s what we see at the border, for different trends, for different reasons.

And so, we made – I think – we think, three important enforcement – enforcement announcement yesterday. It’s on top of what we’ve been able to do.

And, you know – you know, and then you see – and you see it for yourself what Congress has tried to do: put forth a piece of legislation – a CR, a resolution – that does the opposite of what we’re trying to fight fentanyl – right? – when we’re truing to deal with smugglers, when we’re trying to put more – more legal – legal enforcement at the border. They’re trying to reverse that. And so, that is the reality that we’re dealing with.

And so, the President is going to continue to be committed, make sure we do this in a humane way, make sure that we do this is a safe and orderly fashion. And that’s the commitment that the President has to the American people.

Go ahead.

Q: You – there’s a lot of focus in here about what’s happening at the border and what the White House can do with Congress to solve that problem. The one thing the White House can do on its own is foreign policy.

Who’s talking to Venezuela about why these people are still coming? Who’s talking to Panama about the Darién Gap and who’s allowing them to come in?

And whatever happened to those State Department and Spain and Canada centers that were going to be set up along the route –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So on the last –

Q: – to make sure that people would have options?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All very good questions. Clearly, the centers, I would – we would get more information for you on that.

But, look, these diplomatic conversations are incredibly important. You heard from the National Security Advisor. These are conversations that Blinken is having – the Secretary of State is having.

The President, let’s not forget, just last fall, brought – brought 20, 21-22 countries together to talk about what’s — how migration is affecting the region. And remember, they signed a declaration.

Look, these diplomatic conversations will continue. It is not an easy – easy issue to deal with. Right? But they’re going to continue what – the point that I’m making and the point that I think you all have – some of you have reported on: This is a president that has taken historic action on an issue, on a system, that has been broken for some time.

And we have been very clear: We would like to do this in a bipartisan way. We’d like to do it with the help of Republicans. But right now we are doing it in the best way that we can: diplomatic – taking diplomatic actions, as you just laid out, right?; having those conversations; seeing how we can work with this issue. Because it’s a regional issue. This is a West Hemisphere issue, right?

And so, we’re going to do tho- –to do that, and also make announcements like we did yesterday to deal with what’s going on at the border.

All right. I’ll get –

AIDE: (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. All right. I’ll take one more question for some – go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. The President is expected to announce a new Office for Gun Violence Prevention to coordinate the administration’s efforts. This obviously has been a proposal that’s been on the table for years from advocates. And this White House has always maintained that this falls under the Domestic Policy Council.

I’m wondering if you could tell us why the White House has agreed to accept this proposal now since advocates have been pushing for it since the transition.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I’m going to be very careful here. And certainly, as you know, we are going to give – the President and the Vice President are going to give remarks on gun safety tomorrow. So I’m going to let them speak to this. So, don’t have anything to share on this at this time. So, I would tell you to stay tuned.

But, you know, look, in a much broader sense here, the President has said, “Gun violence is an epidemic.” There are many people who are sitting around their kitchen table every night who are missing loved ones because of gun violence, because of what it’s doing to their community.

It is – you know, when you hear stats of guns being the number-one killer of kids, that is something that we really should be mindful to and do something about that. That’s why the President has taken the actions – to deal with this issue. That’s why it was important that we saw bipartisan support to deal with gun violence.

But that’s the reality. That’s the reality that communities are dealing with. And the President is going to try to do everything that he can do deal with this epidemic.

I’m certainly not going to get ahead of the President. You will all hear from the President and the Vice President tomorrow on their gun – on their gun safety announcement, and we’ll see you all tomorrow.

Thanks, everybody.

September 22, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Representative Lucy McBath”

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everyone.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, President Biden, as you all know, has met with countless survivors of gun violence and families mourning loved ones. And the message he hears most often is: Do something.

Today, President Biden will build upon the historic actions he’s taken through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the two dozen executive actions he’s taken to date, and announce the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

This new office will be overseen by Vice President Harris, who has been a – who has been a key leader in the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to end our national gun violence epidemic.

The office will be held by Stefanie Feldman, a longtime policy advisor to President Biden on gun violence prevention, and two leading gun violence prevention advocates, Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox. They will join the administration as deputy directors of the office.

Ahead of this afternoon’s event in the Rose Garden, I am pleased welcome the podium someone who has more authority to speak on this issue than nearly anyone else in this town – and I say that sadly: Congresswoman Lucy McBath.

Through her grief and because other perseverance, she has become a tireless advocate for gun safety reform. For some, this is an abstract debate, but not for Congresswoman McBath. She has lived within – with the awful and tragic reality of gun violence epidemic in this country. I can think of no better person to share what today’s news means to so many families across the country.

On a personal note, she’s a hero of mine. I 2018, as a – as I was at a previous job I held, we were sitting around deciding who was going to go to the district – districts — different districts across the country, obviously, to organize and knock on doors. I stood up and asked to go to Lucy McBath’s district because she has so inspired me with her smarts, and her vision for this country.

So, I literally went door to door, knocking in what is now your district for your first election.

REPRESENTATIVE MCBATH: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And it is a – really, truly an honor to have you here today on this important, important historic moment here at the White House.

The podium is yours, Congresswoman.

REPRESENTATIVE MCBATH: Thank you. Thank you. Well, thank you so much, Karine.

And while I serve as a member of Congress today, I am speaking to you first and foremost as a mother. Just over a decade ago, I was living like any other mom in Georgia — in the Georgia suburbs, and I dedicated my entire life to raising my son, Jordan.

Then, on November 23rd, 2012, within the course of three and a half minutes, a man drove up next to my son and his friends as they were parked in their car at a convince store gas station, firing 10 rounds into the car and killing my only son.

In an instant, I was robbed of every dream that a mother holds for her child. I would never send Jordan off to college. I would never see him attend his high school events. He would never graduate from high school. I would never see him get married.

Nobody wants to experience what I have, but my story is becoming far too common in the United States of America. Every single day, over 100 people are shot and killed in the United States.

Gun violence has no boundaries. From the suburbs, to rural America, over 100 families a day are living their worst nightmare.

Our kids are continually trauma- –traumatized by lockdown drills, while schools teach them how to hide behind their desks and corner themselves to shield themselves from gunfire.

President Biden knows the deep pain of losing a loved one. And today, he is taking decisive action by declaring loudly and clearly: We do not have to live this way.

The historic creation of the gun — of the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention marks a new era in the fight to keep us all safe. The office will increase coordination between states and ensure proper implementation of the gun safety legislation that we have already passed in Congress.

President Biden’s actions today truly, truly will save lives.

Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, Congresswoman.

REPRESENTATIVE MCBATH: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things before we go into questions. Today, extreme Republicans are voting in a House committee on four destructive appropriation bills as they continue to march toward a shutdown that would hurt our economy and threaten our safety.

House Republicans failed multiple times this week to do their basic duty: keep the government running. Instead, they were pushed to the extremes with increasingly severe cuts to programs Americans rely on, which have no hope of passing the Senate. And having accomplished nothing — having accomplished nothing this week, they have all decided to go home.

That’s not delivering for the American people. It’s chaos. It’s failing. It’s actually failing the American people.

Now, you don’t have to take my word for it. As you know, we like to take it straight from the horse’s mouth, if you will, and do the quotes here. So, House Republicans have said — they said it themselves.

Representative Frank Lucas said, quote, “I truly think that they want to shut it down.” End quote.

Representative Matt Gaetz said, “We will have a government shutdown.” “We cannot blame Joe Biden…” “We cannot blame House d- –House Democrats.” End quote.

That’s because House Republicans are to blame. And we’ve seen that week after week after week.

So, now the question for House Republicans is very simple: Do they continue to pursue increasingly extreme bills that would hurt their constituents by slashing education, slashing healthcare, Meals on Wheels, and much more, all while barreling toward a needless shutdown that would threaten nutrition assistance for nearly 7 million mothers and children? Is that what they want? That’s a question for them. They have to answer this.

Or do they keep their promise and abide by the bipartisan agreement two thirds — two thirds of House Republicans voted for – for this bipartisan agreement just four months ago back in May? It’s not complicated here. It’s truly not complicated, because a deal is a deal.

So, another thing before we – we continue. Here at the White House, this afternoon, the President is taking another action to save lives: signing a bipartisan law that will make the ar- — the organ transplant system work better for more than 100,000 people on the waiting list for organs.

Everybody knows the system has been broken for years, with heartbreaking consequences. Now, with the President’s signature, we are taking significant steps to improve it.

The law will break up the current monopoly system, harnessing competition to allow HHS to contract with the best entities to provide a more efficient system for the people it serves. The law will also eliminate the funding cap to allow additional resources to modernize the system, which is a critical lifeline for thousands of Americans. And this will save live by creating a more transparent and accountable system that allows more Americans to access the organ transplants that many so desperately need.

And finally, finally, finally — on Monday, the President will host Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House during the U.S-Pacific Island Forum Summit taking place here in Washington D.C.

This is the second summit with Pacific leaders that the President will be doing here. It will reaffirm his support for strengthening ties with the Pacific Islands and discuss how we address complex global challenges, like tackling the existential threat of climate change, advancing economic growth, and promoting sustainable development.

Over the past year, we’ve taken our engagement with PIF countries to new heights. And we’re looking toward – to continue to deepen our partnerships.

And we’ll have more for you later this afternoon. There will be a call that all of you can jump on. I believe it’s at 3:30. And so, stay – stay tuned.

And with that, Will.

Q: Thanks. I have two topics. First, on Senator Menendez, did the White House know that an indictment was coming today? And what does the President believe the senator should resign?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. I’m going to be really careful here – this is a — and not comment, because this is an active matter.

We learned about this just like all of you. But again, this is an active matter, so I’m not going to comment.

Q: Should he resign?

Q: No comment on a resignation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I’m just — active matter. I’m not going to comment.

Q: Okay. On the — on the UAW strike. The UAW has invited President Biden to the picket line. I’m wondering if he’s going to — he has any plans to go.

And also, they — the strike is expanding to 20 states. Is the President going to feel more pressure to move both parties toward a resigna- — a resolution —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a cou- —

Q: –resolution?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yep. On your first question, I don’t have any updates to the President’s schedule at – at this time. Just don’t have anything to share.

But certainly, the President appreciates the – Shawn Fain’s inviting him, including him, certainly, with the — with all the family and friends of the UAW.

And so, the President has been really clear about this. He believes the un- –the union built the middle class. That’s something that he has said for years now. And, of course, he is a union guy who will continue to fight for UAW and also union workers. So, that will not end. That is something that he has certainly been steadfast about for the past several years.

So, we are aware, of course, in touch with the parties. As you know, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and also Gene Sperling have been in regular touch for the past several weeks with all parties.

Certainly, the parties continue to remain at the negotiation table, which is incredibly important. And so, we’ve communicated to each of them the importance of continuing to work 24/7 to get to a win-win agreement, as you’ve heard us say many times.

And look, the auto industry will remain here in America. That’s what the President has been working towards, investing in that in the last two years. And, you know, UAW workers remain at the heart – the heart of a growing industry.

And so, we will do anything — everything that we possibly can to help in any way that the parties would like us to. But again, they are at the negotiation table, and they – we believe that’s incredibly important.

I know – I know your – your dad had some thoughts about our back-and-forth yesterday, so maybe we sh- –we should try this again.

Q: I – same question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.)

Q: Same question as yesterday.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Can you repeat the question?

Q: What do you call it when 10,000 people illegally cross the border in a single day?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, here’s what I will say. And you’ve heard us say — you heard me say this a couple of times — and I’ll say it again because it is the facts: On day one, the first day of this President’s administration, he put forth a comprehensive immigration reform that we believe – we believe that was desperately needed for this country. Right?

As we know, and you’ve heard me say this many times before, we are dealing with a broken system. And no action was taken from Congress.

And so, what the President was able to do: He imposed consequences for those who do not have the legal basis to remain. And he has removed more than 250,000 individuals – this administration has done so — Since May 12th. And so, we’ve taken action.

The President has secured — he also secured record funding. And – and let’s not forget: This record funding that the President fought for over the last year or so was — opposed by the House Republicans. This is something that they opposed and didn’t want to see.

And so, what allowed us to do is actually hire more – bring on CBP agents and really do something historic, that we hadn’t seen.

And so, a broken system. It’s been broken for the past couple of decades. The last administration certainly gutted the immigration system for four years. That’s what they did.

And you had Speaker McCarthy and the Republicans in Congress who continuously — continuously take step to undermine what is currently happening, trying to undermine getting border security.

We saw that – we saw that this week with the — with the CR, where they put forth another – another piece of legislation to cut — to cut — to propose continuing to cut — some important resources that’s needed, whether it CBP — 800 fewer CBP is what they wanted to do. Fifth thousand pounds of cocaine, that’s what it would – that’s what it would hurt — right? — in — in trying to prevent that from coming in. Right?

When you think about more than 300 pounds of fentanyl, when you think about more than 700 pounds of heroin, more than 6,000 pounds of methamphetamine to enter the country — that’s what they were trying to prevent from the work that we’re trying to do — prevent from coming into the country.

So, we would love to do this in a bipartisan way, but we’re not seeing that. We’re seeing — what we’re seeing from House Republicans is wanting to defund –defu – –defund, pardon me, DHS.

Q: But when you spoke last month —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — and you said, “We are stopping the flow at the border,” is 10,000 migrants in a single day stopping the flow?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I will say is – I just mentioned 250 [thousand] individuals have been – have been stopped who do not have the legal pathway from coming in. That has been since May 12th.

And — and as we are, you know, looking at Eagle Pass — and I know this is a — this is a — where — where kind of the — the issue is at the ti- — at the moment. You know, CBP quickly surged resources and personnel to the area. And thanks to their great work — their great work, we’re able to swiftly vet — voted and processed into custody more than two hun- –2,500 individuals and cleared the area where the migrants had congregated.

And that’s the work of our law enforcement at the border.

Remember, House Republicans are trying to cut that. They’re trying to cut that.

Q: Totally different subject.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.

Q: There are some new relaxed standards in town. Would President Biden ever show up to an official meeting wearing shorts and a hoodie?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’ve — You’ve — I’m assuming you’re talking about the Senate when you say “relaxed standards.”

Q: He was in the Senate for a long time.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know, but I’m just —

Q: He used to be the president of the Senate.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just want to make sure we’re clear what you’re talking about here.

Q: Do you think these are appropriate changes?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You — You know the President. You’ve seen him. You’ve seen him for the past – as vice president, as senator. He – he dresses better than – than most of us here. (Laughs.) And so, I’l just leave it as that.

I’m not going to comment on how Senate is running their business and the decision that they’re –made. That is — that is up to them.

Q: And then —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is not for use to decide or speak to.

Q: – last one. At a fundrai- — at a fundraiser this week, President Biden told donors about how Charlottesville inspired his campaign. And then, according to the pool, a few minutes later, he told the story again, nearly word for word. What’s up with that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What I can tell you is – and I’m going to be careful not to talk about – because this was a campaign event for this upcoming campaign, obviously, in 2024. So, I’m not going to speak to that, out that out there for the Hatch Act.

What I can speak to is — look, the President was making very clear why he decided to run in 2020 and 2019. He made it very clear as to what he saw in this country and what was going on. And he got 81 million votes – a historic amount of votes – from Americans across the country who believed that this was a president who can help us get our – protect our democracy, get our economy back on track. And – and could be a leader and the adult in the room. And so, that’s what you saw.

I’m not going to speak to comments that were made and – during a campaign – campaign event, but I can certainly speak to why the President is president today and why he decided to take on this job.

And it is important for him to continue to deliver for the American people, and that’s what he’s going to do.

Go ahead, Nancy.

Q: (Inaudible.)

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Nancy.

Q: I know you don’t want to interfere with an ongoing investigation. But given the unique nature of the charges against Senator Menendez, taking bribes from a foreign country – he’s the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee — what message does that send to other countries if he’s allowed to stay in that role?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I believe, from some of your reporting, I think there’s discussions happening about his next steps – the senator’s next steps. So, I leave it to the leadership of the Senate and certainly lead it — leave that to the senator’s office.

I have to be really careful because it is, indeed, an ongoing matter. And so, I cannot comment on this.

But as far as his leadership role in the Senate, that is something for Senate leadership to speak to.

Q: Given that this is now the second time that he’s faced really serious charges, would the President advise him to step down? Does he want to see him continue in the Senate?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re going to be very, very clear about this: We’re not going to get involved. It is an ongoing matter. And so, we’re going to leave it to — to the prosecutors to move forward with however they see fit, but we’re not going to comment.

Q: On the UAW, the initial plan was the President was going to send Julie Su and Gene Sperling to Detroit. They stayed here. Why was that decision made for them to stay here? And now, given that the strike is expanding, are there plans to now go ahead and send them to Detroit? Or are they going to continue to – to make those conversations from here?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there was a mutually agreed decision that was made this week that we – that was believed be the most productive way to move forward – was for – for Gene and Julie to swayback and to help from Washington in the best way possible. That was a mutually agreed agreement.

And look, we are in constant conversations with all parties. They actually spoke to the parties today. And so, that certainly is going to continue. We are going to help and assist in any way that they feel necessary.

But look, I think the most important thing is that they are still at the negotiation table. That is incredibly important. They have done – they have been really focused on this the last – the last 24/7. And so, I think that’s important.

The President has always said he’s a union guy. He — he appreciates being called that by unions and labor leaders out there.

And so, we’re going to do everything that we can to be helpful. But we are encouraged that they are continuing to have that conversation.

Q: Thank, Karine. Beyond placing the blame on Congress, what’s your message to federal employees at risk of going unpaid?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, our – our message is: This doesn’t have to happen. The shutdown does not have to happen. The Republican shutdown does not have to happen. They can do their – they can do their job and keep these vital programs continuing, keeping the government open. And that’s our message.

Our message is: This should not be happening. We should not be putting American families’ lives in turmoil. We should not be putting their families’ lives in turmoil. We should not be putting their – even their lives at risk, potentially, because of what this could mean for the different programs that these families and Americans need.

And so, all they have to do is their job. And what they’re doing is putting forth incredibly extreme, partisan — partisan policies forward and — you know, and saying, “Hey, we have to get this done,” in order to keep a deal that they made back in May.

And so, this should not be happening. It should not be happening. And so, look, we’re going to continue to be very clear what we’re — what we’re saying to them privately is what we’re saying to all of you publicly — is that they need to do their job.

Q: Do you know when federal workers would miss their first paycheck?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have the specifics on any of that. The OMB Director and the OMB more broadly, certainly, is working – is working on what – on plans of what this could potentially look like if there is a shutdown, talking to the different agencies.

So, that is – that is certainly in progress right now. Just don’t have any specifics on payments or what that would – what that would look like.

Q: And the new announcement today on the gun violence – Office of Prevention of Gun Violence. That has been something advocates have been pushing for for years. why do you think it took so long?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, here’s the thing. As you know, there was the bipartisan piece of legislation that the President was – signed, and it was the first major piece of legislation on gun violence that was able to be – to move forward in 30 years.

The President did two dozen executive actions, because he took this seriously. He called the gun violence in this country an “epidemic.”

And so, I said this yesterday and I’ve said this many times – you’ve heard this from the President: There are people who are sitting at their kitchen table every night who is missing a loved one because of this violence. Because you can’t go – you can’t go to your congregation, you can’t go to your grocery store and not worry about potential getting shot down.

You have kids who are going to school who are – you heard directly from the congresswoman – what they have to go through now because of this gun violence epidemic.

So, right now is the right moment to establish this office. We want to accelerate – accelerate what the President is – put forward in his two dozen – two dozen executive actions. We want to accelerate the law that he was able to sign – sign into – sign into law – legislation he was able to sign into law – to get – to continue the work done.

And so, this was the right time to do that. But let’s not forget the work that the President has done in the last two years to get us where we are. But more work needs to be done. He’s not going to stop calling on Congress to continue to do the work that they need to do to protect our families from gun violence.

But this is an opportunity to accelerate what the President has been able to do – to protect communities, to really deal with gun violence. And that’s what the importance of this office is.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Did President Biden and other Five Eyes leaders raise their concerns about Canada’s allegations of Indian involvement in the murder of a Canadian citizen at the recent G20 meeting?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I know that the National Security Advisor spoke to this yesterday, and I know there’s been some new reporting. I don’t have anything to – certainly – and this is something that Jake said himself – you know, I’m not, – he was not going to comment about private diplomatic conversations. I’m not going to do that either. You know, if the – just – just following what the National Security Advisor said.

And so, I’m not going to comment on that. Obviously, you know, we are deeply concerned, as he said as well. And – and so, what – what the Prime Minister has referenced here – the Prime Minister of Canada. And so, we remain in regular contact with the Canadian partners. But, of course, I’m just not going to comment on diplomatic conversations from here.

Q: Jake did also say that the – that the issue was being raised at the highest levels with the Indian government. Can you tell us if that’s – if you’re staying in regular contact with them about this as well?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we have engaged, as – as – as Jake said – our National Security Advisor – with – with the Indian government. But, certainly, we’re not going to get into our private diplomatic conversations, as he said as well. But yes, there has been conversations with our partners in the Indian government, as Jake stated yesterday.

Q: Karine, a follow up?

Q: In another realm of diplomatic conversations, can you say whether or not President Biden promised President Zelenskyy yesterday that the U.S. would provide the weapons known as ATACMS?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, again, with this, I’m just not going to confirm the reportings that are out there. Look – and Jake said this as well when he was here – the President has long said, in the past, that ATACMS are not – are not off the table. And – but I just don’t have anything new to announce.

But look, I will say this, more broadly – is that what we saw yesterday, this bilat between two leaders – between President Zelenskyy and President Biden – was really important.

It sent a strong signal to the world that – that we will continue to support Ukraine. And let’s not forget, we also announced a significant weapons package yesterday to continue to show that support that we have to Ukraine – their counter- — to support their counteroffensive and strengthen their air defenses against Russian attacks, which is our fourth package, as you know.

So, well – going to continue to show our support for Ukraine with these security assistance. And so, that is our commitment. We will be there as long as they – as long as it takes. I just cannot confirm those reports.

Q: Follow up on Canada?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Back on the auto workers strike. There’s been some behind-the-scenes talk about a loan or grant program to help the auto suppliers. Is there any movement on that? And if a program would happen, could that be potentially affected by a government shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there’s negotiations happening right now. I’m not get into the – into the details of the negotiations at this time. I’m going to let them have their – we’re going to give them the space and let them have the conversations. We are encouraged that they are – continue to be at the table. I’m just not going to go point by point on what’s being discussed or what’s being put forward.

Q: Is there – is there any discussions in the administration about helping the suppliers as this strike continues?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Don’t have anything to share at this time from – from how we’re going to potentially move forward.

What we are encouraged of is that they are continuing to stay at the table, and that’s what we want to see. And so, I’m not going to get into hypotheticals at this point.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks, Karine. A possible government shutdown would coincide with the restart date for federal student loan payments. That starts on October 1st. Is there any consideration right now to pushing that date back if there were a shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s a really good question. We are – right now, OMB is having those discussions with agencies at the moment to see how to move forward if there is a potential shutdown. Don’t have the pa- specifics of what the different programs like the student loan program that we’ve – the different parts of it that we’ve announced is going to look like because those conversations are just now happening.

Q: Can you say, from the White House, how worried you would be if there were Education Department employees furloughed — who would obviously be a part of this – but if there was a shutdown and those employees weren’t there, how concerned would you be that this would not go smoothly then, starting on October 1st?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as you know, the student – student debt relief program to the port- — the President put forth is incredibly important to him, right? It is something that he believed – the reason he put it out there was to make sure that we give Americans a little bit breathing room, especially coming out of the pandemic. And so, it was a — clearly, part of his economic policy to make sure that we don’t leave anybody behind, especially, again, as we’re coming out of this pandemic.

Don’t have — I don’t want to get too far into the weeds into this, because, again, these conversations are just now starting — that OMB is having — so I don’t want to get ahead of that. But certainly, we’re looking into it, and we’re planning accordingly.

Go ahead.

Q: Yes, Karine. Also on the shutdown. You mentioned yesterday that, potentially, food safety would be under threat –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: –in a shutdown. I understand that in previous years, USDA has considered those sorts of inspections as essential. Is there something else that you think will change that would make it non-essential?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, those conversations are happening, as to what the effects might be — right? — to those certain programs and how these agencies are going to move forward. Don’t have anything more to share.

Certainly, I laid – I laid out what the impacts would be for a shutdown, because it’s important for the American people to know what this means, with this Republican shutdown that they’re certainly seeming to barrel forward with. But just don’t have any specifics on that.

Again, OMB is having these conversations with agencies. And so – to – to look to see – to try and figure out how this is going to affect Americans across the country.

Go ahead.

Q: Karine, thanks. Can you expound on what the President is doing and what he will be doing to avoid a government shutdown? I understand you all have been saying that Congress needs to do its job. But surely, the President must want to do something to avert this.

And is there a possibility that he would alter his travel schedule next week?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look – look, I don’t have anything to speak to on the President’s travel schedule. But this is – the President did his job. He did. He helped broker bipartisan agreement back in May to move forward with a budget that, as I mentioned two thirds of Republicans voted on. He did his part. So, a deal is a deal.

This is not something we can fix. The best plan is to not – is to not have a shutdown. The best plan is for the House Republicans to stop their partisan political play and not do this to hurt Americans across the country. That’s the plan. The plan is to – for them to actually do their job.

The President found it so important — right — to make sure that there was a bipartisan budget agreement that he did – he – ma- — he helped brokered that.

And, again, a deal is a deal. And so, there should not be a shutdown. There should not be a shutdown. They should keep their promise not just to the President but to the American people.

And so, you know, this is for them to fix. This is something that House Republicans have to fix.

Go ahead. And then I’ll go back. Go ahead.

Q: A couple of things I’d like to follow up on. First of all, when you referenced the signing of the organ donation, if we had coverage of the signing of the organ donation, that would certainly expand attention to that important issue. So, just as an ongoing request that coverage of bill signings —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I appreciate that.

Q: — would be — would be appreciated.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I appreciate that. Yep.

Q: Following up on the UAW and — and so forth. Isn’t it an acknowledgement that the offer to send Julie Su and Gene Sperling was a misstep because they have not gone and you want to give this space?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No ab- — I don’t think it — I wouldn’t call it a “misstep,” because I said it was mutually agreed upon that they would stay back as they continue to have their conversation. And when I mean “they” – meaning the parties that are – who are a part of this negotiation process: obviously, the Big 3 and UAW.

And so, I wouldn’t call it a misstep at all. I mean, again, it was a mutual — mutually agreed that it would be — it would be more — most productive for Gene and Julie to stay back and do the meetings and — from Washington D.C.

Now, let’s not forget, this is something that they’ve been doing for the past several weeks; it’s nothing new. And so, we are — you know, we appreciate that — again, mutually agreed.

And so, if there’s travel that needs to happen, we’ll certainly assess that when the time — when the time comes.

But what is the most important thing here – what is the most important thing is that all parties continue to have these – this conversation and to continue to negotiate. And that’s, I think, what is the most important part of this.

Q: And following up on Peter’s comment about the fundraiser. For — you know, we all understand that these are off camera. We were not witnesses to that, except for our pool that was present. But for the President to retell a story we’ve all heard him tell many times —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — in full – and stipulating that we often — as human beings, you know, we misspeak. We do things. I’ve done it myself. So, stipulating all of that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — is it any concern that he would fully retell a story in the same space in the same event?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sometimes I re- — re-speak as well from here and retell a story.

But, look, you know, I think it’s important to note that the fundraiser, and he was speaking from his heart. He was speaking about why he decided to do this. And you hear the President talk about this. It’s always incredibly emotional for him, because he didn’t have to. He went through an incredibly difficult time when he was deciding to jump into the race.

And so — but he saw – you know, as somebody who served as a senator, as somebody who served as vice president — what was going on in this — in this –in this country under the last president.

Charlottesville —

Q: So, you think knowingly and mindfully that he wanted to retell it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You know, I have not spoken to the President about it, certainly.

But what I can’t say is: The passion that he has wen he tells that story and how important it is for him to have done something because he believed, you know, our democracy was at stake. You know, and that’s — and — and what he saw.

I mean, you all saw what we saw in Charlottesville. It was devastating. It was a part of our country that was devastating to see.

And so, you know, he spoke to that passionately. And, you know, that’s why he’s in this. He’s in this because he believes that he can — he can help move this country forward in a way that brings it to — to its best — right? — when he talks about possibilities. And that’s why he was speaking to – in an incredibly passionate way.

Okay. Go ahead, Gerren.

Q: Thanks, Karine. While gun violence impacts communities all across the country, Black, Jewish, and marginalized communities often fall at the intersection of gun violence and hate-fueled violence. In many parts of the country, those who commit hate crimes can still have legal access to a gun. How important is it for this office — this new office to address gun violence intersectional?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, it’s – I mean, it is incredibly important. When we talk about gun violence, it’s not one community that’s affecting, as you just laid out; it’s multiple communities. So, this is something that is at their intersection. It is so important that we do not forget a community here.

As you know, this is going to be overseen by VP Harris – the Vice President, Harris — which is going to be incredibly important. We have Stef Feldman, who’s going to be the director, and she’ll have two deputies.

We’re taking this very seriously, and this is about all communities — all communities. As we hear the horrible stories — right? — we hear story — stories of different brown and Black communities, rural communities, urban communities being affected by gun violence. And enough is enough.

Remember what I said at the top of this — at the top of the briefing: The President hears from multiple – multiple victims, and the thing that they say to him is, “Do something.” And it doesn’t matter where he is around the country, who he’s comforting during these awful attacks, that’s what he hears, because all of these communities are feeling the same thing. They’re losing loved ones.

And so, it’s going to be incredibly important to make sure that we don’t leave any community behind. This is not a president that does that. This is the president that talks about inclus- — being inclusive. And — and so, that’s what you’re going to see from this office.

What this office is going to do — as I said moments ago, it’s going to accelerate the work that the President has already put forth: the bipartisan — the bipartisan law on gun — for gun violence, when you think about the two dozen executive actions that he’s taken. It’s going to help accelerate all of those really critical pieces, so that we can get to a place where we’re in — — where we’re not sending our kids — being frightened — to school because there might be — there might be a gun violence at their school or going to — or going to a grocery store. Right?

And so, that’s the importance of this office — is to really get to work and accelerate the work that we’ve already been doing.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks. On Ukraine. After Zelenskyy’s visit yesterday, Biden – Biden said that he was counting on a good judgment of Congress to keep approving aid for Ukraine. How confident is he that Republicans are going to keep approving additional funding in an election year?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, this is something that Jake — Jake Sullivan spoke to — our National Security Advisor spoke to yesterday. As you know, he’s been very much involved and having conversations on — on the Hill with congressional members — both Democratic and Republican — sitting down, talking through the importance of continuing the funding.

We have said over and over again how much we appreciate the strong bipartisan support that we have seen for Ukraine in helping them fight — fight in this war as they’re fighting for their democracy.

So we’re — we’re going to continue to be confident. We’re going to continue to have those conversations. And – and we believe – and that’s what I — you know, what I said earlier about how important it was for two leaders to have this bilateral engagement yesterday, the message it sends is that we should — that we are going to continue to support Ukraine.

So, we’re confident in that support, that bi- — that bipartisan support for Ukraine. And so, we’re just going to continue to have those conversations.

Q: Also, on Israel. Netanyahu said today that he believes Israel and Saudi Arabia can achieve a historic peace deal, and that President Biden can clinch the deal. But he also said that we should not give the Palestinians a veto.

How confident is the White House that Israel and Saudi Arabia will normalize relations? Is it possible — a deal without the Palestinians? Would Biden still like it — I mean, if it doesn’t include the Palestinians?

MS-JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. And this is something that Jake Sullivan spoke to when we — when he spoke to normalization.

So many of the key elements of a pathway towards normalizations are now on the table, as you just stated and there is a broad understanding of these elements, which will not — which we’re, of course, not going to discuss publicly.

So, the specifics require an incredibly amount of legwork, discipline, rigor, and all of the stakeholders in this are applying — applying that as we speak. This is coming from Jake yesterday.

And that said, we don’t have a formal framework here. We don’t have the — terms ready to be signed.

There’s certainly a lot of work to do, and we’re going to work through it.

Look, a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia will include a serious component dealing with the fundamental issue between Israeli and Palestinian. This is to your question.

But I — I certainly don’t want to get ahead of a process. There’s a lot of legwork to be done. And don’t have a formal framework. And so, we’re going to work through it.

And certainly, I’m to be done. And don’t have a formal framework. And so, we’re going to work through it.

And certainly, I’m not going to get into the specifics from here.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Just to follow up on the new office on preventing gun violence. I was wondering if there’s an international component to the scope of this new office. For example, will it be able to curb of the trafficking of illegal guns to Mexico from bordering U.S. states?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, our – our gun policy has always been comprehensive. And – and, of course, this is – this office is going to continue to talk to in regu- — be regular contact with NSC and Homeland Security team.

And, so we’re going to do everything that we can to combat international trafficking and smuggling, as well.

And so, this is a comprehensive approach and – that we’re going to certainly move forward with.

Q: Okay, and just really quickly, a quick conformation, if I may. Our sources say that U.S. and Chinese officials are still working toward a Biden-Xi meeting in San Francisco on the sidelines of APEC in November. Can you confirm that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything more to what the President has shared on this. I think most recently may have been Camp David when he was asked this question. I don’t have anything else to share on a potential meeting or details on that.

Surely, if that were to happen, we would share — we would certainly share that with all of you.

Go ahead, Jon.

Q: Thanks a lot, Karine. A follow-up in regards to the gun violence prevention office that the President will announce in a few moments. Why can’t the Domestic Policy Council do the same work that this new office is setting up? Can you explain what the Domestic Policy Council does versus what this new office will do and if there is any overlap between those two offices?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, this office is going to implement and expand upon the key – key executive actions, Right? It’s going to zero in and focus on those key executive actions, get that moving, accelerate that, and — and also the legislative action. That is what it’s going to do.

And, look, I said it, the President has said it – you’re going to hear from him moment- — in a few moments — and the Vice President: This is an epidemic. Gun violence is an epidemic in our country. And so, we need to do everything that we can.

And we believe having this office is going to be — is showing — is sh- — continuing to show the President’s commitment. But it’s going to be incredibly important, pushing what the President has put forward. And that’s what you’re going to see.

And I think having it separate and apart from D- –DPC shows our commitment, yes, but also shows that we are taking this step – right? — an extra step on how seriously we’re taking it and how important it’s going to be.

So, this is the President saying he wants to — he wants to save more lives. This is what — this is what we’re going to try and do. We’re going to continue to see what we can do to save more lives.

Q: And then a separate question in regards to President Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington yesterday. He was up on Capitol Hill; he met with members to both parties. From what you’ve heard, was he able to change any minds, particularly those House Republicans that are opposed to providing any additional aid to Ukraine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll leave that to the House Republicans to speak to their meetings with – with the Pres- — President Zelenskyy.

As you know, he met with them and shared – shared, you know, certainly, his when he speaks about this, as he’s dealing with this, he speaks about it in such a passionate way. And when he – when President Zelensky speaks, people listen, because he knows what he’s going through every day with his – what his country is going through, the people in his country are going through. And we have said how bravely they are fighting for their democracy and for their freedom.

So, that’s up to House Republicans to speak to – or House — House — House congressional members to speak to.

What we can do is continue to do what we showed yesterday, right? We announced another security assistance. Again, we — you saw the bilateral — the bilateral engagement between two leaders, which we believe showed our commitment to Ukraine. You heard from the President at UNGA – speak to this in a very forceful way, what this means if — if we were not to continue to support Ukraine.

And so, we’re going to — the President is going to continue to do — to speak very forcefully, to show how much he supports Ukraine. But that is up to Congress.

But, with all of that said, we appreciate the bipartisan support that we have seen for the funding for Ukraine. And we are going — we are optimistic that that’s going to continue.

AIDE: We can take one more, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: One more? Okay.

Q: Karine?

Q: Karine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see you, Cristina.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s been a while.

Q: Yes, it has been. Thank you for taking my question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Absolutely.

Q: If there is so much at stake in case of a government shutdown, is the President willing to support or even broker negotiations between more moderate Republicans and Democrats to help Leader McCarthy avoid the shutdown? Is there any chance for bipartisanship here?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look – Cristina, look, I appreciate the question — really do. And I’m just going to reiterate what I said moments ago: This is something for House Republicans to deal with. It is their job. It is one of their basic duties to keep the government open. It truly is.

And instead, they’re going in a very bipartisan way – in extreme ways in putting forth policies and, you know, CRs that’s going to hurt American families.

We — the President did his job, right? He helped broker a bipartisan legislation that two thirds of that legislation was voted by Republicans.

And so, a deal is a deal. They need to stick to what they agreed upon — what they, themselves, voted on.

And so, that is for Speaker McCarthy to — to figure out — to figure out how he’s going to move forward here. But this is for them to fix. This is for them to fix.

So, I’ll leave it there.

Have a great weekend, y’all. I’ll see you on Monday.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you.

September 25: Roll Call posted an article titled: “Military pay, typically exempted during shutdowns, is at risk” From the article:

Why is this shutdown, if one occurs, not like the others in recent history? U.S. military servicemembers, who have to report for duty anyway because of the critical nature of their jobs, wouldn’t get paid.

During the prolonged partial government shutdowns in late 1995-early 1996, 2013 and the late 2018-early 2019 – the longest in modern history at 21, 16 and 34 days, respectively, – active-duty military and reservists received their salaries during the funding lapses.

That’s because the full-year Defense appropriations bill had already become law or, in the case of the October 2013 shutdown, Congress preemptively passed legislation guaranteeing military pay. With no enacted Defense bill even close, the only chance for military servicemembers to still get their paychecks if there’s a shutdown is for lawmakers to go the 2013 route…

…Big numbers

There are currently almost 2.1 million active-duty military servicemembers and reservists who would e forced to report for duty without pay.

Of the roughly 804,000 civilian Pentagon employees, about 199,000 would be required to work without pay given their “excepted” roles considered “necessary to protect life and property,” while 439,000 would be required to work without pay given their “excepted” roles considered “necessary to protect life and property,” while 439,000 would stay home without pay, according to the department’s contingency plan. The remainder are compensated outside of annual appropriations and wouldn’t be affected…

…The Coast Guard’s roughly 50,000 employees, including nearly 42,000 active-duty military, fell completely through the cracks during the 2018-19 shutdown because the Homeland Security spending bill didn’t become law in advance as the Defense bill did. So they didn’t get paid until the shutdown ended…

…When the shutdown ends, all federal workers who went without their paychecks would receive retroactive compensation, thanks to a law signed shortly after the 2018-19 shutdown…

…But employees working on contract providing services for the federal government aren’t covered by that law. After the last shutdown, estimates were upward of 1 million contractors, many of them lower-paid employees, never got paid for over one month of lost work.

September 25: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack“

Q: Hey, hey.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hey, hey.

Q: Hi.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi, everybody. Look at all the cameras. Oh, my goodness. I’m camera shy.

Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. Happy Monday.

This week, as House Republicans’ chaos continues to march us toward an extreme Republican shutdown, we are calling out how a shutdown would damage our communities, economy, and national security.

And we’re going to hold extreme House Republicans accountable. We’re going to hold them accountable for the reckless cuts they are demanding as a condition – as a condition for keeping the government open.

With that, I’m looking forward to have the Secretary back here again to give you a laydown of the impacts and to talk about what the extreme Republicans – what – what they’re about to do is going to really impact families and Americans across the country.

If you think about it, the risk of vital nutrition assistance for nearly 7 million mothers and young children who count on WIC, prevent farmers from being able to access new loans, and delay housing loans for rural families. And that is what they’re – we’re looking at if this shutdown – this Republican shutdown occurs.

With that, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY VILSACK: Great. Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, everybody. It’s certainly a pleasure to be here today. I think most of you probably understand and appreciate that the work of the Department of Agriculture (inaudible) a number of mission areas. We are not only responsible for supporting farmers, we also ensure a stable food supply, and we also provide nutrition assistance – vital nutrition assistance to millions of Americans.

That’s why it’s so difficult to face where we are today with an extreme House Republican effort to recklessly steer our government towards a preventable shutdown that would put many of the critical services that we care about deeply at USDA at risk.

I know about this firsthand because I was Secretary of Agriculture during the 2013 when we had a shutdown, and I remember then the needless challenges and disruption that it caused.

So, today, I thought it would be important to highlight some of the impacts of this extreme Republican shutdown, what impact it would have on rural Americans, farmers, families in need.

Let me start with WIC. WIC is a program that impacts and affects over 50 percent of all the newborns in this country. Nearly 7 million pregnant moms, new mothers, and young children count on WIC every single day to receive support – nutrition assistance support.

With a shutdown, what we would see across the United States is a denial of those benefits and opportunities. In some cases, it may be – in some states, it may be literally in a matter of weeks.

But clearly, during the course of a shutdown, millions of those moms, babes, and young children would see a lack of nutrition assistance.

And it’s not just the WIC program, as important and significant as that is. It’s also about our farm community.

Now is the time when farmers are harvesting their crops and they’re seeking marketing loans, which allow them and assist them in ensuring that they get a decent price for their crop. When we have a shutdown, farm service agency offices in virtually every county of this country shut down and those loans are not available.

It’s not just about farm loans. It’s about newlyweds who have decided to purchase their first home in a rural small town. Perhaps they’re getting a loan guarantee from a bank that is guaranteed by USDA or perhaps they’re getting a direct loan from USDA to be able to purchase that home. With a shutdown, those loans don’t take place. And it’s conceivable in those circumstances not only do they not – are they not able to close on the loan, it’s also conceivable that they may lose the deal.

So, this is a matter of real consequences when we are faced with a shutdown.

It’s not just about rural America. It’s also about our natural resources.

As you probably know, the USDA is responsible for maintaining 195 million acres of national forests and grasslands. These are often places where people go to recreate. And when they do, they provide tourism dollars to communities in which they are going and spending time.

When we have a shutdown, those national forests shut down, and they are closed. And so, those family trips don’t take place, and those tourism dollars are not spent, and the jobs they support are at risk.

It’s not just the services that go to the American public. It’s also for those who work for the USDA.

We anticipate and expect that more than 50,000 of those who work for USDA will be furloughed. And when they’re furloughed, it means that they don’t receive a paycheck. Because they don’t receive that paycheck, their local economies get impacted and affected.

And I could go on for some time. But the reality is that when there’s a shutdown, we’re looking at a significant disruption of the lives of millions of Americans.

Republicans have called for a CR. And I’ll just say two things about that. It just is basically carrying forward the extreme cuts that we’ve seen and saw in the budget that was proposed in the House Ag appropriations committee.

At the time, I said the budget was pathetic, it was punitive, and it was petty. And I would say that that also continues to be the case.

Not only do we have WIC initiative that wouldn’t be funded, but we’re also looking at the failure to fund the firefighter fix, which put the risk of firefighting staff necessary to combat nearly 44,000 fires that we’ve already experienced in the Western U.S. today.

So, I’m here today to suggest that there are real consequences to real people in a real way when there is a shutdown, especially one that ought not to happen. And – and I’m hopeful that at the end of the day, it doesn’t happen.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, Secretary.

Go ahead.

Q: Once there is a shutdown, how long can you keep nutrition assistance going?

SECRETARY VILSACK: To make sure I answer your question, the SNAP program – the Supplemental Nutrition Program – will continue –

Q: Okay.

SECRETARY VILSACK: – at least for the month of October. Now, if the shutdown were to extend longer than that, there would be some serious consequences to SNAP.

The WIC program I talked about today, which is for nearly 7 million moms and children – that program expires, if you will, or it stops immediately when the shutdown occurs.

We have a contingency fund at USDA that might continue it for a day or two. Some states have leftover WIC benefits that have not been spent, which could extend it for a week or so in that state. But the vast majority of WIC participants would see an immediate reduction and elimination of those benefits, which means the nutrition assistance that’s provided would not be available.

Q: Thank you, sir.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, MJ.

Q: Is there any scenario where if there is no deal and there is a government shutdown that the administration could explore the possibility of exercising any authority to extend the funding of the WIC program past the one of two days that you just mentioned?

SECRETARY VILSACK: There is no authority. It’s – it is – unlike the SNAP program, it doesn’t – we don’t have that capability, at least for a period of time, with SNAP for – for a month or so.

So, if we have a shutdown, WIC shuts down. And that means the nutrition assistance to those moms and young children shuts down.

Q: Thank you. You mentioned a government shutdown could harm farmers and prevent them from accessing new loans. Help us put this into perspective for Americans. At the end of the day, what should Americans expect? Could this even lead to higher food prices, for instance?

SECRETARY VILSACK: What it leads to is a tremendous amount of stress for those families. Just to give you a sense of this, many farm families require of-farm income to be able to keep the farm. And oftentimes, they need that loan – that marketing assistance loan – to be able to make sure that they maintain the farm.

So, it puts at risk the small- and mid-sized farming operation in terms of their ability to get credit when they need credit, their ability to pay bills when they need to pay bills, the ability to make sure that they can harvest their crop.

If they can’t harvest the crop or they don’t get the marketing assistance loan, then it’s – they’re in a situation where they – they don’t profit. And if they don’t profit, they risk losing the farm.

So, it creates a tremendous amount of stress. For what reason? There’s no reason for this shutdown. At the end of the day, we had a deal – a deal that the Senate passed with a majority of senators, a deal that passed the House with a majority of not just Democrats but also Republicans voting for it. A deal is a deal.

And, you know, to me, there’s no reason for us to be even having this conversation.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Weija.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Over the weekend, the President mentioned that food safety was also at stake. So, can you give us some examples of how, during previous shutdowns, the absence of food and environmental inspections impacted public health?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, I think you would want to visit with the folks at FDA. You need to understand that our food safety responsibilities are divided. The USDA has responsibility for meat, poultry, and processed eggs. FDA has the responsibility for everything else.

I can tell you that in terms of meat, poultry, and processed eggs, we will continue to have food inspection. But that may not necessarily be the case with the FDA. So, I think you want to talk – talk to the FDA.

To show you how silly this is: If you order a pepperoni pizza, we’re guaranteeing the safety of it because there’s meat on that pizza. If you order a cheese pizza, you’re looking at FDA. (Laughter.)

Q: So, are all food inspector considered essential workers? Just ones affiliated with meat and –

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, I can’t speak – I can’t speak to what HHS does or what FDA does. That’s why I think you should visit with them. But our inspectors will be on- –onsite.

But here’s — Here’s where there is a potential problem. And that is if there is a situation and circumstance that requires lab analysis – well, not, that’s a different story.

So, you know, that may impact and affect our ability to detect animal diseases as quickly as we need to, which, in turn, could affect the food supply.

So, it’s complicated, but our food inspectors will be on the job.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Inaudible.)

Q: On the potential 50,000 furloughed workers, do you know where those workers – what programs those would be impacted on? Do you know who we’re looking at right now?

SECRETARY VILSACK: It’s across the board. It’s every county in the country. So, It’s going to impact and affect literally every county in the country.

It’s FSA offices. It’s rural development offices. It’s NRCS conservation employees. It’s a lot of the researchers and people who work for the Agricultural Research Service – ARS.

It’s – it’s administrative staff. You can have people working on the job, but if you don’t have the administrative people behind it, the job doesn’t get done.

It’s incredibly disruptive. Incredibly disruptive.

Q: And then, on another deadline in Washington, how confident are you that a new farm bill will likely be passed by the end of the year? Or is an extension more likely?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, I know that – I think that the chair and ranking members of both committees are working hard to get this done.

I would say this: In order for it to get done, it’s important for them to understand the importance of using all the tools that would be available for the challenge that they face – not just the farm bill, but the budget. When you undercut and underfund the budget as some are proposing, cutting it by as much as, in some cases, 20, 30, percent, You under- undermine the ability of any farm bill, regardless of whether it’s passed or not, to be implemented.

And so, our – our challenge at USDA is to provide technical assistance and help to get them to – to “yes.” And that’s what we’re doing. We’ll continue to work.

And so, our hope and belief is that the farm community in rural areas need certainty and – and consistency. And we’ll do everything we can to make sure that this thing gets passed as quickly as it can. But it’s pretty tough to do if there is a shutdown.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Niels.

SECRETARY VILSACK: You can’t do it.

Q: Thank you Mr. Secretary. A follow-up on that is: To what extent would a shutdown affect the ability of your leg affairs folks, and – and maybe negotiations with the Hill on the farm bill? Could the farm bill reauthorization be delayed because everyone is – is dealing with the consequences of a shutdown.

SECRETARY VILSACK: So, here’s how it works. Some senator or representative has a great idea bout how they might be able to solve one of the problems they’re trying to solve with the farm bir- bill. They call our office for technical assistance. The phone is not going to get answered because no one is there. Why aren’t they there? Because we’re in a shutdown.

That’s why it’s so ridiculous for us to even talk about this. We – we need to get – the Speaker needs to do his job. He fought for it. He – you know, he — he negotiated for it. He needs to do the job and get the job done.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Go ahead, Phil.

Q: Thank you. Switching gears to a slightly different topic. Has the Department of Agriculture seen anything in the purchase of farmland by Chinese corporations or Chinese nationals that would suggest a threat to national security or food security? Are those concerns that we’ve increasingly been hearing about – are those overblown?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, I think there is concern, as the was in the North Dakota circumstance, where the Chinese interest was producing a land near a military installation. I think there is legitimate concerns on that space. And I think that’s one of the reasons why, you know, we’ve articulated the need, as a department, to be more engaged in the CFIUS process.

I would also say that I think there is work to be done to give use the tools to be able to do an even better job of ensuring that we know when these transactions take place.

It’s complicated. But every county has their county recorder. And on any given day, somebody may walk into that recorder’s office and file a deed, and there is no way of knowing precisely whether or not that is a Chinese purchaser.

So we would – you know, we need to work on how we might be able to collect the information and able to analyze that information in a timely way so that we would determine whether or not a threat exists or not.

Q: So, it sounds like you’re not confident in the current system as it’s set up to necessarily monitor?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, it’s not that I’m not confident. It’s that I think – I think we could be – we could do- — I think we’re confident in the job we’re doing today, because we are ba- — able to identify circumstances, as was the case in North Dakota.

I think that – if any – of pe- — if folks are looking for a foolproof system so that nothing gets through the cracks, then I think there were ways in which we can be helpful, and – and we can improve that process. Being part of CFIUS, I think, is part of it. Being – being able to collect information in a way that allows us to go a little bit deeper and a little quicker would be helpful as well.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re going to wr- we’re going to wrap it up. Go ahead.

Q: Yeah. How – so how would the shutdown affect programs that are used by farmers like crop insurance? And, you know, as part of the country is under really extreme drought – drought conditions, do you see a need for kind of supplemental funding to come in and help folks, you know, plant their crops?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, I think there are certain circumstances where, notwithstanding the fact that there are some types of crops that would need a little bit of additional help. Florida and Georgia, in particular, I think of two states that – where there are significant needs and challenges.

Fortunately, the – the shutdown does not impact and affect crop insurance. But a failed to – to extend the farm bill or get a farm bill done could, which is why we don’t want to shut down so they can work on the farm bill to get it done and we don’t have disruption to the WIC program.

The for – firefighters, the for – the farm loans, the home loans – I could go on. I could spend all of – and she would probably want me to do this – (laughter) – to spend all of your time talking about it.

But the point of this is – it’s very simple – there are real impacts. There are real impacts to real people on a daily basis when – when Congress and the House and House Republicans don’t do their job.

And Americans expect – and this is what drives people crazy outside of Washington: when a deal is not a deal and when the work that you’re supposed to do doesn’t get done and doesn’t get done on time.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, sir.

SECRETARY VILSACK: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Appreciate it. Thank you.

SECRETARY VILSACK: Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Okay. Just two quick things. I also wanted to say a note of welcome to our new employees starting at the White House today: our new deputy directors of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox. This is all on the heels, as you know, of this historic announcement that the President and the Vice President made just Friday. So, we could not be more thrilled to have them on board here and – and look forward to introducing them to you all very soon as the Office of Gun Violence Prevention gets up and running.

And one last thing before we opening – open it back up for questions. As you all know, today as Jewish communities – Jewish communities in the United States, Israel and around the world are observing a sacred holiday. So, let me say that the President, the First Lady, and all of us at the White House are extending our best wishes for an easy fast and a meaning- –meaningful Yom Kippur.

And with that, Will, you want to kick us off?

Q: Sure. Thank you. I have two things. Why did the White House choose to have the President take his – his latest COVID booster out of public view? Isn’t this a time when, you know, given the promotion of boosters and how important they are that the public might want to see the President have one?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, I think you all saw the pr- — the physician’s memo – his report on Saturday. So, certainly, if you haven’t, you should take a look at it.

So, the President got his vaccination. As you know, he has an incredibly busy schedule. He’s got – he got his vaccination as – the earliest moment that he could. And that’s what we were able to do – work – that would work in his schedule. So that’s what happened last week.

And certainly we are – as you just laid out in your question, we are engaged in a robust campaign. And it is incredibly important to use that we encourage the public to get vaccinated. That has been the way that we have moved forward when we have moved forward with the – you know, this comprehensive kind of vaccination program that the President put forward from the beginning.

And so, you know we – it doesn’t require a photo op of the President to – to be – to be doing that – with a presidential photo op, to be more clear. So we thought we needed to get that done, get that on his schedule. We did. And we’re going to – doesn’t stop us from having a robust engagement with the public and to make sure that we get it across – the importance of folks getting their vaccines – not just the updated COVID vaccine, but also RSV, and – and also the flu shot.

Q: And the second – second one.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, I’m sorry.

Q: Changing topics.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. Go ahead.

Q: Is the White House working on – with the Senate on – a clean CR? And is there any reason for optimism on that front?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I – look, I’m going to be very clear, as I was on Friday. As Se- –Secretary Viksack was very clear just — even before he walked out of the briefing room, which is: Look, this is something for House Republic- — House Republicans to get done. This is a deal that the President made with – with Republicans back in May. And a deal is a deal, as we’ve been saying. This is something for them to fix.

And so, they have – they have to get this done – not because of us, not because — even because of the deal with the President, but because of the American people. We just heard the Secretary of – Secretary of Agriculture lay out what will happen to women and children – 7 million women and children who are part of the WIC program across the country — 7 million — if this shutdown happens.

And this is indeed a Republican shutdown. So, they got to get to it. They got to fix it. And they got to stick to the deal that the President made with them early — earlier in the — in the summer.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: MJ, welcome – welcome back.

Q: Thank you. It’s good to be back. I know that you got a number of questions about Senator Menendez on Friday. But now that the senator himself said that he is not going anywhere and given that President Biden is the leader of the Democratic Party, does the President believe that a person who is facing allegations that are as serious as the allegations confronting the senator that here is any place for somebody like Senator Menendez in the Democratic Party?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to be very clear: This is a serious matter. We see this as a serious matter. I think – and we believe the senator stepping down from his chairmanship was the right thing to do – obviously, the right thing to do.

As it relates to anything else, any decision that he has to make, that’s certainly going to be up to him and the Senate leadership to decide.

But, of course, we see this as a serious matter. And I’m just going to leave it there for now.

Q: And just – just quickly on the trip to Detroit tomorrow, what changed? Can you give us a sense of what went into the decision for the President to go stand on the picket line and show that kind of solidarity with the workers there?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you just laid out, you know, this is something – well, the President is a union guy. Right? You heard him say that many times. He is – he is the most pro-union president in modern times. That is not something that he’s given him that – himself that title. That is something that labor unions have given to him, and he wears that very proudly.

And, as you all know, the president of the U- — UAW invited him to – to attend, and he – he accepted.

But, look, this is a president that’s made it very, very, clear that he believes that corporate profits should lead to record UAW – a record UAW contract.

And, you know, before the strike even occurred, he – he made public announcements about this. He spoke to the parties on both sides of this. He has made it very, very, clear that he supports union workers; he supports the UAW workers. And tomorrow, what you’re going to see is – is historic. Right? This is going to be a historic visit.

And the President is going to continue to show his support, not just from the last couple of years, but as he has been in the public eye – as a senator, as a vice president – his support for – for unions. And – and you’ve seen this in the last two years, with his pro-union policies – making sure that his pro-union policies are indeed pro-workers.

Q: So, should we take from the visit that the President is explicitly taking the side of the union workers as opposed to the companies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, he has been very clear. Right? He is pro- –pro-UAW; he is pro-workers. You know that is – that is the – this president. Right? He has said the middle class was built – the unions built the middle class. This is something that he said over and over again.

He’s always been on the side of workers. He believes the there is an opportunity here, and he is encouraged and he is pleased by seeing both sides continue to have that conversation. It is there negotiation to make. Right? This is why he says he believes in collective bargaining. And he believes that this – there could be a win-win agreement here.

But he’s always going to stand on the side of the workers. Always.

All right, go –

Q: So, just a follow up –

Q: Oh –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, okay. I’ll come to you after, Joey.

Go ahead, Steve.

Q: Oh, all right.

Q: Did Trump’s decision to visit the UAW workers play into your decision to go?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Absolutely not. This is a decision – to visit the picket line was based on his own desire. This is what the President wanted to do to stand – to stand with autoworkers. That’s what you’re going to see the President do tomorrow.

And – and he – as you – as you all know, Shawn Fain’s invitation from last week, he accepted that invitation and was proud – is proud to do so.

Q: And secondly, does the President endorse the pecif – — specific terms of the latest proposal by UAW leadership? Or is there room for further compromise?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not going to get into negotiations from here. This is for the parties to negotiate. We’re not going to go – we’re not going to speak to what’s being put at the table.

What we have said over and over again is that we believe there’s an opportunity here for a win-win agreement. We believe with corporate record – corporations having record – you know, making record, you know, deals, there should be a – UAW should have a record contract. And that’s what the autoworkers deserve. That’s what workers deserve more broadly.

Go ahead, Joey.

Q: Yeah, did President Biden reach out to the auto companies bef- — to notify them that he would be going to join the picket line with UAW?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any readouts of any calls to – that was been made regards to this as it’s related to the companies.

As you know, we have made – we have said many times before he has – he has spoken to the companies. He’s spoken to all parties.

As you know, you have – we have – we have two – two members of – Gene Sperling, a member here of the White House – a White House senior advisor, and also, as you know, the Acting Secretary, Julie Su, have also been in touch – in regular touch with all parties as they are negotiating this process.

But we are – you know, I don’t have anything to read out expect that the President was – was pleased to accept the invite that was given to him, that was provided to him by – by the president of the UAW and he is always going to stand by the side of workers.

Q: And can you provide some more information on the format of the event? Is he going to be speaking? Is he going to be – what exactly will he be doing? And where in Wayne County, Michigan, is he going to actually be going?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we don’t have any details – specific details at this time. Look, this is going to be a historic – a historic trip that’s going to underscore the President is the most – indeed – most pro-union president in history. And so, that’s what you’re going to see. He’s going to be standing – going to join the picket line, standing in solidarity with the men and women of UAW. That is important for the President, he believes, to do.

And they continue to fight for a fair – a fair share of the value of – value of – they helped create, if you think about what the – what the record – record these corporations, kind if , the – the record profits that they’ve been able to make, you know, they believe and we believe that they are owed a fair share of that.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Just to clarify: Since President Biden will be making this trip, does it mean he supports the 40 percent pay increase, the 32-hour work week that workers are asking for?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into the details of what’s being negotiated right now – that on the table with – with certainly, with the parties.

What we’re saying is that we support the autoworkers. That’s what you’re going to see with the President tomorrow – tomorrow – This is a – a historic event, a historic trip. And this continues to show how, indeed, this President is the most pro-union president in history and he stands by the side of workers. This is hat you’re going to see tomorrow.

Q: And, separately, the White House has made it very clear that it’s on Republicans to avoid the government shutdown, not the White House. But our latest polling shows that a higher percentage of Americans would actually blame the shutdown on the President and the Democrats, not on Republicans. Why do you think that is? And should the President be out there speaking more on this issue?

MS JEAN-PIERRE: We’re going to be very clear. This is – this is – this will be a Republican shutdown. Right? This is extreme House Republicans who have made it very clear that the chaos that we’re seeing in the – in the House, they are marching us towards a government shutdown that shouldn’t be happening. This shouldn’t be happening.

This is the job of Congress. One of the basic jobs of Congress is to keep the government open.

A deal was made. I mean, I can’t speak to your polling, but what I can speak to is to the facts. The facts is: A deal is a deal. It is up to them to keep the government open. This is something they can do. They know how to fix this. And it is an extreme – extreme part of the Republican Party that is holding this – holding this because they want to ram through extreme policies. That’s going to hurt the American people.

So, we’re going to continue to be clear about this. We’ve talked today about the food safety. You’ve heard me talk about education, housing, law enforcement, Meals on Wheels, Head Start. So much more will be affected by – by – will be affected by this if the shutdown – this this Republican shutdown happens.

Q: But does it show that the President needs to be messaging more to the public about this?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, the President was very clear early this summer when he put this deal together – a bipartisan deal – that two thirds of the Republicans voted on. And that’s what the American people want to see. We saw that in the midterms. Right? That’s what they want. They want to see us continue to work in a bipartisan way. That’s what the President did.

Now, we’re going to continue to be very clear: This is a deal that they all agreed upon not too long ago – just a couple of months ago – and now they can’t stick to the deal.

So, you know, if we’re going to be asked the question, we’re going to answer it straightforward. We’re going to lay out the facts. But this is for something for Congress to fix.

Go ahead.

Q: Hi, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You’re up front today.

Q: Yeah, I am.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

Q: First time in the first seat.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. (Laughs.)

Q: Good to see you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see you.

Q: I want to press you a little bit on what you just said. You said that the President supports the autoworkers. Does that mean that the President is siding with the autoworkers over the auto companies?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What we’re saying is we’re not going to get into negotiation, right? This is – when it comes to the negotiation, that is something for the parties to decide on. That is something for them to discuss.

But me saying that the President supports the autoworkers – that’s not anything new. When we’re talking about a president who is pro- — the most pro-union president in history, it is nothing new for the President to stand by the workers. That is nothing new for the President to say, “I’m going to stand by the men and women of UAW, make sure they get their fair share, make sure that they get a win-win agreement here.”

We believe this agreement can be a win-win agreement for all. So – but we’re not going to get into the – we’re not going to litigate the specifics of the negotiations.

Q: Following up on that, though, a strike could have potentially huge impacts for the economy. According to NBC News polling, 37 percent of registered voters – just 37 percent approve of the President’s handling of the economy. He’s ata 56 percent disapproval – the highest of his presidency.

And 74 percent of registered voters say they have major or moderate concerns about the President’s age and mental fitness. How troubling is that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s what we’re going to focus on: We’re going to focus on exactly what you just asked me, right? – with the first question, which is: How do we – how do we continue to support the workers? Right? We’re not going to get into the litigation of – of the negotiations here. But what we’re going to do is continue to show how much this President is working for American families.

You just heard from Secretary here, who laid out what it means if there’s a shutdown and why it is so important for Republicans to keep to their deal. That’s what we’re going to focus on.

You see the Bidenomics. I get it. I get that Americans right now – they’ve been through a lot, right? They’ve been through a pandemic – this global pandemic that we’re coming out of. They have ben through what we’ve seen because of Rus- –Russia’s war in Ukraine. And we saw inflation spike. We saw – we saw what’s going on with what Americans are feeling every day.

This is why – this is why this President has been so zeroed in, so laser focused on lowering costs for Americans. And we’ve done that.

And a lot of the – a lot of the policies that the President has put forward are indeed popular. I mean, Bidenomics is – has worked so well that you have Republicans in their own districts, in their own states taking credit for things that the President pushed forward, policies that they didn’t even vote for, if you think about the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act.

So, I get – I get the – I get the polling that you’re laying out. I get that. But we – we can’t – we can’t be focused on that. We also have to be focused on really speaking directly to the American people.

The next three days, you’re going to see the President go to three states to do just that.

Q: But 37 percent approve?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear you. I hear you. But it is – look, our focus is going to be on – on what we can do to continue to deliver for the American people.

Polls are polls – right? – they are going to be all over the place. They are going to – they’re going to – you know, they don’t tell the whole story, actually. And that is just the way a poll is.

What we’re going to focus on is how we can continue to do the job that the President promised that he would do – is make Americans’ lives a little bit better, give them that breathing room.

I’m going to go around. I – I know I always forget to call on this side, so I’m going to call on you. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. You just said the President doesn’t want to get into the specifics of the negotiations. But is he perhaps interfering in these negotiations by, you know, visiting the picket line tomorrow?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re not going to get into – we never get into – you know, into the specifics of negotiations – not in public. We’re not going to do that. That is something – and that is something for the parties to decide on. When it comes to negotiations, we’ve always been very clear about that.

They are meeting. They are negotiating. And we- we are pleased to see that.

When it comes to the President going to the picket line, he’s doing it because he wants to stand in sol- –in solidarity with the workers, which is something that this President continues to do and has done for the past several years is stay – stay on the side of workers.

And you see that. You see that with his policies, and you’ll see that tomorrow.

Q: And one quick one on COVID. There are a lot of people who are struggling to get appointments. There is confusion about – with insurance companies. There is confusion about – with insurance companies. Is there some sort of concern at the White House right now that this shift in responsibility to the commercial market from the federal government has not gone as – as smoothly?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we – so we’re certainly aware of consumers having experienced unexpected – at least with insurance – coverage, denials at the point of service. We’re aware of that.

HHS, as you know, is working with insurance plans and pharmacies to resolve this quickly.

Look, it’s a top priority for this administration to ensure that everyone can access this updated vaccine. And so, HHS is working through that. And so, any k- –any specific additional questions about that, certainly, I would per- –I would refer you to HHS,

But we’re taking this very seriously. And HHS is working through that – through that.

Okay, Akayla.

Q: In the back, Karine.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Moody’s warned today that a government shutdown could have a negative impact on the country’s credit rating. It’s the last major credit grader to assign the U.S. a top rating. Is the President concerned that the political brinksmanship that we’ve seen this year is hurting the country’s reputation, specifically on the economy, on the world stage?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’m going to leave all of the economic analysis to others. Right? I’m not going to get into it from here.

But we know that – and I’ve said this already a couple of times – that what we’re seeing from Republicans in the House, the – especially the extreme Republicans in the House, what they’re going to do, proten- potentially leading us to a shutdown is going to hurt American people.

And, you know, if you think about it, the 3.5 million jobs that have been created under this president, the under-4 percent unemployment rate, I would not understand – we do not understand why they would put our economy at risk. That’s what you’re just laying out. Why would Republicans in the House put our economy at risk when we have seen the improvements over the last two years?

So, I’m going to leave – the ex – leave it to the experts to speak about the economy and what that looks like.

But, you know, this is a question for them. This is something that does not have to happen. It does not have to happen.

Q: And a question on student loans. I know that they’re restarting on October 1st, potentially the same day that a government shutdown could start. Is there any consideration of pushing that date back, or is there any consideration of pushing that date back, or is there any guidance that you have for borrowers about what they should expect if workers at the Department of Education won’t be available to assist them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. I do want to lay out.

So, look, when it comes to student loans, it’s obviously a top priority, especially as we talk about the President’s economic plan and giving people a little breathing room, especially on their monthly payments.

So, you know, that’s why the President also launched, as you’ll know, the most affordable repayment plan ever, which is the SAVE Plan.

So, you know, if – if this happens, if Republicans in – in Congress, you know, go down this road of shutting down the government, we anticipate that key activities at Federal Student Aid will continue for a couple of weeks. But, however, if it is a prolonged shutdown lasting more than a few weeks, could substantially disrupt the return to repayment effort and long-term serving – servicing support for borrowers.

So, the Department of Education will do its best to support borrowers as they co- — as they return to repayment, as we have been saying for the past several months. But an extreme Republican shutdown, if this occurs, could be disruptive.

And just to — maybe more — I think about more than 28 million federal — federal student loan borrowers restate [sic] payments. That is what – restart payments.

So, this is something that does not have to happen. These are political games that we see from the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, and it does not have to happen. It does not have to happen.

And so, that’s how we foresee this – this moving forward.

Go ahead

Q: Thanks. I – I wanted to further understand a little bit about the President’s trip tomorrow.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: It seems like by going to stand with workers at a picket line, the President is literally standing with them and the terms that they’re seeking in the contract dispute. But when you’re asked about some of the specifics of that, you seem tone saying you guys don’t want to get into the specifics of the dispute.

So, is he not standing with them on the terms with which they’re trying to negotiate with the –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, to be very clear: He is standing with them to make sure they get a fair share. That is what he is standing with them on. He is standing with them – and we’ve said this – that – that they – that we – that they get the record – the record profits mean a record contract for UAW. That is why he’s going. That is what he’s standing for.

Now, they’re going to negotiate what that looks like for them. Right? That’s what they’re doing right now. That’s what collective bargaining is all about. Right? They’re going to talk it. through what a win-win agreement looks like.

But what we definitely agree on is that they deserve a fair share. Right? They deserve a fair share – of the value that they helped create. That’s what the President is saying.

But the details – the specifics of what that looks like, what makes both sides happy or anything in those nego- –at the negotiation table, that is for them to decide. That is for them to decide.

Q: But it seems like he’s taking away the past – some past presidents have been an arbiter between two sides that are in conflict. It seems like by going to the picket line he – he’s not an arbiter between the two sides. He’s choosing a side by standing —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But we have said –

Q: – with the union workers.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We have said over and over again that this is a president that stands with union workers. This is –

Q: Right. That’s why its confusing where your saying –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: How – there is no –

Q: – like I – we’re not going to –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s not – no, no, no.

Q: – talk about the terms of the –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I disagree. It is not confusing. What he is saying – and we’ve been very clear – he stands with union workers. He stands with the workers. He has said and they have said he is the pro- the most pro-union president in history. And that is what he’s doing. He is going to stand in solidarity at the picket line with the workers.

Now they are – they are at the table. They are at the table trying to figure out what this agreement is going to look like. Right? They are going to decide the specifics of that agreement.

What the President is saying is – and he always says this. This is nothing new. He always says he stands by union workers, and he is going to stand with the men and the women of UAW. That continues to be the case.

Go ahead, Katie.

Q: So – I’m sor- —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh my goodness. You’re going to ask the same question?

Q: But I – I —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to change my answer.

Q: – too am seeking clar- — it’s fine. I’m going to ask again.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, feel free.

Q: Is he picketing or –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And I’m going to give you the same answer.

Q: – is he visiting the picket line? Is he standing with them? Is he walking in the picket line? What –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He’s going to join – he’s going to join the picket line.

Q: So, does the White House see any political risk in – in —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What the President –

Q: – doing this?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What the President understands is that he is – wants to be on the side and is has been on the side of the workers. That is something that he has said over and over and over again.

Q: So, when he asked that earlier – if he’s siding with the workers over the companies, he is indeed siding –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He is – he is –

Q: – with the workers? Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: – standing with the auto workers. He is standing with the auto workers.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We are not involved in negotiations. That is something for them to decide: what is going to work for the parties that are involved.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But he is standing with the auto workers. That’s what the President is doing. He got the invite from the UAW president. He accepted. And he’s going to go and do – and do what he has said that he does all the time – right? – which is stand with the union – stand with union workers. And what you’re going to see is going to be standing with UAW – men and women of the UAW. And that is important to the President.

MS. DALTON: Fifteen minutes.

Q: Karine.

Q: Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, I just got to go around, guys. I got to go around.

Q: Karine, can I follow on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, go ahead.

Q: You had said –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m trying to call on people I haven’t called on yet.

Q: You had said earlier that the President had spoken to the companies. Presumably, you meant the automakers. We know he has spoken to them before his trip to India earlier this month. Has he had any more recent –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any –

Q: – conversations with them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any calls to read out.

Q: And have any of the auto companies asked to meet with him tomorrow when he’s in Michigan? Would he consider that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have any – any more details on what the trip is going to look like tomorrow.

Go ahead, Danny.

Q: Yeah. On the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, you see thousands of refugees are leaving the territory at the moment. How concerned is – is the President about this? And Armenia has said that this amounts to “ethnic cleansing.” Is that a term the President would agree with?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we certainly are – are watching closely the reports. This is something that I would have to refer you to my NSC colleagues to give you any update on.

Certainly, it is concerning. But this is something that they’re keeping an eye on closer – closer than we are here. And so, they’ll – they’ll give you an update specifically.

Go ahead.

Q: Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: (inaudible.)

MS JEAN-PIERRE: No, go ahead.

Q: My turn?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Karine. I just wanted to ask you about the situation of the Southwest border. As we know, some cities are claiming that they are at a breaking point with regards to the humanitarian crisis that is ongoing down there. I know that there was an agreement signed with Mexico over the weekend. I wonder if the administration is in touch with the cities down on the border and if there’s any other actions the White House is considering to address the issue that is taking place down at the border.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to have to point – point you to the readout from CBP. As you just mentioned, they – they issued a readout of their conversation with the Mexican government over the weekend, so – so – regarding their engagement. So, certainly, you have you reach out to them, and they could lay out specifically how that – that engagement went. And also, refer you to the readouts more specifically as well.

Q: Karine.

Q: Can I have a follow-up on that, Karine?

MS. DALTON: We’ve got to pre-set for –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. So, in a recent meeting with the prime minister of South Korea, Xi Jinping expressed his support for resuming annual trilateral summits with China, Japan, and South Korea. I was just wondering if the administration has any comment on that development.

And then, additionally, recently the Japanese prime minister replaced both foreign and defense ministers. Is there any concern that this could impact the U.S.-ROK-Japan partnership, especially given that it’s happening so soon are the trilateral summit –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I would –

Q: – at Camp David?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, to your first – to your first question, I certainly would refer you to Japan and ROK for specifics of their plan for the trilateral cooperation with the PRC, so that is something I would refer you to.

But we here – certainly, the United States respects the ability of nations to make sovereign decisions in the best interest of their people, just as the United States take steps to responsibly manager our relationship with the PRC and with our – and also with our other partners and allies.

What was your second question? This is about the – Japan?

Q: Yes, recently, the Japanese prime minister replaced both his foreign defense ministers. I was wondering if there was any concern about the – how that could impact the U.S.-ROK-Japan partnership.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, first, I would refer you to the government of Japan on any personnel decisions that they’ve made.

Look, you saw the relationship continue to deepen and grow just a couple of weeks ago now at Camp David, when there was a trilateral summit, which was historic and truly important. And so, we’re going to continue to work closely with our Japanese counterparts to han- enhance that relationship. So, that certainly has not changed.

MS. DALTON: We have to go.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sorry, we have to go, guys.

MS. DALTON: Got to pre-set.

Q: Thank you Karine.

(Cross-talk.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks.

Has President Biden had any engagement with House Republicans about the shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any engagements to read out to you. As I said last week, we have OMB Director Shalanda Young, who has been in regular touch with members in Congress. We have had or Legislative Affairs Office, who has been in regular touch. I don’t have anything to read out on any – any conversation that the President has had specifically on this.

But as you know, and we say this often, is the President is in regular contact with congressional members on a – on an array of issues.

But, again, when it comes to this – when it comes to this, this is something that they can fix. I mean, when we talk about a Republican shutdown risking the vital nutrition assistance for nearly 7 million mothers and young children who count on WIC, prevent farmers from being able to access new loans, and delay housing loans for rural families. I mean that is something the Secretary laid out very well and in detail. And he’s ben there bef- Benn at – been in this place before back in 2013 when he had the same – the same role in the O- –Obama-Biden administration.

This would be devastating for American families. This does not have to happen. A deal is a deal. This is a deal that two thirds of Republicans voted on, and they should move forward. They can fix this.

Q: But as you mentioned, the President helped broker this deal, so why doesn’t he do something to help-

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Because he already brokered the deal.

Q: – put it into place?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: But he already brokered the deal. He already brokered the deal.

They voted on it. He brokered the deal. They took it back – McCarthy took it back to the House; they voted on it. It went to the Senate; they voted on it. Two thirds of Republicans voted on it. It’s on – it’s – this is for them. This is for them to fix. It was already voted on.

So, a deal is a deal. They have to stick to it.

And also, it is one of their number one jobs. Number one jobs. One of their top jobs – right? – is to keep the government open so that American families don’t have to suffer.

All right guys. Thank you.

September 25: The White House posted: “Extreme House Republicans’ Chaos is Marching American Toward a Shutdown That Would Jeopardize Vital Nutrition Assistance for Nearly 7 Million Vulnerable Moms and Young Children”

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including vital nutrition across the country – including putting vital nutrition assistance at risk for nearly 7 million women and children who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) – a program that serves nearly half of babies born in this country.

During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program.

And the reason food assistance for these families are at risk is extreme House Republicans’ continued efforts to slash funding for vital programs, including WIC, rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that a large majority of them voted for just a few months ago and proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that makes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on.

While House Republicans continue to debate what CR to advance, they have consistently refused to include the Administration’s request for additional WIC funding that’s needed to ensure the program can serve every eligible pregnant woman, new mother, and infant and young child. Without the Administration’s funding request, states could soon be forced to institute waiting lists for WIC, causing mothers and children to lose access to the vital nutrition assistance.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of the number of women and children at risk of losing critical nutrition assistance under an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

• Alabama: Total WIC Recipients: 111,999 Women: 25,295 Children: 57,863 Infants: 28,841
• Alaska: Total WIC Recipients: 18,484 Women: 4,000 Children: 10,492 Infants: 3,992
• Arizona: Total WIC Recipients: 139,764 Women: 28,879 Children: 79,639 Infants: 31,247
• Arkansas: Total WIC Recipients: 65,272 Women: 65,272 Children: 15,798 Infants: 17,289
• California: Total WIC Recipients: 972,418 Women: 206,282 Children: 587,139 Infants: 178,997
• Colorado: Total WIC Recipients: 87,752 Women: 19,916 Children: 49,214 Infants: 18,622
• Connecticut: Total WIC Recipients: 9,990 Women: 25,609 Children: 25,609 Infants: 11,637
• Delaware: Total WIC Recipients: 20,313 Women: 4,169 Children: 5,669 Infants: 4,664
• District of Columbia: Total WIC Recipients: 11,718 – Women: 2,959 Children: 5,668 Infants: 4,664
• Florida: Total WIC Recipients: 421,294 – Women: 97,869 Children: 225,544 Infants: 97,881
• Georgia: Total WIC Recipients: 220,842 – Women: 50,801 Children: 112,601 Infants: 57,440
• Hawaii: Total WIC Recipients: 26,205 – Women: 5,692 Children: 15,027 Infants: 5,486
• Idaho: Total WIC Recipients: 30,766 – Women: 6,718 Children: 17,607 Infants: 6,441
• Illinois: Total WIC Recipients: 167,903 – Women: 38,009 Children: 85,775 Infants: 44,119
• Indiana: Total WIC Recipients: 148,179 – Women: 33,280 Children: 80,497 Infants: 34,402
• Iowa: Total WIC Recipients: 58,126 – Women: 12,274 Children: 32,493 Infants: 13,359
• Kansas: Total WIC Recipients: 47,399 – Women: 10,481 Children: 26,197 Infants: 10,731
• Kentucky: Total WIC Recipients: 119,884 – Women: 24,169 Children: 68,821 Infants: 26,894
• Louisiana: Total WIC Recipients: 96,890 – Women: 26,232 Children: 42,030 Infants: 28,638
• Maine: Total WIC Recipients: 18,356 – Women: 3,693 Children: 10,605 Infants: 4,058
• Maryland: Total WIC Recipients: 123,101 – Women: 28,417 Children: 66,963 – Infants: 27,721
• Massachusetts: Total WIC Recipients: 125,921 – Women: 25,995 Children: 76,851 Infants: 24,075
• Michigan: Total WIC Recipients: 207,720 Women: 41,194 Children: 122,044 Infants: 44,489
• Minnesota: Total WIC Recipients: 108,420 Women: 23,009 Children: 63,057 Infants: 22,354
• Mississippi: Total WIC Recipients: 62,777 Women: 14,119 Children: 30,750 Infants: 17,839
• Missouri: Total WIC Recipients: 90,913 Women: 14,199 Children: 44,317 Infants: 24,046
• Montana: Total WIC Recipients: 14,107 Women: 3,010 Children: 8,035 Infants: 3,062
• Nebraska: Total WIC Recipients: 36,949 Women: 7,703 Children: 21,699 Infants: 7,547
• Nevada: Total WIC Recipients: 52,976 Women: 11,584 Children: 29,239 Infants: 12,495
• New Hampshire: Total WIC Recipients: 13,599 Women: 2,554 Children: 8,550 Infants 2,395
• New Jersey: Total WIC Recipients: 166,841 Women: 36,534 Children: 95,921 Infants: 34,386
• New York: Total WIC Recipients: 418,084 Women: 89,717 Children: 241,198 Infants: 87,169
• North Carolina: Total WIC Recipients: 268,687 Women: 59,030 Children: 151,473 Infants: 58,184
• North Dakota: Total WIC Recipients: 10,229 Women: 2,093 Children: 6,086 Infants: 2,120
• Ohio: Total WIC Recipients: 178,262 Women: 42,341 Children: 93,119 Infants: 43,803
• Oklahoma: Total WIC Recipients: 72,703 Women: 17,548 Children: 36,384 Infants: 18,770
• Oregon: Total WIC Recipients 78,764 Women: 16,941 Children: 47,164 Infants: 14,649
• Pennsylvania: Total WIC Recipients: 177,334 Women: 39,331 Children: 97,269 Infants: 40,735
• Puerto Rico: Total WIC Recipients: 92,752 Women: 19,050 Children: 51,837 Infants: 20,885
• Rhode Island: Total WIC Recipients: 17,866 Women: 3,999 Children: 9,897 Infants: 3,970
• South Carolina: Total WIC Recipients: 94,370 Women: 20,887 Children: 50,341 Infants: 23,142
• South Dakota: Total WIC Recipients: 13,939 Women: 2,846 Children: 7,929 Infants: 3,154
• Tennessee: Total WIC Recipients: 133,283 Women: 33,278 Children: 66,219 Infants: 33,799
• Texas: Total WIC Recipients: 786,686 Women: 215,305 Children: 392,817 Infants: 188,564
• Utah: Total WIC Recipients: 41,382 Women: 9,427 Children: 22,551 Infants: 9,405
• Vermont: Total WIC Recipients: 10,975 Women: 2,168 Children: 6,904 Infants: 1,902
• Virginia: Total WIC Recipients: 127,124 Women: 26,170 Children: 72,470 Infants: 8,387
• Washington: Total WIC Recipients: 130,961 Women: 28,584 Children: 76,470 Infants: 28,908
• West Virginia: Total WIC Recipients: 37,292 Women: 7,592 Children: 21,313 Infants: 8,387
• Wisconsin: Total WIC Recipients: 91,070 Women: 18,466 Children: 53,500 Infants: 19,104
• Wyoming: Total WIC Recipients: 7,484 Women: 1,745 Children: 4,028 Infants: 1,711

September 26: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Force Troops To Work Without Getting Paid and Undermine Our National Security” From the Statement:

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including undermining our national security and forcing service members across the country and around the world to work without pay.

During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, service members would continue working every day to keep our country safe, including our 1.3 million active-duty troops – but wouldn’t receive their paychecks until funding becomes available. Department of Defense would also be furloughed, affecting the ways in which the Department manages its affairs globally, including the vital task of recruiting new members of the military. All of this would prove disruptive to our national security.

The reason these national security priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-third of them voted for just a few months ago and have instead proposed devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of the 1.3 million active-duty service members at risk of not getting paid during an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

• Alabama – 8,200
• Alaska – 20,200
• Arizona – 17,400
• Arkansas – 3,700
• California – 163,300
• Colorado – 37,900
• Connecticut – 6,200
• Delaware – 3,400
• District of Columbia – 11,000
• Florida – 66,900
• Georgia – 63,800
• Hawaii – 40,400
• Idaho – 3,500
• Illinois – 22,600
• Indiana – 1,000
• Iowa -200
• Kansas – 20,500
• Kentucky – 34,600
• Louisiana – 14,900
• Maine – 700
• Maryland – 29,500
• Michigan – 1,900
• Minnesota – 50
• Missouri – 14,400
• Montana – 3,200
• Nebraska – 6,400
• Nevada – 12,200
• New Hampshire – 1,100
• New Jersey – 7,900
• New Mexico – 13,400
• New York – 19,300
• North Carolina – 94,900
• North Dakota – 7,200
• Ohio – 6,800
• Oklahoma – 21,100
• Oregon – 1,500
• Pennsylvania – 2,400
• Rhode Island – 3,700
• South Carolina – 38,300
• South Dakota – 3,300
• Tennessee – 2,300
• Texas – 114,200
• Utah – 4,500
• Vermont – 100
• Virginia – 129,400
• Washington – 62,100
• West Virginia – 100
• Wisconsin – 900
• Wyoming – 3,100
• Abroad – 171,700

September 26: The White House posted a Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Senate Bipartisan Bill to Prevent an Extreme Republican Shutdown” From the Statement:

The Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution will keep the government open, make a down payment on disaster relief, and is an important show of support for Ukraine. House Republicans should join the Senate in doing their job, stop playing political games with peoples’ lives, and abide by the bipartisan deal two-thirds of them voted for in May.

September 26: The U.S. Department of Defense posted news titled: “Key Official Says Shutdown Would Damage National Defense” From the news:

The Chinese army is not facing a shutdown nor is Russia shutting down its efforts to conquer Ukraine, and the U.S. Congress must take steps to avoid a government shutdown, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.

Congress must fund the government or pass a continuing resolution by the end of the fiscal year on Saturday to avoid a government shutdown Oct. 1.

“We need to avert any kind of effect that a shutdown could have, not just on the Defense Department but throughout the federal government,” Hicks said last week.

DOD leaders would like to see a full-funding bill passed, but Hicks said a continuing resolution would be preferable if a government shutdown could be avoided. A continuing resolution continues appropriations at the same level as the previous fiscal year for a certain amount of time.

“As bad as it could be to have a CR [continuing resolution] – which we always want to avoid – it would be even worse for the defense of the nation to have a shutdown,” Hicks said.

The government must close is there is a lapse in appropriations, but there are exceptions to that rule. During a government shutdown, DOD still must continue to defend and protect the United States and conduct on-going military operations.

DOD would continue activities funded by the Defense Working Capital Fund, a revolving fund that funds businesses-like DOD activities. These activities are in the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Defense Finance and Accounting Agency.

There are also excepted activities mostly centered around duties necessary for the safety of human life and the protection of government property.

“A shutdown would degrade and impact our operational planning and coordination, impact our more than 800,000 civilians, and severely diminish our ability to recruit and retain quality individuals for military service,” DOD officials said.

On a strategic level, a shutdown would play into the hands of U.S. competitors. A shutdown requires money, and it also requires money when the government starts up again – not to mention the lost time. “No amount of funding can make up for lost time,” the official said. “A shutdown impacts our ability to outcompete the PRC [People’s Republic of China] – it costs us time as well as money, and money can’t buy back time, especially for lost training events.”

On a practical level, a shutdown would have significant repercussions for military members and their families. Military personnel on active duty – including reserve component service members on active duty – will continue to report for duty and carry out assigned duties without pay. Most military permanent change of station moves will be halted.

Post and base services would be closed or limited. Elective surgeries and procedures in DOD medical and dental facilities are not excepted activities and these would have to be postponed.

The Defense Commissary Agency would close commissaries in the United States but would keep overseas facilities open.

DOD civilians, including military technicians, who are not necessary to carry out or support excepted activities would be furloughed. “Permanent change of station for civilian personnel will continue only to the extent expenses are chargeable to a funded PCS order issued prior to the funds lapse,” officials said.

Once a continuing resolution or appropriations act is signed, employed will be paid retroactively for unpaid hours worked and time charged as furlough as soon as feasible, officials said.

Active and reserve component service members will receive September’s end-of-month paychecks on Sept. 29. Military members cannot be paid during the lapse unless legislation is passed appropriating funds. “October[‘s] mid-month, military pay will be delayed if a continuing resolution or appropriation is not passed by Oct. 11,” officials said. “Leave and earnings statements will not be released.”

Military retirees and annuitants are not paid from appropriations, so their payments will continue as scheduled, officials said.

September 26, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre en Route Wayne County, Michigan“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hello. Hi, hi, hi, hi. Sorry for the delay. Okay, I got one thing at the top, and then we can get going.

So, today President Biden will – will punctuate his vocal support for autoworkers by joining UAW members on the picket line in Wayne County, Michigan,

President Biden is fighting to ensure that the cars of the future will be built in America by unionized American workers in good-paying jobs instead of being built in China.

And he is succeeding: Car companies are making record profits, and since President Biden took office, the U.S. economy has added 235,000 auto jobs. That’s over four times as many auto jobs per month and over five times as many auto manufacturing jobs per month as under the previous presi- — administration.

So, as American auto- — automakers have earned record corporate profits, the President believes the American autoworkers responsible for creating the value should get a record contract. That’s why we’re headed to Michigan today.

And while President Biden is no strange to a picket line – in fact, he joined a UAW picket in Kansas City back in 2019 — today will mark the first time as a sitting president has visited a picket line in modern times.

This is an important message to America’s autoworkers and to every hardworking American across — across the country.

And with that, go ahead, Seung Min.

Q: Can you tell us where specifically in Wayne County he will be – which plant?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any specific details to share with you for secur- —

Q: Why not?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m going to answer.

Q: Oh, sorry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: For security reasons and given the unprecedented nature of this visit. As I just mentioned, it is an historic visit. And this is an active picket line. And so, we’re not able to provide the exact location in advance, again, as I mentioned, for security purposes. And so, as you know, when the President makes public stops, we don’t advertise exact street – right? – and corner.

He’s visiting this one – again, an active picket line — so we want to be incredibly mindful. But because of those precau- –precautions, we have expanded both the print and the local press pool to give additional media the opportunity to cover the President on the ground.

But again, because this is an active — an active picket line, we — we just have to be incredibly careful. And so, there are security concerns.

Q: And on another topic. As far as the U.S. is aware, is the Russian Black Sea – Sea fleet Commander Viktor Sokolov dead or alive? Has the U.S. made a determination? Ukraine claimed that he was killed yesterday.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we’ve seen the reports, and certainly we are — we are aware of the video. I just don’t have anything to confirm at this time. But obviously, we’re aware of the reports.

Q: You said, just now, he’s the first president in modern U.S. history. Are you aware of any other president who has –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I am not.

Q: — ever been on —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’re just – we’re just being careful here. (Laughter.)

Q: You’re being careful?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, as we like to do when we use modern history.

But no, I’m not aware of any — I mean, you guys — I think I’ve seen reporting that some of you have tried to figure out if there has been another sitting pres- –president that has done this. And so, I don’t think anybody has a — have been able to find that.

So, this is – I mean, guys, this is really a historic — a historic event, a historic day — what the President is going to be doing.

And, look, I’ve said this many times, you know, over and over again: This is the most pro-union president in modern times.

And — and so, you know, he is continuing to show his — his support. This president — President Joe Biden – he has continued to do so — show his support for union workers — in this case, autoworkers. This is something he believes.

And you see that in his economic policy and his — in the big pieces of legislation that he’s gotten to — to pass and also sign — that he puts workers at the center of it, right?

When he talks about the middle class, he says the — the middle — the unions built the middle class. That is something that he has said for years. So, what you’re going to see is this president continuing to — to stay in — in line or in — in the same vein as what he’s been saying for — for some time now.

And so, again, a historic trip – he’s looking forward to it. And you all will be able to experience that history.

Q: Does this undermine his ability, potentially, and the administration’s ability, potentially, to be a deal breaker — or not a deal breaker — a deal broker, I should say, between the two sides? I mean, he’s also had lots of meetings with car company CEOs —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: — over the last couple of years, and he’s pushing the agenda for EVs. Does it undermine that at all, do you think?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I don’t think so. Look, he also has spoken to all the parties, as you all know. He spoke to the — the automakers, certainly, before he left for India, as we have stated before.

And look, you know, you hear the President talk a lot about dignity — right? — and making sure that American families, American households have the dignity. And this is part of it: being able to sit at — around the kitchen table and be able to — be able to deliver for your family, be able to pay your bills, and do it in a way that’s –you know, that has that dignity that – that should — that should be — you know, that should be presented to you.

So, look, this is an opportunity that he took. As you know, Shawn Fain invited him today. He had — he — he gladly accepted. It’s about standing in solidarity with the union – union members.

Q: On Senator Menendez. Does the President think Senator Menendez should resign?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I — I was asked this question yesterday. Look, this is a — a serious matter. We take this very seriously, as I said yesterday. We — we think the senator did the right thing by stepping down from his chairmanship.

As it relates to – as it relates to resigning, that is something that — that’s up to him and the leadership in the Senate.

But look, we take this very seriously.

Q: It’s just that there’s a — there’s more than a — you know, there’s a handful of senators who are now calling for him to resign. So did — does the President think that he can still be a good public servant in the face of these allegations?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That is up to the Senate body, that is up to the Senate leadership, and that is up to Senator Menendez.

But, again, we see this, indeed, as a serious matter.

Q: Does the President have any concerns that public trust in the Senate as a body would be impacted if someone like Senator Menendez stayed in office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I can’t speak to — I can’t speak to the public trust.

What I can speak to is this president — as least as it relates to the Senate, you know, that — again, that’s for the Senate leadership to speak to. That’s for the Senator — Senator Menendez to speak about, you know, how — how the public views the work that they’re doing and – and how they’re moving forward.

What I can say is that we have been able to secure some incredibly recor- — important record — you know, record pieces of legislation that is going to change the lives of Americans, when you think about the Bipartisan Infrastructure — Infrastructure Law, which was a joke in the last administration.

By — you know, as you know, Infrastructure Week — now it’s Infrastructure Decade, as the President said. That’s going to change Americans’ lives and their livelihood and creating good-paying job — good–paying union jobs. That matters. When you think about the CHIPS and Science Act, when you think about the Inflation Reduction Act.

So, we have worked with this — with senators and House members to get this done, to get really important legislation through. And so, that’s what’s going to be our focus. And so, that’s what we’re going to be zeroed in on.

Q: And on the decision to come to the strike — I mean, this is really historic. It is unprecedented. Could you give us any more detail on how the President came to this decision? I know he got an invitation and he accepted the invitation. But did he have any other conversations? How did he get to this point?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I mean, I’m not going to go to – blow by blow to the President’s decision. As you know, I mentioned — and you all know and reported on it – Shawn Fain sent an invite, the — the president of UAW — and he gladly accepted.

But from the beginning of this — right? — the President has always said for — for — for almost his entire career — right? — that he stands by the side of union workers.

And so, he sees this as an important moment. It’s not the first time he’s done and — been at an active picket line, especially for UAW. I just mentioned how he did that in 2019, so it’s not uncommon for him.

And he thinks and he believes, as someone who is seen by labor – by union – and he believes this – as the most pro-union president that — and — and he shows it with his policies that he wanted to stand in solidarity of the workers.

Today is about the workers. That is what today is about.

Go ahead.

Q: So, just to clarify: Today is about the workers. But will he be meeting with the auto executives while he’s in town? And why not?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any other — besides going to see a — going to be part of an active picket line, I don’t have any other meetings to read out at this time.

Q: When was the last time —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: This is really about autoworkers.

Yeah.

Q: When was the last time the President spoke to Speaker McCarthy about the shutdown or — or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, go ahead. I’m sorry. Sorry.

Q: And he is willing to let the Speaker kind of twist in the wind and let the government shut down for — until something was — something is resolved?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, to be very clear: It’s up to the Speaker to twist in the wind.

I mean, seriously, this is — a deal is a deal. The President made a deal with the Speaker and — a bipartisan deal that was voted by two thirds of House — House Republicans back in – back in June — May/June. And this is something that they — they know how to fix this – right? — which is doing their job — their basic job, which is getting this done.

And so, I think the President was asked this question, if he’s spoken to Speaker McCarthy recently, and he answered that question. It is — he — I believe he said, “No.”

Q: Is it still “no”?

Q: Still “no,” yeah?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have anything to read out. It’s — you know, what the Pres- — I mean, that was less than 24 hours ago. But as you – as you know, a lot of things happen in – in 24 hours. I just don’t have any — any readouts to share with you at this time.

Look, I mean, when it comes to a potential shutdown, which does not have to happen, it would be a Republican shutdown. This is something that they can avoid. We made a deal very early on in the summer.

And, you know, it was, again, a bipartisan deal. This is something that – that Americans want us to do — right? — to work in a bipartisan deal. The President was able to deliver on that.

They have to fix it. It is up to them to fix whatever chaos is going on right now with these extreme Republicans in the House. It is up for them to fix.

Q: Does the President think he can do anything to help avert a shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It is up to Republicans to avert this shutdown. It really is.

I just want to — I really want to just lay out a couple of — a couple of quotes, right?

Speaker McCarthy: Some individuals “just want to burn the whole place down.”

Representative Frank Lucas: There are “folks who want to use this — this as an opportunity to blow up the place.”

Representative Garret Graves: The arsonists [here] lit their house on fire.”

Representative Matt Gaetz: And I actually said this quote on Friday, and I’ll say it again. “We will have a government shutdown and… we cannot blame Joe Biden. “We cannot blame House Republicans [Democrats].” end quote.

Representative Jerry Carl: “I truly think that they want it shut to — they want it shut down.”

And then the last two are actually Republicans – extreme Republicans in the House who have said – this is Representative George – Representative George San- — Santos and Anna Paulina Luna who have tweeted, “Shut it down.” Another representative, Ralph Norman, said, “Let’s shut it down.”

So, it is – you know, it is – it is these extreme House Republicans and some other Republicans who are calling out these extreme House Republicans who are saying that they want to shut it down.

And they’re doing this — let’s not forget — because there is a — they are providing a long laundry list of extreme provisions or extreme — extreme asks that’s actually going to hurt the American people.

That’s what they are saying. This is what they’re holding, saying that this has to be rammed through in order to – in order to keep the government open.

We have a deal. We have a deal.

Q: Karine —

Q: Today is all about the solidarity with workers. Would the President support a renewed push to get the PRO Act passed? And has he communicated that at all with the Senate leadership?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything — I don’t have any policy pieces or anything like that to announce. What the President is going to do is stand in solidarity with — with UAW — clearly autoworkers today, as they are going through their process — it is their process — as they’re going through this negotiation.

The President believes record profits should lead to a record contract. He’s been very clear about that.

And he believes that, you know, this is — when it comes to automakers, when it comes to UAW, they are – you know, this is the future. Right? This is the future of cars. Cars need to be made in America. This is what — something that the President has been working on with his policies the last two years.

And so, I just don’t have any policy announcement or agreement that the President is going to make today. He’s going to stand in solidarity with the workers.

Q: Has the White House made a determination as to which of its staff are essential versus nonessential? I know the OMB had conversations with Cabinet agencies, but I’m wondering if the White House has had those internal discussions.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. We’re moving through – we’re having those internal discussions. I don’t have anything to – you know, to lay out as to what that’s going to look like.

As I mentioned on Friday, OMB was starting to have those conversations with agencies. Certainly, we’re having these internal conversations as well. So, those are happening.

Don’t have anything to share at this time.

But, look, this doesn’t need to happen. The shutdown does not have to happen. This Republican shutdown can be avoided if extreme House Republicans would just do their job and do the work that Americans expect them to do, which is keep the government open, which would fund — right? — really important, critical programs that the American people need.

You heard directly from Secretary Vilsack yesterday when he laid out, for example, the WIC program, which would hurt 7 million Americans across the country. Right? We’re talking about women and children. We’re talking about nutrition.

And so, it is — it is unfortunate if this happens. But this is the chaos – this is the chaos that we’re seeing from House Republicans.

Q: Does the President support the UAW using this visit as a — as a way to encourage others who are not necessarily UAW members to also stop working?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I can’t — I really can’t speak to — to the actions of what UAW is going to do.

All I can say is, this is why the President is coming: to stand in solidarity with workers. This is what this visit is about.

I don’t know any — anything really specific about the question that you’re asking. I get — I get the question that you’re asking.

Q: They’re encouraging others to join in solidarity, and they’re citing the President’s visit.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, the President is joining the workers in solidarity, right? That’s what he’s doing.

He’s — he is, you know, clearly doing this and showing example — what it looks like to stand with women — the women and the man of the UA — of UAW who are asking for what he believes is a fair share —

Q: And look —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — a fair share of —

Q: Which politicians —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — of a profit.

Q: – will join with him on the picket line?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, there will be — when he lands, there will be some politicians from Michigan that will certainly be greeting him. And so, we’ll have a list —

Q: The lieutenant governor?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I believe so, but we’ll have a list to share with you as we do — as we do every time we — we land in a — in a state. I just don’t have — I don’t have — I just don’t have the names in front of me right now.

But, again, this is not about anybody else but the union workers, the autoworkers today. That’s what this is about.

Q: Michigan is an important swing state. If this strike goes on for a while, it could hurt the economy in Michigan, and that could come back and hurt the President’s chances of reelection. Does the White House have any plans for how to bolster the economy if this strike goes on for a long time?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, you know, I’m going to be very careful — 2024 Hatch Act. So, I’m not going to speak to any political outcomes or how this plays into next year’s election.

What I can say is the — is this: You know, obviously, we always look at any potential impacts – right? — these types of situations may lead to, especially this — this particular strike. Don’t have anything specific to share at this time.

But look, you know, the negotiations are happening. They are talking, which is really important.

And we’re going to leave it to the – we leave it to the UAW and the Big Three and continue to have that conversation. We are — certainly, we’re not part of that. We’re not part of the negotiations.

But certainly, we are here to help in any way. I just don’t have anything else to share beyond that.

Q: One more on government funding, if I may. If — if the — is the White House preparing for the possibility that in the Senate fallback CR that the administration is talking to Senate leadership about — is the administration prepared for the possibility that there will be no or very little Ukraine supplemental money in that CR?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we’re very — and we’ve said this many times: We’re very proud of what we’ve been able to get in a bipartisan way as it relates to the funding for Ukraine. It is important that continues.

And so, you know, we believe a bipartisan majority in Congress is — are committed to supporting Ukraine.

And as you mentioned, the Senate — you’ve heard that from Leader Schumer, you’ve heard that from McConnell multiple times in just the past couple of weeks – how they are both — they are both supporting making sure that we continue that funding.

So, we’re going to work with members of both parties in the Senate. You heard from Jake — say that. He was at — Jake Sullivan, our National Security Advisor, was in the — was at — was at the podium recently saying how he’s had conversation with both – both sides, talking about the importance of securing that supplemental funding as part of the continuing resolution.

And so, you know, that — that — that funding, let’s not forget, will — will ensure the support for the Ukrainian people as they are bravely fighting for — for their freedom, fighting for democracy, which is important.

That’s why the President has shown this leadership for almost — you know — almo- — clearly more than a year, a year and a half with — with our allies and parters — partners, with NATO so that we can shore up that support.

So, that support is not just from us. It’s from our allies and our partners as well.

Look, we’re — we’re committed to continuing these conversations. We are grateful for the bipartisan support that we’ve seen.

And so, those conversations are going to continue.

Q: Karine, if the government shuts down, will the President remain in town until it’s resolved?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What can I say — look, the President could be a President anywhere — right? — anywhere he is.

I can say that the President is going to be here this weekend in Washington, D.C. – yeah “here,” meaning – we’re on a plane. Be in –

Q: He will be in the air? (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — Washington – he’ll be in Washington, D.C. this weekend.

Look, again, the shutdown — this Republican shutdown does not have to happen. It does not have to happen, and it’s going to hurt the American people.

I just don’t have anything else on his travel, but I can say that he’ll be here this weekend.

Q: Will anybody else be joining — any — anybody else from the administration be joining the picket line? The Labor Secretary —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, yeah —

Q: — anyone else?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, there is a — the President, you know, normally travels with a — you know, with the senior staff. There is a senior staff here on the plane.

You know, this is something — this is historic, because this is a sitting president who’s going to be joining an active picket line. And he — it is going to be about his support for the auto — autoworkers, for the — for the union members.

I don’t have anything else besides that.

Q: Any estimates on when the President’s executive order on artificial intelligence will be coming out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything new to share on that. As you know, that’s something that the President certainly committed to. I just don’t have anything to share on that.

Q: Would you invite him to come back and chat with us on the way back on — or on the way to California?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) I will — I will — I will do my best.

Q: He’s welcome anytime. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know. I know.

Okay, guys, thank you so much.

Q: Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Enjoy this historic stop.

September 27: The White House posted a Statement: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Risk Delays for Travelers and Force Air Traffic Controllers and TSA Officers to Work Without Getting Paid” From the Statement:

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing games with peoples’ live and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including risking significant delays for travelers and forcing air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Officers to work without pay.

During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Officers – in addition to thousands of other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel – would have to show up to do their critical jobs without getting paid until funding becomes available. In previous shutdowns, this led to significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country. Additionally, an Extreme Republican Shutdown would halt air traffic controller training – potentially leading to long-term disruptions to the industry at a moment when we’ve seen critical progress filling a backlog of controllers.

The reason these transportation priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-third of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that proposes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including rail safety inspections and the Transportation Security Administration. Their extreme CR also failed to provide the urgent funding President Biden requested to avoid disruptions to FAA air traffic operations.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of the more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA Officers who would be forced to work without pay during an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

• Alabama: 309 TSA Officers | 93 Air Traffic Controllers
• Alaska: 532 TSA Officers | 201 Air Traffic Controllers
• Arizona: 1,399 TSA Officers | 194 Air Traffic Controllers
• Arkansas: 212 TSA Officers | 56 Air Traffic Controllers
• California: 5,469 TSA Officers | 1,418 Air Traffic Controllers
• Colorado: 1,338 TSA Officers 451 Air Traffic Controllers
• Connecticut: 271 TSA Officers | 39 Air Traffic Controllers
• Delaware: 1 TSA Officer | 13 Air Traffic Controllers
• Florida: 6,109 TSA Officers | 1,157 Air Traffic Controllers
• Georgia: 1,727 TSA Officers | 577 Air Traffic Controllers
• Hawaii: 1,199 TSA Officers | 113 Air Traffic Controllers
• Idaho: 268 TSA Officers | 39 Air Traffic Controllers
• Kansas: 157 TSA Officers | 289 Air Traffic Controllers
• Kentucky: 519 TSA Officers | 123 Air Traffic Controllers
• Louisiana: 563 TSA Officers | 142 Air Traffic Controllers
• Maine: 186 TSA Officers | 45 Air Traffic Controllers
• Maryland: 683 TSA Officers | 34 Air Traffic Controllers
• Massachusetts: 1,182 TSA Officers | 64 Air Traffic Controllers
• Michigan: 1,142 TSA Officers | 245 Air Traffic Controllers
• Minnesota: 748 TSA Officers | 445 Air Traffic Controllers
• Missouri: 554 TSA Officers | 159 Air Traffic Controllers
• Montana: 153 TSA Officers | 50 Air Traffic Controllers
• Nebraska: 277 TSA Officers | 46 Air Traffic Controllers
• Nevada: 1,504 TSA Officers | 104 Air Traffic Controllers
• New Hampshire: 120 TSA Officers | 303 Air Traffic Controllers
• New Jersey: 1, 457 TSA Officers | 104 Air Traffic Controllers
• New Mexico: 216 TSA Officers | 254 Air Traffic Controllers
• New York: 3,444 TSA Officers | 766 Air Traffic Controllers
• North Carolina: 1,391 TSA Officers | 221 Air Traffic Controllers
• North Dakota: 166 TSA Officers | 51 Air Traffic Controllers
• Ohio: 769 TSA Officers | 498 Air Traffic Controllers
• Oklahoma: 300 TSA Officers | 78 Air Traffic Controllers
• Oregon: 612 TSA Officers | 89 Air Traffic Controllers
• Pennsylvania: 1,487 TSA Officers | 271 Air Traffic Controllers
• Rhode Island: 162 TSA Officers | 32 Air Traffic Controllers
• South Carolina: 515 TSA Officers | 97 Air Traffic Controllers
• South Dakota: 67 TSA Officers | 17 Air Traffic Controllers
• Tennessee: 931 TSA Officers | 445 Air Traffic Controllers
• Texas: 4,720 TSA Officers | 1,264 Air Traffic Controllers
• Utah: 550 TSA Officers | 221 Air Traffic Controllers
• Vermont: 86 TSA Officers | 22 Air Traffic Controllers
• Virginia: 1,913 TSA Officers | 633 Air Traffic Controllers
• West Virginia: 122 TSA Officers | 54 Air Traffic Controllers
• Wisconsin: 122 TSA Officers | 74 Air Traffic Controllers
• Wyoming: 103 TSA Officers | 12 Air Traffic Controllers

September 27: ABC News posted an article titled: “Military families brace for a loss of paycheck, services under a government shutdown” From the article:

As the nation nears another government shutdown, military families face an uncertain financial future where they may not receive a paycheck unless a spending deal passes in time…

…A government shutdown appears increasingly likely with just a few days until the funding expires.Lawmakers have until the end of the day Sept. 30 to pass a spending deal to avert the shutdown.

As many as 4 million workers could lose pay as a result of the shutdown — about half of whom are military troops and personnel…

…For some military families, that may mean losing services they have come to rely on: everything from nutrition assistance to health care, mental health care, after-school activities for their kids, and even childcare centers…

…A recent “Pulse Check” survey that Blue Star Families conducted of its members found that most active-duty families — 54% — said they would be “greatly impacted” by a government shutdown. In open-ended responses from the more than 600 respondents, many cited the pay as the most common concern…

September 27: NPR posted an article titled: “What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military – and national security” From the article:

The federal government will shut down on October 1 if Congress doesn’t pass funding legislation for the next fiscal year before then – which is looking extremely likely.

That raises plenty of questions. Among them: What happens to the military?

Service members will continue to report for duty, though they will not get paid during a shutdown. And many of the hundreds of thousands of civilians who work for the Department of Defense will likely be furloughed, said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

“And they do vital, critical work on a daily basis to keep the department going,” Kirby told Morning Edition.

Separately, the Department of Defense says post and base services would be closed or limited, while elective surgeries and procedures would be closed or limited, while its medical and dental facilities would have to be postponed. Commissaries would remain open overseas but close in the U.S.

And certain Pentagon activities, like operational planning and military recruitment, will be paused…

…Kirby agrees that a prolonged shutdown could harm national security, especially when it comes to delayed management of DOD contracts for things like maintenance, logistics and procurement.

He says the White House is working to make sure employees understand what a shutdown could mean for them and to make plans in case they are affected. It’s also urging Congress to do its job. Though, Kirby notes, the issue is really between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the small group of hardline House Republicans demanding steps budget cuts…

September 27, 2023: The White House posted: “Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology San Francisco, CA“

THE PRESIDENT: This is a 14-hour meeting. (Laughter.)

Look, let me begin by saying that one of the things that disturbed me — being involved in elective office for a long time — is how, over the last 30 years, the federal government has paid less and less attention to investments in science and technology.

And we’re in a situation where we used to have a significant portion of our GDP going into research and development. And it got down to 0.7 percent from 2 percent. We used to lead the world.

And I don’t know how we can be the safest, most secure, and healthiest nation in the world without significant investment in – in science and technology, and I mean that. And so, you’ve all really stepped up.

And one of the things that I also – it doesn’t directly relate today, but Arati and I talked a little bit about it earlier this morning — is that: What leaders say matter, in terms of people’s confidence in things they’re not sure about.

And one of those areas — you saw what happened with regard to the crisis — health crisis that we had that cost us — we lost well over a million people. And as time began to move on, you had more voices saying, “No, no, no. You don’t need to get that shot. You don’t need to be — get –you don’t need to.”

And we have a new strain of COVID now, and we have answers for it. But I just would urge those in public life and both political parties or no political party to be cautious about the ac- — the sometimes inflammatory things you say about this, because people’s lives are at stake.

And the last piece was: When I was vice president, for a slightly different reason, I spent a lot of time going between rural areas and urban areas. And one of the things that we – you’re going to talk about here is the – — the healthcare workers reflecting the community. We need not only to have more focus on rural communities and rural hospitals in order to get the kind of care and — and attention they need, but we need to have people from those communities to be the ones who are trained and engaged in that effort. And I think that – again, Arati raised that with me this morning.

I — I can’t tell you how certain I am that that is necessary, and I’m not a scientists. It matters. It matters who you go to and do you trust what they’re doing. Do you think they know what they’re talking about?

And so, Dr. Zuber, thank you. I’m really looking forward to this discussion.

And this group represents some of the top minds in America. And that’s, again, not hyperbole. That’s a fact.

I’ve often said, America is the only nation in the world that can be defined by one word. I spent a lot of time with Xi Jinping when I was vice president and subsequent to that. And he once asked me, on the Tibetan Plateau, could I define America for him? And I mean this sincerely — not a joke. I said, “Yes. One word: possibilities.”

We’ve always believed that anything is possible if we set our mind to it. Possibilities.

And science and technology is allowing us to unlock the potential as a nation to meet the challenges of our time with some sense of urgency and purpose. I can’t emphasize the word “urgency” too much.

I’d hate like hell if three generations from now, them to look back on this period where we had the potential tools to explore and increase significantly our ability to help, and we somehow mes- — messed it up. No, no, I mean it sincerely. I’m sorry to talk so plainly, but I think that’s what it gets down to in many cases.

So, I’m looking forward to discussing actions that we’re taking on two priorities: AI — artificial intelligence — and expanding our high-quality healthcare for every American no matter where they’re quartered, where they live, what their background is.

You know, as we just heard, AI has the potential to transform research, and I’m looking forward to learning much more today.

And, by the way, I’m not joking. My latest two trips around the world — and not figuratively; literally around the world — to meet with other world leaders, ev- –well, I wouldn’t say “everyone.” I can think of — I can’t think of anybody who didn’t, but I’m sure I will — there was some world leader who didn’t ask me.

They wanted to talk about our leadership on artificial intelligence and what the meetings — what we — I’ve conducted already around tables similar to this with the 10, 12 major, major initiators within AI – and the vast differences that exist among them in terms of what potential it has, what dangers there are.

And so, you know, I’ve been keen — I have a keen interest in AI and convened key experts on how to harness the power of artificial intelligence for good while protecting people from the profound risk it also presents — we can’t kid ourselves — the profound risk if we don’t do it well.

And the United States is committed to that goal. And we’re going to work with world leaders to achieve it, including British Prime Minister Su — Sunak and others that I’ve been — they want to do more together with us.

And I want to thank — thanks to our administrations, 15 American technology companies have already begun to implement voluntary commitments that help ensure that AI technology is safe, secure, and trustworthy before it’s released to the public. That includes extensive independent safety testing. That includes watermarking and identifying images that have been generated by AI.

And – and to state the obvious: AI – AI extends beyond health and security issues. I applaud the tentative resolution from the writers strike, for example, here — not here — in California, in Los Angeles, including insurances on how the use of AI will occur.

This fall, I’m going to take executive action, and my administration is going to continue to work with bipartisan legislation so America leads the way toward responsible AI innovation.

We’re also taking action to ensure or loved ones have access to high-quality healthcare, starting with the PCAST release – report you released on strengthening patient safety. I made very brief reference to it at the beginning, but it is really, really critical.

And today, I’m announcing major investments in patient safety from ARPA-H to develop antibiotics and to fight deadly drug-resistant bacteria and save lives. Think of that. We’re talking about the potential for antibiotics to be used to deal with ca- –anyway, it just —

When I start reading your reports, I think to myself, “My, Lord, what an incredible era we’re about to go through.” But it has to be done well.

And so, finding and implementing solutions to reduce medical errors and other problems for patients’ experiences when hospitalized is going to improve health outcomes and protect our loved ones as well.

And Joe Kiani knows a lot about that — been working with it a long, long time.

My administration is committed to ensuring every American receives high-quality care they deserve in every community – urban, rural, suburban, Tribal — I — and — and it varies as to who — think about your — I — I say to the public who might be listening: Think about whether or not – who you go to and how much you follow the instructions. No, I – I mean it. It is a very basic human nature element. And that’s why having people from, quote, “the neighborhood” makes a big difference, I think.

And – and so, it’s going to reduce medical errors and other problems patients fac- — face when they’re hospitalized. And I believe it’s going to improve outcomes and protect the people we love.

My administration is committed to ensuring every American receives high-quality care they deserve in every community, as I said. And ultimately, it’s all about dignity — it’s all about dignity.

The actions we take together are going to help protect people’s health. They’re going to promote innovation. And we’re going to win the economic competition of the 21st century, in my humble opinion.

And I’ll just say: If we have a government shutdown, a lot of vital work in science and health could be impacted, from cancer research to food safety. So, the American people need our Republican friends in the House of Representatives to do their job: fund the government.

We’ve got a lot to discuss, so let’s get this meeting started. I’d rather hear from you than me. Thank you.

Q: Mr. President, do you think the government shutdown is inevitable at this point? Over here, sir. Do you —

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think anything is inevitable in politics.

Q: What — what can be done now to make sure it doesn’t happen?

THE PRESIDENT: If I knew that, I would have done it already. (Laughter.)

September 28: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Delay Nearly 2,000 Long-term Disaster Recovery Projects and Undermine Community Preparedness” From the Statement:

With just days left before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including delaying long-term disaster recovery and undermining preparedness in communities across the country. Their bipartisan approach stands in start contrast to the Senate’s bipartisan progress towards keeping the government open and making a down payment on disaster relief funding.

As the Administration has continued to call on Congress to provide disaster relief funding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) continues to dwindle and is now forced to prioritize only immediate lifesaving and life sustaining operations. An Extreme Republican Shutdown would leave the DRF underfunded – delaying nearly 2,000 long-term recovery projects in communities across the country. For example, Wilson County School in Tennessee would continue being unable to push forward with rebuilding due to a deadly tornado that left 100 teachers and 1,000 students without classrooms. In New Jersey, millions of dollars meant to help rebuild a senior citizen building following Hurricane Ida would remain frozen. And in Florida, hundreds of millions of dollars of Hurricane Ian recover obligations would continue to be delayed.

An Extreme Republican Shutdown would also undermine communities’ preparedness by preventing fire departments from accessing funding necessary to retain firefighters and purchase equipment, halting first responder training, and jeopardizing access to grants for disaster and terrorism preparedness.

The reason these disaster recovery and preparedness priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-thirds of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that proposes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including to FEMA. Their extreme CR also fails to provide the urgent funding President Biden requested for FEMA’s DRF.

Below is a breakdown of the nearly 2,000 recovery projects across all 50 states, DC, an Puerto Rico that would be further delayed during an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

State – Total Projects Delayed

• Alabama – 35
• Alaska – 14
• Arizona – 8
• Arkansas – 17
• California -78
• Colorado – 8
• Connecticut – 14
• Delaware – 2
• District of Columbia – 12
• Florida – 272
• Georgia – 10
• Hawaii – 12
• Idaho – 1
• Illinois – 19
• Indiana – 24
• Iowa – 25
• Kansas – 7
• Kentucky – 122
• Louisiana – 222
• Maine – 26
• Maryland – 11
• Massachusetts – 58
• Michigan – 8
• Minnesota – 11
• Mississippi – 27
• Missouri – 15
• Montana – 7
• Nebraska – 4
• Nevada – 3
• New Hampshire – 17
• New Jersey – 35
• New Mexico – 6
• New York – 214
• North Carolina – 48
• North Dakota – 17
• Ohio – 13
• Oklahoma – 13
• Oregon – 80
• Pennsylvania – 30
• Puerto Rico – 188
• Rhode Island – 3
• South Carolina – 11
• South Dakota – 17
• Tennessee – 34
• Texas – 60
• Utah – 2
• Vermont – 12
• Washington – 47
• West Virginia – 8
• Wisconsin – 3
• Wyoming – N/A

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “It’s not just a shutdown – Congress has no plan for the FAA either” From the article:

It’s not just a broader government shutdown. By Sunday, the aviation system could also have almost all of its funding cut off if Congress can’t stop squabbling.

And House Republicans don’t seem to have a plan to avoid that, either.

It’s a crucial moment for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is faced with a possible lapse in its statutory authorization for the first time since 2011, as well as a possible gap in funding if the entire government shuts down this weekend. The funding cliff comes as the powerful agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since April 2022 at a time when near-misses have spiked and air travel surged.

If Congress can’t act to head off a shutdown and FAA lapse by Sunday, most air traffic controllers will continue working without pay, but some 2,600 controllers in training – including 1,000 that are already working in FAA centers nationwide – will be forced to go home, putting significant strain on an already stressed system. Grant money for important safety improvements will stop and some regulations in process, such as ones intended to shore up passenger protections, will grind to a halt. And the country’s aviation system will lose an estimated $54 million a day in fuel and fare tax revenues…

…There is bipartisan support in both chambers for sparing the FAA the brunt of a lapse. But how to get that result while also threading the needle of the fractious House Republican conference, portions of which are spoiling for a shutdown, has remained elusive. Meanwhile, the FAA is estimating that travel will reach its peak for the year heading into Indigenous People’s Day weekend, which will begin in a week.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office did not respond to a request for comment…

September 28: The Keystone posted an article titled: “Food Banks Brace for Government Shutdown” From the article:

Millions of Pennsylvanians could have trouble finding a hot meal if the federal government shuts down next week. A shutdown could compound food shortage problems that food banks are facing around the country.

With the possibility of a federal government shutdown looming, food banks in the Pittsburg area are bracing for the impact it will have on the community.

A government shutdown threatens the well-being for the millions of Americans who struggle to pay for groceries and sometimes have to rely on food banks. It will also impact government workers and contractors who will miss paychecks, which could jeopardize their ability to put food on their families table.

“Any level of government shutdown will have adverse effects across our 11-county service area, including potential impacts to SNAP payments and reduced food supply,” Lisa Scales, president and CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank said.

“We have also learned from past experience that federal employees, active-duty military members and federal contractor employees will face a new reality of needing help to feed their families.”

A shutdown could hit food banks at one of the worst possible moments. Food banks around the country facing a food supply crisis and many are struggling to meet sustained and heightened needs. A Feeding America survey found that around 70% of responding food banks reported seeing demand for food assistance increase or stay the same in July 2023 compared to June.

Close to 2 million residents across the commonwealth are at risk of feeling pain even if the shutdown doesn’t last very long. A brief shutdown has the potential to disrupt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for families if there’s a lack of funding or a delay in processing benefits, or both…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “House GOP leaders plan to scrap vote on agriculture spending bill. From the article:

House GOP leaders are planning to abandon efforts to hold a stand-alone vote on their troubled agriculture spending bill and will pivot Friday to move on a House GOP stop-gap measure that could avoid a government shutdown, according to three House GOP lawmakers…

Senior Republicans are instead pushing hard to amend and pass three other spending bills to fund the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security.

GOP leaders are not pushing to fix abortion police and agriculture spending issues that complicated the passage of the legislation, according to the three Republican lawmakers…

…Many opposed are rural Republicans angry about steep spending cuts to key agriculture programs. About 10 of the opposed GOP members are livid about the inclusion of a controversial GOP ban on mail delivery of abortion pills, which they believed last week would be addressed in order to secure their support, according to another Republican lawmaker and a GOP aide.

Several House Republicans had expected Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to offer an amendment to strip the GOP’s controversial ban on mail delivery of abortion pills from the agriculture spending bill.

But, according to the three House Republican lawmakers, GOP leaders blocked that move…

…Despite the likelihood of the agriculture spending bill being abandoned, there haven’t been any changes to the floor schedule and GOP leaders are planning to vote on all four spending bills Thursday night, according to a senior GOP aide.

If they don’t flip several dozen votes, though, the bill will fail on the floor. That would allow GOP leaders to show they have exhausted all options to fund the government, giving more urgency to a passage of a stop-gap measure ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown.

September 28: Congress of the United States sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. From the letter:

As the U.S. House of Representatives continues to consider appropriations in the run-up to the expiration of government funding on October 1, 2023, we urgently request that the following information be provided to Members of the House Republican Conference.

1. What is the plan to address the public and widely reported issues threatening final passage of the four appropriations bills being considered on the House floor?
2. What is the schedule for the other five bills reported by the House Appropriations Committee to come to the floor?
3. When will the House Appropriations Committee mark up and report the last two appropriations bills?
4. What is the plan to implement additional spending reductions in the remaining appropriations bills to reach the topline discretionally level of $1.526 trillion, which largely was agreed upon by the House Republican Conference last week?
5. Will the House of Representatives remain in session to continue working until all 12 individual regular appropriations bills have passed?
6. Will you publicly refute and reject the Schumer-McConnell Continuing Resolution, and what is being done to proactively oppose and defeat this “Omnibus Preparation Act?”

No Member of Congress can or should be expected to consider supporting a stop-gap funding measure without answers to these reasonable questions. We remain ready to continue working in good faith with our colleagues across the Republican Conference to advance appropriations; likewise, we expect you to take every step necessary to pass these bills – starting with the four bills now under consideration to fund approximately two-thirds of the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, we need leadership and a clear plan on spending to get to an end game here – most importantly, with wins for the American People.

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “The House Freedom Caucus wants answers from Kevin McCarthy on the path forward on government funding – and a rebuke of the Senate stopgap” From the article:

More than two dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding Speaker Kevin McCarthy answer questions about the path forward on government funding while also publicly denouncing a bipartisan Senate stopgap proposal.

“No Member of Congress can or should be expected to consider supporting a stop-gap funding measure without answers to these reasonable questions,” the letter, signed by 27 members the conservative caucus, reads.

The letter is just the latest data point for how hard it will prove for McCarthy to round up sufficient GOP support for any short-term spending measure. He can lose but a handful off votes without the support of Democrats.

McCarthy has indicated he’ll consider a CR with additional border security funding and policy changes. However, a bloc off far-right Republicans are dug in against any sort of government funding patch.

September 28: The Augusta Chronicle posted an article titled: “Pay, services may be altered for Georgia military bases if federal government shuts down” From the article:

With the threat of a looming government shutdown, many federal employees could be furloughed, or may have to report for work without pay – including military service members.

Georgia has the fifth highest number of Department of Defense employees in the country, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, with at least eight military installations across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Even if a government shutdown does occur, however, military bases will carry on with their essential duties.

In the event of a shutdown, the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield U.S. Army Garrison team will continue to deliver life, health, and safety services for those working and living on the installation,” wrote Kevin Larson, chief of public communications for Fort Stewart near Savannah. “We remain in communication with our team and will continue to provide specific information as events unfold.”

Other than that, Larson said they are still awaiting official guidance.

According to the Department of Defense, services on bases could be limited, including postponing elective and closing commissaries in the U.S. (although not overseas). At the end of the shutdown, people who worked unpaid hours will receive backpay…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “House GOP’s spending gambit flops” From the article:

House Republicans failed late Thursday night to pass one of their party’s slimmed-down spending measures, another fumble by GOP leaders just days before an impending government shutdown.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to move Friday to a narrower GOP stopgap funding patch that’s loaded up with spending cuts and border policies, though that measure currently lacks the votes from his own party that it needs to pass. House and Senate leaders are still not coordinating on a deal to stave off the funding lapse that’s set to take effect midnight Sunday.

In the end, Republicans faltered on one out of the four full-year measures bills, only the bill that funds the Department of Agriculture. A separate measure on Ukraine aid, which was stripped out of GOP’s Pentagon funding bill earlier this week, was also approved overwhelmingly, with all Democrats joining to back the bill.

Still, none of those measures – to fund the Pentagon, the State Department or the Homeland Security department – would help Congress deal with a funding deadline just two days away. McCarthy and his team will now pivot to rounding up the votes for a GOP-drafted short-term funding bill, which includes billions of spending cuts and new border security provisions. That measure is seen as a path to negotiating with the Senate and, perhaps, ultimately striking a deal…

…So far though, McCarthy and his allies remain short on the votes for any stopgap – even loaded up with GOP policies. McCarthy plans to hold a press conference Friday morning to discuss next steps…

…The Senate, meanwhile, has begun working on its own stopgap bill, which lawmakers on that side of the Capitol hope to pass on Saturday – hours before funding would expire – though the timing remains fluid. That bill could include a possible side deal on border policy, as dealmakers such as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Cornwyn (R-Texas) work toward a multi-billion dollar proposal to win support from the House GOP.

It’s unclear how Republicans will proceed if they are unable to lock down the votes for a short-term bill before Saturday.

But what is unlikely: Finding agreement to pass the GOP’s own agriculture bill, which has been stalled for weeks. Dozens of Republicans have privately said they would oppose the bill, thanks to abortion policy and steep cuts to farm programs…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “Senate advances shutdown-averting bill as GOP discusses changes” From the article:

The Senate voted Thursday to advance its bipartisan stopgap spending bill, though GOP senators are actively discussing changes to make the measure more palatable for House Republicans.

The upper chamber voted 76-22 to proceed on the stopgap. Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said another key procedural vote could be held Saturday, “if not sooner.” But without consent from all 100 senators, the timing would all but guarantee that a shutdown kicks in Sunday before the Senate can vote on final passage of the bill, which would extend government funding through Nov. 17.

Key context: The Senate’s addition of $6 billion in Ukraine aid has made an already unpopular stopgap essentially off the table in the House, where a handful of Republicans say they’re outright opposed to passing any continuing resolution to keep the government open.

Senators are now considering a possible amendment that would deliver as much as $6 billion in border funding to appease House Republicans, according to a GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss planning.

Asked if that amendment would include possible policy changes, requiring 60 votes for passage in the upper chamber, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said, “We’ll see. There are still a couple of issues that are up in the air about how we might actually get this attached to the bill.”

Some Republican senators have also pushed to strip out Ukraine aid, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s right flank vehemently opposed to providing more money to the allied country. That funding is a major priority for Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, however.

Across the Capitol: At this point, it is unclear if McCarthy would even put a Senate-passed bill on the floor…

September 28: ABC News posted an article titled: “Could a government shutdown affect Fat Bear Week? From the article:

If funding runs out, many government agencies are not permitted to update social media.

Call it potentially “unbearable” — at least for wildlife fans.

The looming government shutdown would affect Fat Bear Week, the annual celebration of wild bears who put on weight to prepare for hibernation.

From Oct 4. through Oct. 10, the bears of Alaska’s Katami National Park face off March Madness-style on the Fat Bear Week website, where people can vote to crown the best and chunkiest bear.

But timing-wise, there could be some complications.

The House and Senate have until the end of the day Saturday to pass a spending deal to avert a partial government shutdown, which would have rippling consequences for numerous workers, recipients of social services, and more.

During a shutdown, many agencies such as the National Park Service are also not permitted to update websites and social media pages. That means the viral park service social media promotions of Fat Bear Week would halt.

And those posts are paw-pular: The post last month on X (formerly Twitter) announcing Fat Bear Week’s return has been viewed more than 943,000 times, retweeted more than 2,000 times and has more than 11,000 comments.

The Fat Bear Week voting occurs on an outside platform — the livecam site Explore.org, so voting may not go dark if a shutdown happens…

September 28: ABC News posted an article titled: “As government shutdown approaches, agencies tell workers that furloughs are coming” From the article:

OMB gave agencies the official heads up of a looming shutdown, officials said.

Government agencies began warning their workers Thursday that they are preparing for a government shutdown — and that they might have to go without pay.

Lawmakers have until the end of the day Sept. 30 to reach a deal to fund the federal government. If Congress doesn’t act, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday — a situation that appears increasingly likely.

On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget gave the agencies the official heads up of a looming shutdown, according to two officials.

Then on Thursday, the top officials at each agency began sending out official notices to their workforce.

The Department of Homeland Security, a federal agency created in the aftermath of 9/11 terror attacks, told workers Thursday that it’s preparing for a shutdown, but didn’t say how long it expects the shutdown to last.

In a memo obtained by ABC News, a senior official told the workforce that “prudent management” requires that the DHS prepare for the possibility that a lapse in funding could occur…

…At the Department of Veterans Affairs, employees were told that much of their work would be paid for with money already passed by Congress, including relying on leftover funds.

Of the 440,437 employees, only 15,620 were at risk of being furloughed if those funds ran out.

Payments from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as health benefits for service members and veterans are not expected to be impacted by the shutdown because of their status as “mandatory” programs.

Many employees were told to wait for further instructions on whether they will be furloughed or required to come to work without pay…

…The union for the United States Capitol Police warned its members that it believes the shutdown could last two to four weeks. The union note tells personnel to await an email and mailed letter advising them of their work status.

The Capitol Police, which protect members of Congress, as well as other law enforcement agencies are considered “excepted” services and would still report to work during a shutdown. They would receive back pay once the spending deal is passed. Other federal employees are furloughed and sent home without pay.

All federal workers would receive back pay once the spending deal is passed, although union officials say it’s not a good solution. In the last shutdown in 2018, many essential employees called in sick because they struggled to pay for child care, gas and other expenses to work…

September 28: The Hill posted an article titled: “House overwhelmingly approves Ukraine Aid” From the article”:

The House late Thursday night overwhelmingly approved $300 million in new aid to Ukraine.

The 311-117 vote came after House GOP leaders on Wednesday stripped the Ukraine assistance from a Pentagon funding bill. All “no” votes came from Republicans.

Though it drew broad support, the funding has been a source of controversy for the past week.

The $300 million was initially included in legislation funding the Department of Defense for fiscal 2024, which drew opposition from hard-line Republicans.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters last week that he would remove the $300 million from the defense bill and hold a separate vote on the funding after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) joined a band of conservatives in sinking a procedural vote to advance the Pentagon measure…

…The House went ahead and adopted a combined rule – which governs debate on legislation – for the two measures and two other appropriations bills. Greene was the lone “no” vote.

An amendment sponsored by Andy Biggs (R -Ariz.) that would strip the $300 million from the legislation was voted down Wednesday in a 330-104 vote, with all support coming from Republicans.

House Republicans also soundly rejected an amendment from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to prohibit security assistance for Ukraine in a 339-93 vote.

But late Wednesday night, amid uncertainty over whether the legislation had enough support to pass, the House Rules Committee convened a last-minute hearing to strip the $300 billion from the Pentagon bill and hold a separate vote on the funding…

September 28: NBC News posted an article titled: “Government shutdown poised to halt federal flood insurance program” From the article:

A looming government shutdown could delay hundreds of real estate transactions each day and cause a shock to the industry because some home buyers will be unable to secure flood insurance, industry and flood experts said.

The authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program expires alongside the government’s funding at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. If lawmakers do not reauthorize the program, about 1,300 property closings each day could be delayed, according to estimates from the National Association of Home Builders.

“Closings are going to stop,” in flood-prone areas, said Jim Tobin, the organization’s chief executive officer. “It’s going to have some lasting effects, really putting a lot of real estate transactions on hold for some time.”

That could force builders to hold on to properties longer than expected and also leave buyers in the lurch and waiting on Congress…

…When a person wants to purchase property in an area with a significant flood risk – called a special flood hazard area – flood insurance must be secured to get a mortgage loan. The National Flood Insurance Program provides that insurance.

If the program expires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its partners won’t be able to issue new policies until it is reauthorized by Congress…

…About 4.7 million flood insurance policies in the United States are from the National Flood Insurance Program, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Existing policies would remain in effect and FEMA would still be able to pay out claims until the program’s funding runs out. Last month, the program had about $3.8 billion in its funds, including reserves, according to the research service.

A prolonged shutdown and lapse to the program could strain FEMA’s ability to pay out claims after multiple disasters. Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30. (Several months after Hurricane Ian in 2022, the program paid out almost $4 billion for that flooding event, according to a FEMA news release.)…

September 29: Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) posted on X “The Republican House has already done what many in the media said was impossible – we voted to fund more than 70% of government spending. To date, the Senate has done zero.

Join me live in a few minutes with @RepMarkGreen, @RepMonicaDLC and @RepDesposito speaker.gov/live”

The White House account on X (@TheWhiteHouse) responded: “So close! The government needs to be funded 100% to stay open. Hope this helps.”

September 29: The White House posted “Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on House Republicans’ Extreme 30% Cuts” From the Statement:

Extreme House Republicans are now tripling down on their demands to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on – proposing a devastating 30% cut to law enforcement, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and more. They are breaking their word, abandoning the bipartisan deal that two-thirds of them voted for just four months ago, and marching our country toward an Extreme Republican Shutdown that will damage our economy and national security. The path forward to fund the government has been laid out by the Senate with bipartisan support – House Republicans just need to take it.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “The Hill’s Morning Report – Weekend forecast: A shutdown is very likely” From the article:

A government shutdown is looking inevitable as Congress heads into the weekend without a funding plan lined up.

Ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, GOP opponents of the Senate’s bipartisan stopgap bill -which the chamber voted 76-22 to advance – are seeing to drag out the process beyond Sunday. Critics of the measure want to delay vote to give the House a chance to pass its own temporary funding bill, spearheaded by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), which would give conservatives in both chambers more leverage.

Even with changes – like stripping out Ukraine aid and adding more border security funding – it’s unlikely the fractious House GOP conference would support the Senate bill, as House leaders have been unable to rally members around their own spending measures.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “House passes spending bills and Ukraine aid, but still no deal” From the article:

Late yesterday, the House passed three of four spending bills that the Republican leadership put on the floor this week in an attempt to move forward on funding the government.

While money for State, Defense and Homeland Security was passed, a bill to fund the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration failed by a 46-vote margin, with 27 Republicans voting against it; sticking points for some GOP members included the level of spending cuts to the department and a provision to block the FDA’s decision to let pharmacies mail the abortion pill mifepristone, Rep. Dusty Johnson R-S.D., told reporters before the vote.

The House also passed $300 million in aid for Ukraine in a 311-117 vote – money that had been stripped from the defense spending bill to boost support for that measure. All the votes against the aid bill came from Republicans.

The Senate is not expected to pass the bills in their current form, meaning a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Sunday is no less likely. House GOP leadership and other negotiators had hoped progress on the bills would pave the way for a Republican-authored stopgap spending measure, called a continuing resolution, to prevent a government shutdown, but at least nine Republicans have said they won’t vote in favor of such a measure. Still, McCarthy has said he will put a short-term spending bill to a vote today…

September 29: The White House posted a Statement titled: “By the Numbers: Impacts on Extreme House Republicans’ 30% Cuts” From the Statement:

With one day before the end of the fiscal year, instead of following the bipartisan lead of the Senate to keep the government open, 90% of House Republicans just voted for a partisan bill to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on – with a devastating 30% cut to law enforcement, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and more. They are breaking their word, abandoning the bipartisan deal that two-thirds of them voted for just four months ago, and marching our country toward an Extreme Republican Shutdown that will damage our economy, our communities, and national security. Here’s what it would mean for the American people if extreme House Republicans’ 30% cuts were extended for the entire year.

IMPACTS OF EXTREME REPUBLICANS’ 30% CUTS:

• 12,500 fewer FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes and keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers

• Nearly 1,000 fewer agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). ATF agents are often some of the first federal law enforcement on the scene of a mass shooting to help local law enforcement identify at-large shooters

• 500 fewer members of local law enforcement

• 2,215 fewer prosecutors fighting to keep America safe

• 250,000 children would lose access to child care

• 290,000 children would lose access to Head Start slots

• 1 million seniors would be robbed of nutrition services like Meals on Wheels

• 3.2 million women, infants, and children would lose vital nutrition assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• 13,000 fewer National Institutes of Health research project grants, stalling research progress cancer and Alzheimer’s

• Up to 145,000 teachers and staff could be removed from classrooms and school

• 100,000 students would lose access to Pell Grants

• 10,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year alone, and roughly 44,000 few miles of track inspected annually – enough track to cross the United States nearly 15 times

• 850,000 households could lose access to Housing Choice Vouchers

• 1 million American workers would be denied job training and employment services, with 135,000 fewer workers gaining the opportunity of a Registered Apprenticeship

• 180,000 workers would lose an average of $1,000 in back wages that they are owed

• 240 Social Security field offices could be forced to close or shorten the hours they are open to the public

• 37,000 fewer Americans would receive substance use treatment services.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “White House warns about hit on small business loans if government shuts down” From the article:

The White House warned Friday that small businesses would miss out on $100 million per day in loans if there is a shutdown because Congress is unable to fund the government before a weekend deadline.

Administration officials argued in a memo that a shutdown would have “devastating consequences for small businesses and needlessly undermine America’s economic progress.”

A shutdown, according to the White House, would force the Small Business Administration (SBA) to stop processing new loans for small businesses, and small business loan applications wouldn’t move forward each weekday the government is shut down. The White House said a shutdown would deny more than $100 million in financing to small businesses every weekday during a shutdown.

“These delays can have devastating consequences for small business owners and the communities they support, including losing the ability to purchase critical real estate or equipment, losing out on business deals and opportunities, and being forced into high-interest, price-gouging loan,” the memo states.

Congress faces a late Saturday deadline to pass legislation to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, but House Republicans have been unable to agree to a plan to fund the government despite a deal that set ceilings on spending for the next fiscal year…

September 29: American Battle Monuments Commission posted “ABMC policy to continue operations during a lapse in appropriations” From the post:

AMBC policy is to continue operations during a lapse in appropriations if sufficient prior year funds are available. ABMC sites both in the U.S. and overseas remain open to the public. Additionally, guests are welcome to access and experience AMBC’s sites any time online through the ABMC Virtual 360s platform.

September 29: ABC News posted an article titled: “House Republicans fail to pass short-term funding bill as shutdown deadline looms” From the article:

House Republicans on Friday failed to pass a short-term funding bill to keep the government open until Oct. 31.

Earlier in the day, a procedural vote to start debate on the bill advanced 218-210, prompting Republican applause in the chamber.

However, more than a dozen Republican hard-liners voted against final passage — a blow to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as Saturday night’s shutdown deadline looms.

The final vote was 198 for, 232 against.

McCarthy, earlier Friday, tried to make the case for the bill by playing up the border security provisions being added to the stopgap measure.

“Every member will have to go on record on where they stand,” McCarthy said at a press conference. “Are they willing to secure the border or do they side with President Biden on an open border And vote against a measure to keep the government open?”

Border provisions were from Republicans’ major legislation passed earlier this year, such as a restart of border wall construction and tougher penalties for visa overstays.

The proposal also included keeping government spending to a lower level while maintaining Veterans Affairs and military spending, which would result in dramatic cuts to social spending programs and other areas across the government.

But it still wasn’t enough to appease Republican hard-liners, who’ve previously threatened to oust McCarthy as speaker of the spending battle…

…Even if the House measure were to pass, it is out of step with the Senate’s bipartisan 45-day stopgap proposal, meaning that passage is no guarantee to keep the government from running out of money over the weekend…

September 29: The Executive Office of the President – Office of Management and Budget posted a “Statement Of Administration Policy – H.R. 5525 – Spending Reduction and Border Security Act of 2024” From the statement: (written by Rep. Donalds, R-FL)

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 5525, making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. Hours before a Government shutdown, House Republicans are playing partisan games instead of working in a bipartisan manner to fund the Government and address emergency needs.

In a blatant violation of the funding agreement the Speaker and the President reached just a few months ago, the bill endangers vital programs Americans rely on by making reckless cuts to programs, regardless of the consequences for critical services from education to food safety to law enforcement to housing to public health. It also failed to address key emergency funding needs where lives are at stake, ignoring the Administration’s request for resource to combat the fentanyl crisis and effectively manage the border, support the people of Ukraine as they defend their homeland from Russia’s illegal war, and stand with the communities across America as they recover from natural disasters.

In addition, H.R. 5525 fails to provide the resources needed to avoid severe disruptions to Government services – risking unnecessary delays for travelers by underfunding the Federal Aviation Administration; loss of access to nutritious food for pregnant and postpartum women and children by underfunding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and deterioration in service for the over 71 million Americans who rely on the income support Social Security programs provide.

The bill also includes harmful, partisan border legislation that would further exacerbate the challenges at the border. It would cut off most access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with the Nation’s values and international obligations. In addition, the bill would make processing less efficient by prohibiting the CBP One mobile application to process noncitizens and restricting the Department of Homeland Security’s parole authority, such that successful programs like “Uniting for Ukraine” would be prohibited. House Republicans propose these harmful policies while providing none of the supplemental funding needed to manage the border; we need real actions to secure the border.

The Administration urges House Republicans to follow the Senate’s lead and engage in a bipartisan, appropriations process that funds the Federal Government in a responsible manner, consistent with the bipartisan agreement earlier this year.

If the President were presented with H.R. 5525, he would veto it.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Craft beer, marriages, and air travel: The collateral damage of a government shutdown” From the article:

The federal government does an almost unfathomable number of things, so a shutdown would likely affect everyday Americans more than they realize.

While the 4 million people who work for the federal government would be most affected, their lost wages and halted operations would reduce overall economic growth forecasts by 0.1% or 0.2% each week, a range of economists, including the White House Council of Economic Advisers, estimate.

Those employees would eventually get paid, meaning taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in wages for millions of hours not worked, according to the Office of Management and Budget. And during a shutdown, the government ends up having to pay late fees and interest on bills it had to delay as it loses revenue that would otherwise be generated by furloughed IRS workers…

Here’s what might happen if the government shuts down again:

The National Park Service plans to close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down on Sunday. In that event, a senior official with the Department of Interior said the park service intends to restrict access to parks as much as possible, including shuttering visitor centers, locking gates and bolting bathrooms.

Areas where its difficult to restrict access – like the National Mall in Washington, trailheads or a campground without a gate – will remain accessible to the public, but those areas may not have services such as trash collection and emergency response…

Smithsonian and other federal museums

According to the Smithsonian’s plan, the institution would use “available prior-year appropriations” so that it’s museums can remain open to the public “as long as funding permits,” that includes the National Zoo, which could see an interruption in planned commemorations of the departure of the zoo’s remaining pandas.

Smithsonian museums are free, but they lost an estimated $4 million in revenue from food and other sales during the 2013 shutdown.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington would remain open, since it can tap a different pot of money, the museum said. Some presidential libraries would remain open as long as they have sufficient funds, but others would close and research services be reduced.

Military cemeteries

The American Battle Monuments Commission would be forced to close the two dozen overseas military cemeteries it manages, mostly in Europe and Southeast Asia, where more than 200,000 Americans killed in World War I and World War II are buried.

The commission said the closures could cause “families of the war dead, veterans’ groups, and others to miss what may be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to visit these overseas commemorative sites” during the shutdown.

Arlington National Cemetery would continue normal operations, at least for a while, thanks to funds that have already been appropriated…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “Conservative opposition imperils GOP bill to avoid shutdown” From the article:

The House on Friday is poised to vote on a measure to prevent a government shutdown, but opposition from within the GOP puts its passage at risk.

The conservative pushback also undercuts Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he seeks to fund the government and unite his party after weeks of turmoil.

At least eight House Republicans are against or are leaning against the short-term funding stopgap.

With Democrats expected to universally oppose it, Republicans can afford to lose only four votes, assuming full attendance…

…GOP Reps. Tim Burchette (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) Cory Mills (Fla.), Andy Ogles (Tenn.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) have said they are against any kind of short-term stopgap bill, insisting that Congress focuses instead on passing regular appropriations bills…

…The opponents of the measure voted Friday to advance it past a procedural hurdle, but Gaetz said he voted in favor of the rule “so I can vote against this bad CR,” and that the bill “does not have the votes to pass.”…

…The opposition comes despite looming peril. Government funding is set to expire Saturday night, and discord in the House GOP and the gulf between the House and Senate – which is also yet to pass any sort of short-term funding patch – is all but assuring a government shutdown when the clock strikes midnight to end Saturday.

Friday’s House GOP stopgap bill would extend government funding until Oct. 31 with deep spending cuts for the duration, along with a swath of border policy changes and the creation of a commission to examine the national debt.

McCarthy is hoping that passing a House GOP funding bill would set up his conference to negotiate border policy concessions on a compromise bill with the Senate.

Instead, Friday’s vote could continue a long headache for McCarthy and GOP leaders, who were forced to pull a previous version of the stopgap last week due to the opposition…

September 29: The U.S. Department of the Interior posted a press release titled: “Government Shutdown Will Close America’s National Parks, Impede Visitor Access” From the press release:

The Department of the Interior is committed to upholding the highest standards of public access to and maintenance of America’s national parks and public lands. Our national parks reflect who we are as a country and unite us in our common purpose to not only enjoy their beauty, but also to preserve them for all Americans to enjoy.

However, in the event of a lapse in annual government appropriations, National Park Service (NPS) sites will be closed. This means that the majority of national parks will be closed completely to public access. Areas that, by their nature, are physically accessible to the public will face significantly reduced visitor services.

At NPS sites across the country, gates will be locked, visitor centers will be closed, and thousands of park rangers will be furloughed. Accordingly, the public will be encouraged not to visit sits during the period of lapse in appropriations out of consideration for protection and natural and cultural resources, as well as visitor safety.

Services and Sites Impacted by Lapse in Appropriations

Visitors should expect that many of the services and facilities they depend on at national parks will be closed or largely unavailable during a shutdown.

Due to the dramatic differences in accessibility, operations, size, visitation, location and infrastructure represented in NPS sites, the number of employees on site will vary. As a general rule, if a facility or are is locked, secured or otherwise inaccessible during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, bathrooms, etc.) or is closed regularly for safety or resource protection, it will be locked or secured for the duration of the lapse in appropriations. Parks will not provide regular road or trail conditions updates. As a part of their orderly shutdown activities, park staff will post signs as appropriate to notify visitors that services, maintenance or other non-emergency management activities will not be conducted.

At parks with areas that are physically accessible to the public – meaning that due to their physical characteristics it is impossible or impractical to restrict public access, including park roads, lookouts, trails, campgrounds and open-air memorials – these areas will remain physically accessible to the public. This would include the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C. However, staffing levels and services including restroom and sanitation maintenance, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, and emergency operations will vary and are not guaranteed.

Concessions located in areas that are accessible to the public may continue to operate during a lapse in appropriations if no NPS resources are required to support concession operations beyond excepted services and critical health, safety and protection services.

Subject to the approval of the NPS Director, parks may enter into non-reimbursable arrangements with state, local or Tribal governments, cooperating associations, and/or other third parties for donations to fund the full operation of an individual park site or of specified services that clearly benefit the park and public by providing enhanced visitor health, protection and safety. The NPS is not authorized to reimburse third parties that provide donations for such services.

Activities to Protect Life and Property Will Remain Ongoing

During a potential lapse in government funding, the NPS will continue activities necessary to protect life and property, expressly authorized by law, and necessarily implied by law, including:

• Law enforcement and emergency response
• Border and coastal protection and surveillance
• Fire suppression for active fires or monitoring areas currently under a fire watch
• Protection of federal lands, buildings, waterways, equipment, and other property within the National Park system, including research property
• Activities that ensure production of power and maintenance of the power distribution system
• And other services and activities designated in the National Park Service’s contingency plan.

Additional contingency plans for bureaus and offices across the Department can be found online at doi.gov/shutdown.

September 29: Taxpayer Advocate Services (IRS.Gov) posted an article titled: “NTA Blog: If There Is a Government Shutdown, the Taxpayer Advocate Service Will Not Be Permitted To Assist Taxpayers” From the article:

As of today, it appears Congress may not approve appropriations legislation to fund parts of the government, including the IRS, by the start of the fiscal year that begins on Sunday, October 1st. As a result, today is the last workday I can post a blog before a potential shutdown.

Taxpayers and their representatives should be aware that if there is a lapse in appropriations, the Taxpayer Advocate Services (TAS) will not be permitted to assist taxpayers until the government reopens.

That means that if the IRS has already issued a notice requiring an employer to garnish a taxpayer’s paycheck or requiring a bank to levy a taxpayer’s bank account and those collections actions cause an economic hardship for the taxpayer, the taxpayer will have no way to get help from TAS.

This is a terrible result for taxpayers who are experiencing economic hardships and will not be able to obtain relief from TAS.

Here is a quick primer on why this is so: Article I of the Constitution provides that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequences of Appropriations made by Law.” To implement this requirement, Congress has passed several statutes, most notably the Antideficiency Act (ADA). The ADA generally prohibits the U.S. government from making or authorizing an expenditure or obligation unless funding has previously been made available through an appropriation or other funding mechanism. The ADA contains a general prohibition against the acceptance of voluntary services (i.e., services for which compensation has not yet been paid or obligated), except for “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.” (Emphasis added.)…

...Question: What if a taxpayer is experiencing an economic hardship as a result of an IRS levy and stands to be evicted due to nonpayment of rent? Or if the IRS was simply mistaken in taking the collection action?

Answer: TAS won’t be able to help because the taxpayer’s abode is not government property…

…Not only will taxpayers be harmed by collection actions taken during a shutdown, but they may also be harmed by collection actions taken in the weeks preceding a shutdown. For example, a bank usually has up to 21 days to remit levied bank proceeds to the IRS. Therefore, at a minimum, taxpayers will continue to be affected by levies issued before September 11 if the government shuts down on Sunday. And if a taxpayer is facing an economic hardship, the Revenue Officer who issued the levy will probably not be in the office on Monday to assist the taxpayer, nor will my TAS Case Advocates…

As the National Taxpayer Advocate, I am beyond frustrated that TAS cannot help taxpayers who are experiencing economic hardships during a government shutdown. Helping vulnerable taxpayers is a big part of our mission…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “House GOP tanks its own funding bill, edging closer to shutdown” From the article:

A band of House conservatives Friday voted down a GOP bill to avoid a government shutdown.

The vote marked a significant – and embarrassing – defeat for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as a shutdown this weekend appears increasingly inevitable.

More than 20 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the legislation, bringing the final tally to 232-198.

The 20 GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill were: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Dan Bishop (N.C.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchette (Tenn.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Green, (Ga.), Wesley Hunt (Texas), Nancy Mace, (S.C.), Mary Miller (Ill.), Cory Mills (Fla.), Alex Mooney (W. Va.), Barry Moore, (Ala.), Troy Nehls (Texas), Andy Ogles (Tenn.) Matt Rosendale (Mont.), and Keith Self (Texas)…

…The bill did not stand a chance in the Senate, where Democrats were sure to line up against it. And the White House Friday morning issued a veto threat for the bill.

The tally was largely expected after a handful of conservatives – more than McCarthy could afford to lose in his narrow majority – lined up against the measure.

But the failed vote, nonetheless, marks a setback for McCarthy, who has pushed his GOP colleagues to clear a partisan stopgap bill so his conference could have greater leverage in funding negotiations with Democrats in the Senate and White House.

And it increases the odds of a government shutdown, which will go into effect Saturday night unless Congress passes a short-term funding bill by then…

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Why Biden is taking a hands-off approach to the looming shutdown” From the article:

…Biden’s hands-off approach to the looming shutdown is intended to project an image of him out in the country executing on what he considered key accomplishments as House Republicans fight over how to fund the government, White House officials say.

But a shutdown could scramble Biden’s strategy by grinding his travels to a halt.

The White House has been planning an aggressive travel schedule for Biden in October to tout his economic agenda, including a long-teased trip to the Georgia district of one of his loudest House Republican critics – Marjorie Taylor Greene. Vice President Kamala Harris and other top administrations officials are also set to crisscross the country next month amplifying his message.

But White House officials say they’re now looking at other ways to execute what they’ve dubbed a “split-screen” strategy, acknowledging that one of the impacts of a shutdown would be to curtail Biden’s ability to hit the road. Events that have already been scheduled for the coming weeks, such as Harris’ tour of college campuses, are expected to be postponed, an administration official said.

The contrasting White House approaches to a potential shutdown and the debt limit crisis in May are by design. While White House officials are deeply concerned about the political and economic fallout from a debt default, they say Republicans alone are responsible for the latest round of brinkmanship…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “House GOP passes Pentagon funding bill after failed tries” From the article:

House Republicans late Thursday night approved legislation to fund the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2024, a success for GOP leaders after they decided to strip Ukraine funding from the legislation following two failed procedural votes.

The chamber cleared the measure in a 218-210 vote.

Approving the measure will not help Congress avert a shutdown before the September 30 government funding deadline, but House GOP leaders are hopeful that moving the legislation and another full-year funding measure will help convince conservatives to get on board with a short-term funding stopgap.

The Pentagon spending bill – which is the largest of the 12 full-year appropriations measures – has been a source of consternation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and its passage marks an incremental win for the Speaker…

…In an effort to shore up support for the legislation, McCarthy told reporters last week that he would remove the $300 million in Ukraine aid from the Pentagon bill and hold a separate vote on the money. but he reversed on that stance one day later after recognizing that a bill funding the State Department also included aid for Ukraine.

McCarthy said it would be “too difficult” to remove the assistance from the State Department bill, and as a result decided to keep in in both measures. The House ended up advancing both bills, along with two other spending measures, in a largely party-line vote, with [Marjory Taylor] Greene being the only GOP lawmaker to oppose the procedural vote.

The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to strip $300 million from the legislation, defeating the measure in a 330-104 vote.

But late Wednesday night, amid concerns that the Pentagon bill did not have enough support to pass, the House Rules Committee convened a last-minute meeting and moved to strip the $300 million from the legislation. The House advanced the separate Ukraine funding bill earlier on Thursday.

House Republicans proposed more than $820 billion in new funding for defense operations in the Pentagon appropriations bill. That includes what negotiators touted earlier this year as historic “investment in security cooperation funding for Taiwan,” pay bumps for military personnel and boosts for the National Guard Counterdrug Program.

The bill also included a spate of riders that Democrats have slammed as diverse and said could hurt recruitment, such as measures targeting efforts aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion, and others the party says would be potentially harmful to those in the LGBTQ community.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Conservative rebels tank McCarthy’s funding bill, raising odds of a shutdown” From the article:

A band of conservative rebels on Friday revolted and blocked the House Republicans’ short-term funding bill to keep the government open, delivering a political blow to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and likely cementing the chances of a painful government shutdown that is less than 48 hours away.

Twenty-one rebels, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a conservative bomb-thrower and a top Donald Trump ally, voted Friday afternoon to scuttle the 30-day funding bill, leaving Republicans without a game plan to avert a shutdown.

The vote failed, 198-232.

The hard-liners say they are unconcerned if the government shuts down, as it appears likely to do at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. They want the House to pass all 12 appropriations bills, with steep spending cuts, then negotiate funding with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Moderate Republicans lashed out with fury at the conservatives who voted down the funding bill, with specific criticism reserved for Gaetz, whom they accused of fomenting chaos to oust McCarthy…

…In a bid to reset, House Republicans huddled behind closed doors in the Capitol basement for nearly three hours Friday to try and hash out their differences. But they emerged from that meeting without consensus on how to move forward and keep the government open.

The House will return for a rare Saturday session, but it’s unclear what they will vote on. McCarthy said that after the meeting he’s now eyeing a clean funding bill – with no Ukraine aid – that would originate in the House, but added that Democrats likely would not support it…

September 29: The White House posted a Statement titled: “During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, American Small Businesses Would Lose Out on More Than $100 Million in Critical Financing Every Day” From the Statement:

With just one day before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with people’s lives and livelihoods and marching our country towards a government shutdown that would have devastating consequences for small businesses and needlessly undermine America’s economic progress. Their partisan approach stands in stark contrast to the Senate’s bipartisan action toward keeping the government open and abiding by the bipartisan action toward keeping the government open and abiding by the bipartisan budget deal two-thirds of the House Republicans voted for just four months ago.

An Extreme Republican Shutdown would force the Small Business Administration (SBA) to stop processing business loans for small businesses. Each weekday the government is shut down, hundreds of small businesses would see their 7(a) and 504 loan applications fail to move forward.

That means extreme House Republicans would deny more than $100 million in critical financing to American small businesses every day. These delays can have devastating consequences for small business owners and the communities they support, losing out on business deals and opportunities, and being forced into high-interest, price-gouging loans.

A shutdown would also make it harder for small businesses to access federal contracting opportunities by halting the processing of applications for nearly all government contracting programs – only months after the SBA announced that the Biden-Harris Administration had awarded a record $163 billion in contracts to small businesses in Fiscal Year 2022. And an Extreme Republican Shutdown would close SBA’s district offices, preventing more than 2,000 Americans every day from receiving assistance.

During the first two years of the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans filed more than 10.5 million applications to start new small businesses, the two strongest years on record – part of the President’s Bidenomics agenda to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

The reason this critical support for small businesses is now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs – including those that help small businesses – rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people.

House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-thirds of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that would make devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including to the Small Business Administration.

Below is a state-by-state estimate of the more than $100 million in financing that small businesses would lose out on every day during an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

• Alabama – $985,300
• Alaska – $334,000
• Arizona – $3,175,300
• Arkansas – $666,700
• California – $22,465,000
• Connecticut – $1,175,000
• Delaware – $219,100
• District of Columbia – $245,100
• Florida – $10,331,700
• Georgia – $5,494,100
• Hawaii – $147,600
• Idaho – $1,136,800
• Illinois – $5,245,600
• Iowa – $933,100
• Kansas – $791,400
• Kentucky – $766,600
• Louisiana – $1,163,300
• Maine – $498,600
• Maryland – $1,480,300
• Massachusetts – $2,198,500
• Michigan – $3,772,900
• Minnesota – $3,677,600
• Mississippi – $526,900
• Missouri – $2,045,600
• Nebraska – $764,200
• Nevada – $1,465,200
• New Hampshire – $715,200
• New Jersey – $3,433,800
• New Mexico – $616,100
• New Jersey – $3,433,800
• New Mexico – $616,100
• New York – $5,589,200
• North Carolina – $3,353,800
• North Dakota – $382,100
• Ohio – $4,627,40
• Oklahoma – $1,304,300
• Oregon – $1,984,400
• Pennsylvania – $3,964,500
• Rhode Island – $392,500
• South Carolina – $1,631,000
• South Dakota – $499,100
• Tennessee – $1,484,100
• Texas – $12,658,400
• Utah – $3,069,000
• Vermont – $200,400
• Virginia – $2,122,200
• Washington – $3,780,600
• West Virginia – $246,300
• Wisconsin – $246,300
• Wyoming – $268,800

I say 0.1 and 0.2, and that doesn’t sound big. – -0.1 percent of our economy is $26 billion.

Q: I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. That’s a hit to the economy. But is there an actual cost to, you know shutting down the government and then reopening again, like any kind of logistical admin costs?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: So, it will not cost anything that would be outside our normal – or normal spin rate, like the people in the office on – not the 30th, because that is a Saturday – on the 29th will they do the work they need to do today. They will pr- — be provided, like, four hours on their devices to – to send people – and have out of office, send people last messages.

But there tends not to be – we don’t have to close major infrastructure. There’s not a large spike in spending in order to close down.

What is really expensive is the hit to – to GDP, the inability of people to access service like WIC. And it’s not just new people signing up for things like WIC; it is people who are on WIC currently. They cannot get access to the meals they would normally get. That is the real impact to the American people.

Q: Fundamentally, we’ve been here –

(Cross-talk.)

Q: Oh, I’m sorry – (inaudible), so I got excited.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, no –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Sorry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ll come back. I’ve just got to go back a little bit.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Don’t let me get you in trouble.

Q: No, no –

(Cross-talk.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And I promise I’ll come down. But go ahead, Ed.

Q: Great to be here. Thank you, Shalanda. So, the Treasury Department now says the federal deficit is at $1.5 trillion. You know, that’s more than the CBO projected. The President has pushed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, he’s pushed the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan. He signed into spending $5.8 trillion over the past two years.

Spending is at the heart of this impasse. So, does the President bear any responsibility for a shutdown?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Absolutely not. And, by the way, the deal was to ensure that we had a fiscally responsible plan – I think the name of the bill was the Fiscal Responsibility Act – that saved a trillion dollars over a decade.

And, look, if House Republicans want to join us in the Fiscal Reduction Act, I’m happy to talk to them about the tax cuts they have pending in Ways and Means that add to the deficit. I’m also happy to talk to any Republican who voted for two and a half trillion dollars of tax cuts, unpaid.

So, the problem I have is when people vote for that, bust the deficit on tax cuts for the wealthy, and then come and say we’re doing too much for Head Start and childcare and cancer research. Because that’s what we’re talking about.

They’ve taken the smallest amount of spending, do nothing about taxes for the rich, and they want to cut the smallest amount of spending. That’s not serious fiscal conversation. Anybody in D.C. will tell you, you cannot get on a better fiscal path by going after these domestic programs. They’re the smallest portion of our budget. It ain’t going to happen. It’s not serious. Even cutting it 30 percent doesn’t put you on a better fiscal path.

So, let’s just get real. It’s not about that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right.

Q: (Inaudible)_ – has one more. So the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says that he’s not long to take a salary during the shutdown. Does the President plan to pause his salary also?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look, I’m glad that the Speaker has made that statement. By the way, members of Congress have to get paid, constitutionally, so maybe he’ll put it in a sock drawer. I don’t know. (Laughter.) But they have to get paid during a shutdown. That’s theater. That is theater.

I will tell you, they who picks up the trash in my office won’t get a paycheck. That’s real. And that’s what makes me angry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Peter. Thanks for your patience.

Q: If I can ask you very briefly about – we’ve been – we’ve seen this show before where it goes down to the wire and then, at the last minute, something happens or several days pass before anything happens. Can you just talk about, fundamentally, the impact – even if this were to be resolved – of playing this game where it goes to the last minute before there’s a short-term spending bill, how that sort of impacts the way our country runs? Because a lot of Americans see that, and they know that that’s not the way it can work in their own homes.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: You’re right, and you’re right. I mean, we have time- what did the President say? There’s nothing inevitable in politics. We don’t have to go down this road; House Republicans don’t have to take us down this road.

So, you’re right. There – there is always a chance that people can do the right thing the government remain open or have a quick reopening.

Q: But even getting to this place to this place, there’s already –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Right.

Q – been a ton of money lost, right?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Not a ton of money lost. The confidence in government is what I worry about. People watching this – the dysfunction sowed. And I think there are a small amount – small amount of people who will know that. You know, it’s the – it’s the carelessness by which people is like, “Oh, this shutdown is not much of government.” Well, you tell people who live paycheck to paycheck that.

I know it’s not popular to defend federal workers. I know it’s not. But a lot of them live paycheck to paycheck. “They get repaid.” What are they supposed to do in the meantime? What are they supposed to do?

And then people can’t get government services. You go sign up for WIC. You finally convinced this mother it’s the right thing to do, because a lot of families are embarrassed about taking aid from the government. You finally convince this young mother to do that. Not available. Confidence lost in government.

It’s one more knock on democratic institutions. And that worries me.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Joey.

Q: Yeah, as we get closer to a shutdown at the end of the week, does it remain the case that President Biden is unwilling to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as he’s suggested he would like to do?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: It’s not an unwillingness. We’ve talked. We talked a lot. The President talked a lot to Speaker McCarthy. We got a deal. This is the easy part.

Pe- –the debt deal was two and a half years. Now we’re talking about 47 days to keep the government running, to give Congress time to work on full-year spending bills. This is not hard. This is just not hard.

And, by the way, every day I read some other reason why they can’t vote on the Senate bill – the Senate bipartisan bill. It changes every day.

So, there’s not – not an unwillingness. We’ve had this conversation. The Speaker wanted to set toplines. We set them. Now he needs to talk to whomever he needs to talk to in the Republican conference and live up to that deal.

Q: What will be the engagement from President Biden to lawmakers, particularly as they get, you know, closer, Saturday- tomorrow?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: You’re talking about a president who was a former senator for 36 years. He has close relationships on the Hill. He stays in dialogue with Congress.

Clearly, there’s going to be an uptick in that as we were led down this path by House Republicans. And that’ll continue. The President is constantly updated on what is happening.

But I’ll tell you, we’re at the 29th. We have until midnight tomorrow. What needs to happen is the one corner out of five who is having problems with their votes and their strategies need to find a path to meet the other four – four corners at the deal we all signed up for in early summer.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. A couple more. Go ahead, Michael.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Director Young, can you talk a bit more about the impact a shutdown will have on the crisis at the Southern border?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: We asked for $4 billion to help deal with migration challenges at the border. You wouldn’t know that to hear what Republicans talk about. If border is an issue for House Republicans, where’s the dialogue on what the President asked for to help with enforcement, to help with transportation cost, to help with detention capacity?

You know, I’ve done this for a long time. This is just a new – a new, interesting time on our political atmosphere where we can’t get Republicans to really engage us on more money to help control migration issues at the border. Almost no dialogue. No interest in dealing with the fentanyl issues that we asked for more money to deal with to put more equipment to find fentanyl coming through.

So, there is serious, and there is not serious. This president asked for money to help deal with the issues that hurt people: Ukraine, and border. We appreciate the Senate meeting us to make sure Ukraine aid continues, disaster aid continues.

But, let’s not forget: This president asked for money to deal with the situation at the border. And you’re absolutely right. During a shutdown, not only do we not get the $4 billion we asked for to help, we’re asking CBP agents, ICE agents to go without pay. How is that helping?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Director. I’ve been speaking to many mothers who rely on WIC for food for their babies, and they don’t follow the ins and outs of politics and whether a shutdown would be the fault of Congress, the White House, the President. They just can’t believe that this country’s leaders would allow babies to go hungry. So, what would you say to them?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I’d go back to my answer earlier. You know, I worry about people’s engagement and thought about their government. It worries me tremendously that people will show up on Wednesday or Thursday, trying to decide whether they were going to apply for this aid, because a lot of people don’t trust – like, their friends tell them to go get this, and they’re like, “Ah, it’s going to be difficult – a lot of paperwork.” So, it takes convincing for people to seek this aid. And then be told, “Never mind. Never mind, the government is closed, shut down.”

They don’t follow the ins and outs. It’s a pox on all of our houses. That’s why four out of the five corners are trying not to go there. We’re doing everything we can to plead, beg, shame. “House Republicans, do the right thing. Don’t have this happen.”

The cavalier-ness is what gets me. I’ve heard people say in the Republican – in House Conference, “Oh, a shutdown is not that bad. It’s not like the debt ceiling.” Well, you go tell people who cannot pay their daycare bill. You go tell people that. You go tell men and women in uniform that they don’t get a paycheck when they show up to work every day. You go tell that mother that she cannot get formula after having had to be convinced to even give government a try. It’s the cavalier-ness that really gets me.

And you’re right. It’s – it sets an expectation for how people deal with their government throughout their lives. And it’s something we should work really hard to avoid.

Q: And to follow on that, could you clarify the total number of workers that would go without paying next week, and how many of them would still be required to show up to work?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: So, in civilians, 1.5 million – about 800,000 of them would be excepted and have show up to the office.

As you know, depending on how long shutdowns go, people can be called back into work if their job and duties, you know, start to fall into one of the categories that’s excepted. So, there could be – there will be – would be changes in those numbers if a shutdown would continue.

Q: And what about the breakdown for the military’s 1.3 million active-duty troops and the reservists plus DOD personnel?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Right. It’s a little over $2 million – 2 million people who serve who are all expected to show up to their duty stations.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Just the last two. Go ahead, Aurelia.

Q: Thank you so much. Thank you, Director. You said this shutdown could be a knock on democratic institutions. What about the international reputation of this country when it seems like the United States is going from one major fiscal crisis into another?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I think you just answered it. You know, this country, we owe services to the American people. We talked a lot about one of those in WIC, we talked cancer research. But out diplomatic efforts – this President has worked harder than most to hold alliances together that represents democratic institutions, the Western alliance, and ensure that the world knew America was back.

I do believe we will continue to do most of our missions as best as possible. We will show up where needed. But it certainly makes that more difficult the longer and longer this goes on. But in a very short-term situation, I think we will remain in the same – with the same posture across the world.

Now the question is how we’re viewed. You know, it – it is not the shining example we want to portray that we continue to have fiscal crises because other world leaders look at that.

But I’m still hoping – I’m still remaining an optimist that we have a day and a half to work out in one corner what is needed to take the deal that is laid before them by the United States Senate. So, there’s a chance.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Last question.

Q: Thank you, Director. Given that we’ve seen in prior shutdowns that some of these workers have to go to work without pay, including in the travel industry, FAA and others, that they might report – call in sick in greater numbers. Do you have any guidance around that or any estimates as to how that might affect the shutdown period?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look, we don’t shut down often.

(A reporter sneezes.)

I know it may feel like it, because we talk about it even if it doesn’t happen.

Q: (Referring to his sneeze.) Negative. Sorry, I’m negative.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: You sure? (Laughter.)

So, it doesn’t happen often, so there aren’t numbers. We certainly have anecdotal evidence that happens on occasion. And that goes back to what I talked about earlier: People make decisions that are best for their families.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Thank you so much, director. We appreciate it.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Thank you. Thank you.

Q: Thank you.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Have fun. I hope not to see you all for a little bit. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much, Director Young.

I do want to add something that the Director said, which I think is really important, about how this affects families. I think I’ve seen on some of the cable news networks this morning – if it was this morning – that you’ve seen, like, federal workers being interviewed and members of the military. And you see people – I think one interview, someone was crying about how this is going to affect this – this shutdown that we’re – that Republicans on the House are barreling – barreling us to is going to affect them.

And we’re – this is real. This is real-life – real-life changes and real-life impact on people across the country.

And there was one military personnel who was interviewed who said that one of the reasons that they went into the military is to have that stability – right? – is to make her that they have stability in their life.

And when you have one of the five groups who are taking away that stability because of a political stunt, because of their chaos within their own – within their own caucus, and they do that to a military member – personnel who is really, truly, putting their lives on the line for this country and making a commitment to this country, and they’re saying that they no longer have the stability that they thought the military would bring them, I think that’s devastating.

And that’s, you know – this should not be partisan. This should not be partisan. This is supposed to be the basic, basic duty of Congress to do this – to do their jobs. And it is going to have – if we do indeed have a shutdown, it is going to truly, truly hurt some of the people that we rely on every day, as well as cutting some key programs that families – that families need.

With that, Colleen, you want to kick us off?

Q: Sure. Can you say anything more about what the President’s plans are going to be this weekend in the face of the shutdown? What’s he going to be up to?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I can say that the President is going to be in Washington, D.C. And he’s going to continue to remain in touch with congressional – well, our team here is going to continue to remain in touch with congre- –congressional leaders and the members of both parties.

Certainly, he’s going to get updates on what’s – what’s happening – what’s happening on – on the Hill. But again, if – this is an – this is going to be the extreme part of the House Republican – this is going to be their shutdown. So, we do not – I don’t expect any travel outside of D.C. from this president. But of course, if that changes, we certainly would communicate that. But the president will be here.

He’ll be getting updates from his team and the team more broadly. And as you saw, the – the Director was here.

And – and also our office of Leg Affairs is going to stay in close touch with members – with leaders – with congressional leaders on the Hill.

Q: Would he be meeting anybody in person this weekend?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — no, I don’t have any – I don’t have any meetings or – to read out as it relates to – to Congress. But what I can say: This is something – and we’ve said it over and over again, and it needs to be repeated – this is something that Congress can fix. This is something that extreme – those extreme Republicans in the House can fix. They know how to fix this.

We just heard the process that the OMB Director went through – right? – earlier – earlier this summer, late spring on making that – helping to make that bipartisan deal become a law.

And so, this – we should not be here. We should – she shouldn’t have been here at this podium talking about a potential shutdown. It should not have ben this way. And they can fix it.

Q: On the auto workers strike – so, it’s expanded now. And I just wondered if the White House is concerned about the broader economic impact of a strike as it, sort of, wears on – I think it’s two weeks in? Two weeks in?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things – and I’ve been asked this question about the potential impacts. Look, we always – we always take a look at what a major economic situation – the potential impacts could have, certainly, in our economic – in our economy more broadly.

But I will just go back to what I’ve said. This does – as it relates to the shutdown, the shutdown doesn’t need – does not need to happen. These programs that families need should be continuing. This – we should not be in this position that we’re in.

This is something that Republicans in Congress – in the House, more specifically – are heading – are heading us towards. And you – you saw there was a – there was a chart that was up when we were speaking. And, you know, Senate – Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, House Democrats, the President, we’re all on the same page. We’re all on the same page here. And for some reason, extreme House Republicans refused. They refused to get on – to get on board here.

And as it relates to the shutdown: should not be happening. This can be avoided. They can fix this is they choose – if they choose.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. I hear what you’re saying, and –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: About what?

Q: About Republicans –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: – and that they have to fix this. “It’s their problem, not ours.” And that’s exactly what the White House said before the deal was struck about raising the debt ceiling. Initially, you guys weren’t going to touch any kind of negotiation because you said it was solely up to House Republicans, up to Congress to raise the debt ceiling.

But then, the President did intervene to avoid the U.S. defaulting. So, I’m just trying to understand at what point would the President intervene to avoid a shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I understand your question as well. Here’s the thing. And – and I think Director Young did a really good job of laying this out. What we are talking about is a bill – a bipartisan bill that became law. That’s what we’re talking about. Something that became law that was agreed by the five sides, right? The House Republicans even themselves, two thirds of them voted for this.

This is law. This is an agreement that was already made, that multiple conversations were had about this. This should be simple. This should be easy.

And that’s what we’re talking about. We’re talking about something that already existed not that long ago that they all literally voted for in the House and the Senate, in a bipartisan way – something that I’ve said before – that’s what Americans want us to do here in – in Congress and in the Whi – in the White House – right? – in the federal government: to get things done in a bipartisan way so that it helps American families.

And what they’re doing – they can fix it. There’s no conversation that needs to be had because they literally can fix this. It is their chaos. They can fix this. And what they’re putting at risk is our economy; our national security, as we just talked about the military personnel. It’s a – you know, and –

You know, we have been able – the President in the last two years have been able to get our economy back on track, right? We’ve talked about unemployment being under 4 percent. And what they’re doing is incredibly irresponsible, and it is reckless.

So, that’s the difference. When you’re asking me – you know, you don’t quite understand and are trying to figure out what we’re talking about. We already made the deal. That’s why we keep saying “a deal is a deal.”

And it’s not just – it’s majority of Congress that agrees with us, right? When you think about what the Senate – the Senate actually moved forward and kept their deal. When you think about 77 senators who are moving forward – who voted to move forward with their CR. They are keeping the deal.

We’re talking about a small fraction of Congress. And that’s – and that’s reckless. That’s irresponsible. And that’s why we’re saying it is not for us – for us to – it’s not on us to fix. It’s not on this president to fix it. It is on Congress to fix.

And it’s not just us. You – I started the briefing listing out – listing out quotes from Republicans in Congress themselves.

All right. I’m going to –

Q: All right. Thanks.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m going to keep on. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Thanks, Karine. On China, can you clarify if the administration is stepping up engagement with the goal towards a Biden-Xi meeting on the sidelines of APEC in November, including whether there are any plans for Vice Premier He Lifeng or Prime Minister Wang Yi to come visit in Washington or meet U.S. officials?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything to – to lay out for you on any meetings or any potential meetings at is relates to the President and – our President and President Xi. The President spoke about this very recently and his expectations to have a meeting.

Don’t have a location for you. Don’t have a timeline for you at this time. We’re expecting – the President, as he said, is expected to do so. Just don’t have anything to share.

And once we do, we certainly will share that with you.

Q: And can I just follow up on that? Just a few days ago, Wang Yi seems to suggest the the onus of creating the right environment for a Biden-Xi meeting lies in Washington, you know, to promote cooperation – a summit that promotes cooperation rather than provoke confrontation. How would you respond to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, we’re – I mean, we’ve been very clear. We’re not ha- — we’re not looking to have confrontation with China. We’re looking to have competition, and that’s what the President has shown for the last two years.

The President spoke about this. He’s – he’s looking forward to having that conversation with President Xi. I don’t have anything else to share with you at this time. And I’m just going to leave it there.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Does the President plan to take up McCarthy’s offer to meet, and does the White House see any value in that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m going to be very clear. The per- the person that McCarthy – or the people that McCarthy needs to talk to is his own caucus. That’s who he needs to have a conversation with, not the President.

The President had multiple conversations with Speaker McCarthy very early on to get this bipartisan deal. That two thirds of the House – Republican House – Republican House voted on. The conversation is not between the President and McCarthy. He needs to – he needs to –

Q: So, he’s turning it down?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He needs – what I’m saying very clearly is the conversation needs to happen between Speaker McCarthy and his – and his caucus. That’s where – that’s the fix. That’s the chaos that we’re seeing. And that’s where he needs to focus on.

Q: And how would you describe the President’s relationship with Senator Feinstein in recent years? When was the last time they spoke to one another?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I believe the President reached out back in August. They missed each other, and so the President had a conversation with her chief of staff. That is the last time that they were – that the President had reached out.

I mean, the President spoke to this, you know, very – I think very deeply. Right? And – just moments ago, when you all watched his remarks.

And – and they were very close friends. They served together for over a decade. It’d be 15 years in the Senate together – And – and he saw her as a close friend.

They – you know, one of the things that they worked on that is an issue right now across the country was assault ban weapons [assault weapons ban], right? That is something that they worked together on in 1994 and actually saved lines for 10 years before its sunset in 2004. Right?

So, there’s been many things that they’ve been able to work on together. And so, they find – and even as president as well.

And so, they were – he sees her as a dear friend. It is a sad day for – certainly for – for us here and also for her family and, clearly, for the state of California. And – and I’ll just – I’ll just leave it there.

Go ahead, MJ.

Q: We just heard Director Young saying, “This is not hard.” But Speaker McCarthy clearly is finding this difficult. Can you give us any sense of how President Biden sees the situation that Speaker McCarthy is in? Does he think that the Speaker is in a top spot? Have you gotten the sense that, you know, there’s any sense of sort of sympathy towards Speaker McCarthy? Or is it all pure exasperation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m – I’m not going to go into just the President’s feeling about Speaker or – or his situation currently as Speaker of the House.

What I can speak to is what we’ve been saying all along, which is: A deal was made. The President has – as you all know and saw happening when – when these conversations were going on in person and trying to get that bipartisan deal very early on in the summer.

And what the President believes is that many Americans are going to be hurt by this. Many families are going to be hurt by this, by something that extreme House Republicans are barreling us down through. Right? They’re heading us down a road that is unfortunate, that is reckless.

And that’s what the President is concerned about. He’s concerned about the American people. And this is something – again, they can fix this. They can.

Q: Can you confirm when the two men last spoke?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have a date or time – a timeline of when they last spoke. What I can say is that, clearly, the OMB Director, congressional – our Office of Leg Affairs has been in regular touch with congressional leaders on this for the past several weeks, several months. And I just don’t have a – I don’t have a conversation to confirm with the Speaker.

Q: And in the coming days, in the event of a government shutdown, does the White House believe that the President has a responsibility to offer any words of reassurance to people in the country who will be affected, will be worried about the situation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I don’t have any previews of any remarks that the President is going to make. But you can we- –either tomorrow or any upcoming days. But, of course, the American – the President is always – when it comes to situations like this, you can expect to hear from him directly in the days ahead. I just don’t have a date to speak to at this time.

And the President – here’s the thing: The President is not going to stop working. He’s going to continue to work, and he’s not going to stop delivering for the American people in the event of an extreme Republican shutdown.

You’re going to hear from the President. I just don’t have anything to lay out on a specific date or time. But, of course, the American people are going to hear from him.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Just on the auto workers strike, has the President spoken to automakers after he said he supports a 40 percent pay raise for UAW workers or just even broadly after his visit to Michigan? We understand from sources that the chances of a deal in the near term have been complicated by the President’s remarks about him supporting a 40 percent pay raise.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just want to – just give some clarity. So, first, the President’s senior advisors, they’ve been in touch with all parties. If – I’ll let you know if there’s any conversations that the President has or – to read out with the – with the – the automakers, more specifically.

As it relates to the 40 percent, look, he believes they should get a significant raise. That’s why the President can keep saying, like, a record profit should lead to record contract, right? This is – he believes that the UAW workers should get a fair share for – for profits they helped create. And so, the President has been really, really clear about that.

But as it relates to any negotiations and what they are asking for, he wants to make sure that he leaves up to the UAW leadership. And ultimately, again, members should be able to receive a fair and just deal.

And the President is going to be consistent about that. He has said recently when he was in Michigan, when you saw him on an active picket line, who was – he was very proud to be there in solidarity of the union workers.

And so, that is something that he has said throughout his career, and he’ll continue to be very clear about that.

Q: And so – so, just on the automakers part –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: You said his team is constantly in touch. We’ve know that. Are there any specific, sort of, conversations after his visit, specifically after those comments that he made?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, they’ve been in regular touch. I don’t have, like, if they talked today or – or on Tuesday or on Wednesday. But they have been – the senior – senior advisors have – certainly been in touch with all the parties.

They are not – I want to be clear – they’re not part of the negotiations. They’re not convening all sides. They are just there to offer any assistance the parties might need.

We are very – we’ve always been very clear. It’s – it’s up to the UAW leadership, it’s up to the union to have these – and all parties involved – to have these negotiation conversations. But, again, we’ve just offered any helpful assistance that they might need.

Go ahead.

Q: Can I circle back – thank you – to a question that was asked, I think, of the OMB Director, which is, essentially, if we could get a sense of what the White House will look like during the shutdown and who all folks can anticipate will be here specifically from the press side, but broadly what the White House will look like.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, look, you know – and – and not going to have much more to share than what the OMB Director said. You know, many people are going to be furloughed. That’s kind of, unfortunately, how this all works.

The process that we are, kind of, dealt with here, as we’re dealing with this potential – potential shutdown. But we will do our best, certainly, to communi- to continue communicating with all of you. We will have a press – a press briefing during – during, you know, next week.

And, look, you know, again, they’re going to be furloughed, and some will be expected and continuing to work, as the – as the Director said, and – and that’s going to be across the government. That’s going to be the same case here at the White House.

And, you know, that’s just kind of the way it is. And we will – we’re going to continue to deliver for the American people, but it’s not going to be as – business as usual when you have a majority of folks furloughed. And- and that’s kind of where we are, sadly, unfortunately, in this – in this time.

But as it relates to the president team, certainly, we’ll be holding press briefings, and we’ll certainly have more to share if this is where we head down to, which is a shutdown.

AIDE: Karine, you can take a couple more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Just a follow-up to Aurelia’s earlier question. We know that you say it’s their problems, not ours. From the outside – outside of the U.S., we see the government as more of a “one thing.” With, you know, the tension with China towards Allied – in the war in Ukrai – in Ukraine, what can the President say to reassure leaders who are worried at this – at this moment?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, you know, I think Jake Sullivan got this question a little bit when he was here last week. And I think the question came to him as has he heard any concerns from any leadership. And he had said he wasn’t aware of any conversations to – to that effect.

What I can say is, you know, when you have this type of – this potential chaos and unpre- unpredictability, you know, countries around the world are seeing from this – this Republican House, it’s not something to be proud of. It’s not.

But what the President and our team have done for the past two year is rebuild those relationships with our partners and allies. And – and so, at the same time, trying to carry out the work of the American people.

And that’s something that you’ve seen the President do over the past two years, whether it’s here at the White House or whether it’s at a summit that he’s attended. And you’ve seen the President build that confidence back into the United – back into the world – right? – the confidence that allies and partners had of the United States.

And so, that’s important. We have to rebuilt those relationships. We’ll continue to do so. But obviously. when you see this type of chaos – you know, chaos and potential recklessness – right? – from House Republicans, it doesn’t – it’s nothing to be proud of.

September 30: The Guardian posted an article titled: “The hidden cost of a shutdown: America’s battle with food insecurity” From the article

With 1 October looming, a US government shutdown appears imminent, and the farm bill is set to expire. Members of both the House and Senate have been drafting proposals for its renewal, which happens every five years. The bill is responsible for financing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that many Americans rely on to feed their families.

Though hunger prevention advocates are calling for Congress to renew the bill before its expiration, the likelihood of a freshly revised iteration being near completion by the end of the day is low. Yet, food insecurity continues to rise in America.

More than 34 million people, including nine million children, are struggling to put food on the table.

In a recent household survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, more than 26 million Americans said they did not have enough to eat during the 12-day period of the study that concluded this month. That sample represents nearly a 50 percentage increase during a similar window from 2021. This upsurge is due to a number of factors, including the end of pandemic-era aid.

Another study released this month by Feeding America reflected a similar finding, emphasizing the far-reaching consequences of hunger.

That report is underscored how the pandemic reshaped the landscape of food insecurity and its lingering effects, signaling one of America’s gravest growing crises. Approximately 80% of Americans experiencing hunger believe that inflation and rising food costs have worsened the issue of hunger nationwide and 93% of those surveyed expressed concern that the situation will deteriorate even more. They highlighted factors such as rising housing costs, job loss, unemployment, the presence of chronic health conditions or disabilities, and an abundance of low-paying jobs as significant contributors and interconnected root causes of their food vulnerability…

…Another element of the rise in food insecurity, which saw almost 50 million Americans turning to food pantries and soup kitchens in 2022, is cuts to social assistance and fixed-income programs like food stamps, the child tax credit and pensions…

…The pandemic has also particularly aggravated food insecurity among families with children and communities of color, who were already disproportionately affected by hunger before the outbreak. Many of these households don’t meet the eligibility criteria for federal nutrition programs, forcing them to turn to local food banks and other community food assistance programs for additional support. Research shows that there is a higher prevalence of hunger in African American, Latino and Native American communities that can be attributed to systemic racial injustices…

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “McConnell announces Senate Republicans will defer to House spending Bill. From the article:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) announced Senate Republicans will vote against advancing the chamber’s bipartisan stopgap spending bill, instead of deferring to a bill coming from the House as the main way to avoid a government shutdown.

McConnell told reporters that the House bill, which is a 45-day continuing resolution that includes disaster aid funding but no money for Ukraine, is the preferred option of his members, and that they will overwhelmingly vote against cloture in order to focus on that option.

Shortly after McConnell’s remarks, that bill passed in the House in an overwhelming bipartisan 335-91 vote and heads to the Senate.

“I’m fairly confident that most of my members – our members – are going to vote against cloture,” McConnell said of the Senate-crafted bill. “Not necessarily because they are opposed to the underlying bill. But to see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis, and then bring it over to us.

The Senate is expected to vote on the House’s stopgap bill Saturday evening.

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “House Republicans to vote on 45-day clean stopgap funding bill” From the article:

The House will vote Saturday on a 45-day “clean” stopgap funding bill that includes money for disaster relief, a major turn in strategy for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ahead of a midnight showdown deadline.

The clean continuing resolution (CR) would require support from two-thirds of the House for passage because it is being considered under a fast-tracked mechanism called suspension of the rules. That means it would rely heavily on Democratic support to pass.

It will not have border policy changes, a non-starter for Democrats, or funds for Ukraine that some Republicans opposed.

McCarthy announced the plan following a nearly two-hour closed-door conference meeting.

“We will put a clean funding stopgap on the floor to keep government open for 45 days for the House and Senate to get their work done,” McCarthy told reporters after the meeting. “We will also, knowing what had transpired, through the summer, the disasters in Florida, the horrendous fire in Hawaii, and also the disasters in California and Vermont. We will put the supplemental portion that the president asked for in disaster there too.”

“Keeping the government open while we continue to do our work to end wasteful spending and the wokeism and most important, secure our border,” he added.

If the bill does not pass, Republicans plan to bring up several measures to mitigate the effects of a government shutdown, multiple members said…

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “Embattled Congress lurches toward midnight shutdown” From the article:

Congress is lurching toward a shutdown that would begin early Sunday morning, with House Republicans battling one another and the Senate moving forward with a bipartisan plan that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has not committed to bringing to a vote in the House.

Senators are poised to vote Saturday afternoon on a bill to fund the government until Nov. 17. The legislation includes $6.15 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for disaster relief.

McCarthy has drawn a line in the sand on Ukraine funding, and floated the idea of a “clean” measure that would not include funding for Ukraine.

A number of conservative in McCarthy’s conference would oppose such a measure, and it would need Democratic support to pass.

The Senate bill, if approved by the upper chamber, would likely pass the House if it were given a vote on the floor.

But a majority of the House GOP conference voted against a measure Thursday on Ukraine aid, and bringing the bill to the floor could come with political pain for McCarthy, who is working under the threat of a “motion to vacate” from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other opponents that would essentially be a vote to remove him as Speaker.

McCarthy, who refuses to work with House Democrats, hasn’t been able to pass a government funding stopgap with just Republican votes because a small group of conservatives has refused to go along with his spending strategy…

September 30: CNN posted an article titled: “Biden aides are sure Republicans will be blamed for a possible government shutdown” From the article:

As Speaker Kevin McCarthy tries to placate his House Republican conference in the fight over spending, the White House is holding out hope of a bipartisan deal brokered days ago in the Senate can eventually overcome the standoff.

Until then, however, President Joe Biden’s aides are confident that any blame for a government shutdown will land squarely on McCarthy and his fellow Republicans, according to sources familiar with the matter.

“There’s no expectation that McCarthy will be able to pass something on his own” that could clear the Senate, one senior administration official said. How long a potential shutdown lasts “depends on how much pain McCarthy can endure.”

Watching the chaos unfold from the other end of Pennsylvania Ave, Biden and his aides have adopted a mostly hands-off approach, accusing McCarthy of reneging on a spending deal and listing the ways a shutdown would inflict damage on normal Americans.

McCarthy has declined to schedule a House vote on the Senate bill, which includes $12 billion in total aid for Ukraine and domestic disasters and would keep the government open until November 17. Hardline House Republicans have been seeking steep, across-the-board spending cuts to federal agencies and funding for border enforcement – and are waging a battle to remove McCarthy as speaker if they don’t get it.

“I think that the speaker is making a choice between his speakership and American interests,” Biden told Democratic donors in San Francisco this week, highlighting the administration’s view that Republicans will ultimately suffer politically if they fail to avert a shutdown…

…”The people that McCarthy needs to talk to is his own caucus,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked whether Biden would consider meeting with the speaker. “The conversation needs to happen between Speaker McCarthy and his caucus.”…

September 30: The White House (@WhiteHouse) posted on X “With just three hours left, Congress has passed a bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown – excluding the demands of the Extreme House Republicans.

Now it’s on the way to President Biden’s desk where he will promptly sign it into law.

It never should have been this close.”

September 30: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Statement from President Joe Biden on Passage of the Bipartisan Bill to Keep the Government Open” From the Statement:

Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to get paid, travelers will be spared airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutrition assistance, and so much more. This is good news for the American people.

But I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis. For weeks, extreme House Republicans tried to walk away from that deal by demanding drastic cuts that would have been devastating for millions of Americans. They failed.

While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “Congress votes to avert shutdown” From the article:

Congress averted a shutdown with just hours to spare, capping a dramatic day that started with a lapse in government funding appearing all but inevitable.

The Senate voted 88-9 to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government at current levels through Nov. 17 and gives the Biden administration $16 billion it requested to assist victims of natural disasters. The House had earlier passed the measure in a bipartisan 335-91 vote.

The CR notably lacks any funding for Ukraine, spending cuts or border policy changes.

The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature before midnight, with both sides claiming victory.

“Bipartisanship, which has been the trademark of the Senate, has prevailed. And the American people can breathe a sigh of relief,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The vote âme together after a hectic day on both sides of the Capitol, one Schumer descried as full of “twists and turns.”

House Republicans huddled in the morning and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – having exhausted all options to pass a GOP-only stopgap plan – made a sharp shift in strategy and announced the clean CR, dealing a blow to hardline conservatives who have stymied leadership at every turn in recent weeks…

…”Let me tell you, today wasn’t a choice we wanted to have. We tried to pass the most conservative stopgap measure possible,” McCarthy said after Saturday’s vote. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have 218 Republicans.”

But it wasn’t immediately clear the measure would get the Democratic votes it needed to pass.

September 30: The White House posted “Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 5860” From the Legislation:

On Saturday, September 30, 2023, the President signed into law:

H.R. 5860, which provides fiscal year appropriations to Federal agencies through November 17, 2023, for continuing projects at the Federal Government and extends several expiring authorities.

September 30: The White House posted a Presidential Action titled: “Message to the Congress on Designation of Funding as an Emergency Requirement in Accordance with Section 114(c) of division A of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act” From the Presidential Action:

In accordance with section 114(c) of division A of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024, and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 5860; the “Act”), I hereby designate as emergency requirements all funding (including the transfer and repurposing of funds) so designated by the Congress in the Act pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as outlined in the enclosed list of accounts.

The details of this action are set forth in the enclosed memorandum from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. – JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

September 30: CNN posted an article titled: “READ: The 45-day spending bill that passed the House” You can find an embedded copy of the bill in the CNN article.

September 30: Stars and Stripes posted an article titled: “Government shutdown averted with little time to spare as Biden signs funding before midnight” From the article:

The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time to spare after Congress rushed to approve the bipartisan deal.

The package drops aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increases federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting Biden’s full request. The bill funds government until Nov. 17.

After chaotic days of turmoil in the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly abandoned demands for steep spending cuts from his right flank and instead relied on Democrats to pass the bill, at risk to his own job. The Senate followed with final passage closing a whirlwind day at the Capitol.

“This is good news for the American people,” Biden said in a statement.

He also said the United States “cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted” and expected McCarthy “will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

It’s been a sudden head-spinning turn of events in Congress after grueling days in the House pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.

The outcome ends, for now, the threat of a shutdown, but the reprieve may be short-lived. Congress will again need to fund the government in coming weeks risking a crisis as views are hardening, particularly among the right-flank lawmakers whose demands were ultimately swept aside this time in favor of a more bipartisan approach…

September 30, 2023: The White House posted: Statement from President Joe Biden on Passage of the Bipartisan Bill to Keep the Government Open

Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to get paid, travelers will be spared airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutrition assistance, and so much more. This is good news for the American people.

But I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis. For weeks, extreme House Republicans tried to walk away from that deal by demanding drastic cuts that would have been devastating for millions of Americans. They failed.

While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been stedfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I full expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.

---

October 2023

October 1: The White House posted: “Remarks on the Bipartisan Bill to Keep the Government Open“

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning folks. How are you?

Q: Good morning.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I guess we’re actually technically afternoon. (Laughs.)

Last night, Congress passed the spending bill that’s going to keep the government open. And it’s good news for the American people because the government will not shut down and a needless crisis will have been averted, saving millions – millions of Americans needless pain.

And that means more than one hun- –one million three hundred of our troops will continue to get paid and their families will be cared for.

Tens of thousands – tens of thousands of air traffic controllers and transportation security officers are going to stay on the job, get paid – preventing unnecessary delays at airports all across the country.

And millions of families will continue to have access to critical food and nutrition assistance, especially for programs for women and infant children, and so many other programs.

And the vital work in science and health – from cancer research to food safety – is going to continue, as will long-term disaster monies for communities devastated by wildfires, superstorms, and droughts.

The Social Security Administration will be fully funded, which means it will be able to fully serve the needs of the America people and the elderly.

But folks, the truth is: We shouldn’t be here in the first place. We shouldn’t have gotten here in the first place.

It’s time to end governing by crisis and keep your word when you give it in the Congress.

A few months ago, after a long negotiation between myself and the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, we came to agree on a budget agreement precisely to avoid a manufactured crisis that we just witnessed.

Bit the last few days and weeks, extreme MAGA Republicans tried to walk away from that deal, voting for deep, drastic spending cuts from 30 to 80 percent that would’ve been devastating for millions of Americans.

They failed again. They failed again, and we stopped them. But I’m under no illusions that they’ll be back again.

You know, where I come from, when you make a deal, you give your word, you keep it. You give your word – you say, “I’m going to do what I said I’m going to do,” and you do it. You keep it. You keep your word.

And I expect the Republican Speaker and Republicans in Congress to honor their word and keep the deal they made months ago when they tried to threaten us with – to almost international bankruptcy by not paying our debts.

That includes comments made for fully funded services for our veterans and fully fund the needs of defense of our nation, you know, and protect the trans- –we have transformational investments we’re already making to deal with the climate crisis. We are – you know, protect Medicare’s ability and power to negotiate lower prescription drug pri- we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world. We’re finally making progress.

Although the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of the Congress have steadfastly supported Ukraine to defend itself against the aggression and brutality of Russians’ attack on women and children – in addition to the military in Ukraine – there’s no Ukraine funding in this agreement.

Despite that, I did not believe we could let millions of Americans go through the pain of a government shutdown.

But let’s be clear: I hope my friends on the other side keep their word about support for Ukraine. They said they were going to support Ukraine in a separate vote. We cannot under any circumstance allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted.

I fully expect the Speaker of keep his commitment for the secure passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality. And folks, overwhelmingly – there’s overwhelming number of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate who support Ukraine. Let’s vote on it.

And I want to assure our American allies and the American people and the people of Ukraine that you can count on our support. We will not walk away.

The vast majority of both parties – I’ll say it again: Democrats and Republicans, Senate and House – support helping Ukraine in the brutal aggression that is being trust upon them by Russia.

Stop playing games. Get this done.

This agreement today, while averting an immediate crisis, ends in – I guess it’s 45 days now, and it’s already moving down – (laughs) just before Thanksgiving.

Quite frankly, I’m sick and tired. I’m sick and tired of the brinksmanship and so are the American people.

I’ve been doing this – you all have pointed out to me a lot – a long time. I’ve never quite seen a Republican Congress or any Congress act like this.

This spring, MAGA Republicans brought us to the brink, threatening to default on America’s debt for the first time in over 200 years. And it would’ve caused a gigantic world crisis, inter- — both at home and abroad.

But we reached an agreement. We shook hands and said, “Here’s the deal.”

Well, now, this fall, the MAGA extremists once again have brought us to the brink – this time, to a government shutdown – in going back on the deal they made months ago, not keeping their word.

Enough is enough is enough. This is not complicated. The brinksmanship has to end.

And there should be another – there shouldn’t be another crisis. There’s no excuse for another crisis.

Consequently, I strong urge my Republican friends in Congress not to wait. Don’t waste time as you did all summer. Pass a yearlong budget agreement. Honor the deal we made a few months ago.

We have the strongest ec- — we have the strongest economy in the world today – the strongest economy in the world today. We have more to do, but we are the indispensable nation in the world, internationally and domestically, in terms of our economy. Let’s act like it. Let’s act like it.

Stop the games. Get to work. Make sure the American people and our allies and friends around the world know what we’re doing.

Thank you.

Q: Mr. President, Speaker McCarthy’s speakership is now at risk. Should Democrats vote to help him keep that job?

THE PRESIDENT: Don’t have a vote on that matter. I’ll leave that to the leadership of the House and Senate.

Q: Mr. President, what are your words to U.S. allies and, in particular, Zelenskyy on continued funding for Ukraine? How can you reassure them?

THE PRESIDENT: I can reassure them – look at me – we’re going to get it done. I can’t believe those who voted for U- supporting Ukraine – overwhelmingly majority in the House and Senate, Democrat and Republican – will, for pure political reasons let more people die needlessly in Ukraine.

Q: And, Mr. President, a follow-up on Ukraine. What is your sense of when the current U.S. funding might run out? And what – how much urgency is there? What’s the timeline in the next couple of months?

THE PRESIDENT: We have time. Not much time. And there’s a s- — overwhelmingly sense of urgency.

Q: Mr. –

Aide: Last question.

Q: Mr. President, are you going to be able to trust Speaker McCarthy when the next deal comes around?

THE PRESIDENT: We just made one about Ukraine. So, we’ll find out.

Q: But are you worried that he is going to be forced by fellow Republicans to back away from any deal he cuts with you?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope this experience for the Speaker has been one of a personal revelation. I’m not being facetious. I – anyway –

Q: Are you concerned about America’s reputation on the world stage given the level of brinksmanship we’ve seen this year?

THE PRESIDENT: Based on the MAGA Republicans’ (inaudible), yes. Based on what my administration is doing, no.

Thank you.

Q: Thank you, Mr. President.

October 6, 2023: The White House posted Remarks by President Biden on the September Jobs Report and National Manufacturing Day

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, folks. How are you?

Q: Pretty good. How are you?

THE PRESIDENT: Good news today: This morning we learned that the economy created 336,000 jobs in September alone.

This means, since I’ve taken office, we’ve created 13.9 million new jobs.

You’ve heard me say it before: I’m going to keep saying it: My dad had an expression. He’d say, “Joey, a job is about lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, “Honey, it’s going to be okay,” and mean it.”

Well, 336,000 more Americans – if they have children – can say that to their children and mean it.

The unemployment rate has stayed below 4 percent for 20 months in a row – the longest stretch in 50 years.

We’ve achieved a 70-year low in unemployment rate for women, record lows in unemployment for African Americans and Hispanic workers and people with disabilities – folks who hav been left behind in previous recoveries and left behind for too long.

We have the highest share of working-age Americans in the workforce in 20 years.

And it’s no accident. It’s Bidenomics.

We’re growing the economy from the middle out, the bottom up – not the top down.

And inflation is coming down at the same time. It’s down 60 percent since last summer. Core inflation was just 2.2 percent over the past three months. And now we have the lowest inflation of any major economy in the world.

Today, we’re celebrating National Manufacturing Day. We didn’t name it that. It was already National Manufacturing Day, but it seems appropriate.

I can think of no better way to mark the occasion than to thank the 13 million Americans who are manufa- in manufacturing jobs as we speak. They’re restoring our pride, making things in America.

And today, I want to highlight that of those 13 million manufacturing jobs, 815,000 of those jobs were created since I took office – twice as many as the previous administration – and report what we learned earlier this week: that spending on construction for new factories being built to generate more economic growth and jobs hit an all-time high last month.

Folks, Bidenomics is about investing in America and investing in American workers.

And businesses are investing more in manufacturing than ever before and are bringing the supply chains home.

Before the pandemic, “supply chains” was a phrase most people didn’t even associate with, didn’t think much about. And – but today, after a few delays in availability of parts and products everyone has known about, they know why it’s important.

My economic plan is bringing supply chains home and investing in industries of the future so we can make things in America again with American workers.

We’re creating good jobs in communities all across the country – including in places that have been left behind for the last, in some cases, 20 years because the factories they used to work at for years and years shut down, leaving them with no options, no jobs in the community – all over the Midwest and all over the Northeast.

That – under Bidenomics, you won’t have to leave home now to get a good job. I don’t know how many times I heard in – out on the road people saying, “My kid came up to me – got a decent education in the state – came up to me and said, “Mom, I’ve got to leave. No jobs, no jobs.”

Well, you’re going to be able to find a good job close to home more and more all across America.

We’re also making sure the jobs we’re creating offer workers the free and fair right, if they choose, to join a union, to form a union.

Bidenomics is leading the surge in unionized workers exercising their collective bargaining rights.

For example, our s- –our clean school bus program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Laws is replacing dirty diesel buses with clean electric busses so kids getting on and off those busses can breathe clean air, not diesel fuel.

We’re encouraging the companies building those buses allow their employees to unionize if the employees chose. And it’s working.

We saw it in Georgia when – at Blue – workers at Blue Bird, the electric school bus manufacturing company that’s receiving federal funds voted to unionize because that was their choice.

The Treasury Department laid out recently in a major report that unions and collective bargaining are good for the economy overall. They help raise wages not only for the work in that factory, but for everyone whether or not they’re union – whether or not you belong to a union. And they also increase – excuse me – they – and also increased corporate job growth.

And today’s Job Report is just another example of what it looks like when we focus on building an economy from he middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, while bringing deficits down at the same time.

You know, just this summer, I signed a strong bipartisan law where I shook hands with the former Speaker – and we passed in the House and the Senate as well – to cut spending by $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

Unfortunately, last weekend, Republican House members decided they were going to put progress in jeopardy. Instead of honoring that commitment they made, they once again brought us to the brink of a government shutdown, creating unnecessary instability and risk in order to secure more extreme cuts in programs that help working Americans and seniors – cuts that would have hurt everyone form – hurt U.S. manufacturing. It would have stymied the pay of military people – a whole range of things.

They tried cutting funding by 30 percent for small businesses, which are growing under our administration; for local manufacturers; for Manufacturing Extension Partnership program that – that helps small- and medium-sized manufacturers attract and train workers and grow their businesses. But we stopped them.

Quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of Republicans in the House saying they want to cut the deficit when all they really want to do is once again cut taxes for the very wealthy and big corporations, which will only add to the deficit.

When I was able to cut the federal debt by $1.7 trillion over those first two and a – two years, well, remember what we talked about : Those 50 corporations that made $40 billion weren’t making a penny in taxes. – I – 15 percent in taxes – 15 percent. Nowhere near what they should pay. And guess what? We’re able to pay for everything and we end up with an actual surplus.

You know, it’s not about – it’s not what the economy reas- needs right now – more tax cuts for the wealthy.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We’ve cut the deficit by over $1 trillion since we’ve taken office. The laws that I signed will cut by another $1 trillion over the next 10 years. And my budget would cut it by another $2.5 trillion over 10 years.

Here’s the deal: The federal debt went up by 50 percent under my predecessor in part because he passed a $2 trillion tax cut overwhelmingly skewed to the very wealthy and large corporations.

I believe we should be reducing the deficit by making sure that the wealthy and large corporations just pay their fair share. I’m not asking them to pay 90 percent. Just pay their fair share.

By cutting wasteful spending on special interests like Big Oil – all the money made and paid so little taxes. Big Pharma, same thing.

You know, we just gave the American public a real gift in terms of – well, not gift, but fairness – in terms of what they have to pay for insulin and what they’re going to have to pay for other things. Well, guess what? That alw- –that also cut the federal debt. It cut the federal debt.

For example, there are over a thousand billionaires in this country. And I know you’re going to hear me say this until I’m able to change it: You know what their average rate of pay – federal tax rate is? Eight percent. Eight percent.

I think you should be able to be a trillionaire, or a billionaire, or a zillionaire if you want, but pay your taxes, for God’s sake. Pay some fair – and – something approaching a fair tax. That’s less than a teacher or a firefighter or a cop pays in their taxes. It’s just wrong.

Look, House Republicans should put us back in a – shouldn’t put us back in a crisis mode again.

We have only 40 days for Congress to get back to work – they’re on – the same House Republicans on recess now – to fund the government, avoid a shutdown, and protect the tremendous gains American workers have made over the past two and a half years.

A shutdown would mean troops don’t get paid, air traffic controllers wouldn’t get paid. There’d be all kinds of problems at airports. Loans to small businesses would be delayed in closing some of them.

It’s time to stop fooling around. House Republicans, it’s time for you to do your job – continue our progress growing the economy, investing in America, investing in the American people.

So, let’s get to work for the American people. They’re waiting and they’re watching. We got to get to work.

Thank you, all, very much,

Q: Mr. President, what are the – what are the prospects for a meeting between you and President Xi of China in San Francisco next month?

THE PRESIDENT: There has been no such meeting set up, but it is a possibility.

Q: Mr. President, former President Trump endorsed Congressman Jim Jordan for House Speaker. Could you see yourself working with Congresman Jordan if he is the next Speaker? And do you have any concerns about who might fill that position?

THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Look, whomever the House Speaker is, I’m going to try to work with. They control half the – half the Congress, and I’m going to try to work with them.

There’s some people, I imagine, that’s going to be easier to work with than others. But whomever the Speaker is, I’ll try to work with.

Q: Mr. President, can you be specific about what you did to try to reappropriate those border funds, especially when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress?

THE PRESIDENT: When you – oh, you mean the wall thing? Is that what you’re talking about?

Q: Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, they passed – well, I was told that I had no choice. That I – you know, if Congress passes legislation to build something – whether it’s an aircraft carrier, a wall, or provide for a tax cut – I can’t say, “I don’t like it. I’m not going to do it,” if this hadn’t been vetoed, if it’s the law.

Q: But you said yesterday that you tried to reappropriate the funds. So –

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, we tried to ask the Congress to consider changing the law to reappropriate. Say, “Don’t – use it for other purposes. Give me more Border agents. Give me more technical cu – capabilities to detect fentanyl and like.” That’s what I wanted to do.

Q: Mr. President, you started your remarks here today by saying it was good news today with the economic report. Why do you think most people still don’t feel positive or feel good news about the economy?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, you just heard the news today, too. They haven’t heard it. I think the people – those 300-plus-thousand people who got jobs feel pretty good about the economy.

I’d – look – I got to choose my words here.

You all are not the happiest people in the world – what you report. And I mean it sincerely. It gets a more little – you get more legs when you’re reporting something that’s negative.

I don’t mean – I don’t mean your picking on me or I’m – just the nature of things.

You turn on the television, and there’s not a whole lot about ‘boy saves dog as he swims in the lake” You know? To say – you know, it’s about, you know “somebody pushed the dog into a lake.”

I mean, I – I get it. But – if you just listen to what’s going on around the world, there’s not reason for people to be concerned. There’s reason for people to be concerned – what’s going on with – in Russia. There’s reason to be concerned about what’s going on in other parts of the world.

I think that the American people are smart as hell in knowing what their interests are. I think they know they’re better off financially than they were before. It’s a fact.

And all the – all that data – all that polling stuff shows they think – they’re more positive about the economy than they’ve been, more positive about their jobs, et. cetera.

I just think if you – let me put it this way: If you just watched what happened last week in the Congress, how excited are you going to be about much of anything?

Anyway. Thanks.

October 25, 2023: The White House posted: “Statement from President Joe Biden on the Election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House“

Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.

As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people.

That’s a principle I have always held to, and that I’ve acted on – delivering major bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, outcompeting China, gun reform, and veterans care.

I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle after Republicans won the majority in the House last year. By the same token, the American people have made clear that they expect the House Republicans to work with me and with Senate Democrats to govern across the aisle – to protect our urgent national security interests and grow our economy for the middle class.

While House Republicans spent the last 22 days determining who would lead their conference, I have worked on those pressing issues, proposing a historic supplemental funding package that advances our bipartisan national security interests in Israel and Ukraine, secures our border, and invests in the American people. These priorities have been endorsed by leaders in both parties.

We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days.

Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can.

This is a good time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.

October 26, 2023: The White House posted: “Statement from President Joe Biden on Third Quarter 2023 GDP Report“

I always say it is a mistake to bet against the American people, and just today we learned that the economy grew 4.9% in the third quarter. I never believed we would need a recession to bring inflation down – and today we saw again that the American economy continues to grow even as inflation has come down. It is a testament to the resilience of American consumers and American workers, supported by Bidenomics – my plan to grow the economy by growing the middle class. The unemployment rate has been below 4% for 20 months in a row, real wages are up over the last year, and median wealth for American families has grown by a record amount for inflation. Just yesterday, the UAW and Ford reached a historic tentative agreement that provides a record raise to auto workers and is a testament to our strategy for a powerful manufacturing future made in America, with good, union jobs. I hope Republicans in Congress will join me in working to build on this progress, rather than reckless threats of a shutdown or proposals to cut taxes for the wealthy and large corporations, while slashing programs that are essential for hard-working families and seniors.

---

November 2023:

November 7, 2023: The White House Posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So much excitement out here.

Q: It’s the jacket.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All-right, all right. All right, class, everybody — (laughter).

Okay. All right, everyone. It is — it is a serious day indeed.

So, good afternoon. Today, as part of our “10 days of 10 Drugs” series, we’re highlighting Januvia, a drug that treats diabetes and that was selected for Medicare price negotiation as part of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Last Year, around 885,000 seniors were prescribed Januvia and spent, on — on average, up to 500 bucks a month for this lifesaving drug.

One of those seniors is Stephen from North Carolina, who wrote to the President that he pays over 500 bucks a month for this lifesaving medicine.

For years, politicians talked about taking on Big Pharma to lower drug prices for seniors. All the while, Big Pharma continued to rake in record profits and spent $400 million on lobbyists to keep prices high for seniors.

President Biden and congressional Democrats finally changed that by passing the Inflation Reduction Act without a single Republican vote.

As a result, for the first time ever, instead of drug companies charging Americans whatever they want to – whatever they want to for — for saving drugs like Januvia, Medicare will be able to negotiate low- — lowering drug prices for Americans like Stephen.

As we announced a short time ago, President Biden will host President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for a bilateral meeting at the White House on Monday, November 13th.

During the visit, President Biden will reaffirm the United State’s commitment to deepening our nearly 75-year-long partnership between the world’s second-and third-largest democracies.

The leaders will explore opportunities to enhance cooperation on the clean energy transition, advance economic prosperity, bolster regional peace and stability, and reinforce our people-to-people ties. The two leaders will also coordinate on efforts to reinforce ASEAN centrality and uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

With that, my colleague from NSC, Admiral John Kirby, is here to give you any update that we have on Israel and take any of your foreign policy questions.

With that –

MR. KIRBY: Thanks, Karine. Good afternoon, everyone.

Q: Good afternoon.

MR. KIRBY: So, today, obviously, market one month here since the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7th. And we all just want to take a moment to acknowledge all the victims of that horrific act of terror: people slaughtered at a music festival, murdered in front of their kids in their home. Just a — it was a horrible day.

And also, it was a day where dozens and dozens of people were taken hostage — many of them still being held hostage. So, we also want to say that our thoughts continue to be with all of them and — and their families and loved ones.

I can only imagine the anguish that these families are still going through and have now for the past month — the searing pain that they’re feeling, the strong desire to get that seat filled at the dining room table again.

We are going to continue to pursue every possible measure that we can to get those hostage released and to get those folks back with their families where they belong. And again, we continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

We’re also keeping in our thoughts and prayers, this one month in, the many, many thousands of innocent Palestinians who have been killed in the conflict since October 7th and the many more who are injured and wounded in the conduct of this — of these operations and, quite frankly the million and a half that have been displaced internally from their homes. We’re — we’re mindful of that suffering as well.

And one month in, it’s good for everybody to take a knee, take a pause, and remember the scope of the suffering here and the terrible images many of us have seen coming out of both Israel and Gaza.

Now, on the humanitarian side, I can tell you that over the last 24 hours, 93 trucks were able to enter Gaza through the Rafah border. That was as of yesterday. That brings the total to 569 trucks since October 21st. And as we’ve said many times before, we know that’s not enough. It’s a trickle.

I mean, as a matter of fact, before October 7th, that’s about the number that was getting in every day. Now it fluctuated a littlest, but it was several hundred — up to 500 a day.

As you all saw yesterday, the President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and he certainly discussed the need to continue to try to accelerate and increase the amount of humanitarian assistance that’s going in. He also talked about the importance of pauses in the fighting to allow for aid to get in, people to get out, and for hostages to be released. We’ll keep those — that dialogue going, obviously, with — with the Prime Minister and his War Cabinet.

On the idea of people getting out — so, we do expect more individuals to depart Gaza today via the Rafah crossing. To date, there’s been over 400 U.S. citizens and their families who have been able to depart and have been seeing the assistance of our consular team at the embassy in Cairo.

In just the last 24 hours, about 96 — so, just under a hundred — U.S. citizens and family members were able to — to move across that border.

And as I said, it’s very fluid. We won’t get the final count until the end of the day today, because the day is still going on. But we do expect that there will be more Americans to come out today.

So, keeping that Rafah crossing open for aid to enter and Americans and other foreign nationals to leave has been a major priority for the President and will remain so going forward.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Go ahead, Selina.

Q: Thank you, Admiral. The U.N. Gen- — Secretary-General said Gaza is “becoming a graveyard for children.” He said the IDF is hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches, and U.N. facilities, including shelters.

So, if a warzone is “becoming a graveyard for children,” can you still say that Israel is following the laws of war?

MR. KIRBY: What I’ll tell you is that we continue to stress to our Israeli counterparts that they be as discriminant and careful in their targeting as possible. And it is sad to see — it’s horrible to see the images of young kids being pulled out of rubble and — and so many of them not making it.

Hamas is putting those children and their families in greater danger by not letting them go; by encouraging them to stay, by sheltering in their homes; they’re building tunnels under the hospitals; and by holding children hostages.

We know that there’s a portion of the 240-plus that they’re holding as hostage are kids. They’re kids.

And we’ve been trying mightily to get those children released. We’ve had no success so far.

Q: And Israel’s Prime Minister told ABC News that Israel will have, quote, “overall security responsibility [over Gaza] for an indefinite period.” But the President said that it would be a big mistake for Israel to reoccupy Gaza. So, how much daylight is there between what Israel and the U.S. see about the future of Gaza?

MR. KIRBY: We’ve been having active discussions with our Israeli counterparts about what post-conflict Gaza our to look like.

The President maintains his position that a — a reoccupation by Israeli forces is not the right thing to do.

We’ll let them speak to their intentions. But we are definitely having conversations about what the post-conflict environment ought to look like and what governance Gaza ought to look like.

One thing there’s absolutely no daylight on is: Hamas can’t be part of that equation. We can’t go back to October 6th.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, M.J.

Q: A senior U.S. official told us last week that the U.S.’ expectation is that, in the coming days, we should see a decrease in Israel’s air campaign and more of a tactical ground offensive. Can you tell us a little bit more about what led to that assessment? And have you seen that in the past few days?

MR. KIRBY: I can’t speak for what an anonymous official said about Israeli military operations. I’m not going to get into the habit of speaking of a tactical nature to their intentions, plans, or activities here from the podium.

They have obviously gone in on the ground with the intention of putting pressure on Hamas leadership to find, fix, and finish some of that leadership.

I’ll let them speak to those operations.

Q: And — and, John, you said yesterday that you wouldn’t want to overstate the efforts Israel is making to limit civilian casualties. That’s a change from a week ago when you said that it was obvious that Israel was trying to minimize casualties. Can you just help us understand that shift in the language?

MR. KIRBY: No shift. Both can be true.

They are — we have seen indications that — in certain operational environments, that they are — they are making an effort.

For instance, let’s go back to the ground thing. And again, I don’t want to be an armchair quarterbacking another military, but — but they — they’re — they’re moving into and onto and into Gaza with smaller units than what a lot of people thought they would do. They thought it was going to be this big, massive formation into North Gaza. And that’s not what they’ve been doing.

And when you are on the ground, while you – the risk to your troops gets – is higher, you can be more discriminant. You can be more careful in — in your formations and your targeting and what you’re going after than you can be from the air.

But it’s also true that airstrikes continue. And it’s also true that civilians keep dying from these airstrikes.

Q: Is there any scenario where future aid to Israel would be contingent on how they conduct themselves in terms of minimizing civilian casualties?

MR. KIRBY: We’ve been crystal clear since the very beginning of this conflict — that one of the things that separates us from Hamas, who actually did try and intend to kill innocent civilians, is that democracies like the U.S. and Israel observe the law of armed conflict, that we respect civilian life. And we’ve been clear since the beginning with them that we want to — we want to continue to urge them to do that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Trevor.

Q: There’s hundreds of USAID employees that have signed onto a letter disagreeing with U.S. policy towards Israel. There’s some dissent cables floating around the State Department. Why are so many federal government employees at odds with the policies that you’re talking about?

MR. KIRBY: Well, I — I think one of the great things about, certainly, work – — working at the State Department and at other agencies is that multiple perspectives and multiple opinions are — are respected.

And there’s an avenue, like you said — the dissent channel. And I can’t speak for what it is or isn’t in the dissent channel. But having worked at the State Department, I can tell you that’s a time-honored and tradition — traditional way for employees there at the State Department to voice their concerns. And I think that’s a good thing.

The President understands that there’s strong emotions and feelings here, all around, all across the board. And here inside the administration and in the federal government, that’s certainly the case as well.

And he appreciates the fact that people feel strongly and that there are multiple perspectives. And we’re going to continue to listen to them, Trevor, both inside and outside the government.

And we have been engaging with — with partners and organizations and experts and analysts and people with different perspectives to listen to their concerns, make sure that we understand them as we develop policy.

Q: And is the — the President frustrated at all with — with his inability to prevail upon his Israeli counterpart to engage in these humanitarian pauses?

MR. KIRBY: There have been humanitarian pauses. Already, there’s been some. I mean, one of the ways we were able to get those first few hostages out was a pause in fighting.

And Prime Minister Netanyahu, I believe, in a — in an interview last night, also talked about the fact that he has approved certain pauses throughout the country.

So, there have been. And we are going to continue to work with our Israeli counterparts going forward to make sure that — that we can continue to do them.

But the idea here is, you know, they’re localized in terms of geography, they’re limited in time and duration, and they’re usually for a specific purpose or purposes: getting stuff in, getting people out. And we have every expectation that we’ll be able to continue to have those conversations.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Seung Min.

Q: Just to follow up on what you just said about the Prime Minister’s comment about the little pauses. So — so, does the U.S. see that as sort of a satisfactory response to the humanitarian pauses that President Biden has been calling for? He’s talked about, like, an hour here, and an hour there.

MR. KIRBY: In keeping with the conversations that we’ve been having with our Israeli counterparts about the need for humanitarian pauses in the fighting.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Seung Min.

Q: I wanted to ask —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Asma, sorry.

Q: Oh, sorry.

Q: Oh, no, that’s okay.

Q: I figured. (Laughter.)

In late October, you had referred to the fact that the administration is not drawing any red lines for Israel. As the death toll for civilians in the Gaza Strip has gone up, I wanted to ensure: Is that still the case, that the administration has no red lines at all?

MR. KIRBY: That is still the case.

Q: Okay. And then, also, a follow-up. You all have spoken a number of times about a two-state solution. And I – this is not so tangential to the immediate conflict, but I wanted to understand. Coming in, you all have maintained a policy of recognizing Israel’s control over the Golan Heights. That was a move that your predecessor made, reversing, you know, U.S. policy after half a century. Is that the Biden administration’s policy, that you have — that you believe that Israel has sovereignty over the Golan Heights?

MR. KIRBY: Let me get back to you on that specific policy question. I don’t want to freelance it from here.

But you said something at the beginning that — that — talking about a two-state solution–

Q: Yes.

MR. KIRBY: — seems tangental to what’s going on, and I would respectfully disagree. It’s actually — what’s going on underscores how important it is that we continue to try to make progress towards a two-state solution.

But I will get you a better answer on the Golan Heights.

Q: On the Golan Heights. Okay, thank you.

MR. KIRBY: I’d rather not just spitball that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Nadia.

Q: Thank you. I want to follow up on the previous question, and I have another question.

So, why are you not embracing these dissident voices who calls for a balance between private and public message and criticize Israel when actually it is in violation of International humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention? With due respect, John, some people think that you repeat what the Israeli army spokesman is saying. It’s exactly what they’re saying, you repeat in here.

So, how can you — why not — these dissident voices — not just understanding them and we have a channel because we’re a democracy — why not — what’s wrong with them? What’s wrong with standing here and say, when Israel do something wrong — because your the best friend, you have leverage on them — why not criticizing them?

MR. KIRBY: Your question presupposes that we’ve made some determination that the law of armed conflict has been violated. And I don’t think —

Q: But the U.N. says —

MR. KIRBY: — we’re not at that point.

Q: So, you disagree with the U.N.?

MR. KIRBY: I — I would just tell you that we’re — we’re not going to react in near real time to every event. Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself, and we’re going to make sure they have the tools and capabilities to do that.

Again, we’re one month after this. And we ought not forget what happened one month ago: 1,400 people slaughtered in their homes, at a music festival. And when Hamas decided to conduct operations, it was with the intent of killing people.

You know, I, he — I heard this word “genocide” toss — tossed around. But Hamas actually does have genocidal intentions against the people of Israel. They’d like to see it wiped off the map. They said so on purpose.

So, that’s what — that’s what’s at stake here. And we’re going to keep making sure that Israel has that ability to do that.

Now, as for the voices, of course we respect all different voices and perspectives on this. And we know that there’s a lot of — there’s a lot of high emotion here when it comes to what’s going on.

We have never shied away from criticizing our friends and partners when we believe it’s warranted. And we’ll continue to do that.

We also believe that — that — that the best diplomacy, the best progress in diplomatic pursuits, is to do it privately and outside the public eye. And we’ll continue to do that as well. We’ll continue to have those tough conversations with our good friend.

Q: I don’t think anybody forgot what happened on October 7th. But regardless —

MR. KIRBY: I’m not saying — I’m not saying you did forget, I’m just saying it’s good for all of us — we should — we should not forget; we should all be reminded of what happened. And it happened a month ago today.

Q: You talked about settlers violence in the West Bank. The President spoke about it. But there’s also violence by the Israeli army. There is many Palestinians who have been shot dead in the West Bank. It’s 163 since October 7th. There’s also been massive arrests. It is 1,350 have been arrested under what the Israeli called an “administrative detention,” i.e. they can arrest a person without a trial.

Is this something that concerns you? Is it something that you convey to the Israelis, considering the sanitation in Gaza?

MR. KIRBY: Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Weijia.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Thanks, John. I have a follow-up on M.J’s question because I didn’t hear an answer about the potential suspension of aid. I know that you’ve repeatedly said that you’ve talked to the Israelis, that the U.S. talks to them every day about minimizing civilian casualties. But do those talks include laying out any consequences if they do not, including a suspension of aid?

MR. KIRBY: I’m not going to get into private diplomatic conversations that we’re having with our Israeli counterparts.

I will tell you this: We’re going to continue to make sure that they have the tools and the capabilities that they need to defend themselves against what clearly was an existential threat to their society and to their people.

We’re going to continue to make sure they have what they need. We’re also going to continue to urge them to be as careful and deliberate and discriminant in the targeting as possible.

Q: But Jake Sullivan, Finer, you have all said that anytime the U.S. transfers weapons to another country, it requires assurances that those weapons will be used within the accordance of law.

MR. KIRBY: That’s right.

Q: So, just to be very clear —

MR. KIRBY: That’s right.

Q: — the U.S. does —

MR. KIRBY: That’s different than —

Q: — not believe —

MR. KIRBY: That’s different than what you’re suggesting in your question, which is that we’re going to layer on more restrictions on the security assistance that they’re getting. And that’s not what I’m — that’s not what I’m alluding to.

Q: Right. No, but I’m asking about —

MR. KIRBY: — or we’re not talking about that.

Q: — the — the transfer of weapons that have already happened.

Just to be clear, the U.S. has not determined that Israel has violated any of those boundaries?

MR. KIRBY: No.

Q: And one more point of clarification on what the Prime Minister said about playing a security role in – — indefinitely in Gaza. Does the U.S. see a distinction between that and reoccupation, or is it one and the same?

MR. KIRBY: I’ll let the Prime Minister speak to his comments and what he meant by “indefinite.” President Biden has been very clear: We don’t support a reoccupation of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces. We do think that there needs to be a healthy set of conversations about what post-conflict Gaza looks like and what governance looks like. What we absolutely agree with our Israeli counterparts on is what it can’t look like, and it can’t look like it looked on October 6th.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jacqui.

Q: Thank you, Karine, John, on the proxy attacks on U.S. troops, it — we’re now up to 40 since October 17th, with 46 service members being injured or reporting traumatic brain injuries. Does the President think that action that was taken a couple of weeks ago to push back on this was enough?

MR. KIRBY: The President felt like those two legitimate targets directly tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that supports these militia groups, and they were ammo weapons facilities — certainly, legitimate targets that — that we believe not only had a practical effect on limiting some of their capability but sent a strong signal of how seriously we’re going to look after our troops and facilities.

If and when we decide to respond again in the future, we’ll do it at a time and in a manner of our choosing. We will absolutely take the action that we need to take. The President as Commander-in-Chief will order that action to protect our troops and facilities as he sees fit.

Q: Has there been any additional warning from the President since the last time we responded that this needs to stop? Because, clearly, the attacks on our troops didn’t stop.

MR. KIRBY: I will not get into the decision-making process or options before the Commander-in-Chief. I would just tell you that we will continue to take the action we believe is appropriate to protect our troops and our facilities.

Q: And then on the apparent disagreement between the U.S. and its ally, it — to some of the other questions that you’ve already gotten, it — it is notable that we’re seeing the U.S. more readily acknowledge some space between what we’re advising and what Israel is — doing, like Israel appears to be resisting the humanitarian pauses still.

The President, the administration has been calling that for a couple of weeks, saying that we don’t support indefinite occupation. That was the State Department briefing today after Netanyahu said that Israeli forces could be there for an indefinite period of time. And even in the readout from the call with the Prime Minister, the White House readout, you know, used, again, the language “extremist settlers.”

This is somewhat notably different than the kinds of language we were hearing immediately after October 7th. So, can you characterize the closeness of the relationship right now?

MR. KIRBY: It’s extremely close. And — and —

Q: Any distance?

MR. KIRBY: And we’re — as was transmitted by the President in the call with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, we remain solidly behind Israel as they continue to try to eliminate this threat to their people and to their sovereignty, and they’re going to continue to get security assistance from the United States. There’s no daylight there whatsoever.

Now, look, we’re friends. And friends don’t have to agree on every single nuance and every single word.

The Prime Minister speaks for a sovereign nation and for a sovereign people. And he should, obviously, you know, be queried about the points that he’s making. But it doesn’t mean that we’re somehow backing away from our friend and our ally, Israel — the strongest ally we have in the Middle East — or we’re backing off our support for what they’re trying to do to protect their people.

Q: Or Netanyahu, in particular, given the Politico —

MR. KIRBY: No. Not at all.

Q: — reporting from a little while ago that there — that was a point of discussion, whether he’d be —

MR. KIRBY: I – I’m not going to get into, you know, the — the confirming that kind of — those kinds of press reports.

I would just tell you that these are two men that have known each other a long time. And I don’t think it’s any shock to anybody that, on a political spectrum, they’re not exactly always in the same place on every issue.

But one thing they do agree on is that Israel has a right to exist as a country and they have a right and a responsibility to defend the — that country and their citizens against that threat — the threat that was posed to them, like on October 7th. And in the United States, they will continue to find a true friend that will continue to support their ability to do that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Then we’ll go — go ahead, Peter, and then we’ll go to the back.

Q: John, we know about the strikes that took place in northeast Syria a matter of weeks ago. Just to b very clear, have there been any additional U.S. strikes against targets — Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq or in Syria — beyond those?

MR. KIRBY: You mean from the United States?

Q: From the United States.

MR. KIRBY: No.

Q: There have not. So, just to be clear then, there have been at least 17 attacks on bases that house Americans since the last set of strikes. Will you agree that those strikes did not deter these Iranian-backed proxies from continuing their assault on American bases?

MR. KIRBY: I would certainly agree that there have been continued attacks. I would also note that none of them have been effective — and, in many cases, thwarted before they could pose any kind of a direct challenge. And that, again, Peter, we’ll — we’ll make the decisions on our own about —

Q: But to be clear, if you agree that there have —

MR. KIRBY: — how and if we’re going to respond.

Q: But to be clear, if you agree that there have been continued attacks — these 17 — isn’t that evidence alone? Do you agree that that’s evidence along that it has not deterred them from continuing?

MR. KIRBY: It’s — it’s certainly evidence that some of the militia groups still believe there’s value in — in continuing to try to strike at our troops and facilities. And our message to them is: you need to be careful because we’re going to do what we have to do to protect our troops and our facilities.

Q: Let me ask about the situation in Gaza then, if I can, very quickly. In Ukraine, the U.S. out restrictions on how some U.S. put restrictions on how some U.S.-provided munitions could be used. There couldn’t be any targeting in Russia, for example. Hast the U.S. put any restrictions on how Israel can use the U.S.-provided munitions in its war with Hamas in Gaza?

MR. KIRBY: As is keeping — in keeping with U.S. law, we — we provide security assistance to any foreign nation, including Israel, with the expectation — the full expectation that those weapons will be used in keeping with the law of armed conflict. That’s no different here for Israel than it is for anybody else.

And I want to go back to what I said before about the –the message to these groups is: Don’t and stop. These attacks are unacceptable.

Q: Then can I ask — just to — to punctuate the last thought that we were just talking about: To be clear, does the U.S. — and they have to be within the laws of war, then, is our position on this armed conflict. So — so does –

MR. KIRBY: All mat- — all security assistance is governed by the law —

Q: Correct.

MR. KIRBY: — and governed by a requirement that it’s be used in keeping with the laws of armed conflict.

Q: So, acknowledging the wide belief and understanding that Hamas has built tunnels underneath a variety of different locations, including hospitals, is the U.S. comfortable in knowing that — that Israel would or continue to target hospitals in Gaza?

MR. KIRBY: I won’t speak to specific targets, Peter. I think you can understand why I won’t do that.

It’s not a military operation that we’re running or leading. The Israeli Defense Forces are conducting these operations —

Q: So, just as — that means we’re okay with the Israelis making their own decision that could include hospitals, right?

MR. KIRBY: As — as I’ve said before, when you’re fighting in urban warfare, you’ve got to make some tough choices about your targets.

Something could be a completely legal target, but because the civilian casualty cr- –count is too high, you — maybe you don’t do it. Maybe you make a policy decision not to do it. These are the kinds of tough decisions that Israeli commanders are going to have to make for themselves.

We’re going to keep urging them to be as discriminant and careful and cautious as possible.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, April.

Q: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Q: No, I’m sorry. You said —

Q: Oh, I’m sorry.

Q: – you said April.

Q: Okay. Sorry, April.

Q: John, going to the military installations that had these drone attacks. You talk about protections. What are the protections that you can tell us about which are —

MR. KIRBY: I —

Q: Seriously. I mean, because for the United States to have military bases attacked and then military personnel injured —

MR. KIRBY: Yeah.

Q: — is there also a concern that these attacks can spread beyond Syria and Iraq and here and anywhere else in the world?

MR. KIRBY: There’s no indication right now that — that there’s specific threats to specific installations throughout the region.

That said, we do have a sizable force posture in the Middle East Beyond Iraq and Syria. And in the light of what’s been going on in the last month, of course the Defense Department is taking a look at the posture and looking at force protection and making adjustments as necessary, depending on where you live in the region and what the — what the threat level might be. So, I won’t speak for our commanders.

And we never talk about force protection specifically, but we obviously make adjustments as needed.

And then to your first question — again, without getting into too much tactical detail about how we attempts to thwart some of these attacks: There are capabilities that we have that — that permit us to eliminate threats further afield, further away from our bases. And, you know, we — we employ those as — as appropriate.

But that doesn’t mean — and we’ve seen in just the recent weeks that occasionally attack could get through–

Q: Yes.

MR. KIRBY: — and get close to a base or even land on a base.

Q: So, that protection has to be stepped up? Because as you just said, there’s some that have gotten through and this has happened over —

MR. KIRBY: It —

Q: — a three week period over and over.

MR. KIRBY: Yeah, it’s an iterative process, April. We’re constantly looking at the threat streams and constantly trying to adjust force protection measures to deal with it the best we can.

Obviously, in a perfect world, there — you know, we wouldn’t want any attacks on our troops and facilities.

The — the next near-perfect world is that you can eliminate these threats before — you know, (inaudible) you could say, “left of launch” — right? — before they’re launched. And if — if you can’t do that, then as fare away from your people as possible.

It’s called “layered defense” — you know, air and missile defense. And the Defense Department is constantly evaluing — evaluating what — what that looks like.

Q: And last question, on genocide. Let’s go to Africa and the Congo. What is the White House doing — or National Security or State doing about this genocide that’s happening in the DRC?

MR. KIRBY: I — I’ll tell you — well, I’m going to take your question because I don’t have a lot of context for you on that today. I’ll take the question, and we’ll get something back to you.

But, obviously, we’re in close touch with African par- — partners across the continent and mindful of a range of these kinds of security threats. And, certainly, we don’t want to see anybody subjected to — to genocidal intentions or actions by any group.

But I’ll — let me get back to you with more specifics.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Anita.

Q: Thank you so much. I have a Russia question and then an East Asia question. Starting with Russia, the U.S. and NATO criticized Russia for pulling out of the CFE. This is the conventional arms treaty.

MR. KIRBY: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Q: And now the U.S. and NATO are pulling out of the CFE. How do you —

MR. KIRBY: Right.

Q: — square that? How do you justify that?

And is it the intention of the U.S. and NATO to use that space to expand the footprint of conventional arms, perhaps in Ukraine or elsewhere on the European continent?

MR. KIRBY: My goodness, I — I don’t know how we could justify not pulling out of it. And given that the Russians have decided unilaterally to just — just throw it in the trash heap — I mean, the — technically — not technically — they actually did violate it when they invaded Ukraine.

So, it’s disappointing. I wish I could say it was surprising, but it — but it’s not. And they left the United States and our NATO Allies with no choice but to — but to cease our accommodations and — and compliance with the — with the treaty as well.

As for future force posture, I certainly won’t talk about that from this podium. We’ll do what we need to do to make sure we can meet our Article 5 commitments to our NATO Allies. And that — that could require force posture changes, but I’m not prepared to speak to that today.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jon.

Q: So, on —

Q: Go ahead.

Q: –East Asia. Is it okay on East Asia?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.

Q: All right, sorry. Can you just update us and bring us up to speed on this Biden-Xi meeting: when it’s happening, if it’s happening — (laughter) — if the military channel has been reopened? And also, when President Biden meets with President Widodo, is he going to be bringing up the Israel-Hamas conflict and in what context?

MR. KIRBY: No. No. And I don’t know. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jon.

Q: Thanks a lot, Karine. John, the fact that the Israeli Prime Minister is talking about what the security situation would look like in Gaza right now, would that lead you to believe that this conflict is in the end stages in any way?

MR. KIRBY: Again, I — that would really be up to the Israelis to speak to. This is their operation, so I’m not able to give you a date certain of when things are going to be complete.

And Prime Minister Netanyahu has talked about that, you know, he — he forces potentially lengthy operations here to rid themselves of the threat that Hamas poses.

But I think it just makes good sense, no matter how long you think this conflict is going to go on, for people to be thinking about what post-conflict Gaza needs to look like. And it’s just — it’s the prudent, responsible thing to do.

Q: The Prime Minister has also said definitively: No ceasefire unless there is a return of all hostages. Is that a reasonable position that he’s taken?

MR. KIRBY: You’ll have to talk to the Prime Minister. Again, we’re not going to characterize or armchair quarterback everything he’s saying.

We still believe that a general ceasefire is not appropriate at this time. And by “general ceasefire,” we’re talking about everybody laying down their arms, you know, for an indefinite period of time in the anticipation of peace talks and some sort of a negotiated time for that right now.

We do think it is the time to continue to pursue pauses in the fighting of a temporary nature for specific purposes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Akayla. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, John. Does the U.S. have a better sense of how many Palestinians have died in Gaza?

MR. KIRBY: We don’t have an exact figure. We don’t — won’t have the capacity or the capability to provide you an exact figure.

We still don’t believe that taking the Ministry of Health’s numbers at face value is — is wise. But we can’t provide you with an alternative number.

We do know that it is in the many, many thousands. I mean, it’s — there’s no question about that. There have been many thousands killed. And each one is a tragedy. And we grieve and mourn for each one of them.

And we want, again, to stress that no civilians should be hurt. These people are victims too of the fighting. They’re certainly victims of Hamas.

Q: The count of 10,000 people over the weekend — would be confident in that estimation?

MR. KIRBY: Again, I’m not going to get into providing some sort of independent verification of those numbers. We’re not able to — to validate those numbers.

But we are not — not walking away from the idea that many, many thousands of innocent people in Gaza — mostly Palestinians — have been killed, injured, displaced. A million and a half displaced from their homes. And all of that tragedy weighs heavily on the President and all of us here.

Q: And just one more question. My colleagues reported that the President has been briefed on a possible military facility from China in Oman. Are you able to confirm that?

MR. KIRBY: I am not able to confirm the veracity of those reports.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead —

MR. KIRBY: I — I would just say that, from the beginning of this administration, we came into office mindful of the fact that the PRC was trying to expand its influence overseas in various ways: militarily, diplomatically, economically. And we have been working hard, through diplomatic channels and diplomatic means, to — to address the challenge of that influence that they’re trying to expand.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Aurelia.

Q: Thank you so much. John, you said many, many thousands of civilians dead. Do you gave an estimation of the number of Hamas fighters or officials who have been killed?

MR. KIRBY: No.

Q: And another one on the President’s upcoming international trips I’d like to ask. The President has said he intends to go to Africa this year. Is this still the plan?

MR. KIRBY: I don’t have any updates on his travel schedule.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Brian.

Q: Thank you. I – I just want to circle around this — I guess April and Jacqui and Peter kind of touched on it — but circling around back to that — that issue. Is containment working? Because we’ve seen numbers of — of large numbers of — we’ve got — what? – two aircraft carrier groups, nuclear submarine. It would be counterintuitive for some if — with us moving all that in to think that we have it contained. But the idea that not letting it spread — do you feel confident that U.S. military has done that well?

MR. KIRBY: Well, we wouldn’t associate ourselves with the word “containment.” But I think what we’ve been trying to do is send a strong signal, Brian, of deterrence to any other actor in the region, be that a nation state or a terrorist group, that now is not the time to think about widening and escalating — deepening this conflict.

That there have been additional attacks on our troops, that there have been additional rocket launches from southern Lebanon into northern Israel doesn’t necessarily mean that the war is widening and that these other actors have decided to go two feet in, all in, to — to help Hamas out. We — we haven’t seen that happen.

Now, why — I — you have to talk to them about their decision-making process. But we do believe we have sent a strong signal about how seriously we take our national security interests in the region.

You mentioned a couple of carrier strike groups. Got a Ohio-class submarine now that’s in the Central Command area of responsibility. We don’t normally talk about submarines that way. But we felt it was important to lay that out there. We’ve added air and missile defense capabilities to the region, fixed and — fixed-wing fighter aircraft to the region.

I think the President has made it very clear how seriously he takes our interests.

Q: And how — and how would you char- — categorize our diplomatic efforts in that region? W- —

MR. KIRBY: Well, Secretary Blinken just left from yet another whirlwind tour around — around the region, his second in almost as many weeks. And, you know, we’re — we’re — we’ve got officials going in and out of the region all the time. We’re very focused on that. And now we’ve got a brand new ambassador to — to Israel in — in Ja- — Jack Lew.

Q: And do you feel confident in the efforts that have been put forward?

MR. KIRBY: Confident in —

Q: In those efforts that have been put forward with Blinken and — and going forward. Do you feel confident with what’s gone on —

MR. KIRBY: We feel confident that we’re going everything we can to support our ally and partner and to make it clear that we’re going to protect and defend our interests in the Middle East.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. A couple more. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Could you talk about what — what metrics or if the White House does have metrics to — to determine what Israel is accomplishing? You said you don’t know or you can’t — is it that you don’t know or you can’t say how many Hamas leaders have been killed? Do you know — are you — to what extent Israel has destroyed military capabilities of Hamas? What — what are the metrics that the White House is looking at?

MR. KIRBY: We — we can’t independently verify some of these numbers going around on casualties. We’re not on the ground. We don’t have — it’s not like in Iraq and Afghanistan where we had the facility to measure the impact militarily against the outcomes we were trying to achieve.

These are operations being conducted by a sovereign military: the Israeli Defense Forces. And they and only they should be speaking to the outcomes, the results that they’re having. We’re not in the business of — of analyzing and measuring what — what they’re doing in their operation. These are their operations.

Q: So does this White House not then have metrics to — to determine what Israel is accomplishing?

MR. KIRBY: We are not — we are — we are not measuring, analyzing, independently assessing. These are Israeli Defense Force operations. It’s no — you know, not that — I don’t want to make too much of the comparison, but we don’t do that for Ukraine either.

We’re not every day measuring, analyzing, assessing everything that Ukraine is or is not doing on the battlefield. Do we have a sense? Yes. But we let the Ukrainian military speak for what they’re doing.

We – we don’t make it a habit to speak for — for foreign militaries.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Annie.

Q: Thank you. I just want to follow up on my colleague’s question here. If the United States is not analyzing the, sort of, impact on the ground, how can you be confident that the laws of war are not being broken?

MR. KIRBY: When I say “analyzing,” I mean — it’s not like we’re creating a stack of PowerPoint slides every day on every operation that the Israelis are conducting. These are their operations. Now, we’re in constant communication with them. And so, the sense we get from how they’re doing is from our — our communications with them.

But — but we aren’t — I couldn’t, you know —

Q: You don’t know how many civilians —

MR. KIRBY: — produce a —

Q: You don’t know how many —

MR. KIRBY: – produce a set of sheets for it.

Q: — civilians have been killed?

MR. KIRBY: We — we can’t independently verify, to a person, how many have been killed. We know that many, many thousands have been.

Q: Then how in the world would you know? Are you sort of assuming that the — what the Israelis —

MR. KIRBY: We have —

Q: — are telling you —

MR. KIRBY: We have ways of collectif – — collecting information. We — we can talk to humanitarian aid organizations that are on the ground. Certainly, we’re talking to our Israeli counterparts.

It’s not like we don’t have an idea. But I — we don’t have a number that I would feel comfortable giving you from this podium with — you know, with some exactitude. But, of course, we have an idea of what — of what’s going on because now that more humanitarian aid is going in, we have the ability to talk to those aid organizations to get a sense of what they’re seeing on the ground.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Way in the back.

Q: Thank you, Karine. John, Amos Hochstein is in Lebanon today. He — Amos Hochstein is in Lebanon today.

MR. KIRBY: Yeah.

Q: And you met with the former (inaudible) chief, Abbas Ibrahim, who was invited to the White House in 2020 for mediation for the Americans detained in Syria. So, are you seeking a mediation from the Lebanese on the hostages?

MR. KIRBY: I — I don’t have — I don’t have much more to detail about Amos’s agenda. He — he is in the region. He frequency — frequently travels to the region. And — and we certainly look forward to hearing from him, you know, what he’s learning from — from his — from his discussions.

I would just tell you, on the hostages: We’re working on this every day, if not by the hour, to get, certainly, the American hostages out but also to help get released everybody who’s being held hostage by Hamas, and that’ something that the whole team is working on.

Q: And one second question to follow up on Brian’s question. When, yesterday the Prime Mini- — Israeli Prime Minister contradicted what the — what Secretary Blinken said (inaudible). He said that you don’t see Hamas ruling Gaza, you don’t see Israel ruling Gaza.

Also, we saw this public disagreement between Secretary Blinken and two Arab prime ministers in a press conference in Jordan. We’re seeing also the Iranian not deterred and keep on attacking. As to what is the — does this concern you regarding the leverage of the United States in the region?

MR. KIRBY: People say things publicly that they don’t always say privately. And I’ll let foreign leaders speak for themselves and their countries.

American leadership has been key here since the attacks of October 7th. And American leadership — President Biden’s personal involvement — has led to this humanitarian aid getting in. Obviously not enough, but it wasn’t happening before he personally got involved.

It was President Biden’s leadership and this team’s work here at the National Security Council in the White House that helped get American hostages home as well as those two Israeli citizens and that is continuing to work to get our — our citizens out from Rafah crossing, hopefully more today.

We — we have been at the center of — of trying to make sure people in Gaza are getting the aid they need and getting out those who need to get out and can get out as well as making sure that Israel has the capabilities it needs to defend itself.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jake.

Q: Thank you, Karine. And thank you, Admiral. As we sit here, hundreds of rockets are raining down on Israeli cities, and I’m wondering if — if you would know: Is this all from the original stockpile, or are rockets being smuggled in somehow?

MR. KIRBY: I — I couldn’t answer that question. I don’t have the information or the context to be able to answer that.

Q: Okay. You’ll look into it, right?

MR. KIRBY: (Laughs.) I’ll look into it.

Q: Admiral, on Rafah, you’ve said multiple times that family members of Americans will be able to get out. Could you kindly define “family member,” please?

MR. KIRBY: The State Department is probably a better place to go for whether there’s a textbook definition for “family members.” But — but we do know that family members, spouses, children in particular, are able to get out.

Q: The State Department has been in contact with – with some people through congressional offices, and the understanding that my colleagues have from talking to those people who are trapped in Gaza is that “family member” definition is being used very narrow.

For instance, parents of U.S. citizens may — only one parent may accompany a U.S. citizen if they’re under 21. If they are not a minor, then — if the citizen is not a minor, then they can only go out with a spouse, not siblings, not parents.

What — why such a narrow definition of “family”?

MR. KIRBY: I’d have to refer you to the State Department. They’re — they’re the ones that are handling the list of people that are qualified to get out and making sure that they’re keeping them informed.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Ed, last question.

Q: So, on the Iranian proxies, why isn’t the President’s message of “don’t” getting through to them?

MR. KIRBY: You’d have to talk to the — the proxies there. What I would tell you is that they continue to attack American troops and facilities at their own peril. And we will — we will do what we need to do. The President will make decisions on his own terms and in his own way about better protecting those — those troops and facilities. They continue to do this at their own peril.

Q: So, I want to get your take on this. Backing out a little bit, is — do you see — does the President see the new “Axis of Evil”: Russia, Iran, and China?

MR. KIRBY: The President is not slapping bumper stickers on axes of evil. What he’s concerned about is making sure that we can protect and defend our national — our national security interests around the world, and that includes in the Indo-Pacific.

And I don’t want to — Karine will kill me if I stand up here and talk much longer, but I — I mean, there’s a — you and I could have an hour-long discussion about the things this President has done to shore up alliances and partnerships all over the world to look after our national security interests.

We’re not slapping bumper stickers on countries. We know that Russia presents an acute threat, certainly on the European continent. We know that China represents a strategic competing- — competitor challenge in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. And we certainly are not blind to what Iran is doing supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine and supporting these terrorist groups throughout the Middle East.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, Admiral.

MR. KIRBY: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Appreciate it.

MR. KIRBY: That was- — that wasn’t too long, was it? (Laughter.)

Q: Thank you, John.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you. Thank you.

MR. KIRBY: See you, guys.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks Admiral. Appreciate it.

All right, Seung Min.

Q: Thank you, Karine. Leader McConnell said moments ago that he spoke with President Biden yesterday and told the President that the national security supplemental has to have what he called a “credible” border solution to be able to pass the Senate.

First of all, do you ha- — does the White House have any readout of that conversation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have a readout of that conversation. As you know, the President, being — having been vice president and, of course, a senator for 36 years, he has many relationships with folks in Congress. Just don’t have anything to read out. He has a very close working relationship, obviously, with Leader McConnell.

What I will say is I know that — and as you all have reported, the Senate did — the Senate Republicans did push forward a border security legislation. We certainly think that if they are going to be serious, then they should have a serious conversation with us about it.

It is not something that we see it as — that particular legislation they put forward as being all that serious. And we have been very clear, there’s a reason why the President included a supplemental that had border security, right?

And if they are — if they want to have that conversation, you know, we would love to have that conversation on how we can move forward in a real way, or they should just support what the President put forward. And so, we just don’t see anything in their proposal about creating, for example, an earned path to citizenship for DREAMers and others. There are things that are fundamentally missing.

And we want to have a serious conversation, but we need to see something a lot more serious than what they put forward.

Q: Right. So, obviously, the White House doesn’t like that specific proposal yesterday, but is the White House open to any sort of policy changes as it relates to the border? In conjunction with the supplemental, are you only entertaining negotiations on the funding side of the border issues?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as it relates to the border, you’ve heard us say time and time again, our immigration system is broken. It’s been broken for some time now, for decades. And Congress, they have the power to change that. They have the power to put forward a comprehensive piece of legislation, like the President did on his first day in this administration, putting forth a comprehensive immigration legislation. And so, they can address it. Only they can do that.

And so, look, we — that’s — we want to have a serious conversation. We want to be able to talk to Republicans and see how we move forward in a real way. But, you know, we believe that if Congress is serious, they should fund what the President put forward. And that’s how we believe should be moved forw- — how we should move forward on this. But this — they’re not serious. What we saw from Senate Republicans is not a serious piece of legislation to put forward.

Q: Is that sort of serious policy conversation possible in the next two or so weeks?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, I’m not going to negotiate from the podium here.

But what I can say is that the President took this very seriously. When it comes to the broken immigration system, put forth a — a comprehensive piece of legislation to deal with this. He obviously included this in his emergency supplemental — border security. And we’re asking Congress to fund that if they are going to be very serious as it relates to policy changes.

Look, the President already put forth what he believes — how to move forward in fixing a broken immigration system — a system that has — that has been broken under a Democratic president and also a Republican president.

Go ahead, Weijia:

Q: Thanks, Karine. Has President Biden seen the polls from CBS News and New York Times that were out this weekend that show he’s trailing the former President if they were to go against each other in 2024?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, first, let me just be clear: I’m not going to speak to any — anything related to 2024. And I also want to be clear here, like, we hav to really take these polls with a grain of salt, as we should really be very mindful here.

And one of the reasons why is just a year ago — right? — back in 2022, there was the red wave that never materialized, right? And in — back in October of ’22, there were multiple stories about how we were — there was going to be a red wave. Democrats were going to be wiped out. And, you know, we’re not talking about that — what we were seeing back in 20 — in October of 2022.

Look, and – oh, and I’ll take it even further: In 2011 — this time in 2011, we saw — you know, we saw Senator Romney — we saw polls of Senator Romney beating President Obama. And that’s where those polls were.

And so, look, what — our focus, obviously, is going to be doing what the President was elected to do, which is focusing on delivering for the American people.

And, you know, there’s going to be a lot of polls out there. There– until — now until the next couple of months, there’s going to be a lot of — dozens and dozens of polls. It’s not my job — or my job from here to analyze these polls. Obviously there are going to be folks on TV who are going to be doing that. It is a — it’s a whole cottage industry out there when it comes to — when it comes to polling.

So, just not going to get into it. Obviously, we see the reporting, just like you all, obviously, are either reporting it or see the reporting yourselves.

Q: So —

Q: So, President Biden has seen them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh –obviously, we’ve all –here at the White House — has seen — have seeing the polling.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just saying that we have to take them — as a general rule –we should take these polling with a grain of salt.

Q: Thank you. And one more on the poet from Canada, Rupi Kaur. She recently posted that she has rejected the White House’s invitation to the Diwali celebration, adding that she was “surprised” that the “administration finds it acceptable to celebrate Diwali, when their support of current atrocities against Palestinians represent the exact opposite of what this holiday means to many of us.” Do you have a response to her?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I did not — I did not see that reporting. So, not — I can’t really comment to it directly.

What I can say is the President has been very, very, clear on the conflict that we’re, obviously, currently seeing in Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.

And I’m just going to, you know, stick there.

And everybody has their own opinion. We respect folks’ opinion. That is her opinion.

But the President has been very, very clear on — and just like the Admiral said at the beginning of this — of the briefing — how when — one month ago, what we saw — what all of you reported and that atrocities that we saw on that day and 1,400 souls were slaughtered.

And so, the President has been very clear. I just don’t have anything else to add.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Peter.

Q: Karine, can I ask you, there’s been — on social media and, frankly, on news broadcasts — a lot of videos of individuals who have been tearing down signs, many of these taking place in New York City, of Israelis presently being held hostage in Gaza. There have been some tense confrontations that have taken place there. Is the White House’s new that these actions should be condemned, the pulling of — the pulling down of them, or that that’s a form of peaceful protest?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I — I haven’t — I’ve sort of, kind of, seen the reporting here and there. I think it was from last week, right?

Q: There’s been, like, 30 million videos that have gone around it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I know —

Q: So, it’s very widespread.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear you. I hear you. I’m just not going to — we’re not going to —

Q: I guess, is it okay —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to —

Q: Is it okay? Is that peaceful protest to pull that down?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to go into specifics on that particular thing.

What I can say: There are real vi — violent protests and threats that are happening right now, and senior administration officials are — are aware of these reports, which are deeply concerning. And that is something that we’re focused on, right?

Q: So, to be clear, it’s deeply concerning that people would be pulling —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just saying —

Q: — these things down?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — when it — as it relates to — a lot of reporting out there about violent protests and threats, and — and so I can speak to that.

I can speak to how the FBI is tracking an increased volume. I can speak to the frequency of threats that we’re seeing to the Jewish community —

Q: Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — to the Arab American community, to the Muslim communities in the United States since October 7th. That is something I can speak to. And obviously, DOJ and FBI are working with law — local law enforcement on those — on those threats. And, of course, that is deeply concerning to us. And so, that is what we’re going to work on — focusing on that.

Q: I’d be grateful off you’d take the question just to see if there is a position the White House has on that, just for going forward, because it’s created a lot of divide in this country right now —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I’m happy to.

Q: — as to what’s appropriate.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m happy to.

Q: Then, if I can follow quickly on a different form of protest: vandalism that we saw take place outside the White House. Is the President concerned, is the White House concerned that these protesters — in this case, vandals — could get so close to the White House that they could vandalize it, that they could get their hands on the gates outside of the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I would have to refer you to the Secret Service on that and the Park Police for questions about — about the way the prote- — the protest was handled. And so —

Q: Is the President comfortable with the way it was handled?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I would have to tell you to — to refer — I’d refer you to the Secret Service. That is their focus. That is their job. And so, I would refer you there.

Q: Does the President think it’s appropriate for people to put red blood-stained hands on the outside of the White House?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Obviously not. Obviously not.

Go ahead.

Q: Hi. Thanks. Does the President plan – plan to attend the U.N. Climate Summit this year in Dubai?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything on the schedule to read out to you today.

Q: And is there — is the President at all concerned that having set a precedent and gone to the last two U.N. Climate Summits that if he doesn’t attend this year, it will send —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I don’t —

Q: — a signal that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — I don’t have anything to share, so I don’t —

Q: — it’s not a priority right now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m can’t — I can’t answer that question. We don’t have anything to share about the President’s schedule for the rest of the year, as it relates to any foreign travel.

Go ahead, M.J.

Q: Karine, a potential government shutdown is now 10 days away. It seems like we’re hearing far less from the White House this time around just about how potentially painful that could be for the economy, for the country if there were to be a shutdown than the last time around when we were this close to the deadline. Is there just more optimism this time around that that can be averted?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would say, M.J., there’s just a lot going on, as you know, in the past month, right? As you all have — we all – you know, we had my NSC colleague here take about 45 minutes of — of questions on what’s been happening this past month. So, there’s been a lot going on, right?

The President has to do multiple things at once, and that’s what he’s doing.

As it relates to a potential shutdown, the CR — look, House Republicans have — have work to do, right? It is their jobs and their — and they have to stick to their promise and — and honor their word to avoid a shutdown. Period. It is their job to avoid that. We cannot be dealing with political games or brinksmanship.

Obviously, all of the concerns that we had leading up to the last potential shutdown still is a concerns of ours, right? There are programs — vital programs that Americans need, and they should be able to con- — we should be able to continue providing those programs.

It would not — it would not be beneficial to our — our economy, obviously, if this were to occur. It would hurt our economy. It would hurt our national security and — if a shutdown occurs. And it would have extreme cuts to law enforcement, as well as our public health, and education — all of the things that we’ve talked about, that still exist.

And so, Republicans in the House has — have a job to do, and they need to get the job done on behalf of the American people. That has not changed.

Q: Is there a little more optimism this time around than —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I — I’m not going to get into — into the level of optimism. Obviously, the President is an optimistic person, right? You’ve heard him say that many times.

But we believe it is their job to get this done. That has not changed. House Republicans have to get this done. This is a job that Congress needs to do. There are vital programs, as I just listed out to you, that need to be funded and continue to get funded that Americans need — American families need. And it would be detrimental to them if there was a shutdown.

And we should not be — we should not be, you know, — you know, a week away from this or two — I know it’s two weeks away, but we should not be looking at this a week from now or, you know — I don’t know — 10 days from now and be talking about a potential shutdown. This is something that they should get done.

Q: And anything you could say about how the White House has been getting to know the new Speaker?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have anything new to share. As you know we — we’ve — we’ve talked about — we’ve laid out some readouts about their con- — initial conversation when he became Speaker. I just don’t have anything else to share beyond that.

We, obviously been work — been — I can say that OMB Director and the Office of Leg Affairs have been close contact with senior leadership, obviously, in Congress, including his office, about the importance of getting the two supplemental emergency funding done, which is obviously the national security and also domestic part of it as well — the importance of getting that done for the American people, and also making sure that they avoid a shutdown.

Those conversations has been going on for — obviously for — as it relates to the supplemental funding, for the past several weeks. As it relates to funding — funding the government, that’s been conversations that we’ve had for months now.

Go ahead, Karen.

Q: Thanks, Karine. On the supplemental funding, the administration is putting some pressure on Congress to immediately approve $11.8 billion in direct budget support for Ukraine. There was a letter sent from the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense and the USAID Administrator. Why separate out that $11.8 billion for Ukraine from the overall Ukraine funding request? Why push for that specifically like this?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I — I don’t want to get into, certainly, legislative negotiations. I’m jut going to be very careful from here.

But we’ve been clear: There’s a lot at stake, as I was just telling M.J. And Congress — we believe that Congress must pass the emergency national security and domes- — and domestic needs, both of them. And that is something that we both very much stand strongly behind.

I’m just not going to get into the specifics of the negotiations that are happening as it relates to the supplemental funding.

Q: So would there be any opening of the door to working with congressional leaders of, like, breaking up certain things that the administration would prioritize of that $106 billion more than others, like taking something like this and saying, “Get this done more quickly”?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I’m just not going to get into any negotiations from here.

What I have — what I will continue to say is that both the national security — supplementals for our national security and domestic — there’s a lot at stake. We need to get there’s — that done. We’ve been very, very clear about that.

I’m just not going to get into specifics from here.

Go ahead — let me call on somebody else. Colleen [Courtney], do you have — go ahead.

Oh, sorry. Yeah. yeah. No yeah. I don’t know if you had a question.

Q: Oh, sorry. I was like — sorry. (Laughter.)

Q: We wondered.

Q: So embarrassing.

Q: I’ve got a question, Karine.

Q: Hi, hi.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Behind you afterwards.

Q: Can you provide a readout — Ambassador Jack Lew, who was confirmed last week — can you provide a readout? Has he arrived in Israel? What his first few days have been like on the job?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s a good question. I have not talked to NSC or — or the State Department about — about his last couple of days. Happy to check in with them to see what — what — what his last couple of days have been — been like.

But obviously, there’s a lot going on in the region. And so, he’s been, certainly, very focused on — on what’s going on, the negotiations on the ground, the conversation — the diplomatic conversations, certainly with — with the counterparts on the grounds.

But I don’t have anything specific on what his day-by-day has looked like.

Q: And Seung Min asked about the immigration proposals, whether you were willing to negotiate on policy or funding. It sounded to me like you were saying funding. Is that accurate?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we put — yeah. What I’m saying is that in the n- — in our national security — right? — supplemental, which is — our national — which is emergency funding, there is border security there. We think they should fund it. We think they should pass that.

So, if they are very — if they are serious about moving forward in — in dealing with a broken immigration system, what’s going on at the border, then they should — they should certainly support that. That’s what I’m saying.

Go ahead. Right behind you.

Q: Are you saying that your willing to negotiate one of the proposals that came from Senate Republicans —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, we — no, I —

Q: — (inaudible) asylum?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — was very clear. We — we don’t — we don’t think that’s very serious. We don’t think that’s serious at all.

Q: Any of that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, we do not.

Q: Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: What we’re very clear about is — look, one day one of this — of his administration, the President put forward a comprehensive immigration proposal — a comprehensive immigration proposal. And so, we’re happy to have conversations as it relates to what the President put forward. But what we saw from Senate Republicans is not serious.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Right behind you.

Q: Yeah. Karine, are you all aware of or concerned about these voting machine problems that have been reported in Northampton, Pennsylvania?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I don’t have anything for you on that.

Obviously, we’ve been very clear about the importance of — and I want to be careful because, obviously, this is an upcoming election — but we’ve been very clear about the importance of people having their right to vote and the freedom to vote, obviously. And so, I’m just going to leave that there.

Trying to c- –call on people I haven’t called yet. Go ahead, sir. Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. So, on the — on the previous question about the letter by Secretary Blinken and Austin and Yellen. Does that mean that you are concerned that this, you know, might be — this economic aid for Ukraine might be in question, might be doubtful? And the letter states that — basically, that if Ukraine doesn’t get aid, it will lose; it won’t be able to defend itself. Is that the stakes, in your — in your observation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we’ve been very clear the importance of Ukraine getting that funding. We’ve been very clear about the importance of — of the brave people of Ukraine who have been fighting this — this war, this aggression from Russia, you know, coming up on two years now and how they need our assistance, and how they need to make sure that they’re continuing to get that security assistance from the U.S.

And not just us — from our allies and partners, too, across the globe, right? Which is something that — it’s been more than 50 countries that the President has been able to bring together to support the needs of Ukraine. And so, that needs to continue. This is about fighting their — for their democracy.

So, we’re — we have seen bipartisan support – right? — bipartisan support for that funding. Not just for Ukraine but also the funding for Israel.

And so, we’ve seen — we — I — just last week, I called out a couple of quotes from Republicans in both the House and the Senate who have said that they believe — they — they believe in supporting in a bipartisan way and getting that national security supplemental done, especially for — obviously for Ukraine and Israel.

And so, look, that’s what we believe. That’s what we want to see. We think it’s important for Ukraine to continue to get that funding.

Q: But do you feel it’s threatened, this ec- — this particular piece, the economic —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, what I will say is there’s bipartisan support for it. That’s what I would say. And I think it’s an important piece, right? That is an — an important piece that we’ve heard from senators — Republican senators. We’ve heard from House Republicans, saying that they are — they are behind this additional request that we’ve made.

And so, there’s bipartisan support. So I think that’s important to note too.

AIDE: Karine, maybe one more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Go ahead. I haven’t called on you. Go ahead.

Q: Can you give us any preview about what’s on tap for tomorrow?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any preview for you at this time. But certainly, we will have more to share later today.

All right. Thanks, everybody. See you tomorrow.

Q: Thank you, Karine.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

---

November, 2023:

November 9, 2023: The White House Posted: Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure | Joint Base Andrews, MD

Q: Mr. President, why the delay in getting hostages out?

THE PRESIDENT: We’re hopeful. Things are moving along.

Q: Did you ask for a three-day pause to Netanyahu?

THE PRESIDENT: You know I’ve been asking for a pause for – for a lot more than three days (inaudible.)

Q: Did you ask him to pause for three days to get the hostages out for that length of time?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I’ve ask- — asked for even a longer pause for some of them.

Q: Mr. President, we’re eight days from a shutdown – the shutdown – government shutdown. Just eight days. Can you give us an update on what you’re thinking on how to – to move past that?

THE PRESIDENT: I wish the – the House would just get to work. I’m not being facetious. I mean, this is not a political statement. The idea we’re playing games with a shutdown at this moment is just bizarre. And I think that we ought to be able to combine Ukraine and Israel. We ought to be able – and I’m open to discussions on the border, and I’ve already made some proposals. But there’s just no need for any of this.

Q: Will you be bringing up an endorsement, Mr. President, with Shawn Fain?

THE PRESIDENT: Pardon me?

Q: Will you be bringing up the issue of an endorsement with Shawn Fain when you meet him?

THE PRESIDENT: Will I bring up the endorsement?

Q: The issue of an endorsement. He has a – the UAW hasn’t endorsed you yet.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no. They’re going to be fine.

Q: Mr. President, were you frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu that he has not listened to some of the things you have asked him to do?

THE PRESIDENT: It’s taking a little longer than I hoped.

Q: They’re taking a little bit longer?

Q: Do you support the UAW’s efforts to unionize Tesla and Toyota, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

Thank you.

November 9, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton En Route Belvidere, IL“

MS. DALTON: Good af- — good afternoon, everyone. As you know, we are en route to Belvidere, Illinois, where the President will mark the reopening of the Belvidere Assembly Plant, a plant that Stellantis closed indefinitely in March of 2023.

Under President Biden, the plant is reopening, bringing back more than all of the — more than all of the 1,200 jobs lost and at higher wages. And Stellantis is investing in new multibillion-dollar battery manufacturing, which will add over 1,000 more UAW jobs.

Stellantis is also locating a parts distribution center in Belvidere in 2024.

President Biden will celebrate the labor movement and the fights it has led to increase middle-class wages, ensure record corporate profits mean record wages for workers, and build our economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

The reopening is a key result of the historic contract between the UAW and the Big Three. And it’s the latest example of the President’s economic agenda facilitating wins for workers and communities across the country.

This reopening will create thousands of jobs — rehiring and retooling for EV and EV battery manu- — battery jobs in the same communities where auto jobs have created good-paying union jobs for decades.

Thanks to the contract the UAW negotiated, UAW autoworkers will get more wage increases in four and a half years than they did over the past 22 years combined.

President Biden will be joined today by UAW President Shawn Fain, Governor Pritzker, Acting Labor Secretary Su, White House Senior Advisor Gene Sperling, UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen, and Representatives Foster and Sorenson are on the plane with us as well today.

Speaking of collective — effective collective barga- — bargaining, this morning, the President applauded SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for working together in good faith towards an agreement that allows our entertainment industry to continue telling the stories of America.

Over the last three years, workers have won historic victories that ensure record pay, record benefits, and an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up.

SAG-AFTRA members will have the final say on this contract. But President Biden believes the sacrifices they’ve made will ensure a better future for them, for their families, and for workers who deserve a fair share of the value they helped create. Welcome news.

(Representative Foster walks past the press cabin of Air Force One.)

Uh – little congressional cameo there.

As you know, we are also about a week out from an extreme Republican shutdown. Just 40 days ago, extreme House Republicans marched us to the brink of a damaging government shutdown, then they shut down Congress for three weeks because they couldn’t decide who should lead them.

Rather than addressing our urgent needs at home and abroad, House Republicans are now wasting time on radical bills that make extreme cuts to Meals on Wheels and WIC, food and water safety, education, law enforcement, and more.

These partisan bills break the bipartisan agreement that two thirds of the House of Representatives voted for and that they can’t — now they can’t even pass them in the House.

The clock is ticking. We’re just eight days from a shutdown that would undermine our economy and national security, hurting families and businesses across our country in the process.

This is unacceptable. House Republicans should stop playing political games and follow the lead of the Senate by getting to work on bipartisan bills that deliver for the American people – do their jobs to prevent a shutdown.

Finally, yesterday, President Biden directed the U.S. military to carry out a self-defense airstrike in eastern Syria against a facility used by the Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.

The precision strike was conducted in response to recent attacks that were directed by the IRGC and affiliated groups against U.S. and Coalition bases in Iraq and Syria.

We took this strike to disrupt and degrade the freedom of action and capabilities of these groups directly responsible for attacking U.S. forces who are in Iraq and Syria as part of our mission to defeat ISIS. We’re making it clear that these attacks are unacceptable and cannot continue.

President Biden and the United States government are fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. And we want to be clear that we continue to urge against any escalation.

Q: Thanks, Olivia. Two subjects for questions. First, Secretary Blinken suggested a unity government of some kind under the Palestinian Authority for the West Bank and Gaza. Why would the people in Gaza want that? What — how would that work?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, I think, you know, you heard Secretary Blinken yesterday talk about the fact that in the — you know, in the future, the Palestinians deserve — deserve self-determination. They deserve a say in what their future government looks like.

And obviously, we know that the Palestinian Authority is the authority in the West Bank. And we would certainly expect to see them play some sort of role in the — in the future here.

Q: And then, secondly, with regard to the supplemental, I just wanted to clarify: Would President Biden sign a supplemental with funding for Israel with no funding for Ukraine, or does he want there to be funding for Israel and Ukraine in anything he signs together as a combo?

MS. DALTON: Look, it’s really hard to get into — too deep into hypotheticals when we haven’t seen a bill yet. But I think we’ve left no ambiguity about our position here, which is that we want to see — we want to see Congress move forward on fundamental critical priorities.

It is critical to America’s national security that Congress support Israel and Ukraine in their fight against terrorism and tyranny. And we’ve got to help millions of innocent civilians by Putin’s war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

So, what we have said was: We will not accept a standalone Israel-only bill that abandons Ukraine, fails to stand up to Putin and his brutal aggression, and doesn’t provide urgent humanitarian assistance.

We proposed all of those pieces in our supplemental because each of those is crucial to our national security.

Q: And a follow- — a follow-up on that. The President told us on the tarmac that he’s open to discussions about the border. Has he entertained any members of Congress to talk about that lately, or —

MS. DALTON: So —

Q: — has he reached out to them?

MS. DALTON: So, look – so, what we’ve said about this is President Biden has supported comprehensive immigration reform since day one. That’s why, you know, he put comprehensive immigration reform forward on his first day in office.

And if Republicans want to have a serious conversation about reforms that will improve our immigration system, we are open to that discussion, as the President just said a few moments ago.

What we — we disagree with is many of the policies contained in the Senate Republican border proposal they put forward. And further, we don’t want to see anything in that proposal about creating an earned path to citizenship for DREAMers and others.

And so, we believe that Congress should fund the President’s supplemental request to secure the border now.

But, you know, the President just said a few moments ago, he’s open to serious discussions on border security. Nothing to preview specifically there, though.

Q: Couple of questions on the UAW, Olivia. I just asked the President about a UAW endorsement and whether he will be bringing that up with Shawn Fain. He said they will be “fine.” Does that mean he thinks an endorsement is inevitable at this point?

MS. DALTON: Well, as you know, this is an official White House event, so I’m bound by the Hatch Act not to talk about 2024 political events from here.

What I can just say is that the UAW — the President is proud to have joined the UAW workers on the picket line in Belleville, Michigan, just recently. And he looks forward to joining UAW President Shawn Fain on this visit.

And he’s also really proud of the agenda that he’s delivered, the fact that he has helped support new investment in our workers and communities, inclu- — including the opening of the Belvidere Plant that we’re o- — we’re going to be visiting today.

Q: And then, a quick one. You know, I also asked him about the UAW’s plans to now unionize Tesla and Toyota workers. And he said he “absolutely” supports that. Does that mean the administration plans to offer any resources to the UAW for such unionization efforts?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, I think — without speaking to this specifically, what I would — I would just make two points. One is that the administration is very freq- — frequently in touch with the parties as these kinds of labor issues go on. I would also just point out that the UAW’s agreement – the tentative agreement they have in place with the Big Three had consequences far beyond the – the Big Three. And we already saw that, last week, Toyota announced wage increases for workers in their plants.

So, you know, more to come on that.

Q: Are Iranian proxy groups getting the message after another retaliatory strike? They didn’t stop after the first one. What makes the administration think this one will be effective?

MS. DALTON: Well, they certainly should get the message. We’ve launched strikes on October 26th. We followed through with another precision strike last night on a warehouse in eastern Syria.

And the takeaway from that is that the President is not going to back down when it comes to protecting our troops, protecting our interests in the re- — region.

He won’t — I’m not going to telegraph anything going forward. But he’s been pretty clear that he will be swift and deliberate and decisive in going forward if he sees a need for use to confront additional threats, and we’re not going to tolerate attacks on our troops.

Q: And any more detail you can provide on the four-hour humanitarian pauses that Kirby had mentioned earlier?

MS. DALTON: Yeah, I mean, I think — you know, I think John did a pretty detailed laydown of this earlier. And I would refer you to the IDF for how they plan to implement and operationalize this.

But broad strokes, as we understand it, they’re going to move forward with daily four hours in pauses in the north with three hours of notification in advance. This should hopefully give some room for pe- — civilians — innocent civilians to move out of places where there’s heavy fighting going on, heavy hostilities going on; be able to access the two humanitarian corr- — corridors we also announced this morning; and to move to places that are safer.

We also, in conjunction with that, are continuing to work on stepping up and accelerating the flow of humanitarian aid in from the south to meet these people as they come through those humanitarian corridors.

We were pleased to see that 106 trucks got through yesterday. Now I think we’re over 750 trucks total to date. And obviously, we want to see all of that good work continue. It’s a significant and good step today.

Q: Has Israel announced it officially yet – since we don’t have Internet or Wi-Fi? (Laughs.)

MS. DALTON: I – I can’t speak to that. I actually haven’t seen, myself, but I know that we’ve heard directly from the Israelis that this is (inaudible).

Q: Olivia, when asked on the tarmac whether the President was frustrated with Netanyahu, he said that it’s taking a little bit longer than he hoped. Was he referring to something specific, whether the — the hostage release or the humanitarian pauses? Do you have any context there of what he’s hoping would have happened faster than — than it has?

MS. DALTON: You know, I – far be it from me to go beyond the President. But I’m happy to take that and get back to you.

My assumption that — was that you were — You know, I think your question was a follow-on to the question about humanitarian pauses that was — that he was answering, so –

But I will get clarity on that.

Q: Olivia, on the — the President also said that — when asked about the three-day pause for hostages, he said he asked for “a lot” longer. Can you tell us how much longer he asked for?

MS. DALTON: Far be it from me to go beyond what the President just shared. It’s obviously more than we have shared about the details of those private conversations. So, I’m just not going to go any further at this moment.

Q: Can you give us any details on what the President learned yesterday during his meeting with senators who traveled to Israel, Saudi, and Egypt?

MS. DALTON: So, last night, the President had a good, productive meeting with members — Senators Graham, Cardin, who led that CODEL of senators to Israel, to Saudi Arabia, and to Egypt. They had a conversation about the latest on the situation on the ground in Israel and Gaza.

I can also tell you that the President raised at the end with this group the importance of continuing to fund — provide funding to Ukraine and to make sure that they have everything they need to meet their battlefield needs in the fate of — in the face of Russia’s brutal aggression and to meet the humanitarian needs on the ground there.

So, just wanted to add that he had, you know, also raised that in the context of last night’s discussion.

Q: There’s been suspicious white powder sent to election offices in Washington State. Is the White House tracking that at all or paying attention?

MS. DALTON: This is the first time I’m hearing of it, but that doesn’t mean that our folks are not tracking this. But I would refer you —

Q: Is that something you could circle back with?

MS. DALTON: I’m happy to take the question and follow up.

Q: Olivia, a group of Senate Democrats have sent the White House a letter asking for assurances on the steps Israel is taking to mitigate civilian casualties. They want transparency around the weapons they’re being asked to approve. Is that something the White House is willing to entertain?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, the — what I’ll say is the White House, the President, National Security Advisor, Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, members of this administration have continued to have very direct conversations about — with Israeli counterparts at every level to discuss very directly the importance of minimizing civilian casualties and the expectation that are our arms are provi– you know, with the — on the expectation that recipients will comply with international humanitarian law and the rules of war, so – and the laws of war.

So, that is something that we’ve communicated at all levels very directly, and we’ll continue to do so.

Q: Olivia, two quick questions. One, did the President watch the Republican last night – do you know?

MS. DALTON: I know that this meeting with the – you know, the senators who came over ran into the evening. I know he was in the Oval Office until after 9:00 p.m. last night. So, I don’t know if he was able to catch any of it after he finished working.

Happy to find out more, but he was in the — in the Oval Office working pretty late last night.

Q: And then on the decision for the FBI headquarters to move to Greenbelt, Maryland. Can you discuss anything about the President’s involvement in that decision?

MS. DALTON: This was. GSA-led process. The GSA worked to implement their best practices around their site selection process. They also implemented the — you know, came to a final decision based on site selection criteria that — that was in place in consultation between GSA and FBI from the outside with input — outset with input from outside stakeholders.

I can tell you it was a fair and transparent process. The Greenbelt location was determined after reviewing that the loca- — the 61 acres in Greenbelt is both the lowers cost to taxpayers, most transportation options for FBI workers, and we had the most assurances about the expeditiousness with which the project could get underway.

So, a lot of criteria there. For anything further, though, I would refer you to the GSA, which has really been leading the process.

Q: Anything you could say about reports of resumption of military-to-military communication between the U.S. and China?

MS. DALTON: I don’t have anything for you on that right now. Happy to take it, though.

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about Ambassador Jack Lew’s first week, ho- — his role in all these talks, you know, just anything about what’s been going on with the ambassador since he’s been confirmed and sworn in?

MS. DALTON: It’s — I’m sure it’s been a busy first week. I don’t have a — you know, a rundown of everything he’s done this past week. But, I’m also happy to take that and circle back with you.

Q: Anything you can say about the disconnect between the President.s approval ratings and the victories Democrats had earlier this week?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, polls don’t matter; elections matter. You know, and now we’ve seen three resounding outcomes — in 2020, in 2022, and in 2023 — that voters have overwhelmingly marched to the polls, rejected extreme policies that, you know, roll back women’s fundamental reproductive rights; that, you know, sell — sell out middle class Americans to rig the system for the wealthy; and, you know, threaten to cut things like Social Security and Medicare.

Instead, reporter- — voter — not reporters; you guys are a different crew – voters have repeatedly embraced the President’s policies, which put middle-class Americans first and end generations of trickle-down economics that didn’t deliver for the American people.

Just two nights ago, we saw, yet again, evidence that the American people are embracing the President’s policies, are embracing the progress we’re making, and their rejecti- — rejecting the sort of politics of hate and division and fear that we’re continuing to see from Republican lawmakers — continuing to reject these calls for extreme national abortion bans, for cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and the kind of doubling down that we’ve continued to see despite what overwhelmingly Americans have said that they want.

Q: Just a housekeeping question. I see we have a guest stenographer. Will there still be transcripts from —

MS. DALTON: Yes.

Q: — this trip?

MS. DALTON: Yes.

Q: Okay.

MS. DALTON: Okay. Thanks, everybody.

Q: Thank you.

November 11, 2023: The White House posted: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Extreme Republican Shutdown Proposal

This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns – full stop. With just days left before an Extreme Republican Shutdown – and after shutting down Congress for three weeks after they ousted their own leader – House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties. An Extreme Republican Shutdown would put critical national security and domestic priorities at risk, including by forcing service members to work without pay. This comes just days after House Republicans were forced to pull two of their own extreme appropriations bills from the floor – further deepening their dysfunction. House Republicans need to stop wasting time on their own political divisions, do their jobs, and work in a bipartisan way to prevent a shutdown.

November 13, 2023: The White House posted: “Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden Establishing the First-Ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research”

THE PRESIDENT: Well, folks, I’m going to be signing a presidential memorandum in just a minute here to establish the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

It’s an effort made possible by Jill, who’s been a long champion of women’s health, and Jen Klein, Dr. Mazure, Maria Shriver, and others.

Because the fact is that it requires all of government – not just NIH, but HHS, the VA, the Defense Department, and every agency in the government having anything to do with health – it requires them to come up with a report to me – for me that lays out what they can do collectively to improve women’s health.

Women make up more than half the population. But for too long, they’ve been underrepresented when it comes to health research and the money spend on that research. That’s going to change today.

So, this – signing this, I’m setting up this group that within 45 days, all the government agencies that have to do with health have to report on exactly what they’re doing now with regard to women’s health and the suggestions they may have on how to deal with it.

So, let me sign now this and make it official, and then yield to Jill.

Well, let – Jill, I’m going to yield to you first.

THE FIRST LADY: Thank you. (Laughter.) I just want to say, Maria, I am so grateful to you for bringing this to our attention. And it’s your leadership that’s really going to make the difference and has made the difference already.

And also, thank you, Carolyn, for, you know, your involvement and your willingness to lead this effort.

And, you know, Maria, after you came a couple of months ago and then I spoke to Joe and – I have to say one of the things I love most about Joe is, you know, you take something to him and he listens. And he did listen to us, and that’s – and it’s resulted in this memorandum.

So, thank you, Joe. I really appreciate this.

THE PRESIDENT: Well – (laughter).

THE FIRST LADY: And women deserve better. And now, we’re going to get it. So, thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t realize how – how much incongruity there was and how imbalanced it was. So, God willing, we’re going to solve that.

All right.

(The presidential memorandum is signed.)

All right. (Applause.) Thank you all very much.

Q: Are you concerned about a shutdown, Mr. President? Are you concerned about a shutdown Mr. President?

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT: With regard to a potential shutdown, I understand that the new Speaker of the House has a proposal that’s being negotiated with the Minority Leader of the House and Senator Schumer and – and the Republican Leader also talking about it.

I don’t know what the outcome is going to be. Apparently, there’s a meeting today a four or five o’clock on the Rules Committee. And we’ll see what happens.

Q: Would you veto the laddered CR?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to make a judgement on what I’d veto or what I’d sign. But let’s wait and see what they come up with.

(Cross-talk.)

THE FIRST LADY: The hospital in Gaza, Kelly was asking.

Q: The hospital in Gaza – have you expressed any specific concerns to Israel on that, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know, I have not been reluctant in expressing my concerns what’s going on. And it is my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital. We’re in contact, and we’re – with – with the Israelis.

Also, there is an effort to take this pause to deal the release of prisoners, and that’s being negotiated as well with- the Qataris and engaged and –

So,I remain somewhat hopeful. But the hospital must be protected.

November 14, 2023: The White House posted: “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan“

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everyone.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I have one thing at the sto- at the top before I turn it over to our guest.

So, I want to start out by noting that this week we celebrate two years since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In that short time, this administration has made historic progress in rebuilding America, from breaking ground on major projects to rebuild our roads and bridges, to delivering clean and — clean and safer – safe water to communities across the nation, to cleaning up legacy pollution, expanding access to high-speed Internet, and building a clean energy community here in the United States that supports good-paying jobs.

So far, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has enabled us to launch 40,000 infrastructure projects and award 4,500 communities across the country.

This historic investment in America has allowed up to — more than 21 million low-income households with access to free or discounted high-speed Internet service through the Affordable Connectivity Program — that’s what it’s been able to provide — those t- — to 21 million low-income households; start improvements on hundreds of thousands of miles of roads and thousands of bridge repairs; helped purchase more than 3,000 clean transit busses, doubling their number on America’s roadways, as well as 2,400 clean school busses; launched 2,300 projects to help communities build resilience to threats such as the impacts of climate change and cyberattacks. And that is not all.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the entirety of the President’s Investing in America agenda has spurred more than $614 billion in additional private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments since President Biden took office — not taxpayer dollars, private sector investments.

That is bolstering the President’s work to create millions of to create millions of good-paying jobs, including a record-high number of jobs in the construction – se- — sector.

That’s exactly what Bidenomics is all about: investing in America and in American workers to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

And with that, we have Jake Sullivan here, our National Security Advisor, to talk through the President’s trip to San Francisco this week and also the bilateral that you all are going to see later today with President Widodo and take any other foreign policy questions that you all may have.

Go ahead, Jake.

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Karine. And thanks, everybody. It’s obviously an extremely busy time, so, I apologize, my opening comments are going to be a little bit longer than usual. But if you bear with me, I’ll be able to answer whatever questions you have.

Today, President Biden kicks off a significant week of high-level diplomacy that will showcase the breadth of America’s strategic and economic engagement in the world and the value we place on deepening our alliances and partnerships.

This afternoon — in fact, very shortly — President Biden will host President Joao Widodo of Indonesia.

On the cusp of celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Indonesia, our two countries will announce the elevation of our bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, a new chapter that will drive innovation and prosperity and cooperation for both of our countries.

President Biden and President Widodo will have the opportunity to discuss a range of key issues, including the clean energy transition, critical minerals, and deepening our security and defense corporation.

On Wednesday, as you have heard, President Biden and President Xi will meet in the Bay Area for a summit. We anticipate that the leaders will discuss some of the most fundamental elements of the U.S.-PRC bilateral relationship, including the continued importance of strengthening open lines of communication and managing competition responsibly so that it does not veer into conflict.

The way we achieve that is through intense diplomacy. That’s how we clear up misperceptions and avoid surprises. That’s how we work together where and when our interests overlap and deliver on key priorities for the American people.

And that’s why, in recent months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Director Wang Yi three times. And it’s why our Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce all went to Beijing. It’s also why China, for its part, sent its Vice President, it’s Foreign Minister, and other senior officials here to the United States in recent months.

President Biden comes into this summit on a solid footing, given the ways in which he has positioned the United States to be able to compete effectively both at home and around the world.

At home, we’ve had the strongest recovery and lowest inflation of any leading economy. We’ve created 14 million jobs — more jobs in two years than any president in a four-year term. And we’ve had 21 straight months of unemployment under 4 percent for the first time in half a century.

Abroad, President Biden has deepened our alliances and partnerships. In just the last year, he’s hosted the leaders from Japan, the ROK, the Philippines, India, and Australia for bilateral meetings here in Washington.

He formally launched AUKUS. He held a historic trilateral summit with the ROK and Japan at Camp David. He upgraded our relations with Vietnam on a historic trip to Hanoi. And he’s hosted two summits at the White House for Pacific Island Leaders as well as a special US.-ASEAN Summit.

Finally, at President Biden’s direction, we’ve taken important steps to protect our national security. We’ve put in place new rules on outbound investment and updated our export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. And we’ve continued to uphold freedom of navigation in the region by flying, sailing, and operating wherever international law allows.

We’re also looking for specific outcomes from the meeting on November 15th. I won’t get too far ahead of the meeting, and I’ll let the President speak for himself after he has the chance to meet with President Xi. But we believe that there are areas where our interests overlap, like our efforts to combat the illicit fentanyl trade.

There are also areas where we can more effectively manage competition — for example, by reestablishing military-to-military communications.

All in all, we’re looking forward to a productive meeting. President Biden has a long history with President Xi. Their conversations are direct; they’re straightforward. And President Biden believes that there is no substitute for leader-to-leader face-to-face diplomacy to manage this complex relationship between the United States and China.

Of course, this week, President Biden will — this coming week will be doing a lot more than just meeting with President Xi. He’ll be welcoming leaders from across the Asia-Pacific for APEC Economic Leaders’ Week at a moment when the most dynamic economic region in the world is looking to the United States as the leading economy in the world.

While in San Francisco, you’ll see President Biden put forward his economic vision for the region. He will speak about how the United States is the preeminent driver of inclusive, sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and how the Asia-Pacific is critical to growth here at home.

You’ll see the President join leaders from across the region to announce, in record time, clear outcomes on a number of pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

You’ll see him hosting a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment — PGI — event with major CEOs and IPEF governments that will demonstrate how we are identifying new ways of working with the U.S. private sector to drive high standard investment in the Indo-Pacific in infrastructure, in innovation, and in other areas to unlock sustainable long-term growth.

And we’re also hosting an event with major foreign CEOs focused on how President Biden’s economic policies, combined with our strong partnership with Asia-Pacific economies, are driving historic and outsized investments here in the United States in critical and emerging technologies and in other areas and creating good-paying jobs for American workers.

Finally, before I take questions, I want to give a brief update on the Middle East. The United States continues to work round the clock to support efforts to rescue and reunite hostages held by Hamas with their families where they belong. This includes many young children, one of whom is a three-year-old American citizen toddler whose parents were tragically killed by Hamas on October 7th.

This is a top priority for President Biden, for Vice President Harris, for Secretary Blinken, for me personally. We have all spoken with families of U.S. citizens who are being held hostage by Hamas and have raised this issue with all of our counterparts. This remains a paramount priority for us.

Just yesterday, President Biden spoke with the Emir of Qatar to discuss the important negotiations ongoing to try and secure the release of the hostages being held by Hamas. And later today, here at the White House, I’ll be meeting with some of the families of the Americans who are currently being held.

The United States has also been leading efforts to increase the flow of lifesaving, sustained humanitarian assistance – food, water, medicine — into Gaza. While we’ve made some progress, much more is urgently needed to alleviate suffering among the civilian population in Gaza.

We’re glad to see Israel take an important step in this direction last week. And we remain in active discussions with the Israel government about the importance of tactical humanitarian pauses in the fighting, to permit civilians to depart areas of active hostilities, to increase the flow of aid, and to enable hostage releases.

We continue to have discussions at all levels, including President Biden with Prime Minister Netanyahu, to urge Israel to continue taking every possible measure to protect civilians. The loss of a single innocent life is a tragedy, whether it’s a Palestinian civilian, an Israeli civilian, or anyone else. And we grieve for every innocent who is lost.

At the same time, we will continue to stand behind the proposition that Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. And with Hamas, as I’ve said, you’re dealing with an organization that has come out publicly since October 7th and that it intends to commit another October 7th and another one and another one until Israel no longer exists.

You have a leading spokesman from Hamas saying that the objective of the organization is a permanent state of war with Israel. That is the reality that Israel is confronting, and it’s a reality that would be unacceptable for any nation.

And with that, I will be happy to take your questions.

Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. You said yesterday and the President said just now in the Oval Office that hospitals in Gaza need to be protected. Do you believe that the Israelis have received that message, and have they had any response?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, first, what the President has just said and what I’ve said is that we do not want to see firefights in hospitals. We want to see patients protected; we want to see hospitals protected.

We have spoken with the Israeli government about this, and they have said they share this view — that they do not want to see firefights in hospitals. And you’ve heard from IDF spokespeople stating things along those lines.

The Israel government has also told us that they are prepared to provide fuel to hospitals to ensure that they can continue to operate and that, for certain hospitals, they actually have not been able to be in communication with the people who are actually running the hospitals. So, that’s something we will continue to work on.

But, the position of the United States on this matter is clear: Hospitals should be protected. Hospitals should be able to run effectively so that medical care should be — can be given to patients.

And finally, to the extent people need to be evacuated from one hospital to another hospital in order to ensure the continuation of care, evacuation routes have to be safe. And the Israeli government has told us as recently as today that there are and will continue to be evacuation routes for people leaving hospital compounds.

So, these are positions that are straightforward. They are clear. We have a constructive discussion with the Israeli government on this. And I believe that they have indicated they hold similar positions on these issues.

Now, as for what happens on the ground, you know, in a given hour on a given day, we can’t react to every individual report. We can simply continue to state our position and continue to consult with the Israeli government to ensure that they are doing their best to fulfill their stated position on this.

Yeah.

Q: And then, more broadly, the U.S. is now focused on two wars – one in the Middle East, and one in Ukraine. What would it mean for this government and, in particular, foreign policy and the military if there were to be a government shutdown come Friday night?

MR. SULLIVAN: This would be a devastating blow, first of all, to our service members at a very human level because it would have an impact on the ability of our troops to — and their families to get all of the benefits and services that they deserve for the service they are performing for our country.

Second, it would send a signal to the world that the United States cannot pull together on a bipartisan basis to sustain government funding and to show a united face to the world at a moment where you see this turbulence around the world.

So, we will do everything in our power to support Congress coming together around a measure that will fund the government and not have a shutdown occur at the end of this week.

Yeah.

Q: Jake, what — the President also said there’s an effort to use the pause to deal with the release of prisoners, and it’s being negotiated with Qatar. Could you amplify on that a little bit?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes. There have been ongoing discussions with the government of Qatar. And, in fact, President Biden, as I mentioned in my opening statement, spoke by telephone with the Emir of Qatar yesterday.

Qatar has been talking to Hamas. Israel has been talking to Qatar. The United States has been talking to both Israel and Qatar in an effort to try and move forward these negotiations to a point where hostages can be released and reunited with their families.

We’re not there yet. But we are continuing to try and make progress on that day by day, hour by hour. And as I said before, the President has no higher priority, which is why he is personally engaged on this issue.

Q: And secondly, on the trip itself, what does the President plan to tell President Xi in terms of getting Iran to rein in its proxy attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, from our perspective, the PRC should share the interest of every responsible country that de-escalation rather than escalation in the broad- — broader Middle East should be the order of the day.

So, President Biden will make the point to President Xi that Iran acting in an escalatory, destabilizing way that undermines stability across the broader Middle East is not in the interests of – of the PRC or any other responsible country.

Yeah.

Q: Hey, Jake. Yesterday, you alluded to Israeli Intelligence. Does the U.S. have any independent intelligence that Hamas has military facilities, a bunker under (inaudible) Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, what I said yesterday is that I’m not in a position to comment on intelligence matters — American intelligence matters. I can’t divulge that to you.

What I can tell you is that we see plenty of open-source reporting about Hamas’s use of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure to store weapons, to house fighters, to engage in — in forms of command and control.

But beyond that, I’m not in a position to speak specifically to a report about a specific hospital or a specific bunker.

Q: And so, when the President says that hospitals must be protected, what does the President — what does the United States want to see done with Al-Shifa Hospital, in particular, and the Hamas facilities that you now point to open-source intelligence saying lie under it?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, your question points up the complexity of this conflict and the added burden that Israel is facing as it goes against murderous terrorists who continue to say their goal is the absolute destruction of the State of Israel.

You’re dealing with a terrorist organization, Hamas, that takes civilian hostages, including little children; that uses civilians as human shields; that uses civilian infrastructure, even hospitals, in the most cynical way possible — that is, as fighting positions, as military operation centers.

And so, Israel has to confront that while, at the same time, not wanting to go assaulting hospitals in firefights that could put innocent people who are getting lifesaving medical case in the crossfire.

So, there are not easy answers to this question. But this is the complexity, this is the burden the Israeli Defense Forces are facing as they conduct their operations.

And our position is that Israel has the right to go after Hamas, but it does face this added burden. And that burden does not lessen its responsibility to act according to the laws of war.

And so, how that plays out in a particular operational dynamic — this tunnel or that bunker — ultimately, those decisions lie within the military fighting. The United States can’t dictate that. But we will continue to stand for the principle that the laws of war must be respected even as Israel goes after Hamas and the tools and infrastructure of its terrorism.

Yeah.

Q: Do you have any proof of life on hostages, especially the Americans? In the negotiations that have been going on, has there been anything that could reassure the negotiators, the President, and you that the hostages remain alive and potentially could be rescued?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, we have been very transparent about the fact that we have limited visibility into both the whereabouts of the hostages within Gaza and their condition.

And — and I said as recently as yesterday that we have nine missing Americans, one missing green card holder, and I cannot look you in the eye and tell you how many of those hostages are still alive.

We do have information — and I’ll be careful about how I characterize that — about some of the hostages and — and a notion that there are a substantial number of hostages who are not just alive, but who could potentially be part of a hostage release.

But I couldn’t give you a number of exactly how many Americans would be included in that. That’s something that we will have to work through as we continue these negotiations.

And, of course, we won’t know for certain until we — we actually get the release of those hostages and they’re safely returned to their families. So, that’s something we’re going to continue to work on.

Yeah.

Q: Thanks. I wanted to ask you about the House spending proposal. It does not include money for national security priorities that the administration has: Israel, Ukraine. Particularly Ukraine, what are the next steps for getting funding if — if the spending proposal is not an option?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I will leave it to Karine to kind of talk about the congressional dynamics and particular measures that have been put forward in the House.

What I will say is that the — the President — the Biden administration put forward a funding request for Israel, for Ukraine, for the Indo-Pacific, and for the border. We detailed exactly what we needed, including for Ukraine, and we still need that and we need it as soon as we can get it. And we are working actively with both the House and the Senate, both Republicans and Democrats to secure the votes and to get the vote to get that funding.

And I will continue to remain confident that while this has been a winding road since we began the effort to secure additional funding for Ukraine, that there is a strong bipartisan majority in both houses to do it and we will ultimately get it done.

How exactly, through what vehicle and what measure — that’s something that I will defer to the legislative experts on. I will only say that we are continuing to make the case actively. I’m on the phone personally daily with members, both Democrats and Republicans, to make the case. And we are leaning forward in making it clear that the United States’ national interests will be deeply harmed if we are not able to secure and sustain funding for Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and the border.

Yeah.

Q: And if I may ask about the trip, please? What — what is the President’s message going to be regarding Taiwan’s upcoming elections? Will the – will the President warn President Xi directly, for example, against interfering in the elections?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not going to preview what exactly President Biden will say to President Xi because I think he should have the opportunity to speak to him directly in person without me proclaiming it from the podium.

I will say that the President, broadly speaking, is going to set out a vision for peace and stability and the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And he will do that in his meeting with President Xi. But in terms of the specifics of that conversation, I will leave that to the President to do person to person face to face.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Jake. How confident is the U.S. that the U.S. and China can restore military-to-military communications? It’s now been more than a year since China suspended those talks. So, what are the main sticking points from the Chinese side?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’ll defer to — well, not defer to — refer to China on the sticking points because, ultimately, they will have to answer that for themselves.

The United States has been ready, for that entire period, to sustain military-to-military communications because we think it’s the only responsible thing to do.

Having our two militaries in communication is the way you reduce mistake, you avoid escalation, you manage competition so it doesn’t veer into conflict. That, to us, is an absolutely straightforward factor. And no matter what else is happening in the relationship, those military-to-military links should remain intact.

That’s our position going into San Francisco. We believe that the PRC has been constructive in the dialogue we’ve been having with them on this issue. We will see what happens in San Francisco and the President will be able to report after the meeting whether, in fact, we’ve made progress on restoring military-to-military links.

Yeah.

Q: What’s your assessment for why the Chinese has been willing to engage so much more in recent months? How much of it has to do with China’s economic struggles? And if that’s the case, how can you be sure that what comes out of APEC is long-lasting and not just tactical from the Chinese side?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, look. I’m not going to speculate as to what China’s motives are. Again, that’s a question you should pose to them and — and they can lay it out for you.

I do think your question raises an important point, though, which is: Nothing stands still in the world, as we’ve just seen from the — The October 7th crisis. And there will be, you know, inevitably, things that arise that are unanticipated; there will be turbulence, as there always is. And the question is: Can we create the lines of communication and the broad parameters in the relationship so that, through whatever comes, we can manage competition responsibly so it doesn’t veer into conflict?

That’s what the President has set out to achieve in this summit with President Xi. And so, he sees this not just as a one-off meeting but as an important moment to be able to establish the kind of basis upon which we can proceed out into the future.

Yeah.

Q: Jake, you mentioned that you guys see this as an important meeting on Wednesday, but I’m curious: Will the President, during this time with the Chinese President, try to hold China accountable for the spy balloon this year?

I know, obviously, it seems like it was 20 years ago, but it was this year. The Chinese have said it was still a weather balloon. They said they should get the technology back. What kind of response are we going to see from the President this week on the spy balloon?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, as I said before, I’m going to let the President be able to sit down with President Xi and speak to him person to person, face to face and, again, not be doing diplomacy from the podium. And we can report to you afterwards, consistent with whatever, you know, is appropriate to share publicly on these issues.

But I will say that President Biden took steps to take down that balloon once it was safe to do so and out of potential harm’s way to civilians. We were able to recover it, to exploit it. And from our perspective, the critical thing is that because we were able to protect ourselves along the way of that path, we do not feel that there was any information gain that was problematic.

And so, the United States, the President is going to focus at this point on how he stands up for and protects American interests going forward across the full range of challenges in this relationship, of which this is one.

Q: Do you want China to apologize?

MR. SULLIVAN: Again, I’m going to let President Biden speak to President Xi. I’m not going to stand here from the podium and, kind of, create threats or raise questions or make particular demands, because I think that will not be the most effective way to secure the diplomatic outcomes the American people are looking for.

Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. How would you rate relations between the U.S. and China since President Biden’s meeting with President Xi last year? And what would you say that the U.S. has been able to achieve in the relationship as a direct result of their last meeting?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first, the most important thing is that this is a complex relationship, a competitive relationship that could easily veer into conflict or confrontation if it’s not managed. And so, managing the relationship in an effective way is the single most important responsibility of the President and everyone who works for him on this file.

And then, beyond that, the U.S. and China have to be able to speak directly to one another on all of the critical issues that face our two countries, including issues in moments of crisis, like the Russia-Ukraine crisis. And President Biden has had a number of candid conversations with President Xi about the question of military support to the Russian Federation in the conduct of its war with Ukraine.

President Biden has had the opportunity to engage, and so have the rest of us, on how we effectively manage peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait so we can sustain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

So, those are some of the issues that, through intense diplomacy, we have been able to manage intense competition.

And then we will look for opportunities to actually generate affirmative outcomes that deliver tangible progress for the American people in areas where our interests overlap.

I mentioned, for example, the issue of fentanyl. We’re hoping to see some progress on that issue this coming week. And that could, then, open the door to further corporation on other issues where we aren’t just managing things, but we’re actually delivering tangible results. We’ll continue to work at that as we go forward.

Yeah.

Q: The U.S. yesterday launched its third round of strikes against facilities tied to Iran that were in Syria. I mean, you’ve said that this is, in part, to try to deter other attacks against U.S. servicemembers. But in the hours since that attack, at least four times, U.S. forces were hit in an attack. So, how is this a success if these incidents keep happening over and over?

MR. SULLIVAN: Our goal over time is to ensure that our forces are protected and that we respond if we get hit. That is what we have done; that is what we will continue to do. And this should be measured over the course of time, not over the course of 24 hours.

Now, if Iranian proxies continue to strike American forces, we will continue to respond. President Biden has been straightforward about that. We have followed through on that. We will continue to follow through on that, because the President’s view is, ultimately, he has got to look out and safeguard the security and the physical safety of all our forces in both Iraq and Syria.

We’re going to continue to do that. And we have made clear that, if we continue to get hit, we will respond.

Yeah.

Q: Is there an updated timeline for when the current funding to Ukraine is going to run out?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I mean, there’s not a literal day on the clock. But each week that passes, our ability to fully fund what we feel is necessary to give Ukraine the tools and capacities it needs to both defend its territory and to continue to make advances, that gets harder and harder.

So, for us, the window is closing. But I cannot point to a date on the calendar because, of course, this is a dynamic situation. And we have to make decisions about drawdown packages, how we size them, what gets sent based on our assessment of the calendar of when we’re actually going to get a bill passed.

So, I can tell you it is already having an effect on our ability to give Ukraine everything it needs, and that effect will only compound over time.

We are still able to supply the military assistance that Ukraine has been asking for. But if we got full funding, we could do so on a much more certain and consistent basis. And that’s what we’re looking for.

Q: And there’s a report that President Biden and President Xi are going to agree to a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in autonomous weapons. Are you able to confirm that or if AI will be part of their discussion at all?

MR. SULLIVAN: Of course, AI will be part of the discussion, but I cannot confirm that report. I saw it this morning, and I’m not exactly sure where it came from.

Yeah.

Q: Thanks a lot, Jake. What’s your level of confidence that China has not provided to Russia any military equipment or munitions or technology as it relates to Russia’s war against Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN: Our latest assessment is that Russia ha- — excuse me, China has not provided weapons to Russia as part of the war in Ukraine. But I will come back to you to confirm that that remains our latest assessment as of today, because my information is a few days old.

Q: And then, on Gaza, if I may. What’s your satisfaction level as it relates to what was announced last week, this humanitarian pause? Would you like to see longer pauses beyond just four hours a day? Do you expect that to happen?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first, I think there are circumstances where more than four hours a day is going to be necessary. And, in fact, the Israeli government has recognized that. They’ve extended some of these pauses to seven hours, for example, to create the corridor so that people can move around safely.

We believe pauses should not be dictated by a strict timetable. They should be dictated by what is necessary to achieve the objectives. And those objectives are safe passage, the ability to move around humanitarian aid. And then, ultimately, we’d like to see considerable longer pauses — days, not hours – in the context of a hostage release, and that’s being actively worked on as well.

Yeah.

Q: On the five Army special ops forces that were killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean over the weekend. Because they were there as part of the force buildup because of what’s happening in Israel, would you consider their deaths American casualties of that war?

MR. SULLIVAN: I would not. I would refer you to DOD for what the formal assessment would be.

But I would tell you, just as straightforward matter, we have forces deployed around the world in every theater. And, tragically, these training accidents do occur. This accident did not occur in combat. It occurred during a training mission. And that’s why, from my perspective, it would not be from this war.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Jake. I have two questions on Gaza. A hundred staff at the State Department and USAID accused the Biden administration of spreading misinformation. The Israelis newspaper (inaudible) said actually some of the Israelis who were killed were killed by Israeli army on October 7th, and the number is 1,200, not 1,400. And that’s not taking away from what happened on October 7th.

But you were adamant that you do not trust the Palestinian sources when it comes to casualties. So, accurate information is vital, especially in fighting antisemitism and Islamophobia. So, does the White House have credibility when it comes to information and accurate information? Can we rely on you when you stand at the podium and tell us certain information and statements?

MR. SULLIVAN: When I know information, I will tell it to you. When I don’t have information, I’m not certain about it – as earlier in this discussion when we were talking about the number of American hostages who are still alive, those who may have been actually killed by Hamas — I will tell that to you. If we get new information that supersedes the information we had before, I will tell that to you.

And we have a track record from day one of this administration to do all of those things. We will continue to do that every day. And I categorically reject the notion that we are peddling any misinformation.

Yeah.

Q: Okay. But an- — another question —

Q: Thanks, Jake. You said today, as you’ve said a number of times, about the importance of the laws of war being upheld. Israel has killed around 11,000 Palestinians. Around two thirds of those are women and children. The situation in the hospitals is dire. Israel has dropped an astronomical amount of ordinance in very built up areas. Is Israel, in your view, abiding by the laws of war? And if it is, how do you come to that conclusion?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, as I said yesterday, I — Jake Sullivan, standing here – am not in a position to be judge and jury to make that determination. It’s a legal determination.

What I can do is state for you the clear policy of the Biden administration, which we have been unequivocal about from the beginning of this conflict. And that is that even through Hamas is using civilians as human shields, is burrowing into civilian areas with its rocket emplacements that they are continuing to launch every single day at civilian areas in Israel, that puts an added burden on the IDF but it does not lessen the responsibility to act in ways that separate terrorists from civilians and does everything in their power to protect civilian lives.

Q: But the –

MR. SULLIVAN: That is — that was the case. That remains the case today. That is the message that we’ve said publicly and we communicate to our Israeli counterparts privately —

Q: But —

MR. SULLIVAN: — and we do that on a daily basis.

Q: I’m just trying to be clear, though. The administration’s view is that the IDF is doing that?

MR. SULLIVAN: What I have told you is that I am not in a position to give you a legal determination to your question. I am not in a position to do that.

What I’m in a position to do is to state the U.S. government position on how Israeli operations should be conducted. And that is what I have done. This is what I continue to do. That is what I can do from this podium.

Q: Jake?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. Did Governor Gavin Newsom give the White House a heads up on the meeting with President Xi? And have you guys gotten a readout from his team since? And what did you make of all that?

MR. SULLIVAN: We — we had a heads up. We got a readout. In fact, Ambassador Nick Burns accompanied that delegation on that meeting. So, it was fully coordinated between the governor’s office and the U.S. State Department.

Of course, I won’t get into the details of that because those were private diplomatic conversations. But we’ve had a good opportunity to get a download, and we have from Senator Schumer’s bipartisan delegation. And Senator Schumer and I actually just spoke today about some of the outcomes of that conversation, which are feeding into work the President will do this week and hopefully help result in some tangible process.

Q: Jake?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah.

Q: Thank you so much. Do you intend at some stage to provide more details about the kind of military equipment Israel is getting from the United States and the way it’s using it?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes, the Department of Defense will lay out what we are providing to Israel. I’ve stood up here before and told you about some of the key elements of that, which have included interceptors for Iron Dome, artillery ammunition, precision-guided munitions. And so, the DOD and the State Department will follow normal protocol in laying out the sales and transfers of weapons to Israel.

Yeah.

Q: Thank you, Jake. I have a question on your meeting with Yermak. But first, on the bilat.

As I understand, President Widodo will be bringing the resolution from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes a demand for immediate ceasefire and rejection of Israel’s justification that it’s actions in Gaza is self-defense. So, clearly on the international stage, President Biden is loosing ground on this issue. We see this at the U.N. every day. My question is: Is he ever at all concerned that he may be on the wrong side of history here? And how does he plan to engage with President Widodo on this issue?

MR. SULLIVAN: President Biden is looking forward to engaging with President Widodo across the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship and global issues.

On many issues, they will agree wholeheartedly. In fact, they’ll make significant progress. On other issues, they will have different perspectives.

President Widow’s position on the conflict in Gaza is well known, so is President Biden’s. They’ll both have the opportunity to respectfully exchange views on that issue.

They will also have the opportunity to elevate the U.S. – Indonesia bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to make tangible progress on issues like critical minerals, like clean energy cooperation, and like investment.

So, you will see this the — the fullness of this relationship between the United States and Indonesia but also the robustness of that relationship and the way in which it has advanced over the course of the past three years, notwithstanding the fact that there are differences of perspective on certain aspects of the ongoing crisis.

Q: Can I ask you about your meeting with Andriy Yermak —

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Jake. San Francisco has cleaned up their streets ahead of President Biden and President Xi’s meeting. They’ve moved homeless to other parts of the city, cleared tent cities and trash off the street. Is the President embarrassed that an American city needs to go through a total makeover to be presentable for his out-of-town guests?

MR. SULLIVAN: The President is incredibly proud of the record that the United States will bring as host to this summit, and I went through some of it today: the strongest economic record of any developed country, the lowest unemployment over a sustained period in half a century, far-reaching investments in innovation, in CHIPS, rebuilding America’s infrastructure.

So, actually, the — Joe Biden thinks he is walking into the summit on the front foot and able to showcase the United States as the premier destination for investment — good job-creating investment here in the United States — all of which will be on display while he is there.

And the countries of the world who are coming are coming with a recognition that the United States is in a strong — indeed, for a lot of people, an enviable economic position. And that is going to, I think, sustain him very effectively through the course of the week.

Q: But Governor Gavin Newson —

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah.

Q: — said of the cleanup this: “I know folks are saying ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town’ That’s true.” Does President Biden agree it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco and pay taxes every day?

MR. SULLIVAN: First, I’d completely reject the premise of your question. But secondly, I don’t know what — the context of what Governor Newsom said. So, I — I won’t respond to it.

Last question.

Q: Here in the back?

Q: Secretary Blinken said there were Hamas tunnels under schools, hospitals, and mosques. Does the U.S. have intelligence on this outside of what’s in the public domain to support this claim?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I can’t speak to intelligence matters, as I’ve said before. And I hamstrung by that because, obviously, we have intelligence sources ourselves, but I’m not in a position today to be able to share that intelligence.

Q: And is it fair to say the conflict in the Middle East is now on at least three fronts — Israel-Hamas, Israel-Hezbollah, and U.S.-Iranian proxies?

MR. SULLIVAN: I think it’s — I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as a three-front conflict. I would accept there is an exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, there’s an obvious ongoing military operation in Gaza, and, yes, we have been struck repeatedly by proxy groups of the IRGC in Iraq and Syria, and we have responded. Those are all — that is all correct.

Thank you, guys.

Q: Thank you for coming.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much, Jake. Okay, Let’s continue.

Go ahead, Za — Zeke.

Q: Thanks, Karine. The Supreme Court today unveiled a Code of Ethics on Justices. There’s been a lot of scrutiny of Justices’ conflicts of interest. Has the President had a chance to review that? Does he have a position on it? Does he believe it goes far enough?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m not going to get — add more to — or go beyond what the President has said already in the ProPublica interview that he shared when it re- — when we talked about — when he was asked about the Supreme Court ethics.

So, there are ethics rules that apply to — to other and lower — lower federal courts, obviously. And so, obviously, the American people have the right to — to expect those who are serving in high office to meet high ethics and transparency, obviously, standards.

And so –I don’t have beyond that. I know the President has talked about this recently.

Q: And then, there was a security incident overnight with — with a Secret Service agent, apparently, fired a shot at an attempted carja- — a vehicle theft and breaking into a Secret Service vehicle guarding one of the President’s grandchildren. Has the President been briefed on that incident, and does he believe that Secret Service handed that appropriately?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, for any questions about security matters, I would have to refer you to the Secret Service.

Q: Has he been briefed, though?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Any questions — again, any questions referring to this, I would have to —

Q: It’s about the President, though.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, I totally understand. These — this is personal information. Anything that deals with personal information, I would refer you to the Secret Service, especially as we are talking about security matters.

Q: And then, lastly, Jake just said he felt “hamstrung” by his inability to release U.S. intelligence assessments of Hamas activities. Has the President given any consideration to potentially declassifying that — that intelligence? We’ve seen downgrades regarding all sorts of sensitive U.S. collections, particularly in the Ukraine context. But has the President considered that in — in regards to what Hamas is doing allegedly under these hospitals?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have anything to add to what Jake Sullivan, our National Security Advisor, shared today at the podium.

Go ahead, Nancy.

Q: Thanks, Karine. This year, auto thefts are way up. Carjackings are way up. Violent crime is way up here in D.C. A couple of members of Congress were attacked. Now this overnight.

How concerned is the President about the increase of crime in this city where so many government workers live?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we are definitely concerned about what we’re seeing –and not just here, across the country, obviously. And that’s why the President’s first — first year in this administration, he made sure to get — to pass — to get passed the American Rescue Plan. And he did that with Democrats and not one Republican vote.

And in that American Rescue Plan, there was a — there was billions of dollars that were provided to local cities to make sure they were able to hire police officers and make sure that they ha- — they felt like they could have a safer and more effective accountability — community account- — police accountability. And that is why he took those actions.

Last year, as you know, back in August of last year, he — he talked about a safer — Safer American — American Plan, again, trying to call on Congress to invest over 3-point — $35 billion to fund police and fight crime.

And so, the President has taken actions. He would like to do this in a bipartisan way with Republicans on the other — clearly, in Congress. And they haven’t done that. And they’ve used this as a political weapon, as a political talking point, while the President has taken action to make sure our communities are safer.

Are we concerned? Obviously, we want to make sure Americans and their families feel safe in — not just here in D.C. but across communities. But we can’t do this alone.

The President, again, has taken action. He’s — with the American Rescue Plan, bli – — billions of dollars were able to go into states, into communities so that they can — they can provide funding and police — and police officers to make sure that their communities are safe.

But we need more. We need Congress to act. That’s why he put forward the Safer American Plan — $35 billion.

Congress can act.

Q: Thanks.

Q: What does the President need to know about this laddered CR before rendering a judgement on it?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we’re going to let the negotiations continue. We’re going to be in close contact with Democrats in both the House and the Senate, the leadership there, and have — make sure that they are having their conversations to see the best path forward for the American people. And that’s what the President spoke to.

I think there’s — he said he was going to conver- a conversation happing later this afternoon or, pretty much, very soon. And so, we’re just going to let that be.

Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. So, the House plan includes no aid to Israel or Ukraine. Is the White House still confident that their supplemental funding request can pass on its own? And what vehicles remain here for Ukraine funding?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, Jake spoke about this very well from here and talked about the importance of making sure that we continue to fu- — fund Ukraine, making sure that we have funding for Israel as well.

I’m not going to get into legislative negotiations from here, from the podium. But, look, I’m going to be very clear: Lives are at stake. Right?

The — the national security supplemental that we put forward is incredibly important. It’s important for our national security. Also, let’s not forget the domestic supplemental as well. So, it’s important for our needs here, for needs across — across the globe.

And so, look, we’re not going to negotiate from here. But I think Jake laid it out very clearly the importance of continuing to fund Ukraine and the importance of the funding that we’ve asked for Israel.

Q: You’ve called the laddered CR “unserious.” What deal would the White House be willing to accept given all the stakes you laid out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I mean, let’s be very clear here. I know there’s been a lot of questions on this and the supplemental.

Look, House Republicans are threatening a government shutdown. That’s what we’re seeing right now. That would hurt our economy, that would hurt our national security, as I just spoke to.

And in September, we saw this happen where the House Republicans threatened to shut down the government unless they got their radical — radical demands, and then they shut — then they shut down Congress for three — for three chaotic weeks as they tried ti figure out who their next Speaker was going to be after ousting the last Speaker.

And so, look, you know, there is work to be done. They have to get the work done. They got to keep this government open.

And so, negotiations are going to be happening. Democrat — we’re going to continue to talk to Democratic leadership on the House and the Senate. And — and — and so that we can make sure that we’re moving forward in a way that’s — that’s best for the American people.

And as I state, the la — this latest proposal is very much untested. It is. It’s untested. And — where they could have, you know, avoided this weeks ago, but instead they were in their own chaos. This is — I’m speaking about the House Republicans here. And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversation with Democratic leadership.

Q: Is the President concerned that city crime could get close to his family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m not going to speak to — speak to the incident. That’s something for the Secret Service to speak to. Not going to talk about it from here.

I spoke to the crime more broadly and what the President has done since almost day one of his administration, starting with the — the first piece of legislation that he signed into law with his — which is the American Rescue Plan — billions of dollars going into cities, going into states to make sure that they have the funding available to protect communities, to hire police officers. That’s something that the President is concerned not just her in — in the district but across the — across the country.

As it relates to anything else, I would have to refer you to Secret Service.

Q: Naomi Biden had been a resident here at the White House. And I wonder when did that change that she would move to her own residence —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look —

Q: — with her husband?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — this is a personal matter. This is personal information, certainly not going to speak from it — from the podium. I would have to refer you to the Secret Service.

Q: One more thing. The President frequently talks about the fact that he speaks to his grandchildren every day. Do you know if he has spoken with Naomi Biden since this occurred?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into private conversations that the President has with his family. As he stated himself, he is — speaks to his grandchildren regularly. He’s very close to his family. I’m just not going to get into confirming conversations with this family.

Go ahead.

Q: A follow-up — quick question about what Kelly was asking. Has the White House considered having Mayor Bowser back over here just to talk about crime in general? I know she was here, I think, early when the President took office, but I’m been just curious, any interest in —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So —

Q: — maybe hearing from her?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — we are — we are in regular conversations with Mayor Bowser about an array of issues — a range of issues that — that is important to the residents here, obviously, in — in Washington, D.C. That is something that is continuous.

We have an Intergovernmental Affairs Office here, and so we are in touch with her as Mayor of D.C., but also other mayors and governors across — across the country.

Look, I’ve said this moments ago, and I’ll say it again: We’ve been very serious on dealing with the crime that we have seen across the country. And we’d love to work with Republicans on this. They have not been serious on this.

The President, again, put forth the American Rescue Plan, signed that into law, put billions of dollars into communities to help — help mayors and — and governors deal with crime in their city and their states.

But Republicans aren’t serious. He put forth the Safer Americas Plan — $35 billion to continue to invest and make sure that we’re actually dealing with this type of crime. We don’t hear anything from them.

So, House Republicans, Republicans more broadly in Congress, if they want to get this done, we’re willing to work with them.

Q: You — I’m sorry. But one follow-up —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m going to keep going.

Q: — real quick.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I’m going to keep going.

Go ahead.

Q: But you mentioned — you said it’s the —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: — American Rescue Plan —

Q: Thanks, Karine.

Q: — is working —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: — but if the money is not —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just going to —

Q: — but if the money is there —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just going to keep —

Q: — but what’s changing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Meta platform said that it’s going to require advertisers to disclose when artificial intelligence or other digital tools are used in Facebook or Instagram ads on social issues, elections, and politics. I wanted to ind out what President Biden thinks about that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, don’t have anything to share on their new policy — Meta’s new policy. Obviously, the President put forward a pretty comprehensive AI executive order recently. And so, outside of that, I’m just not going to — I’m not going to really comment on private entities and — and actions that they’re taking.

But obviously, the President takes this very seriously, and you could see that with the comprehensive executive order that touches on many — many important — important parts of different industries.

Obviously, the — the goal here is to protect Americans.

Q: Could you speak more broadly about what the President thinks social media platforms should be doing within the next couple of months to prepare for potential AI-generated misinformation on their platforms, especially going into an election season.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’m going to be very careful because you’re asking me about election season. Don’t want to speak to that from here.

Obviously, we take this seriously because we put forth an executive order very recently that is seen as being comprehensive, that is seen as being transformative. And that is something that we can do here from the federal government.

I’m just not going to talk to — talk about private companies from here and what they’re going to do in — in the upcoming election.

Q: Thank you, Karine. I wanted to follow up on the two-step CR that Republicans are putting out. You’ve previously said that this would be a recipe for chaos and more shutdowns. I’m wondering what the President’s message is to those House Democrats who seem at least intrigued by this proposal. For instance, Minnesota representative Dean Phillips has said that Speaker Johnson’s two-step CR, quote, “isn’t perfect, but a whole lot better than a shutdown.”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the latest proposal, as I just said, is definitely untested. And that’s true. It is untested.

We are going to continue — and this is something that the President was saying in the Oval Office just moments ago before we came out to the — into the briefing rooms: We’re going to be in touch with Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate. And our goal — our number one goal is to make sure that we move — we take the best path forward for the American people. That’s what we’re going to focus on.

But it is — this is indeed untested. And that is — that is something that we’re seeing coming from them.

And, look, this is something that they could have avoided. And instead of avoiding where were are right now, just a couple of days away from a government shutdown, they’ve wasted time. They have wasted time.

So, Democratic leadership is just going to have that conversation in both the House and the Senate on how to best move forward.

Q: Karine?

Q: There was an update.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, go ahead.

Q: There was an update. I just wanted — just curious — the House Oversight Committee has now issued a subpoena for the former White House Counsel Dana Remus. They’re also asking the former White House Counsel Dana Remus. They’re also asking for four other transcribed interviews with White House employees regarding the classified documents that were found in Rehob- or in Wilmington. I’m just curious: Would the White House support cooperating with the Committee’s oversight, specifically with this subpoena for Dana Remus?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to comment from here, which is consistent with what we’ve been doing from here.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. A follow up on — on Phil’s question. Will the House Democrats know the President’s position on whether or not he would sign that continuing resolution before they have to vote on it? Is that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, the President literally just talked about this. One of your colleagues asked — asked him about this particular CR, and he said that he wants to — there — there’s going to be conversations on the Hill, negotiations on the Hill, and he wants to talk to the leadership, and so, that’s — in the Democratic House and Senate, and that’s what we’re going to do. Don’t have anything else to share.

I’m just going to go to the back. Go ahead, in the back.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Some Democrats, particularly in and around “The Squad,” have openly disagreed with the President for being too supportive of Israel. There’s also been some grassroot support that backed the President and are now indicating that this could be a deal-breaker for them. Is the President worried that this will continue to be a wedge issue within the party? And why can’t he get his fellow Democrats on the same page on this issue?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, you know, in our party, there’s going to be various range of agreements and disagreements and — and that’s the way it is — right? — and, in particular, in the Democratic Party.

The President is going to continue to be clear about this. You heard it at the top, when — when Jake Sullivan was giving an update on the Middle East, where the President stands. The President has been very clear.

And when it comes to Israel and what we saw on October 7th, Israel has the right to defend itself. They have the right to defend itself. And so, we’re going to support Israel in doing that.

Obviously, there is the rule of law — right? — that the Pr — that Jake talked about, that we believe that should be followed. And — and, you know, we’re going to continue to — to be stead fast in what we believe and what — how we see this moving forward and making sure — we just talked about the supplemental, the national security supplemental, and making sure Israel has what it needs, Ukraine has what it needs.

Let’s not forget, they are dealing with terrorism and tyranny. That’s what they’re dealing with. They’re dealing with an organization like Hamas, who is a terrorist organization, who had said — and Jake talked about his: A leader form the Hamas organization said that they would want to see an October 7th happen over and over and over again. And that’s what Israel is dealing with.

All right, one last question. Go ahead, way in the back.

Q: Karine, thank you. President Biden and President Xi are expected to talk about combatting illicit fentanyl. What outcome is he looking for here in that talk?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, look, I’m just going to stay this. I’m not going to get ahead of — obviously, that’s going to be a discussion that they’re going to have. I’m going to let the President speak to that himself. They’re going to have that leader-to-leader conversation, as Jake said moments ago. And — and the President will have more to share once he has his meeting with President Xi.

Q: But broadly speaking, can you just talk about the importance of addressing this issue with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, it’s critical. It’s important. This is something that we’ve talked about and taken very seriously when it comes to fentanyl and getting that off our streets.

Certainly, we are — we are certainly focused on making sure that we protect Americans and American families. So, obviously, this is an important agenda item that the President wants to have to discuss. This fentanyl getting — taking – getting that off our streets is certainly a critical — a critical conversation that we need to continue to have. And the President certainly has taken actions on doing that.

All right. Thanks, everybody.

Q: Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We’ll see you on the road.

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December 2023:

December 13, 2023: The White House posted: “Statement from President Joe Biden on Baseless House Republican Impeachment Stunt“

The American people need their leaders in Congress to take action on important priorities for the nation and world.

On Tuesday, I met with the President of Ukraine, who is leading his people in a battle for freedom against Russian aggression. He came to America to ask us for help. Yet Republicans in Congress won’t act to help.

The people of Israel are in a battle against terrorists, and they are waiting for our help. Yet Republicans in Congress won’t act to help.

We have to address the situation at our southern border, and I am determined to fix the problem. We need funding to strengthen the border security, but Republicans in Congress won’t act to help.

We need to continue our progress on the economy and make sure inflation keeps going down and job growth keeps going up. That means avoiding self-inflicted economic crises like a government shutdown, which Republicans in Congress are driving us toward in just a few weeks because they won’t act now to fund the government and critical priorities to make life better for the American people.

There is a lot of work to be done. But after wasting weeks trying to find a new Speaker of the House and having to expel their own members, Republicans in Congress are leaving for a month without doing anything to address this pressing challenges.

I wake up every day focused on the issues facing the American people – real issues that impact their lives, and the strength and security of our country and the world. Unfortunately, House Republicans are not joining me. Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies. Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.

The American people deserve better. I know what I am going to remain focus on. I would invite the Republicans in Congress to join me.

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