Category Archives: Biden Administration

Biden Administration, Cybersecurity, Education, News & Photo Features

Biden-Harris Administration Launches New Efforts to Strengthen America’s K-12 Schools’ Cybersecurity

Biden-Harris Administration announces new actions and private commitments to bolster the nation’s cyber defense at schools and protect American families
 
Administration leaders, school administrators, educators, and education technology providers will convene at the White House to discuss how to strengthen the nation’s schools’ cybersecurity amidst growing ransomware attacks
 

Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions and private commitments to bolster the nation’s cyber defense at schools and protect American families © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The United States has experienced an increase in cyberattacks that have targeted the nation’s schools in recent years.  In the 2022-23 academic year alone, at least eight K-12 school districts throughout the country were impacted by significant cyberattacks – four of which left schools having to cancel classes or close completely.  Not only have these attacks disrupted school operations, but they also have impacted students, their families, teachers, and administrators.  Sensitive personal information – including, student grades, medical records, documented home issues, behavioral information, and financial information – of students and employees were stolen and publicly disclosed. Additionally, sensitive information about school security systems was leaked online as a result of these attacks.

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, joined First Lady Jill Biden, to convene school administrators, educators and private sector companies to discuss best practices and new resources available to strengthen our schools’ cybersecurity, protect American families and schools, and prevent cyberattacks from disrupting our classrooms.
 
According to a 2022 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, the loss of learning following a cyberattack ranged from three days to three weeks, and recovery time can take anywhere from two to nine months.  Further, the monetary losses to school districts following a cyber incident ranged from $50,000 to $1 million. That is why the Biden-Harris Administration has had a relentless focus on securing our nation’s critical infrastructure since day one, and continues to work tirelessly to provide resources that enable the U.S.’s more than 13,000 school districts to better protect and defend their students and employees against cyberattacks.
 
The Administration is taking additional action and committing resources to strengthen the cybersecurity of the nation’s K-12 school systems, including: 

  • Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing establishing a pilot program under the Universal Service Fund to provide up to $200 million over three years to strengthen cyber defenses in K-12 schools and libraries in tandem with other federal agencies that have deep expertise in cybersecurity.
     
  • The U.S. Department of Education will establish a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) that will coordinate activities, policy, and communications between, and amongst, federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial education leaders to strengthen the cyber defenses and resilience of K-12 schools. By facilitating formal, ongoing collaboration between all levels of government and the education sector, the GCC will be a key first step in the Department’s strategy to protect schools and districts from cybersecurity threats and for supporting districts in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from cybersecurity attacks.
     
  • The U.S. Department of Education and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) jointly released K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Defensible & Resilient, the second in a series of guidance documents to assist educational leaders in building and sustaining core digital infrastructure for learning.  Additional briefs released by the U.S. Department of Education include Adequate and Future-Proof and Privacy-Enhancing, Interoperable and Useful.
     
  • CISA is committing to providing tailored assessments, facilitating exercises, and delivering cybersecurity training for 300 new K-12 entities over the coming school year.  CISA plans to conduct 12 K-12 cyber exercises this year, averaging one per month, and is currently soliciting exercise requests from government and critical infrastructure partners, including the K-12 community.
     
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Guard Bureau are releasing updated resource guides to ensure state government and education officials know how to report cybersecurity incidents and can leverage the federal government’s cyber defense capabilities.

Additionally, several education technology providers are committing to providing free and low-cost resources to school districts, including:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committing the following: $20 million for a K-12 cyber grant program available to all school districts and state departments of education; free security training offerings tailored to K-12 IT staff delivered through AWS Skill Builder; and no-cost cyber incident response assistance through its Customer Incident Response Team in the event a school district experiences a cyberattack.  AWS will also provide free well-architected security reviews to U.S. education technology companies providing mission-critical applications to the K-12 community.
     
  • Cloudflare, through its Project Cybersafe Schools, will offer a suite of free Zero Trust cybersecurity solutions to public school districts under 2,500 students, to give small school districts faster, safer Internet browsing and email security.
     
  • PowerSchool, a provider of cloud-based K-12 software in the United States for 80% of school districts, will provide new free and subsidized “security as a service” courses, training, tools and resources to all U.S. schools and districts.
     
  • Google released an updated “K-12 Cybersecurity Guidebook” for schools on the most effective and impactful steps education systems can take to ensure the security of their Google hardware and software applications.
     
  • D2L, a learning platform company, is committing to: providing access to new cybersecurity courses in collaboration with trusted third-parties; extending its information security review for the core D2L integration partners; and pursuing additional third-party validation of D2L compliance with security standards.

The commitments made today will help ensure the nation’s schools are in the best position to secure their networks to keep their students, educators, and employees safe. This is the latest example of President Biden’s commitment to ease the everyday concerns facing Americans – from strengthening confidence in the safety of the devices brought into homes and classrooms to securing the cyber infrastructure of our nation’s schools. 

Biden Administration, Economic Development

FACT SHEET: One Year after Signing CHIPS and Science Act, Biden Marks Historic Progress in Bringing Semiconductor Supply Chains Home, Supporting Innovation, Protecting National Security

Companies have announced $166 billion in investments in semiconductors and electronics in the one year since President Biden signed CHIPS into law
 

President Joe Biden, on the year-anniversary of signing the CHIPS and Science Act, companies have announced over $166 billion to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States. “These investments are creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country – from Ohio to Arizona, Texas and New York. And, in the last year alone, at least 50 community colleges have announced new or expanded programs to help American workers access good-paying jobs in the semiconductor industry.”

One year ago, President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS), which makes a nearly $53 billion investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and workforce. The law also creates a 25 percent tax credit for capital investments in semiconductor manufacturing, and is helping to keep America at the forefront of innovation and technological development. Semiconductors were invented in the United States, but today we produce only about 10 percent of global supply—and none of the most advanced chips. Similarly, investments in research and development have fallen to less than 1 percent of GDP from 2 percent in the mid-1960s at the peak of the space race. The CHIPS and Science Act aims to change this by driving American competitiveness, making American supply chains more resilient, and supporting our national security and access to key technologies.
 
In the one year since CHIPS was signed into law, companies have announced over $166 billion in manufacturing in semiconductors and electronics, and at least 50 community colleges in 19 states have announced new or expanded programming to help American workers access good-paying jobs in the semiconductor industry. In total, since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, companies have announced over $231 billion in commitments in semiconductor and electronics investments in the United States. This week alone, the Department of Commerce announced the first round of grants under CHIPS to support the development of open and interoperable wireless networks, and the National Science Foundation and Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Defense announced progress toward establishing the National Semiconductor Technology Center, which will help advance America’s leadership in semiconductor research and development.

“One year ago today, I signed into law the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to revitalize American leadership in semiconductors, strengthen our supply chains, protect our national security, and advance American competitiveness,” President Biden stated. “America invented semiconductors – and today, they power everything from cell phones to cars to refrigerators. But over time, the United States went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s chips to just over 10%, making our economy vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions.

“The CHIPS and Science Act aims to change that.

“In the year since I signed this legislation into law, companies have announced over $166 billion to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States. These investments are creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country – from Ohio to Arizona, Texas and New York. And, in the last year alone, at least 50 community colleges have announced new or expanded programs to help American workers access good-paying jobs in the semiconductor industry. 

“The CHIPS and Science Act is a key part of my Bidenomics agenda to bring investment and opportunity to every corner of the country. Over the coming months, my Administration will continue to implement this historic law, make sure American union workers, small businesses, and families benefit from investments spurred by the CHIPS and Science Act, and make America once again a leader in semiconductor manufacturing and less dependent on other countries for our electronics or clean energy supply chains.”

One Year of Progress on Semiconductor Manufacturing and Innovation

Over the past year, agencies across the federal government have been developing and executing on programs established under CHIPS to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing, invest in research and development, and support supply chain resilience and workforce development. Key milestones in the Administration’s implementation of CHIPS include:

Supporting U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing

  • The Department of Commerce launched the first funding opportunity for the $39 billion in semiconductor manufacturing incentives provided in the Act just six months after CHIPS was passed. This funding opportunity covers funding for projects to construct, expand, or modernize facilities producing semiconductors and for projects that are making large investments in facilities to produce semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment. As the Department assesses applications, economic and national security considerations will be key factors and the program will, among other objectives, aim to provide a supply of secure, national-security relevant semiconductors.
  • Already, the Department of Commerce has received more than 460 statements of interest from companies for projects across 42 states interested in receiving CHIPS funding to invest across the semiconductor value chain from manufacturing to supply chains to commercial R&D.
  • The Department of Commerce has also stood up CHIPS for America, a team of more than 140 people working to support implementation of all aspects of the CHIPS incentives program.
  • The Department of the Treasury released a proposed rule in March 2023 to provide guidance on the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, a 25% investment tax credit for companies engaged in semiconductor manufacturing and producing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The Department of the Treasury also released a proposed rule in June 2023 to allow companies to receive the full amount of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit as a direct payment from the Internal Revenue Service.
  • The Department of the Treasury released a proposed rule in March 2023 to provide guidance on implementing the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit to assist companies engaged in semiconductor manufacturing and producing semiconductor manufacturing equipment with a 25% tax credit.
     

Protecting National Security and Working with Allies and Partners

The Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule in March 2023 to implement the national security guardrails laid out in CHIPS. These guardrails are intended to prevent technology and innovation funded by the program from being misused by foreign countries of concern. The Department of the Treasury’s proposed rule in March 2023 implemented parallel guardrails for the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit.

  • The Department of State announced in March 2023 its plans for implementing the International Technology Security and Innovation Fund to support semiconductor supply chain security and diversification, as well as adoption of trustworthy and secure telecommunications networks. The State Department has already announced partnerships with Costa Rica, Panama, and the OECD to explore opportunities to collaborate on the global semiconductor supply chain.
  • The Department of Defense and Department of Commerce signed an agreement to expand their collaboration to make sure that CHIPS investments will position the United States to manufacture semiconductors essential to national security and defense programs.
  • As it implements CHIPS, the Department of Commerce has been in close touch with a number of partners and allies including the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, India, and the European Union. The United States is engaging with partners and allies to coordinate government incentive programs, build resilient cross-border semiconductor supply chains, promote knowledge exchange and collaboration in developing next-generation technologies, and implement safeguards to protect national security.
     

Creating Jobs and Workforce Pipelines for American Workers

  • The White House announced an initial set of five Workforce Hubs to create pipelines for Americans to access good-paying jobs in the semiconductor industry and other industries seeing an increase in investments driven by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – including CHIPS, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The White House also announced a national Workforce Sprint focused on creating pipelines into advanced manufacturing jobs, including in the semiconductor industry.
  • At least 50 community colleges have already announced new or expanded semiconductor workforce programs. In July, the White House launched its first Workforce Hub in Columbus, Ohio, where Columbus State Community College announced a new partnership with Intel which will create a new semiconductor technician credentialing course, available this fall.
  • The National Science Foundation is investing in the American semiconductor workforce through new initiatives focused on the manufacturing workforce, supporting researchers, and curriculum development. This includes partnerships with major semiconductor and technology companies.
  • According to Handshake, student applications to full-time jobs posted by semiconductor companies were up 79% in 2022-2023, compared to just 19% for other industries.
     

Investing in Innovation

  • The Department of Commerce is partnering with the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation to establish the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), a critical part of the CHIPS research and development program that will support U.S. leadership in semiconductor innovation, cut down on the time and cost of commercializing new technologies, and develop the semiconductor workforce. The Department of Commerce has also outlined its strategy for the NSTC with respect to extending U.S. leadership in semiconductor innovation, reducing time to commercialization, and building a strong microelectronics workforce.
  • The Department of Commerce is also continuing to work on other parts of its $11 billion R&D funding including the metrology program, the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, and up to three new Manufacturing USA Institutes.
  • The Department of Defense released a Request for Solutions for its Microelectronics Commons R&D program in December 2022. This program will support hardware prototyping, the transition of new technologies from lab-to-fab, and workforce training. Source selection is currently underway.
     

Supporting Regional Economic Development and Innovation

  • The Department of Commerce released a funding opportunity in May 2023 for Phase 1 of the $500 million Tech Hubs Program. This is an economic development program to develop centers of innovation across the country through support of regional manufacturing, commercialization, and deployment of key technologies.
  • The Department of Commerce released a funding opportunity in June 2023 for Phase 1 of the $200 million Recompete Pilot Program, an initiative to support economic opportunity and create good jobs in persistently distressed communities.  
  • The National Science Foundation established a new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships. This Directorate has already launched the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, which is helping to support innovation in geographies that have not received the full benefits of technology advancement in past decades. In May 2023, NSF announced 44 NSF Engines Development Awards spanning 46 U.S. states and territories, each funded at up to $1 million over two years to plan for a future NSF Engine. In August 2023, NSF announced 16 finalists for the inaugural set of NSF Engines awards, which are anticipated by the end of the year and will provide each NSF Engine with up to $160 million over up to 10 years.
     

Support Wireless Innovation and Security

Biden Administration, Cybersecurity, News & Photo Features

Biden-Harris Administration, DARPA Launch $20 Million Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge to Protect America’s Critical Software

Several leading AI companies – Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI – to partner with DARPA in major competition to make software more secure

The Biden-Harris Administration has  launched a major two-year competition that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to protect the United States’ most important software, such as code that helps run the internet and our critical infrastructure.  The “AI Cyber Challenge” (AIxCC) will challenge competitors across the United States, to identify and fix software vulnerabilities using AI. Led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), this competition will include collaboration with several top AI companies – Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI – who are lending their expertise and making their cutting-edge technology available for this challenge. This competition, which will feature almost $20 million in prizes, will drive the creation of new technologies to rapidly improve the security of computer code, one of cybersecurity’s most pressing challenges. It marks the latest step by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure the responsible advancement of emerging technologies and protect Americans.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced AIxCC at the Black Hat USA Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the nation’s largest hacking conference, which for decades has produced many cybersecurity innovations. By finding and fixing vulnerabilities in an automated and scalable way, AIxCC fits into this tradition. It will demonstrate the potential benefits of AI to help secure software used across the internet and throughout society, from the electric grids that power America to the transportation systems that drive daily life.

DARPA will host an open competition in which the competitor that best secures vital software will win millions of dollars in prizes. AI companies will make their cutting-edge technology—some of the most powerful AI systems in the world—available for competitors to use in designing new cybersecurity solutions. To ensure broad participation and a level playing field for AIxCC, DARPA will also make available $7 million to small businesses who want to compete.

Teams will participate in a qualifying event in Spring 2024, where the top scoring teams (up to 20) will be invited to participate in the semifinal competition at DEF CON 2024, one of the world’s top cybersecurity conferences. Of these, the top scoring teams (up to five) will receive monetary prizes and continue to the final phase of the competition, to be held at DEF CON 2025. The top three scoring competitors in the final competition will receive additional monetary prizes.

The top competitors will make a meaningful difference in cybersecurity for America and the world. The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), a project of the Linux Foundation, will serve as a challenge advisor. It will also help ensure that the winning software code is put to use right away protecting America’s most vital software and keeping the American people safe.

Today’s announcement is part of a broader commitment by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that the power of AI is harnessed to address the nation’s great challenges, and that AI is developed safely and responsibly to protect Americans from harm and discrimination. Last month, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it had secured voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies to manage the risks posed by the technology. Earlier this year, the Administration announced a commitment from several AI companies to participate in an independent, public evaluation of large language models (LLMs)—consistent with responsible disclosure principles—at DEF CON 2023. This exercise, which starts later this week and is the first-ever public assessment of multiple LLMs, will help advance safer, more secure and more transparent AI development.

In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration is currently developing an executive order and will pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible AI innovation.

Biden Administration, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Protection, News & Photo Features, President Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

New monument – marking fifth new National Monument created by President Biden – will conserve nearly 1 million acres of greater Grand Canyon landscape sacred to Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples and advance President Biden’s historic climate and conservation agenda

In conjunction with the President’s visit, Biden-Harris Administration announces $44 million investment to strengthen climate resilience across America’s National Parks system
 

Wupatki. President Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona, conserving nearly 1 million acres of greater Grand Canyon landscape sacred to Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples and advance President Biden’s historic climate and conservation agenda. The President also announced $44 million investment to strengthen climate resilience across America’s National Parks system © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
 

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented commitment to protect America’s natural wonders for future generations, honor culturally significant areas, and tell a more complete story of our nation, President Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona. Baaj nwaavjo (BAAHJ – NUH-WAAHV-JOH) means “where Indigenous peoples roam” in the Havasupai language, and i’tah kukveni (EE-TAH – KOOK-VENNY) means “our ancestral footprints” in the Hopi language. The name reflects the significance of the Grand Canyon area, not just to one, but to many Tribal Nations.

This designation, which marks the fifth new national monument established by President Biden, honors Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting sacred ancestral places and their historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands, protecting wildlife habitat and clean water, and supporting local economies.

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument will conserve nearly 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. The new monument protects thousands of cultural and sacred sites that are precious to Tribal Nations in the Southwest – including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. These sites include Gray Mountain, called Dziłbeeh by the Navajo, which is a part of Navajo ceremonial songs, stories, and rituals. The President will sign the proclamation at Red Butte, a sacred site called Wii’i Gdwiisa by the Havasupai, which towers above the southern portion of the monument.

In conjunction with the President’s visit to Arizona, and ahead of the 1-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing $44 million to strengthen climate resilience across America’s iconic National Parks system, including 43 projects across 39 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To mark this announcement and uplift the latest climate and conservation actions by the Biden-Harris Administration, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and the Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz will travel tomorrow to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Through his Investing in America agenda, the President has delivered record funding for conservation, climate action, and environmental justice.

Since day one, President Biden has delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in American history. That includes the President’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which is supporting locally led conservation efforts across the country with a goal to conserve and restore 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making. Today’s designation supports Tribally led conservation efforts and helps address injustices of the past, including when Tribes were forcibly removed from lands that later became Grand Canyon National Park.

The new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument joins other iconic places protected by the Biden-Harris Administration, including Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, Castner Range National Monument in Texas, Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado, Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding watershed in Minnesota. 

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument protects and preserves the rich cultural, ecological, scientific, historic, and scenic value of the greater Grand Canyon landscape. Today’s monument designation protects these sacred places for cultural and spiritual uses, while respecting existing livestock grazing permits and preserving access for hunting and fishing.

The new monument is made up of three distinct areas to the south, northeast, and northwest of Grand Canyon National Park. It is bordered by the Kanab watershed boundary and Kanab Creek drainage in the northwestern area and the Havasupai Indian Reservation and Navajo Nation in the southern area, and stretches from Marble Canyon to the edge of the Kaibab Plateau in the northeastern area. The monument spans 917,618 acres of public lands managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.

The area includes many natural wonders, from sweeping plateaus and deep canyons to meandering creeks and streams that ultimately flow into the mighty Colorado River, providing water to millions of people across the Southwest. The unique interplay of geology and hydrology support some of the most biodiverse habitats in the region ranging from sagebrush to savanna, providing refuge for iconic wildlife including bighorn sheep, mule deer, bison, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, owls, and songbirds. The new monument contains over 3,000 known cultural and historic sites, including 12 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today’s designation recognizes and is a step toward addressing the history of dispossession and exclusion of Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples in the area, including that occurring when the federal government established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893, Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908, and Grand Canyon National Park in 1919. 

The proclamation continues the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented engagement with Tribal Nations around traditional homelands and sacred sites. It directs the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to engage with Tribes through consultations, co-stewardship agreements, contracts, financial and technical assistance, and other mechanisms to ensure that that the management of the monument occurs in collaboration with Tribes and reflects the Indigenous Knowledge and special expertise Tribes have amassed over countless generations. The proclamation also establishes the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Commission to advance the objective of co-stewardship of the monument. 

Today’s designation preserves this vital landscape for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking, biking, and other recreational activities, consistent with applicable law. Hunting and fishing will continue to be allowed throughout the monument, including in the Kanab Creek area.

The proclamation recognizes and reaffirms the State of Arizona’s ongoing primary role in the management of wildlife within the monument and directs federal agencies to build on their ongoing partnerships with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to further strengthen these collaborative efforts. Hunting, fishing, live trapping and transplantation, activities associated with scientific resources management including research, census, and monitoring of populations, and a wide range of other wildlife management activities will continue to be allowed within the national monument. The proclamation further directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to build on their ongoing partnerships with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to explore developing new or updating existing memoranda of understanding to further improve these collaborative efforts.

Recognizing the critical role that sportsmen and sportswomen have played, and continue to play, in wildlife restoration and conservation in the area, the proclamation requires that a monument advisory committee include representation from both the sportsmen and sportswomen community, as well as representation from the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It also directs the monument advisory committee to include representation from the ranching community. The proclamation respects existing livestock grazing permits on lands within the monument.

The national monument designation recognizes and respects valid existing rights. The proclamation specifies that maintenance and upgrades to water infrastructure for flood control, utilities, water district facilities, wildlife water catchments, and other similar uses may continue; and that utility lines, pipelines, and roads can continue to be maintained, upgraded, and built consistent with proper care and management of the monument objects. Existing mining claims – predating a 20-year mineral withdraw initiated in 2012 – will remain in place, and the two approved mining operations within the boundaries of the monument would be able to operate.

The national monument only includes federal lands and does not include State and private lands within the boundary or affect the property rights of the State or private land owners. 

Background on Antiquities Act Designations

President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Statue of Liberty, the Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients, and New Mexico’s Gila Cliff Dwellings.

The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is President Biden’s fifth new monument designation, following the creation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi last month, the Castner Range National Monument in Texas and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada this spring, and the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado last fall.

Biden Administration, Civil Rights, President Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

On what would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, President Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois. The new national monument tells the story of the events surrounding Emmett Till’s murder, their significance in the civil rights movement and American history, and the broader story of Black oppression, survival, and bravery in America.  

The new national monument is anchored at three historic sites in Chicago, Illinois; Sumner, Mississippi; and just outside of Glendora, Mississippi. These sites are central to Emmett Till’s racially motivated murder in 1955 and the defining events that followed – including the courageous activism and leadership of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The new national monument will also encourage and enable partnerships between the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and local communities and organizations to help conserve and interpret a broader network of historic sites that help tell the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.

The nationwide coverage of the horrific lynching of Emmett Till, as well as Mamie Till-Mobley’s courageous efforts to honor her son’s story through education and activism, elevated the broader reality of the injustices and inequality that Black people experienced during the Jim Crow era and helped catalyze the civil rights movement. Mere months following Emmett Till’s murder, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus. She later cited Emmett Till as the reason she would not acquiesce. 
 
The designation builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to advance civil rights and racial justice, including through the President’s signing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act that codified lynching as a federal hate crime. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is President Biden’s fourth new national monument, and reflects the Administration’s commitment to protecting places that help tell a more complete story of our nation’s history.
 
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is managed by the National Park Service, and comprises 5.70 acres across three separate historic sites in Illinois and Mississippi. Through the historical objects protected at these sites, the monument tells the story of Emmett Till’s too-short life and murder, the unjust acquittal of his murderers, and the activism of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who courageously brought the world’s attention to the brutal injustices and racism of the time.
 
While on a trip from his home in Chicago to visit family in the Mississippi Delta in 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was accused of making inappropriate advances toward a white female grocery clerk. Emmett Till’s cousins and friends, who were present at the scene, disputed the claim. Four days after the alleged incident, he was pulled from his bed, kidnapped, and brutally murdered by at least two white men. Three days following this abduction, on August 31, 1955, Emmett Till’s mutilated body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River.

Graball Landing, located just outside of Glendora, Mississippi, is one of the three sites preserved by the new national monument. Graball Landing is believed to be the site where Emmett Till’s body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River. In 2008, the community installed a memorial sign that has been removed or vandalized multiple times since it was first erected. The most recent version of the sign – dedicated in October 2019 – is over an inch thick and bulletproof.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, is the second monument site. The church is where on September 3, 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley held an open-casket funeral service for her son in defiance of directives from Mississippi authorities that Emmett Till be buried quickly in Mississippi. Over the course of several days, as many as 125,000 people attended the visitation and funeral services to mourn Emmett Till and bear witness.
 
The third monument site is the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi where the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers began on September 19, 1955 in a segregated courtroom. An all-white jury wrongfully acquitted Emmett Till’s two killers after just over an hour of deliberation. Both killers later admitted their crimes to a leading magazine in an interview for which they were paid. No one was ever held legally accountable for Emmett Till’s death.
 
In addition to designating the three sites as a new national monument, today’s proclamation directs the National Park Service to develop a plan in consultation with local communities, organizations, and the public to support the interpretation and preservation of other key sites in Mississippi and Illinois that help tell the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. This may include the Glendora Cotton Gin (currently known as the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center), Mound Bayou, the Tutwiler Funeral Home, and the Emmett Till Boyhood Home.
 
The designation honors the tireless efforts of Emmett Till’s family, community and civil rights leaders, and local, state, and federal elected officials to ensure that these sites are protected and that Emmett Till’s story continues to be told. In the lead up to the designation, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory visited the sites and met with community members to learn about their vision on how to best educate the public about not only the brutal lynching of Emmett Till, but how the events surrounding his death helped to dismantle Jim Crow and served as a turning point in the struggle for civil rights in the United States.
 
Background on Antiquities Act Designations

President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Stonewall National Monument, and the César E. Chávez National Monument.

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is President Biden’s fourth new monument designation, following the creation of the Castner Range National Monument in Texas and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada this spring, and Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado last fall.

Biden Administration, Housing

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Actions to Lower Housing Costs and Boost Supply

Launches first-of-its-kind program to address land use and zoning barriers that limit housing

President Biden’s economic vision is about building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down— that’s Bidenomics. A critical foundation of that vision is an economy where everyone has access to a safe and affordable home. That vision means lowering costs, including by building and preserving more housing, particularly for lower- and middle-income households. The Administration is taking action to lower housing costs by tackling challenges that have stifled affordable housing for decades, as well as seizing immediate opportunities © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden’s economic vision is about building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down— that’s Bidenomics. A critical foundation of that vision, and the central goal of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan, is an economy where everyone has access to a safe and affordable home. That vision means lowering costs, including by building and preserving more housing, particularly for lower- and middle-income households. Today’s announcements will lower housing costs by tackling challenges that have stifled affordable housing for decades, as well as seizing immediate opportunities:

  • Reducing barriers to build housing like restrictive and costly land use and zoning rules;
     
  • Expanding financing for affordable, energy efficient and resilient housing; and
     
  • Promoting commercial-to-residential conversion opportunities, particularly for affordable and zero emissions housing.

Recent data show that inflation in rental markets is decelerating and more apartments are on track to be built this year than any year on record. The Administration’s actions are directly leading to the creation of tens of thousands of affordable housing units. For example, jurisdictions participating in the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) HOME program will produce at least 20,000 units of affordable housing and support an additional 23,000 households with rental assistance, non-congregate shelter, or supportive services. Treasury recently announced that communities across the country will use ARP State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund funds for 2,500 separate projects and developments to meet housing needs and combat homelessness. And since the Administration’s restart of the Federal Financing Bank’s Risk Sharing program, almost 12,000 rental homes have been created or preserved.
 
Today’s actions further build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan and updates announced last fall, and are a down payment on the historic housing investments proposed in the President’s Budget that would boost supply, lower costs and cut dangerous climate pollution, promote homeownership, protect renters, and promote fair housing. They also complement the actions by the Biden-Harris Administration in just the last week, including a crackdown on junk fees in the rental housing market, and new steps announced today that build on its Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights.
 
Reducing Barriers to Build Housing Like Restrictive and Costly Land Use and Zoning Rules
 
Local land use laws and zoning regulations limit where, and how densely, housing can be built. This constrains housing supply, perpetuates historical patterns of segregation, prevents workers from accessing jobs, and increases energy costs and climate risk. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to fund jurisdictions committed to removing barriers that restrict housing production and preservation, including by:
 
Announcing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program. Restrictive local land use rules slow down housing production, or prohibit housing being developed at all, which increases the costs to rent or purchase a home. Such restrictive rules are often also inconsistent with fair housing principles. This first-of-its-kind $85 million federal program will provide communities with funding to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. HUD will award grants of up to $10 million to jurisdictions that have an acute demand for affordable housing and are working to identify, address, or remove barriers to housing production and preservation. Funding can be used for planning and policy activities to allow for higher-density zoning and rezoning for multifamily and mixed-use housing, streamlining affordable housing development, and reducing requirements related to parking and other land use restrictions. Funding can also be used for infrastructure activities necessary for the development or preservation of housing.
 
Reducing land-use restrictions and improving transportation access to housing. Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation announced its Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) program, which will provide up to $3.16 billion for planning and capital construction projects that prioritize disadvantaged communities and improve access to daily destinations. This includes improving connections to affordable housing, fostering equitable development, and increasing housing supply through zoning reform. RCN includes a $450 million Regional Partnership Challenge that will incentivize stronger regional partnerships to tackle persistent equitable access and mobility challenges, with land use reform as a key priority.
 
Encouraging the improvement of land use in Economic Development Administration grant programs. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) updated its “Investment Priorities” that guide the agency’s grantmaking to include an emphasis on efficient land use, where commercial uses, economic activity, and employment opportunities are concentrated and accessible to nearby residential density. Moving forward, EDA will more explicitly incentivize projects that include an emphasis on density in the vicinity of the project – which can in turn encourage greater housing supply and allow people to live closer to work and services they need.
 
Expanding Financing to Create and Repair Affordable, Energy Efficient and Climate Resilient Housing
 
Gaps in access to financing, along with the complexity of mixing funding sources, limit the production or preservation of affordable housing. The Biden-Harris Administration is taking the following actions to expand financing for affordable, energy efficient, and climate resilient housing going forward:
 
Providing new financing for affordable, energy efficient, climate resilient housing and clean energy investments. This month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which will mobilize private capital and provide financing for thousands of clean energy projects, including cost-saving retrofits of existing homes and buildings, construction of zero emissions buildings, and commercial to residential conversions, among others. Such investments will reduce pollution and lower utility costs. This announcement follows HUD’s announcement of its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program with over $830 million available in grants and loan subsidy, for loan commitments up to $4 billion, to modernize existing HUD-assisted affordable homes so they remain available for families into the future. The Department of Energy also released $90 million to advances efficiency and resilience through building codes, and HUD, FHA, and the United States Department of Agriculture proposed modernizing energy codes.
 
Making it easier to build and rehabilitate apartments with FHA-insured mortgages. HUD announced new guidelines that increase the dollar amount threshold at which a multifamily loan is considered a large loan and is subject to additional underwriting requirements from $75 million to $120 million. This change will simplify underwriting and reduce development costs for large multifamily properties financed with FHA-insured mortgages without presenting undue risk to FHA, significantly expanding commitments for affordable housing financing. HUD will review this large loan limit annually.
 
Streamlining financing for the creation of affordable housing. HUD announced that it will allow larger loans to participate in the agency’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Pilot Program, which increases the number of apartment sites eligible for a program that streamlines financing. HUD also updated guidelines to allow public housing authorities (PHAs) to more easily use housing vouchers and mixed-finance transactions to create or preserve housing.
 
Repairing and expanding affordable housing. HUD published new guidance for public housing authorities and multifamily housing owners participating in the Rental Assistance Demonstration, providing them with additional tools to repair and build deeply affordable housing. The guidance also promotes water- and energy-efficiency investments, and includes new requirements that address climate resilience, adopts stronger energy efficiency standards, and supports repairs to thousands of existing affordable units in the next three years.
 
Empowering homeowners to be part of the solution by increasing financing for onsite housing units. In April, FHA proposed updates that, if implemented, would make it easier to finance accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are additional onsite housing units. Among the changes is the ability to include projected rental income from an ADU as part of the qualifying income when purchasing or refinancing a home. This added flexibility would expand opportunities for low- and moderate-income homeowners to benefit from the wealth-building potential of ADUs while increasing the stock of affordable housing.
 
Promoting Commercial-to-Residential Conversions
 
Across the country, commercial vacancies are affecting urban and regional economies. Commercial-to-residential conversion can counteract those effects, reenergize local economies, and add to the supply of housing. The adaptive reuse of these properties also presents an opportunity to create zero-emissions housing, which will reduce energy costs for residents and cut dangerous climate pollution. Recognizing that opportunity, the Biden-Harris Administration is launching a new commercial-to-residential conversion initiative that is:
 
Leveraging federal funding and other tools to support conversions. The White House will lead a new interagency working group to develop and advance federal funding opportunities that support the conversion of commercial properties to housing, and leverage climate-focused federal resources to create zero emissions and affordable units. For example, programs like HUD’s PRO Housing announced today, as well as investments from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, can be used for such conversions. As part of this initiative, the General Services Administration (GSA) will launch an effort to identify and market surplus federal properties that represent the best opportunities for commercial-to-residential conversions. Ongoing conversion projects from GSA dispositions are already producing over 1,000 new housing units. The initiative will continue to convene developers, municipalities, and other stakeholders to learn about opportunities and challenges.
 
Funding research that supports commercial to residential conversions. This week, HUD announced new funding to support research on office-to-residential conversions, including producing a new guide for state and local policymakers on how to make these projects more economically viable. Building on a public convening held this week on office-to-residential conversions, HUD will release a policy brief on this topic later this year.

Biden Administration, Financial Protection, Housing

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Protect Renters

The Biden-Harris Administration is taking concrete actions to protect renters including: ensuring all renters have an opportunity to address incorrect tenant screening reports; providing new funding to support tenant organizing efforts; and ensuring that renters are given fair notice in advance of eviction © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Over 44 million households, or roughly 35 percent of the U.S. population, live in rental housing. But our nation’s rental market is defined by a patchwork of state and local laws and legal processes that leave far too many renters with little recourse when housing providers fail to comply with the law or the lease agreement.  President Biden believes every American deserves access to safe, accessible, and affordable housing, reflected in the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, which outlines principles and best practices at the federal, state and local level that would strengthen tenant protections and increase fairness in the rental market.
 
The Biden-Harris Administration is building on this framework and announcing a series of new, concrete actions to protect renters, which include:

  • Ensuring all renters have an opportunity to address incorrect tenant screening reports;
     
  • Providing new funding to support tenant organizing efforts; and
     
  • Ensuring that renters are given fair notice in advance of eviction.

These announcements build on a record of action and progress on behalf of renters. In response to the pandemic, the Biden-Harris Administration deployed unprecedented tools to keep Americans housed, including delivering nearly 11 million emergency rental assistance payments, and establishing a first-of-its-kind national eviction prevention infrastructure that kept eviction filings below pre-pandemic levels for 1.5 years after the eviction moratorium ended. However, many of the systemic inequities in rental markets that existed prior to the pandemic persist today and are compounded by our nation’s housing affordability challenges. That is why the Biden-Harris Administration has taken bold action to address issues of housing supply and lower costs through its Housing Supply Action Plan, including actions also announced today, and is announcing new actions on renters protections here.
 
These actions include:
 
Ensuring fair tenant screening practices. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and three independent agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) are each releasing guidance or best practices to landlords, operators, and stakeholders who rely on tenant screening reports when evaluating applications from renters. This guidance communicates the Administration’s expectations on informing renters of what information in their screening report is responsible for their application being denied. This information will help renters by giving them an opportunity to correct errors in their reports and address issues that impact their applications.  

Funding tenant education and outreach. HUD is announcing $10 million in new funding for tenant education and outreach in properties it supports. This funding will support capacity building efforts that enable tenants who live in HUD’s project based rental assistance housing to engage with property managers and help sustain safe, decent, and affordable housing. Under the program, funding can be used for training and technical assistance, as well as establishing and operating tenant organizations.  

Providing more time for tenants to avoid eviction. HUD has committed to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require that tenants of public housing and properties with project-based rental assistance receive a written notice at least 30 days prior to lease termination for nonpayment of rent. This proposed rule would curtail preventable and unnecessary evictions by providing tenants time and information to help address nonpayment violations. Tenants in public housing and properties with project-based rental assistance are already entitled to receive a 30 day notice in cases of non-payment of rent. However, if finalized, the proposed rule would permanently memorialize this requirement in HUD’s regulations, allowing the agency additional latitude to effectively communicate and implement these protections. As part of the rulemaking process, tenants and other parties will also be able to provide their comments and perspectives to help HUD make sure this rule assists with preventable evictions.

Increasing resident engagement requirements. This week, HUD published new guidance for public housing authorities and multifamily housing owners participating in the Rental Assistance Demonstration, strengthening resident protections through updated resident engagement requirements and enhanced HUD oversight tools, including active monitoring of additional information that demonstrates resident engagement. These new requirements will help ensure residents have more opportunities to provide feedback on the preservation of their homes. 

Ensuring renters have a seat at the table. The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized engagement with tenants, tenant organizers and advocacy organizations, including in the creation of its Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. These engagements ensure renter voice and expertise inform the government’s understanding of challenges that exist in the rental market, and that solutions increase fairness. This week HUD hosted the National Conversation at The Community Table, to hear directly from hundreds of renters on federal policy. In addition, FHFA, FTC and CFPB have each issued requests for information that will inform their respective policymaking; Treasury is hosting quarterly tenant listening sessions on individuals’ experiences with emergency rental assistance; and USDA will host a convening with renters in rural areas this fall.

Announcing major private sector and state and local action. In January, the White House announced its Resident-Centered Housing Challenge, a call to action to housing providers and other stakeholders to strengthen practices that improve quality of life for renters. Since then, over 100 public and private sector entities have pledged to align with the principles in the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Right. The Administration continues to rally the private and public sector, and welcomes additional actions from housing providers and others to meet this call. Several commitments were announced at the launch of the challenge; examples of new actions include:

Private Actors

  • Zillow, next year, will launch the ability for its nearly 28 million average monthly unique visitors to search for affordable rental units, including listings that may meet requirements for programs like the Housing Choice Vouchers and income restricted affordable housing. Zillow will offer a one-stop-shop for renters to find affordable rentals and easy to understand information about local laws that will help ensure users know their rights related to leasing and remaining housed with or without rental assistance.
     
  • AffordableHousing.com will, this year, deploy “Clear and Fair” digital leases that advocate the principles outlined in the White House Blueprint for a Renter Bill of Rights. Property owners who use these “Clear and Fair” leases will be acknowledged on the site, which receives more than 100 million property searches each year.
     
  • Last week, Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com announced they will provide consumers with total, upfront cost information on rental properties, which can be hundreds of dollars on top of the advertised rent.

State and Local Governments

  • Colorado enacted House Bill 23-1120, which requires landlords and tenants to go through mediation in eviction proceedings if the tenant qualified for some forms of financial assistance, and House Bill 23-1095, prohibiting rental agreements from including a certain waiver that limit a renter’s legal recourse.
     
  • Connecticut enacted Senate Bill 998, which increases fines on landlords to $2,000 for breaking housing code violations, bans landlords from housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, puts new limits on the amount landlords can charge in fees for overdue rent, offers protections against certain evictions and rent increases to a protected class, and removes online eviction records of cases that were withdrawn, dismissed, or decided in favor of the tenant within 30 days.
  • Jersey City, NJ announced a “Right To Counsel” program in April 2023, as did Westchester County, NY in May 2023, and  St. Louis, MO in July 2023. These programs offer legal assistance to qualified renters facing an eviction.
     
  • Los Angeles, CA and Santa Ana, CA each released a series of renter protections. Los Angeles’ ordinances include “just cause” eviction protections, a timeline for paying rental debt accrued during the pandemic, and require landlords to pay relocation fees in some situations, amongst other protections. Santa Ana’s new rental registry will ensure tenants and landlords know their rights and responsibilities and will compliment an eviction prevention program providing rental assistance and supports to qualified households.

These actions come on the heels of other Biden-Harris Administration actions since creating the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. CFPB and FTC, both independent agencies, issued a Request for Information seeking public comment on how background screening may shut renters out of housing. FHFA, also in independent agency, initiated a process to solicit feedback on ways to advance renter protections in its financing programs. All three agencies have committed to using those responses to inform potential policy action. HUD released a notification for public comment on ways it can improve its regulations and accessibility standards to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to all HUD-assisted programs, activities, and facilities. In addition, the White House announced first-of-its-kind funding for legal services for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness in June. Just last week, President Biden announced new actions to address unfair and hidden fees in the rental housing market. Congressional action could bolster these efforts by codifying renters’ rights into law, and to passing the President’s budget proposal, which includes historic investments to lower housing cost and protect renters, expand housing supply and affordability, including funding for eviction prevention.

Biden Administration, Economic Policies, Financial Protection, Housing, President Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes on Junk Fees in Rental Housing to Lower Costs for Renters

Major rental housing platforms and several states join the President’s effort to crack down on rental housing junk fees for consumers and increase transparency
 

President Biden announced a new front in his crackdown on junk fees: rental housing. From repeated rental application fees to surprise “convenience fees,” millions of families incur burdensome costs in the rental application process and throughout the duration of their lease. These fees are often more than the actual cost of providing the service, or are added onto rents to cover services that renters assume are included—or that they don’t even want. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

While the 3x indicted, 2x impeached serial criminal dictator wannabe Donald J. Trump continues to overturn democracy and seek office solely for his own benefit (staying out of prison, unlimited funds), the Biden-Harris Administration continues to actually take actions (not talk or promises) to make lives better for all Americans. The benefits are demonstrated in the strength of the economy, record job growth, real increases in wages. While Republicans do everything they can to obstruct, to create false narratives (inflation! Gas prices! Crime! Hunter Biden) and have undermined (sabotaged) the economy by bringing the full faith and credit in the U.S. to the brink, causing a lowering in America’s credit rating, Biden has taken action to lower costs for average Americans, give families “more breathing room” and grow the economy sustainably, from the bottom up and the middle out. Here’s a White House fact sheet on the latest actions: –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden announced a new front in his crackdown on junk fees: rental housing. From repeated rental application fees to surprise “convenience fees,” millions of families incur burdensome costs in the rental application process and throughout the duration of their lease. These fees are often more than the actual cost of providing the service, or are added onto rents to cover services that renters assume are included—or that they don’t even want.
 
Rental housing fees can be a serious burden on renters. Rental application fees can be up to $100 or more per application, and, importantly, they often exceed the actual cost of conducting the background and credit checks. Given that prospective renters often apply for multiple units over the course of their housing search, these application fees can add up to hundreds of dollars. Even after renters secure housing, they are often surprised to be charged mandatory fees on top of their rent, including “convenience fees” to pay rent online, fees for things like mail sorting and trash collection, and even so-called “January fees” charged for no clear reason at the beginning of a new calendar year. Hidden fees not only take money out of people’s pockets, they also make it more difficult to comparison shop. A prospective renter may choose one apartment over another thinking it is less expensive, only to learn that after fees and other add-ons the actual cost for their chosen apartment is much higher than they expected or can afford.
 
The President outlined several new, concrete steps in the Administration’s effort to crack down on rental junk fees and lower costs for renters, including:

  • New commitments from major rental housing platforms—Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com—who have answered the President’s call for transparency and will provide consumers with total, upfront cost information on rental properties, which can be hundreds of dollars on top of the advertised rent;
     
  • New research from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides a blueprint for a nationwide effort to address rental housing junk fees; and
     
  • Legislative action in states across the country—from Connecticut to California—who are joining the Administration in its effort to crack down on rental housing fees and protect consumers.

These announcements build on the President’s effort to tackle junk fees across industries. President Biden has repeatedly called on federal agencies, Congress, and private companies to take action to address junk fees across the economy, and ensure Americans are provided with honest, transparent pricing. These hidden fees increase the costs consumers pay: studies have found that consumers pay upward of 20 percent extra when the actual price of the product or service is not disclosed upfront. Providing consumers with the full price they can expect to pay creates competition among providers to lower costs, without relying on hidden fees. Earlier this year HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge released an open letter to housing providers and state and local governments to encourage them to adopt policies that promote greater fairness and transparency of fees specifically faced by renters.
Today’s actions include:
 
Commitments by rental housing platforms to show total costs up front. Each month, tens of millions of customers search online to find their next apartment or house. Today, major rental housing platforms are answering President Biden’s call for pricing transparency and announcing new steps to provide consumers with up-front information about fees in rental housing, building on recent actions by private sector leaders in other sectors, including airlines and event tickets. By providing the true costs of rent, people can make an informed decision about where to live and not be surprised by additional costs that push them over budget.
 
These companies are making the following announcements:

  • Zillow is today launching a Cost of Renting Summary on its active apartment listings, empowering the 28 million unique monthly users on its rental platform with clear information on the cost of renting. This new tool will enable renters to easily find out the total cost of renting an apartment from the outset, including all monthly costs and one-time costs, like security deposits and application fees.
     
  • Apartments.com is announcing that this year it will launch a new calculator on its platform that will help renters determine the all-in price of a desired unit. This will include all up-front costs as well as recurring monthly rents and fees. The Apartments.com Network currently lists almost 1.5 million active availabilities across more than 385,000 properties.
     
  • AffordableHousing.com, the nation’s largest online platform dedicated solely to affordable housing, will require owners to disclose all refundable and non-refundable fees and charges upfront in their listings. It will launch a new “Trusted Owner” badge that protects renters from being charged junk fees by identifying owners who have a history of adhering to best practices, including commitment to reasonable fee limits, no junk fees, and full fee disclosure.

New research on policy innovation to address rental fees. HUD is releasing a new research brief that provides an overview of the research on rental fees and highlights state, local, and private sector strategies to encourage transparency and fairness in the rental market, including capping or eliminating rental application fees; allowing prospective renters to provide their own screening reports; allowing a single application fee to cover multiple applications; and clearly identifying bottom-line amounts that tenants will pay for move-in and monthly rent. The brief provides a blueprint for how everyone from local government to landlords can do better for renters.
 
Recent state actions to address the hidden and unfair fees. In March, the White House convened hundreds of state legislative leaders, and released a resource entitled, “Guide for States: Cracking Down on Junk Fees to Lower Costs for Consumers.” Since the President drew attention to the pervasive issue of junk fees throughout the economy, a number of states have already gotten to work to crack down on rental housing fees, including:

  • Colorado. Enacted House Bill 1099, which allows prospective renters to reuse a rental application for up to 30 days without paying additional fees; and House Bill 1095, which limits fees to tenants when landlords fail to provide a nonrenewal notice that disguise fees as “rent,” and limits the amount a landlord can mark up a tenant for third-party services.
     
  • Rhode Island. Enacted House Bill 6087 to limit rental application fees beyond the actual cost of obtaining a background check or credit report, if the prospective tenant does not provide their own report.
     
  • Minnesota. Enacted Senate File 2909, which includes a requirement for landlords to clearly display the total monthly payment and all nonoptional fees on the first page of the lease agreement and in all advertisements.
     
  • Connecticut. Enacted Senate Bill 998 to prohibit a landlord from requiring a fee for processing, reviewing, or accepting a rental application, and set a cap of $50 on the amount that can be charged for tenant screening reports. The law also prohibits move-in and move-out fees, and certain fee-related lease provisions, including certain late fees related to utility payments.
     
  • Maine. Enacted Legislative Document 691 to prohibit a landlord from charging a fee to submit a rental application that exceeds the actual cost of a background check, a credit check, or another screening process. The law also prohibits a landlord from charging more than one screening fee in any 12-month period. 
     
  • Montana. Senate passed Senate Bill 320 to require landlords to refund application fees to unsuccessful rental applicants except any portion of the fee used to cover costs related to reviewing the application, including conducting a background check. Landlords may only charge candidates for the actual cost of obtaining a background check or credit report.
     
  • California. Senate passed Senate Bill 611 to require the mandatory disclosure of monthly rent rates, including disclosure of a range of payments, fees, deposits, or charges, and to prohibit certain fees from being charged.

Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, both independent agencies, requested information on tenant screening processes, including how landlords and property managers set application and screening fees, which will help inform enforcement and policy actions under each agency’s jurisdiction. The CFPB has noted that background checks too often include inaccurate or misleading information and risk scores that lack independent validation of their reliability.
 
These announcements build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support renters, including through the release of a first-of-its-kind Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights and a Housing Supply Action Plan, focused on boosting the supply of affordable housing—including rental housing. Reducing housing costs is central to Bidenomics, and recent data show that inflation in rental housing is abating. Moreover, experts predict that roughly 1 million new apartments will be built this year, increasing supply that will further increase affordability. The actions announced today will help renters understand these fees and the full price they can expect to pay, and create additional competition housing providers to reduce reliance on hidden fees.
 
In the coming months, the Biden-Harris Administration will work with Congress, state leaders, and the private sector to address rental junk fees and build a fairer rental housing market. On July 26, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will host its first-ever hearing on junk fees, including in the rental housing market.

Biden Administration, Climate Action, Economic Development, Energy, Jobs, News & Photo Features

FACT SHEET: Bidenomics is Boosting Clean Energy Manufacturing for Offshore Wind and Creating Good-Paying American Union Jobs and Advancing a Clean-Energy Economy

Peoples Climate March, Washington DC April 29, 2017. President Biden is making historic investments in transitioning to a clean energy future, against opposition by Republicans © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden visited Philly Shipyard, where union workers are building a new offshore wind vessel as part of continued manufacturing boom—while Republicans in Congress voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and continue to try to block clean energy progress. This is a fact sheet from the White House on how Bidenomics is boosting clean energy manufacturing for offshore wind, which is creating well-paying union jobs in America that cannot be outsourced, while advancing the transition to a clean-energy economy to stem the existential impacts of climate change—Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com 

President Biden’s economic agenda—Bidenomics— is fueling America’s clean energy future, creating American-made products in American factories with American workers, and attracting more than $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments, including in the offshore wind industry. President Biden visited Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a steel-cutting ceremony at the Philly Shipyard for the first offshore wind vessel of its kind to be Made in America and Jones Act compliant, employing over 1,000 workers across nine unions to build the vessel, using steel plates made by the United Steelworkers in Indiana, and generating an estimated $125 million of U.S. economic activity each year. This project is another example of how Bidenomics is growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.
 
Under President Biden’s leadership, the American offshore wind industry is rapidly expanding—creating good-paying union jobs across the manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction sectors. Since President Biden took office, companies have announced 18 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain, representing thousands of new jobs. New data released shows there are more than 4,100 companies in all 50 states that are looking to support the U.S. offshore wind industry, up 54% since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act.

President Biden also announced the first-ever Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease sale. This is the latest in a broad set of actions by the Biden-Harris Administration to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind projects by 2030—enough to power more than 10 million homes with clean energy. A key pillar of Bidenomics, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help create offshore wind jobs across the country, including through tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act to support Made in America wind turbines and ships.

However, if Republicans in Congress had their way, their states would have lost out on billions of dollars in investments, jobs, and opportunity. In Pennsylvania alone, companies have committed to invest approximately $2 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments since President Biden took office. Yet nearly every Republican Member of the House voted again to overturn the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits in April 2023—doubling down on their opposition at a time when manufacturers were investing in their state.
 
Bidenomics is Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy and Offshore Wind Industry

As part of President Biden’s historic actions to build a clean energy economy, the Biden-Harris Administration has jumpstarted an American offshore wind industry that will strengthen the nation’s energy security, make the power grid more reliable while lowering energy costs, and reduce dangerous climate pollution. The Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to advance responsible offshore wind deployment are creating opportunities up and down the supply chain. A report released today by the Business Network for Offshore Wind shows the immense growth of the U.S. offshore wind industry since President Biden took office, with the Inflation Reduction Act catalyzing further progress:

  • Since January 2021, investments in the U.S. offshore wind industry have quadrupled from $5 billion to $21.6 billion, including growth of $7.7 billion since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. These totals reflect investments across specific project lease areas as well as the supply chain, port and transmission infrastructure, and workforce development needed to support the industry.
     
  • More than 4,100 companies across all 50 states have joined a supplier registry to express interest in providing components and services to the offshore wind industry—169% growth since President Biden took office and up 54% since he signed the Inflation Reduction Act.
     
  • The U.S. offshore wind industry now includes nearly 1,500 contracts for work in the growing American market, growth of 272% since President Biden took office and up 47% since he signed the Inflation Reduction Act, with 90% of these contracts going to companies that are either U.S. headquartered or have a U.S. presence.
     

This nationwide growth reflects jobs up and down the offshore wind supply chain and across the country. For example, today’s steel-cutting ceremony at the Philly Shipyard launches the construction of the Acadia, the first-ever Jones Act compliant vessel for offshore wind subsea rock installation—a contract that was announced as a direct result of the Administration’s clean energy agenda. This vessel will be crewed by American mariners and take rocks from American quarries to protect the foundations of offshore wind projects that produce American clean energy. Additional supply chain progress includes:

  • New and expanded ports and manufacturing facilities: Today the Department of Energy (DOE) published an updated map of offshore wind supply chain investments announced just since President Biden took office, including nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports—representing major new economic opportunities across not just the East Coast, but also in the Midwest and along the Gulf of Mexico and West Coast. Under President Biden, the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded more than $100 million for port projects to support offshore wind development, through the Port Infrastructure Development Program expanded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
     
  • Vessel construction across multiple states: Since President Biden took office, companies have also announced investments to build 18 offshore wind vessels across states including Florida, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Last year, MARAD announced the designation of offshore wind vessels as Vessels of National Interest for priority consideration under the Federal Ship Financing Program. Since then, MARAD has received and advanced reviews of applications for a variety of offshore wind vessel types.
     
  • Steel manufacturing boosts to support offshore wind industry: Recent announcements include an investment of $145 million to upgrade a steel facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio—following previously announced upgrades of $260 million for a steel plate mill in Baytown, Texas—to serve the offshore wind industry and the broader clean energy industry; a new advanced component steel facility in Baltimore that will construct and assemble offshore wind components using steel prefabricated at Maryland facilities; and an additional contract for a facility in western New York to provide specialized structural steelwork for the Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind projects. 

 
Earlier this year at the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum in Baltimore, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi outlined ten ways the Administration is making progress toward the goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Recent progress made by the Biden-Harris Administration toward this goal includes:

  • New Lease Areas: Today the Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing the final sale notice for the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, which will take place on August 29. This historic sale—with enough clean energy potential to power almost 1.3 million homes—will include one lease area of 102,480 acres offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two lease areas totaling nearly 200,000 acres offshore Galveston, Texas. This sale will follow the Administration’s offshore wind sales in the New York Bight, Carolina Long Bay, and northern and central California, as well as yesterday’s announcement that DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed another step in reviewing a potential offshore wind research lease in the Gulf of Maine.
     
  • Efficient and Responsible Permitting: Earlier this week, BOEM completed environmental analysis of the proposed Revolution Wind project offshore Rhode Island. If approved, it could power more than 300,000 homes with clean energy. This permitting milestone follows BOEM’s final construction approval earlier this month for the nation’s third large-scale offshore wind project, Ocean Wind 1 off the coast of New Jersey, which is expected to create more than 3,000 good-paying jobs. Other recent progress includes draft Environmental Impact Statements for six additional projects: Empire Wind, Sunrise Wind, Coastal Virginia Wind (CVOW), New England Wind, SouthCoast Wind, and Atlantic Shores South. In total, BOEM and cooperating agencies are on track to complete reviews of at least 16 project plans by 2025, representing more than 27 gigawatts of clean energy. The Administration is holding projects to high standards for community engagement and environmental protection, including work by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ensure protection of coastal and marine resources, and requiring offshore wind projects to adopt extensive monitoring and mitigation measures that reduce the potential for impacts to protected species.
     
  • Construction Milestones: The nation’s first two large-scale offshore wind projects, approved by the Biden-Harris Administration, are both being built by union labor and achieved “steel in the water” by starting to install foundations last month. These projects will provide a wide range of benefits. For example, Vineyard Wind offshore Massachusetts will create enough clean electricity to power 400,000 homes, save customers $1.4 billion on their utility bills over 20 years, and reduce climate pollution by more than 1.5 million metric tons each year—the equivalent of taking 325,000 gas cars off the road—while creating 3,600 good-paying jobs. South Fork Wind offshore New York is using high-tech cables made in Charleston, South Carolina at a new factory, an electrical substation engineered in Kansas and fabricated in Texas, and a service operations vessel being built at shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, with components sourced from across 34 states.
Biden Administration, Cybersecurity, News & Photo Features, President Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Publishes the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan


President Biden has made clear that all Americans deserve the full benefits and potential of our digital future. The Biden-Harris Administration’s recently released National Cybersecurity Strategy calls for two fundamental shifts in how the United States allocates roles, responsibilities, and resources in cyberspace.

While Donald Trump runs to take back the presidency in order to save himself from prison and continue to enrich himself off the office ($1.6 billion 2017-2021), President Joe Biden continues to actually get things done for the American people, and all fronts: growing the economy, adding jobs, increasing wages and income, increasing financial security, and protecting the country from enemies foreign and domestic, including the threats from cyberattacks and unregulated Artificial Intelligence. But the noise and tumult over Trump’s unprecedented criminal prosecutions and the Republicans who are enabling him, are drowning out any notice of what Biden is accomplishing. Here is a fact sheet on the Biden-Harris administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan—Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Read the full Implementation Plan here


President Biden has made clear that all Americans deserve the full benefits and potential of our digital future. The Biden-Harris Administration’s recently released National Cybersecurity Strategy calls for two fundamental shifts in how the United States allocates roles, responsibilities, and resources in cyberspace:

  1. Ensuring that the biggest, most capable, and best-positioned entities – in the public and private sectors – assume a greater share of the burden for mitigating cyber risk
     
  2. Increasing incentives to favor long-term investments into cybersecurity

The Administration is announcing a roadmap to realize this bold, affirmative vision. It is taking the novel step of publishing the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan (NCSIP) to ensure transparency and a continued path for coordination. This plan details more than 65 high-impact Federal initiatives, from protecting American jobs by combatting cybercrimes to building a skilled cyber workforce equipped to excel in our increasingly digital economy. The NCSIP, along with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and other major Administration initiatives, will protect our investments in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, developing our clean energy sector, and re-shoring America’s technology and manufacturing base.

Each NCSIP initiative is assigned to a responsible agency and has a timeline for completion. Some initiatives, such as the issuance of the Administration’s Cybersecurity Priorities for the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, have been completed ahead of schedule. Other completed activities, such as the transmittal of the May 26th Department of Defense 2023 Cyber Strategy to Congress, and the June 20th creation of a new National Security Cyber Section by the Justice Department, are key milestones in completing initiatives. This is the first iteration of the plan, which is a living document that will be updated annually.

Eighteen agencies are leading initiatives in this whole-of-government plan demonstrating the Administration’s deep commitment to a more resilient, equitable, and defensible cyberspace. The Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) will coordinate activities under the plan, including an annual report to the President and Congress on the status of implementation, and partner with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure funding proposals in the President’s Budget Request are aligned with NCSIP initiatives. The Administration looks forward to implementing this plan in continued collaboration with the private sector, civil society, international partners, Congress, and state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments. As an example of the Administration’s commitment to public-private collaboration, ONCD is also working on a request for information regarding cybersecurity regulatory harmonization that will be published in the near future. The

NCSIP is not intended to capture all Federal agency activities in support of the NCS. The following are sample initiatives from the plan, which is organized by the NCS pillars and strategic objectives.

Pillar One | Defending Critical Infrastructure

  • Update the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (1.4.1): During a cyber incident, it is critical that the government acts in a coordinated manner and that private sector and SLTT partners know how to get help. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will lead a process to update the National Cyber Incident Response Plan to more fully realize the policy that “a call to one is a call to all.” The update will also include clear guidance to external partners on the roles and capabilities of Federal agencies in incident response and recovery.

Pillar Two | Disrupting and Dismantling Threat Actors

  • Combat Ransomware (2.5.2 and 2.5.4): Through the Joint Ransomware Task Force, which is co-chaired by CISA and the FBI, the Administration will continue its campaign to combat the scourge of ransomware and other cybercrime. The FBI will work with Federal, international, and private sector partners to carry out disruption operations against the ransomware ecosystem, including virtual asset providers that enable laundering of ransomware proceeds and web fora offering initial access credentials or other material support for ransomware activities. A complementary initiative, led by CISA, will include offering resources such as training, cybersecurity services, technical assessments, pre-attack planning, and incident response to high-risk targets of ransomware, like hospitals and schools, to make them less likely to be affected and to reduce the scale and duration of impacts if they are attacked.

Pillar Three | Shaping Market Forces and Driving Security and Resilience

  • Software Bill of Materials (3.3.2): Increasing software transparency allows market actors to better understand their supply chain risk and to hold their vendors accountable for secure development practices. CISA continues to lead work with key stakeholders to identify and reduce gaps in software bill of materials (SBOM) scale and implementation. CISA will also explore requirements for a globally-accessible database for end of life/end of support software and convene an international staff-level working group on SBOM.

Pillar Four | Investing in a Resilient Future

  • Drive Key Cybersecurity Standards (4.1.3, 4.3.3): Technical standards are foundational to the Internet, and U.S. leadership in this area is essential to the vibrancy and security of cyberspace. Consistent with the National Standards Strategy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will convene the Interagency International Cybersecurity Standardization Working Group to coordinate major issues in international cybersecurity standardization and enhance U.S. federal agency participation in the process. NIST will also finish standardization of one or more quantum-resistant publickey cryptographic algorithms.

Pillar Five | Forging International Partnerships to Pursue Shared Goals

  • International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy (5.1.1 and 5.1.2): Cyberspace is inherently global, and policy solutions must reflect close collaboration with our partners and allies. The Department of State will publish an International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy that incorporates bilateral and multilateral activities. State will also work to catalyze the development of staff knowledge and skills related to cyberspace and digital policy that can be used to establish and strengthen country and regional interagency cyber teams to facilitate coordination with partner nations.