On Earth Day, President Biden is traveling to Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, VA, a national park system site developed by FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps, to announce $7 billion in awards through EPA’s Solar for All program and unveil major steps to advance the American Climate Corps. This Fact Sheet outlining President Biden’s historic climate actions was provided by the White House :
When President Biden took office, he pledged to restore America’s climate leadership at home and abroad. On his first day in office, the President signed the United States back into the Paris Agreement. And each day since, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to lead and deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in history, including securing the largest ever climate investment and unleashing a clean energy manufacturing boom that has attracted hundreds of billions in private sector investment and created over 270,000 new clean energy jobs. The President’s agenda is also advancing environmental justice and ensuring that the benefits of climate investments reach overburdened communities, mobilizing the next generation of clean energy workers through the American Climate Corps, and delivering historic investments in our nation’s climate resilience. At the same time, the Administration is protecting America’s natural wonders, conserving more than 41 million acres of lands and waters.
Building on his climate, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda, President Biden will travel today to Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, to celebrate Earth Day 2024, and highlight his Administration’s unprecedented progress in tackling the climate crisis, cutting costs for everyday Americans, and creating good-paying jobs.
Expanding Access to Affordable Solar Energy
The President will announce $7 billion in grants through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All grant competition, a key component of the Inflation Reduction Act’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Selectees under the Solar for All program will serve every state and territory in the nation and deliver residential solar power to over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, saving overburdened households more than $350 million in electricity costs annually – approximately $400 per household – and avoiding more than 30 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the next 25 years.
The selectees will provide funds to states, territories, Tribes, municipalities, and nonprofits across the country to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. In total, solar projects funded by this program will create nearly 200,000 jobs. The program also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Mobilizing the Next Generation of Climate Leaders through the American Climate Corps
Joined by future members of President Biden’s American Climate Corps, including current AmeriCorps members, President Biden will also announce several new actions to stand up the American Climate Corps – a groundbreaking initiative modeled after FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps that will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow. The President will announce these actions at Prince William Forest Park, a national park system site developed by FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps and stewarded by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.
Nearly a century after FDR established the Civilian Conservation Corps, President Biden will announce today that Americans can now apply to join the American Climate Corps through a newly launched website, ClimateCorps.gov. The website will feature nearly 2,000 positions located across 36 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. These positions are hosted by hundreds of organizations advancing clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience. The website, which is launching in its beta form, will be regularly updated with new American Climate Corps positions. Its goal is to make it easy for any American to find work tackling the climate crisis while gaining the skills necessary for the clean energy and climate resilience workforce of the future. The first class of the American Climate Corps will be deployed to communities across the country in June 2024.
The Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing a new partnership with the North America’s Building Trades Unions’ nonprofit partner TradesFutures. Beginning this summer, every American Climate Corps member will have access to TradesFutures’ industry leading apprenticeship readiness curriculum during their term of service in the American Climate Corps, providing members with the opportunity to be trained in the foundational skills necessary for careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy and putting them on a pathway to good paying, union jobs.
Many American Climate Corps members will also have access to a streamlined pathway into federal service after a recent update to modernize the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Pathways Programs. The update will expand applicant eligibility for the Recent Graduates program to include individuals who have completed qualifying career or technical education service within designated American Climate Corps programs.
Today, three states – Vermont, New Mexico, and Illinois – are launching new state-based climate corps programs, building on 10 states that have already launched successful climate corps programs, demonstrating the power of skills-based training as a tool to expand pathways into good-paying jobs. These states will work with the American Climate Corps as implementing partners to ensure young people across the country are serving their communities, while participating in paid opportunities and working on projects to tackle climate change.
Additionally, beginning as a collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group, and AmeriCorps VISTA, a new interagency public private partnership – Energy Communities AmeriCorps – will place American Climate Corps members in priority energy communities across the country. The program will help support community-led projects, including environmental remediation, in the places that have powered our nation for generations.
Conserving America’s Lands, Waters, and Wildlife
These announcements come on the heels of a series of major conservation actions by the Biden-Harris Administration. Just last week, the Department of the Interior published a final rule to maximize protections of significant surface resources such as irreplaceable wildlife habitat for caribou and migratory birds on more than 13 million acres in the western Arctic while supporting subsistence uses and needs of Alaska Native communities. This action brings the number of acres of America’s lands and waters conserved under President Biden to 41 million. Additionally, the Interior Department released a final environmental analysis last week recommending denial of a right of way for the Ambler Road project; the proposed road, which would cross more than 200 miles of pristine lands, would have significant impacts on caribou and other subsistence resources upon which more than 60 Alaska Native communities rely.
In addition to these landmark conservation announcements in Alaska, the Interior Department released a rule to help guide the balanced management of all 245 million acres of America’s public lands that are overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. The rule will help to ensure the BLM continues to protect land health while managing other uses of public lands, such as clean energy development and outdoor recreation.
Throughout Earth Week, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce additional actions to build a stronger, healthier future for all: Tuesday will focus on helping ensure clean water for all communities; Wednesday will focus on accelerating America’s clean transportation future; Thursday will focus on steps to cut pollution from the power sector while strengthening America’s electricity grid; and Friday will focus on providing cleaner air and healthier schools for all children.
Biden-Harris Administration’s Top Climate Accomplishments
Deploying Clean, Affordable Electricity and Strengthening America’s Power Grid – President Biden has secured unprecedented investments in a clean power sector, unleashing a boom in American solar, wind, battery storage, and other clean energy technologies that are creating good-paying jobs and saving families money on utility bills. Through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, U.S. solar generation is projected to increase up to eight-fold and wind generation is projected to triple by 2030. President Biden has jumpstarted the U.S. offshore wind industry, with 10 gigawatts of commercial-scale projects now approved, enough to power nearly four million homes, including two projects that are already delivering power to the grid and others with construction underway. The President’s Investing in America agenda is also supporting transmission buildout and other power grid upgrades, deployment of distributed energy resources in disadvantaged communities, investments in clean electricity across rural America, and American manufacturing of clean energy technologies – all in pursuit of the President’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035. Through the President’s Federal Sustainability Plan, the U.S. Government is leading by example and has already signed agreements to provide federal facilities in 18 states with 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030.
And thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy project developers get access to expanded tax incentives if they pay workers prevailing wages and employ registered apprentices, helping make more clean energy jobs good-paying and union jobs.
Accelerating a Clean Transportation Future – President Biden is taking a whole-of-government approach to position the U.S. as a global leader in innovative and sustainable transportation. The Administration’s National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization is a landmark strategy for cutting all greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector by 2050. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act invest tens of billions to decarbonize shipping, trucking, transit, rail, and aviation, all while making communities more walkable, bikeable, and connected. And through the President’s Federal Sustainability Plan, the federal government has ordered over 58,000 zero-emission vehicles and has begun installing more than 25,000 charging ports, adding to the 8,000 already in use across the government.
In addition, the President rallied automakers and autoworkers around a historic goal of having electric vehicles (EVs) account for at least 50% of new passenger vehicles sold by 2030. To support this goal while driving down consumer costs, the Administration secured tax credits that reduce the cost of new or used clean vehicles by thousands of dollars directly at the dealership and is investing $7.5 billion into building out a national EV charging network. Since President Biden took office, EV sales have quadrupled, prices have come down by more than 20%, the number of charging stations has grown by over 80% – putting us on track to deploy 500,000 chargers by 2026 – and the U.S. auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. Driven by Biden-Harris Administration policies, the sector is experiencing a manufacturing renaissance with more than $160 billion of investments in EVs, batteries, and their supply chains. And just last month, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the strongest-ever vehicle emission standards for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
Cutting Energy Costs and Pollution at Homes, Schools, and in Communities – Reducing building emissions through efficiency improvements and electrification lowers energy bills for families, improves resiliency, and creates good-paying jobs. The President has created new programs to save American families on their energy bills through the Department of Energy’s Home Energy Rebates, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, and Treasury’s Home Energy Tax Credits. The Biden-Harris Administration is also strengthening energy efficiency standards to save households and businesses money, with standards updated by DOE for dozens of appliances expected to provide nearly $1 trillion in consumer savings over 30 years, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5 billion metric tons – equivalent to the emissions of 18 million gas-powered cars over 30 years. By invoking emergency authority, the President is expanding domestic heat pump manufacturing, which will cut the costs of heat pumps. To ensure that the 10 million new homes that will be built by 2030 are efficient and resilient, President Biden’s National Initiative to Advance Building Codes is accelerating adoption of modern building codes that protect people from extreme-weather events and help contribute to avoiding an estimated $1.6 billion a year in damages.
Revitalizing American Manufacturing for the Clean Economy – President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has helped catalyze historic manufacturing growth, with factories opening across the nation. To date, the private sector has announced nearly $700 billion in investments in manufacturing and clean energy. The President’s agenda is helping to make U.S. manufacturing the cleanest and most competitive in the world. The Inflation Reduction Act is investing more than $6 billion to slash climate pollution and support worker and community health at U.S. factories producing the steel, aluminum, cement, and other materials that form the backbone of our economy. To further support U.S. industrial competitiveness, the Biden Administration’s landmark Buy Clean initiative is leveraging the government’s sway as the largest purchaser on Earth to spur demand for low-emissions manufacturing and construction products.
Advancing Environmental Justice – Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice. The President signed a historic Executive Order that calls on the federal government to bring clean energy and healthy environments to all and mitigate harm to those who have suffered from pollution and environmental burdens like climate change. Through the Justice40 Initiative, over 500 programs across 19 federal agencies are being reimagined and transformed to maximize the benefits of President Biden’s unprecedented investments – from clean energy projects to floodwater protections to wastewater infrastructure – to communities that need them most. At the same time, the Administration is taking unprecedented action to protect communities from PFAS pollution, accelerate Superfund and brownfield cleanups, tighten standards for hazardous air pollutants, and enhance air quality enforcement.
Delivering Clean Water and Replacing Lead Pipes – President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to ensure a future where every American has access to clean, safe water. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $50 billion in upgrading the nation’s water infrastructure – the largest investment in clean water in American history. This funding is going towards expanding access to clean drinking water, replacing lead pipes, improving wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, and removing PFAS pollution in water. President Biden has also made a historic commitment to replace every toxic lead pipe in the country within a decade, protecting families from lead poisoning that can irreversibly harm brain development in children. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems to rapidly replace lead service lines.
Conserving our Lands and Waters –The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action to conserve and restore America’s lands and waters, including signing an Executive Order to set the first-ever national conservation goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 through the America the Beautiful Initiative. Last week the Administration launched Conservation.gov and the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, a new website and data portal that will help connect people with information, tools, resources, and opportunities to support land and water conservation projects in communities across the country. The Administration has already protected more than 41 million acres of lands and waters, and President Biden is on track to conserve more lands and waters than any President in history. This includes establishing five new national monuments and restoring protections for three more; creating four new national wildlife refuges and expanding five more; protecting the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the nation’s most visited wilderness area; safeguarding Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska; and withdrawing Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Thompson Divide in Colorado from further oil and gas leasing to protect thousands of sacred sites and pristine lands.
To conserve and steward old growth forests, USDA announced a proposal to amend 128 forest land management plans to conserve and steward old-growth forest conditions on national forests and grasslands nationwide. This builds upon the Biden-Harris Administration’s protection of Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. The Administration is also taking continued action to protect and conserve our nation’s rivers and watersheds for the people and communities that depend on them, protecting the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River Basin in the face of an ongoing megadrought, and beyond. This includes taking historic action to restore healthy and abundant wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented commitment to honor the United States’ obligations to Tribal Nations.
Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry – President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is supporting America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners, who play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis through the deployment of climate-smart practices and systems. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has supported 80,000 farms in implementing climate-smart practices on over 75 million acres. In Fiscal Year 2023, USDA made record investments in private lands conservation, totaling nearly $3 billion in financial assistance to producers. Leveraging both climate impact and economic opportunities, the Administration is creating new market opportunities through the groundbreaking Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities and efforts that are part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge.
Rallying Leaders of the World’s Largest Economies to Raise Global Climate Ambition –President Biden has restored America’s climate leadership at home and abroad. Under his leadership, the Administration is securing commitments from more than 155 countries to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030; successfully galvanizing other countries at COP28 to commit, for the first time, to transition away from unabated fossil fuels, stop building new unabated coal capacity globally, and triple renewable energy globally by 2030 and nuclear energy by 2050; launching a new Clean Energy Supply Chain Collaborative to work with international partners to diversify supply chains that are critical to a clean and secure energy transition; mobilizing other governments to follow the U.S. lead and commit to achieve net-zero government emissions by 2050 through a new Net-Zero Government Initiative; and becoming a world leader in innovative debt-for-nature swaps that have helped countries restructure over $2 billion in debt and unlock hundreds of millions of new financing for nature and climate.
This fact sheet on the progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made on the President’s Care Agenda during this proclaimed Month of Action on Care and the comparison to the Republican agenda is from the White House:
During Care Workers Recognition Month, the Biden-Harris Administration is marking the progress we have made to make care more affordable for American families, support family caregivers, boost compensation and job quality for care workers, and expand care options. President Biden was joined by care workers and unions as he laid out how he is building on that progress with transformational investments in child care, home care, paid family and medical leave, tax cuts for workers and families, and other priorities, which are fully paid for by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes. That is in sharp contrast with congressional Republicans, who would make devastating cuts to funding for care, healthcare, Social Security, and Medicare to pay for massive tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.
The Need to Improve Care
Too many families and individuals struggle to access the affordable, high-quality care they need. The cost of child care is up 26% in the last decade and more than 200% over the past 30 years. For older adults and people with disabilities, long-term care costs are up 40% over the past decade. As a result, the cost of care is out of reach for many Americans. At the same time, care workers—who are disproportionately women of color—struggle to make ends meet, even as they care for others. Due to the low pay and the demanding nature of care work, turnover rates are high. In addition, at least 53 million Americans serve as family caregivers—including over 5 million caring for service members or veterans—and many face challenges due to the lack of support, training, and respite.
The President’s Plan to Lower Costs for Families for Care
The President has made child care, long-term care, family caregiving, and paid leave a core part of his domestic and economic agendas. He has referenced these issues in each of his State of the Union Addresses, and proposed transformative investments in each budget. The President’s most recent budget proposes the following:
Affordable, High-Quality Child Care and Universal Preschool
High-quality early childhood education improves the lives of both children and their parents. The President’s child care plan provides a lifeline to the parents of more than 16 million children by guaranteeing affordable, high-quality child care from birth until kindergarten for low- and middle-income working families. Right now, the average price of child care is nearly $11,000 a year, with low-income families paying as much as a third of their income for child care. Under the President’s plan, most families would pay $10 per day, saving the average family over $600 per child, per month. The budget also invests in free, voluntary, universal preschool for all of the nation’s 4-year-olds and charts a path to expand preschool to 3-year-olds. Together, these investments will make early care and education programs affordable and available where families live and work in communities across the country, increase wages for early childhood education workers, and strengthen the economy.
Child Tax Credit
The President’s Budget would restore the expanded Child Tax Credit, lifting 3 million children out of poverty and cutting taxes by an average of $2,600 for 39 million low- and middle-income families that include 66 million children. This includes 18 million children in low-income families who would be newly eligible for the full credit, and 2 million children living with a caregiver who is at least 60 years old. It would also provide breathing room for day-to-day expenses by allowing families to receive their tax credit through monthly payments.
Long-term Care and Family Caregiving
The President is committed to protecting older adults’ and people with disabilities’ health and dignity. His plan would invest in expanding Medicaid home and community-based services to help a larger number of older adults and people with disabilities receive care in their home or community, and promote better opportunities for home care workers and family caregivers. There has been substantial growth amongst the younger population under 65 with disabilities living in nursing homes. The percentage of individuals younger than 65 living in residential nursing facilities grew from 10.6 in 2000 to 16.2 in 2017. The President’s investments will help ensure that they can receive care in their own homes and communities. The President has also proposed substantial investments for family caregivers serving our nation’s heroes, including stipends and support services for family caregivers of eligible veterans.
A National Paid Family and Medical Leave Program
Many workers with caregiving responsibilities are forced to leave the workforce intermittently or permanently to take care of their loved ones. As of March 2022, only 24% of private sector workers in the United States had access to paid family leave through their employer and only 43% had access to short-term disability insurance through their employer. The President proposes a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to ensure that all workers can take time off to care for and bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; heal from their own serious illness; address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment; or find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or grieve the death of a loved one. The vast majority of America’s workers do not have access to employer-provided paid family leave, including 73 percent of private sector workers. Among the lowest-paid workers, who are disproportionately women and workers of color, 94 percent lack access to paid family leave through their employers. Some people’s caregiving responsibilities are so demanding that under the current system they have to give up paid work entirely or retire early to take care of their loved ones.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Historic Actions on Care
Since day one of the Administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have been committed to improving the quality of and access to care while supporting care workers and family caregivers. The President’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided an historic $39 billion in child care relief funds to provide relief for child care providers and support for families to afford care. The ARP delivered $37 billion across all 50 states for activities and investments that enhance, expand, and strengthen home and community-based services and $145 million to help the National Family Caregiver Support Program deliver counseling, training, and short-term relief to family and other informal care providers. Moreover, over the past three years, the President has secured close to a 50% increase in federal child care assistance and a $1.5 billion increase in funding for Head Start. And in April 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers (Care EO) surrounded by people with disabilities, family caregivers, long-term care workers, early educators, veterans, and aging advocates. The EO was celebrated by leaders from across the country. Over the past year, agencies have made substantial progress implementing the Care EO. For example:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children & Families (ACF), finalized a rule that will reduce the cost of child care for more than 100,000 low-income working families and make sure that more than 140,000 child care providers are paid more fairly and on-time. It also proposed a rule that would boost Head Start teacher wages by $10,000, on average.
For child care providers serving families benefiting from federal child care assistance, HHS, through ACF, adopted a pay floor that will increase child care payments for nearly 47,000 center- and home-based child care providers.
HHS, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, proposed rules to ensure that home care workers get a bigger share of Medicaid payments; and establish minimum staffing standards in nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding.
The Department of Defense reduced the amounts that lower-earning Service members pay out of pocket for child care, lowering child care costs for the families of more than 32,000 children aged 0-12 enrolled in installation Child Development Programs. Military Families earning $45,000 would see a 34% decrease in the amount they pay for child care. This also builds on the President’s Executive Order to advance the economic security of military spouses, veterans, caregivers and survivors.
The Department of Veterans Affairs launched a pilot program, known as the Virtual Psychotherapy Program for Caregivers, to provide mental health counseling services to family caregivers caring for our nation’s heroes. The program successfully completed its pilot phase and is now a permanent program. Since October 2023, the program has provided over 4,937 psychotherapy sessions to family caregivers.
In addition to these actions, federal agencies have taken dozens of others over the past year to improve family caregiving, long-term care, and child care. A full list can be found here.
Republican Officials Want to Provide Massive Taxes to the Rich while Making Devastating Cuts to Programs Working Families Count On
President Biden is building our economy from the middle out and bottom up—an economy where we invest in all Americans to make sure the middle class has a fair shot and no one gets left behind.
House Republicans have a very different economic vision. Under the RSC budget, care would be on the cutting block. Their budget proposal translates to 264,600 fewer child care slots and 253,500 fewer high-quality Head Start slots. These investments are critical to giving children a strong start and making sure that families have the help they need to thrive.
Along with damaging cuts to care funding, House Republicans would slash Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and other supports that working families count on. House Republicans would make these devastating cuts to pay for another $5.5 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. Their budget would deliver windfall tax cuts to billionaires and their heirs, eliminate the minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations President Biden signed into law, make it easier for the wealthy and corporations to cheat on their taxes, and preserve policies that encourage corporations to move jobs and profits offshore—all while making it more difficult for families to afford child care and education.
Budget Details Vision to Protect Progress, Lower Costs, Protect and Strengthen Social Security and Medicare, Invest in America and the American People, and Reduce the Deficit
From Day One of this Administration, President Biden has tackled challenges head-on while delivering long-lasting results. Over the past three years, he has overseen a strong economic recovery, amassed one of the most successful legislative records in generations, grown the economy from the middle out and bottom up, and delivered important progress for the American people.
Since the President and Vice President took office, the economy has added about 15 million jobs, the unemployment rate has remained below 4 percent for two years in a row—a more than 50-year record—while inflation has fallen by two-thirds. Our strong labor market has meant higher paychecks for working Americans, with inflation-adjusted wages and wealth higher now than before the pandemic. The President’s top economic priority remains lowering costs for hardworking Americans. Under his leadership, the Administration is working to bring down prescription drug costs, health insurance premiums, utility bills, and costs for everyday goods and services—all while taking on junk fees that some banks, airlines, and other big corporations use to rip off Americans. At the same time, he has also restored U.S. leadership on the world stage while keeping Americans safe and promoting democracy at home and abroad.
The President has delivered this progress while fulfilling his commitment to fiscal responsibility. The deficit is over $1 trillion lower than when President Biden took office, thanks in large part to the strength of our economic recovery. In addition, the President has also enacted another roughly $1 trillion in savings over the next decade through the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and through Inflation Reduction Act provisions that empower Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, cap insulin at $35 per month for seniors, and make our tax system fairer by making billion-dollar corporations pay a minimum tax and enabling the IRS to crack down on wealthy and corporate tax cheats.
The Budget details the President’s vision to protect and build on his Administration’s progress by continuing to lower costs for working families, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, invest in America and the American people to make sure the middle class has a fair shot and we leave no one behind, and reduce the deficit by cracking down on fraud, cutting wasteful spending, and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share. Building on the President’s record of fiscal responsibility, his Budget reduces the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years—on top of paying for new investments.
The President’s vision of progress, possibilities, and resilience is in stark contrast to Congressional Republicans, who have repeatedly fought to slash critical programs the American people count on and increase the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars, including by attempting to repeal the parts of the Inflation Reduction Act that take on special interests like Big Pharma, big corporations, and wealthy tax cheats. The President’s Budget:
Lowers Costs for the American People
The President has made lowering costs for hardworking families his top domestic priority. Under his leadership we have seen significant progress bringing down inflation. Inflation is down by more than two-thirds, and costs have fallen for key household purchases from a gallon of gas to a gallon of milk. While Congressional Republicans have consistently taken actions that would raise costs for working families, the President’s Budget would continue lowering costs for families.
Lowers Drug Prices and Expands Access to Prescription Drugs. Thanks to action taken by the Administration, millions of seniors and people with disabilities are saving money on their drug costs, and the Administration announced the first ten drugs for which prices will be negotiated as it continues implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Budget builds on this success by significantly increasing the pace of negotiation, bringing more drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch, expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates and $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cost cap beyond Medicare and into the commercial market, and other steps to build on the Inflation Reduction Act drug provisions. In addition, the Budget extends the $35 cost-sharing cap for a month’s supply of insulin to the commercial market. The Budget also includes proposals to ensure Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are prudent purchasers of prescription drugs and limits Medicare Part D cost-sharing for high-value generic drugs, such as those used to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia, to no more than $2 per month for Medicare beneficiaries. These reforms will not only cut costs for the Federal government by $200 billion; they will also save billions of dollars for seniors.
Cuts Taxes for Families with Children and American Workers. President Biden’s tax cuts cut child poverty in half in 2021 and are saving millions of people an average of about $800 per year in health insurance premiums today. Going forward, in addition to honoring his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 annually, President Biden’s tax plan would cut taxes for middle- and low-income Americans by $765 billion over 10 years. The Budget restores the full Child Tax Credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan, which helped cut child poverty nearly in half in 2021 to its lowest level in history and narrowed racial disparities in access to the credit. The President’s Budget would restore the expanded Child Tax Credit, lifting 3 million children out of poverty and cutting taxes by an average of $2,600 for 39 million low- and middle-income families that include 66 million children. This includes 18 million children in low-income families who would be newly eligible for the full credit, and 2 million children living with a caregiver who is at least 60 years old. It would also provide breathing room for day-to-day expenses by allowing families to receive their tax credit through monthly payments. And by strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-paid workers who aren’t raising a child in their home, the President’s Budget would cut taxes by an average of $800 for 19 million working individuals or couples. That includes 2 million older workers age 65 and older and 5 million young adults age 18 to 24 who would be newly eligible for the credit.
Lowers Child Care Costs for Hard-Working Families. The President is committed to providing relief to hard-working families. His Budget creates a historic new program under which working families with incomes up to $200,000 per year would be guaranteed affordable, high-quality child care from birth until kindergarten, with most families paying no more than $10 a day, and the lowest income families paying nothing—providing a lifeline to the parents of more than 16 million children. The Budget also includes $8.5 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) which will help states expand child care assistance to serve over 2 million low-income children.
Increases Affordable Housing Supply to Reduce Housing Costs. The President believes that all Americans should be able to afford a quality home, which is why the Budget includes a historic investment of more than $258 billion that would build or preserve over 2 million units. The Budget builds on previous investments and actions by this Administration to boost housing supply and lower housing costs, particularly for lower- and middle-income households. The Budget expands the existing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and proposes a new Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit. To further address the critical shortage of affordable housing in communities throughout the Nation, the Budget provides $20 billion in mandatory funding for a new Innovation Fund for Housing Expansion. The Budget invests $1.3 billion in the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities. The Budget also provides $7.5 billion in mandatory funding for new Project-Based Rental Assistance contracts to incentivize the development of new climate-resilient affordable housing. Together these proposals would expand the supply of safe and affordable housing, bring new units to market, and ultimately help curb cost growth across the broader rental market.
Expands Access to Homeownership and Affordable Rent and Reduces Down Payments for First-Time and First-Generation Homebuyers. The Budget proposes a new Mortgage Relief Credit to help increase access to affordable housing. The proposal includes a new tax credit for middle-class first-time homebuyers of up to $10,000 over two years to ease affordability challenges. In addition, to unlock starter home inventory and allow middle-class families to move up the housing ladder and empty nesters to right size, the President is calling on Congress to provide a one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 to middle-class families who sell their starter home. The Budget also provides $10 billion in mandatory funding for a new First-Generation Down Payment Assistance program to address homeownership and wealth gaps. For renters, the Budget proposes $32.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program to maintain and protect critical services for all currently assisted families and support an additional 20,000 households. The Budget also provides $9 billion to establish a housing voucher program for all 20,000 youth aging out of foster care annually, and provides $13 billion to incrementally expand rental assistance for 400,000 extremely low-income veteran families, paving a path to guaranteed assistance for all who have served the Nation and are in need.
Reduces the Cost of College and Lifts the Burden of Student Debt. From Day One of his Administration, President Biden vowed to fix the student loan system and make sure higher education is a pathway to the middle class—not a barrier to opportunity. Already, the President has cancelled more student debt than any President in history, approving debt cancellation for nearly 4 million borrowers through more than two dozen executive actions. The Budget includes a $12 billion mandatory Reducing the Costs of College Fund that will fund strategies to lower college costs for students, including a new Classroom to Career Fund that will enable students to more affordably obtain postsecondary degrees by increasing access to career-connected dual enrollment opportunities. The Budget also builds on the President’s historic actions to reduce student debt and the cost of college by eliminating the origination fees charged to borrowers on every new federal student loan, which costs families billions. In addition, to help low- and middle-income students overcome financial barriers to postsecondary education, the Budget proposes to increase the discretionary maximum Pell Grant by $100 and thereby expand the reach of the program to help over 7.2 million students attend a public or non-profit college. The Budget builds on successful bipartisan efforts to increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $900 over the past two years—the largest increase in more than 10 years. The Budget also expands free community college through a Federal-State partnership and provides two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 enrolled in a four-year Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Tribally Controlled College and University (TCCU), or Minority-Serving Institution (MSI).
Lowers Health Care Costs. The President believes that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. With enrollment in Marketplace coverage at an all-time high, the Budget builds on the incredible success of the Affordable Care Act by making permanent the expanded premium tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act extended, and providing Medicaid-like coverage to individuals in States that have not adopted Medicaid expansion, paired with financial incentives to ensure States maintain their existing expansions. For Medicaid and CHIP, the Budget allows States to extend the existing 12-month continuous eligibility for all children to 36 months, and allows States to provide continuous eligibility for children from birth until they turn age 6. Further, the Budget prohibits enrollment fees and premiums in CHIP.
Reduces Home Energy and Water Costs. The Budget provides $4.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), helping families access home energy and weatherization assistance—vital tools for protecting families from extreme weather and climate change. In addition, the Budget proposes to allow States the option to use a portion of their LIHEAP funds to provide water bill assistance to low-income households.
Protects and Strengthens Social Security and Medicare
Social Security and Medicare are more than government programs, they’re a promise—a rock-solid guarantee that generations of Americans have counted on—that after a life of hard work, you will be able to retire with dignity and security. As the President has made clear, he will reject any efforts to cut or undermine the Medicare or Social Security benefits that seniors and people with disabilities have earned and paid into their entire working lives. The Budget honors that ironclad commitment by firmly opposing benefit cuts to either program and by embracing reforms that would protect and strengthen these programs. The President remains committed to working with the Congress to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security for this and future generations and strongly rejects Congressional Republicans’ attempts to cut benefits for hardworking Americans.
Protects and Strengthens Medicare. The Budget strengthens Medicare by extending the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund indefinitely by modestly increasing the Medicare tax rate on incomes above $400,000, closing loopholes in existing Medicare taxes, and directing revenue from the Net Investment Income Tax into the HI trust fund as was originally intended. The Budget closes the loophole that allows certain business owners to avoid paying Medicare taxes on these profits and raises Medicare tax rates on earned and unearned income from 3.8 percent to 5 percent for those with incomes over $400,000. In addition, the Budget directs an amount equivalent to the savings from the proposed Medicare drug reforms into the HI trust fund.
Protects the Social Security Benefits that Americans Have Earned. The Administration is committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security. In particular, the Administration looks forward to working with Congress to responsibly strengthen Social Security in a way that ensures no benefit cuts; extends solvency by asking the highest-income Americans to pay their fair share; and improves financial security for seniors and people with disabilities, especially those who face the greatest challenges making ends meet.
Ensures That Americans Can Access the Benefits They’ve Earned. The Budget also invests in staff, information technology, and other improvements at the Social Security Administration (SSA), which will improve customer service at SSA’s field offices, State disability determination services, and teleservice centers for retirees, individuals with disabilities, and their families.
Cuts the Deficit by Promoting Tax Fairness
The President has demonstrated that we can invest in America while achieving meaningful deficit reduction. The deficit is over $1 trillion lower than when President Biden took office, and the President has enacted roughly $1 trillion in additional deficit reduction, including through provisions that empower Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, cap insulin at $35 per month for seniors and people with disabilities, and establish a minimum tax for large corporations. The Administration looks forward to building on this progress with responsible investments that continue to grow America’s economy from the middle out and bottom up while improving the long-term budget outlook. The Budget proposes another roughly $3 trillion in savings over the next 10 years by making the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes and cutting wasteful spending on Big Pharma, Big Oil, corporate jets and other special interests, and cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. The President’s proposals to reduce the deficit are in sharp contrast to Congressional Republicans plans for tax giveaways skewed to wealthy and big corporations.
Requires Billionaires to Pay at Least 25 Percent of Income in Taxes. Billionaires make their money in ways that are often taxed at lower rates than ordinary wage income, or sometimes not taxed at all, thanks to giant loopholes and tax preferences that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. As a result, many of these wealthy Americans are able to pay an average income tax rate of just 8 percent on their full incomes—a lower rate than many firefighters or teachers. To finally address this glaring inequity, the President’s Budget includes a 25 percent minimum tax on the wealthiest 0.01 percent, those with wealth of more than $100 million.
Raises Tax Rates for Large Corporations. Corporations received an enormous tax break in 2017. While their profits soared, their investment in their workers and the economy did not. Their shareholders and top executives reaped the benefits, without the promised trickle down to workers, consumers, or communities. The President’s Budget would set the corporate tax rate at 28 percent, still well below the 35 percent rate that prevailed prior to the 2017 tax law. In addition, the Budget would raise the Inflation Reduction Act’s corporate minimum tax rate on billion-dollar corporations that the President signed into law from 15 percent to 21 percent, ensuring the biggest corporations pay more of their fair share. These policies are complemented by other proposals to incentivize job creation and investment in the United States to help ensure broadly shared prosperity.
Cracks Down on Tax Avoidance by Large Multinationals and Big Pharma. For decades, countries have competed for multinational business by slashing tax rates, at the expense of having adequate revenues to finance core services. Thanks in part to the Administration’s leadership, more than 130 nations signed on to a global tax framework to finally address this race to the bottom in 2021. Many of our international partners, including many of the world’s largest economies, have implemented or will soon implement this transformational agreement. The President’s Budget proposes to do the same by reforming the international tax system to reduce the incentives to book profits in low-tax jurisdictions, stopping corporate inversions to tax havens, and raising the tax rate on U.S. multinationals’ foreign earnings from 10.5 percent to 21 percent. These reforms would ensure that profitable multinational corporations, including Big Pharma pay their fair share.
Denies Corporations Deductions for All Compensation Over $1 Million Per Employee. Executive pay has skyrocketed in recent decades, with CEO pay averaging more than 300 times that of a typical worker in 2022. The 2017 tax law’s corporate tax cuts only made this problem worse, producing massive boosts to executive compensation while doing nothing for low- and middle-income workers. While corporations can choose to give huge pay packages to their executives, President Biden believes that they don’t deserve a tax break when they do. His Budget proposes new policy to deny deductions for all compensation over $1 million paid to any employee of a C corporation, which would discourage companies from giving their executives massive pay packages and help level the playing field across C corporations.
Ends Capital Income Tax Breaks and Other Loopholes for the Very Wealthy. The President’s Budget will end one of the most unfair aspects of our tax system—the fact that the tax rate the wealthy pay on capital gains and dividends is less than the tax rate that many middle-class families pay on their wages. Households making over $1 million—the top 0.3 percent of all households—will pay the same 39.6 percent marginal rate on their income just like a high-paid worker pays on their wages. Moreover, the Budget eliminates the loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to entirely escape paying taxes on their wealth by passing it down to heirs.
Ensures That the IRS Can Continue to Collect Taxes Owed by Wealthy Tax Cheats. The Inflation Reduction Act addressed long-standing IRS funding deficiencies by providing stable, multi-year funding to improve tax compliance by finally cracking down on high-income individuals and corporations who too often avoided paying their lawfully owed taxes, and to improve service for the millions of Americans that do pay their taxes. Already, the IRS is using these resources to crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy and big businesses. It has collected more than $500 million in unpaid taxes from fewer than 2,000 delinquent millionaires, is recouping taxes from thousands of millionaires who did not fulfill their basic civic duty by filing a tax return, and is cracking down on high-end tax evasion like deducting personal use of corporate jets as a business expense. At the same time, the IRS is improving customer service and modernizing IT infrastructure. The President’s Budget would restore the full Inflation Reduction Act investment and provide new funding over the long-term to continue cutting the deficit by making sure that wealthy Americans and big corporations pay the taxes they owe through tax compliance initiatives and to continue improving service for taxpayers who are just trying to pay what they owe.
Invests in America and the American People
Expands and Protects Access to Health Care
Supports Family Planning Services, Maternal Health, and Health Equity. Americans deserve access to the healthcare they need, including maternal healthcare, contraception, and family planning services, which are essential to ensuring control over personal decisions about their own health, lives, and families. The Budget includes $390 million for the Title X Family Planning program to increase the number of patients served to 3.6 million. The Budget also builds on a nearly 200 percent funding increase for key programs that address maternal mortality over the course of the Administration, including $376 million to support the ongoing implementation of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates, and address the highest rates of perinatal health disparities.
Saves Lives by Advancing Behavioral Healthcare. In 2022, almost a quarter of adults had a mental illness, 13 percent of adolescents had serious thoughts of suicide, and overdose deaths continued near record highs. As a core pillar of his Unity Agenda, the President released a national strategy to transform how we understand and address mental health in America—and the Budget makes progress on this agenda by improving access to care for individuals and communities. The Budget requires all health plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits, ensures that plans have an adequate network of behavioral health providers, and improves the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to enforce the law. The Budget builds on historic investments to improve access to mental health services, and makes significant investments in expanding the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that is projected to respond to 7.5 million contacts from individuals in distress in 2025 alone and expands mental health care and support services in schools. Additionally, the Administration has made historic advances in expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder, including signing into law a bipartisan provision to expand the number of medical providers who can initiate treatment for opioid use disorder from 129,000 to nearly 2 million. The Budget increases funding for the State Opioid Response grant program, which has provided treatment services to over 1.2 million people and enabled States to reverse more than 500,000 overdoses with over 9 million purchased overdose reversal medication kits.
Drives Healthcare Innovation to Discover New Treatments and Improve Health Outcomes. Investing in health care innovation and new treatments is a direct investment in the American people. The President’s Budget advances progress toward Biden Cancer Moonshot Goals and the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, enhances biodefense and public health infrastructure, and directly invests in treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. The Budget makes significant investments to work toward the President and First Lady’s signature Cancer Moonshot goals of reducing the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over 25 years and improving the experience of people and families who are living with or who have survived cancer. The President and the First Lady launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, recognizing that women have been understudied and underrepresented in health research for far too long. The Administration proposes to transform the way the government funds women’s health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including by increasing interdisciplinary research at NIH and creating a new nationwide network of centers of excellence and innovation in women’s health—and the Budget would double existing funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH, to improve women’s health outcomes. Additionally, over the past three years, substantial progress has been made toward developing and implementing transformational capabilities to increase the Nation’s ability to respond to and prepare for emerging health threats. Building upon this progress, the Budget invests $9.8 billion to bolster public health capacity that will enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better serve and protect the American public. The Budget also invests in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including Hepatitis C, HIV, and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Expands Healthcare, Benefits, and Services for Environmental Exposures. The Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (PACT Act) represents the most significant expansion of veterans’ healthcare and disability compensation benefits for veterans exposed to toxins and other environmental exposures, including burn pits and Agent Orange, in 30 years. As part of the PACT Act, Congress authorized the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) to fund increased costs above 2021 funding levels for healthcare and benefits delivery for veterans exposed to certain environmental hazards—and ensure there is sufficient funding available to cover these costs without shortchanging other elements of veteran medical care and benefits delivery. The Budget continues this commitment and includes $24.5 billion for the TEF in 2025, through funds appropriated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which is $19.5 billion above the 2023 enacted level.
Prioritizes Veterans’ Mental Health Services and Suicide Prevention for Veterans and Military Servicemembers. The Budget invests $135 million within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research programs, together with $17 billion within the VA Medical Care program, to increase access to quality mental healthcare, with the goal of helping veterans take charge of their treatment and live full, meaningful lives. In addition, the Budget provides funding to further advance the Administration’s veteran suicide prevention initiatives and to support the Department of Defense’s efforts on Suicide Prevention and Response.
Supports America’s Workforce and Prepares America’s Economy for 21st Century Challenges
Continues Implementation of the President’s Investing in America Agenda. The Budget provides a total of $78.4 billion for highway, highway safety, and transit formula programs, supporting the amounts authorized for year four of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Budget also reflects an additional $9.5 billion in advance appropriations provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for bridge replacement and rehabilitation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and other programs to improve the safety, sustainability, and resilience of America’s transportation network.
Provides National, Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave and Calls for Paid Sick Days. The Budget proposes a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, providing up to 12 weeks of leave to allow eligible workers to take time off to care for and bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; heal from their own serious illness; address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment; or find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The President also calls on Congress to require employers to provide seven job-protected paid sick days each year to all workers.
Empowers, Protects, and Invests in Workers. Workers power America’s economic prosperity, building the economy from the middle out and bottom up. To ensure workers are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace and are paid the wages they’re owed, the Budget invests $2 billion in the Department of Labor’s worker protection agencies. The Budget also proposes funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to support implementation and enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and advancement of pay equity through the collection and analysis of employer pay data. Additionally, the Budget includes funding to strengthen the National Labor Relations Board’s capacity to enforce workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.
Confronts the Climate Crisis While Spurring Clean Energy Innovation, Increasing Resilience, and Protecting Natural Resources
Lowers Energy Costs and Catalyzes Clean Energy and Economic Growth in Rural Communities. The Budget builds on the President’s historic Inflation Reduction Act to reduce energy bills for families, expand clean energy, transform rural power production, and create thousands of good-paying jobs for people across rural America. The Budget provides funding for loan guarantees for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements for farmers and rural small businesses, and authority for rural electric loans to support additional clean energy, energy storage, and transmission projects that would create good-paying jobs.
Invests in Clean Air and Reduces Health and Environmental Hazards for At-Risk Communities. The Budget provides a total of $1.5 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation to continue the development of national programs, policies, and regulations that control air pollution and radiation exposure. The Budget provides $8.2 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) to address legacy waste and contamination in communities, as well as funding for EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement. The Administration will ensure the investments for the management of toxic chemicals, including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, cleanup of legacy pollution, and long-term stewardship of these sites align with the Justice40 Initiative to benefit disadvantaged communities.
Creates Jobs by Building Clean Energy Infrastructure. The Budget invests $1.6 billion through the DOE to support clean energy workforce and infrastructure projects across the Nation, including funding to weatherize and retrofit homes of low-income Americans, create good jobs and ensure reliable supply chains by manufacturing clean energy components here at home, electrify Tribal homes and transition Tribal colleges and universities to renewable energy, and support utilities and State and local governments in building a grid that is more secure, reliable, resilient, and able to integrate electricity from clean energy sources. These investments, which complement and bolster the historic funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, will create good-paying jobs and revitalize American manufacturing while driving progress toward the Administration’s climate goals, including 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035.
Strengthens Climate Resilience in Communities and Ecosystems. Building on the National Climate Resilience Framework, the Budget invests $23 billion in climate adaptation and resilience across the federal government to address the increasing severity of flood, wildfire, drought, and other extreme weather events fueled by climate change, including funding to support the wildland firefighting workforce through permanent and comprehensive pay reform. The Budget also provides funding to help farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners meet production goals in the face of a changing climate while conserving, maintaining, and restoring natural resources on their lands. The Budget complements the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, which dedicate more than $50 billion across the Federal government to advance climate resilience strategies in every community in America.
Supports and Expands the American Climate Corps. Last year, the Administration announced the launch of the American Climate Corps (ACC) to mobilize a new, diverse generation of more than 20,000 clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience workers, and this year, the first cohort of ACC members will begin their service. The Budget would provide mandatory funding to expand the ACC over the next decade by supporting an additional 50,000 ACC members annually by 2031. The ACC will provide job training and service opportunities on a wide range of projects that tackle climate change in communities around the country.
Doubles Down on America’s Global Climate Leadership. Beyond leading by example through domestic investments, the Budget provides a path to achieving the President’s $11 billion commitment for international climate finance. The Budget also supports $3 billion contribution through mandatory funding to finance the Green Climate Fund. The Budget builds on historic international climate finance progress made over the course of this Administration, in which estimated 2023 levels of $9.5 billion represent a near-sixfold increase from 2021.
Invests in America’s Families
Supports a Strong Nutrition Safety Net. The Budget provides $8.5 billion for critical nutrition programs, including $7.7 billion to fully fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to serve all eligible participants, which is critical to the health of pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children. By investing in outreach and modernization, WIC would reach 800,000 more women, infants, and children each month, providing vital nutrition assistance to nearly 7 million individuals, up from 6.2 million in 2021. In addition, the Budget includes an emergency contingency fund that would provide additional resources when there are unanticipated cost pressures.
Builds a Strong Foundation for Families with Universal Pre-K and Head Start. The Budget funds voluntary, universal, free preschool for all four million of America’s four-year-olds and charts a path to expand preschool to three-year-olds. High-quality preschool would be offered in the setting of the parent’s choice—from public schools to child care providers to Head Start. The Budget also increases Head Start funding by $544 million to support the Administration’s goal to reach pay parity between Head Start staff and public elementary school teachers with similar qualifications over time. Together these proposals would support healthy child development, help children enter kindergarten ready to learn, and support families by reducing their costs prior to school entry and allowing parents to work.
Expands Opportunity and Advances Equity
Advances Efforts to End Homelessness. The Budget provides $4.1 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants to continue supporting approximately 1.2 million people experiencing homelessness each year and to expand assistance to approximately 25,000 additional households, specifically survivors of domestic violence and homeless youth. These new resources build on Administration efforts that have expanded assistance to roughly 140,000 additional households experiencing homelessness since the President took office. The Budget further reflects the Administration’s commitment to make progress toward ending homelessness by providing $8 billion in mandatory funding for the acquisition, construction, or operation of housing to expand housing options for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, as well as $3 billion in mandatory funding for grants to provide counseling and emergency rental assistance to older adult renters at-risk of homelessness.
Honors Commitments to Support Tribal Communities. Incorporating feedback from Tribal consultations, the Budget continues to provide robust support for Tribal Nations and Native communities in keeping with our federal trust and treaty responsibilities. For example, the Budget invests $4.6 billion for the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Tribal programs. This investment in DOI’s Tribal programs build on historic investments in Indian Country under the American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and promote long-term success by addressing critical infrastructure and climate adaptation needs in Native communities.
Expands Access to Capital for Small Businesses. Building on the historic growth in small business applications under the President and Vice President’s leadership, the Budget supports historic lending levels across the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) business lending programs. The over $58 billion in lending provided in the Budget would address the need for greater access to affordable capital, particularly in underserved communities. The Budget proposes a new direct 7(a) lending program, which would further enable SBA to address gaps in access to small dollar lending.
Promotes Equity in Education and Builds a Diverse, Capable STEM Workforce. The Budget increases institutional capacity at HBCUs, TCCUs, MSIs, and under-resourced institutions, including community colleges, and doubles funding by providing $100 million for four-year HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to expand research and development infrastructure. In support of the CHIPS and Science Act’s priority of building a diverse, STEM-capable workforce, the Budget provides $1.4 billion for STEM education and workforce development programs at the National Science Foundation that have an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The Budget also includes funding for programs focused on increasing the participation of groups historically underrepresented in science and engineering fields, including women and girls and people of color.
Protects Americans at Home and Abroad
From taking action to combat hate in America’s communities, tackle gun violence, and strengthen trust in the Nation’s democratic institutions, to defending freedom around the globe, and rebuilding key alliances, the Administration has taken decisive action to strengthen America at home and abroad, all with the goal of keeping Americans safe. The Budget builds on this progress with proposals to continue investing in State, local, Tribal, and Federal law enforcement, reducing gun violence and crime, securing the border and strengthening the immigration system, and revitalizing U.S. alliances and partnerships while confronting global threats and strengthening America’s military.
Secures the Border and Strengthens the Immigration System. In October 2023, the Administration transmitted an emergency supplemental request for managing the southwest border and migration totaling $13.6 billion. The Budget includes, and therefore reiterates the need for, the unmet needs from the October supplemental request. The Budget includes investments to build longer-term capacity in the areas of border security, immigration enforcement, and countering illicit fentanyl. This amount includes funding to hire 1,300 additional Border Patrol Agents to secure the border, 1,000 additional Customs and Border Protection Officers to stop illicit fentanyl and other contraband from entering the U.S., an additional 1,600 Asylum Officers and support staff to facilitate timely immigration dispositions, as well as $849 million for cutting-edge detection technology at ports of entry. The Budget also reiterates the ask for funding to hire 375 new immigration judge teams to help reduce the immigration case backlog. Taken together, these long-term capacity building investments equip the Nation’s border security and immigration system to more effectively respond to challenges present along the border.
Tackles Crime, Reduces Gun Violence, and Makes America’s Communities Safer. The Budget makes significant investments to bolster Federal law enforcement capacity to strengthen public safety and it also pursues new mandatory investments to combat violent crime and support victims. The Budget includes $17.7 billion for Department of Justice law enforcement, including $2 billion, an increase of over 30 percent since 2021, for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to effectively investigate and prosecute gun crimes. To support state, local, and Tribal law enforcement efforts, the Budget proposes $31.8 billion in mandatory funding to support President Biden’s Safer America Plan, and complements this plan with proposed discretionary investments of $270 million for the COPS Hiring Program and $100 million for community violence intervention and prevention. The Budget also builds upon the Safer America Plan by investing an additional $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund to give law enforcement the support they need to focus on violent crime, including support to hire 4,700 detectives to help drive down the high rate of unsolved violent crimes. In support of victims of crime, the Budget also requests $7.3 billion to replenish and reform the Crime Victims Fund to ensure a stable and predictable source of funding is available to support critical victim service and compensation programs over the next decade.
Prioritizes Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence. The Administration has prioritized funding for programs under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). These programs have seen funding increased by over 35 percent since 2021 and the Budget proposes further expansion to $800 million for programs under VAWA, including key investments in sexual assault services, transitional housing, and legal assistance for survivors. The Budget also makes clear the Administration’s priority to strongly support underserved and Tribal communities by providing $15 million for culturally-specific services, $5 million for underserved populations, $25 million to assist enforcement of Tribal special domestic violence jurisdiction under VAWA 2022’s expansions, $3 million to support Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and $10 million for a new special initiative to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).
Combats Narcotics Trafficking. The Budget provides $3.3 billion to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to combat drug trafficking, including $1.2 billion to combat opioid trafficking, save lives, and make our communities safer. The Budget invests an additional $18 million in Domestic Counter-Fentanyl Threat Targeting Teams at the Drug Enforcement Administration to enhance America’s fight against the transnational criminal networks pushing deadly illicit fentanyl in America’s communities. The Budget also provides $494 million in grants supporting efforts to address substance use. The Budget includes funding to disrupt the international synthetic drug trade which would counter the worldwide flow of fentanyl and other synthetics that endanger public safety and health, and contribute to tens of thousands of drug-overdose deaths in the United States annually.
Reiterates the Administration’s Request for Immediate Funding for Urgent National Security Priorities Related to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. In October 2023, the Administration transmitted an emergency supplemental request totaling $92 billion to Congress for urgent national security needs. This request included funding to support Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression, Israel’s defense against terrorism, the Indo-Pacific’s regional security, life-saving humanitarian assistance, including for the Palestinian people, and other national security priorities. The request would also make significant and much needed investments in the American defense industrial base, benefitting U.S. military readiness and helping to create and sustain jobs in dozens of states across America. Absent congressional action on this emergency request, the United States will not be able to continue to provide support to Ukraine to meet their battlefield needs as they defend against Russian attacks every day, provide urgently needed military support to allies and partners, make critical DIB investments, or sustain life-saving assistance and development in some of the world’s most vulnerable areas. The Administration appreciates the bipartisan supplemental legislation that passed the Senate, which would address these urgent needs and advance our own national security.
Supports Ukraine, European Allies, and Partners. The Budget continues critical support for Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, and other European partner states by prioritizing funding to enhance the capabilities and readiness of U.S., allied, and partner forces in the face of continued Russian aggression. However, this Budget cannot address the critical support to Ukraine that requires congressional action on the Administration’s October 2023 National Security Supplemental request.
Promotes Integrated Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Globally. To sustain and strengthen deterrence, the Budget prioritizes China as America’s pacing challenge in line with the 2022 National Defense Strategy. The Department of Defense’s 2025 Pacific Deterrence Initiative highlights some of the key investments the Federal government is making, focuses on strengthening deterrence in the region, and demonstrates the Administration’s long-term commitment to the Indo-Pacific. DOD is building the concepts, capabilities, and posture necessary to meet these challenges, working to integrate deterrence efforts across the U.S. Government and with U.S. allies and partners.
Ensures Readiness Across America’s Armed Forces. The Budget continues to ensure that U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Guardians remain the best trained and equipped fighting forces in the world. The Budget places additional emphasis on foundational investments to sustain current weapon systems and support increased training across DOD.
Invests in the Submarine Industrial Base. DOD conducted the 2025 Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) study to determine how to complete the once-in-a-generation recapitalization of the Submarine Force needed to increase the United States’ ability to build and sustain attack submarines to meet U.S. military requirements. These investments will also support the Administration’s commitments under AUKUS, the first major deliverable of which was the historic decision to support Australia acquiring conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines. In line with the results on this study, the Budget includes $3.4 billion for the SIB in 2025.
Provides Life-Saving Humanitarian Assistance and Combats Global Food Insecurity. The Budget provides $10.3 billion in life-saving humanitarian and refugee assistance to support more than 330 million people in need in more than 70 countries in addition to the emergency supplemental request of $10 billion to address unprecedented global humanitarian needs, including the dire humanitarian situation facing Palestinians in Gaza. The Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development will have to reduce life-saving assistance around the globe without the additional $10 billion in humanitarian assistance requested in the Administration’s October 2023 National Security Supplemental Request.
Led to the Strongest Jobs Recovery on Record and the Strongest Recovery in the World: When President Biden came into office, there was tremendous economic uncertainty. Unemployment was at 6.4% when President Biden took office. Unemployment was not projected to drop below 4% until the end of 2025 in CBO’s February 2021 (Pre-ARP) Forecast. Instead, unemployment was below 4% for the past 25 months in a row – the strongest record in more than five decades.
ARP drove historic 3-year job growth with 15 million jobs added since President Biden took office.
Not only recovered all the lost jobs but added an additional 5.5 million more jobs versus pre-Covid.
Powered the strongest recovery in the world: After the American Rescue Plan passed, the U.S. saw by far the fastest recovery in the G7, with significantly higher real wage growth. US has lower apples to apples core inflation than all major European allies.
Powered the Most Equitable Recovery in Memory: In past recessions, persistent high long-term and youth unemployment as well as high numbers foreclosures and evictions led to long-term harms – “scarring” for millions of Americans and hard, long roads back for Black and Latino Americans. President Biden’s Rescue Plan ensured that didn’t happen this time:
Historic drops in unemployment for Black and Latino workers: With the strong recovery powered by ARP, Black unemployment saw its largest 1-year drop since the early 1980s and reached its lowest-ever annual rate in 2023; Hispanic unemployment saw its fastest 1-year drop and reached its lowest 2-year rate ever in 2022 & 2023.
Least scarring in any recovery in memory: The American Rescue Plan led to the fastest drop in long-term and youth unemployment ever. It kept foreclosures historically low and evictions 20% below historic avgs.
Led to dramatic reduction in inequality: Economists have found that the strong post-ARP labor market’s wage increases for middle-income and lower-income workers erased nearly 40% of the rise in wage inequality increases from the previous four decades.
Lowest women’s annual unemployment rate since 1953: This recovery has seen a dramatic decline in women’s unemployment to an average of 3.5% in 2023, the lowest annual average since 1953.
Strong recovery for Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities: Asian American unemployment averaged 2.9% over the last two years and AA NHPI small business formation surged. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander unemployment also fell by half from a 9% avg. in 2020 to 4% in 2022-2023.
Led to the Largest Federal Investments in Preventing Crime, Reducing Violence, and Investing in Public Safety in History. Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, we’ve had the largest federal investment in advancing public safety and preventing violence in our history through ARP funding and other federal funding.
Over $15 billion in ARP funds committed to preventing crime and reducing violence, with investments by over 1,000 state and local governments to avoid cuts to police budgets, hire more police officers for safe, effective, and accountable community policing, ensure first responders have the equipment they need to do their jobs, and expand evidence-based community violence intervention and prevention programs.
That includes $1.2 billion for Medicaid Mobile Crisis Intervention Services – the American Rescue Plan included $1.2 billion to fund mobile crisis intervention units staffed with mental health professionals & trained peers.
It also includes $1 billion in Family Violence Prevention and Services Program to reduce domestic violence with immediate crisis intervention, health supports, and safety.
American Rescue Plan’s Expansion of the Affordable Care Act Led to Record-Breaking Health Care Enrollment and Savings: ARP substantially increased consumer subsidies, eligibility to middle-income families and provided strong incentives for states to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. Result:
ARP/IRA-extended ACA extension led to over 21 million Americans enrolling in coverage, an increase of 9 million from when POTUS took office.
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, millions of Americans are saving an average of $800 a year on premiums. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to keeping health insurance premiums low, giving families more breathing room and the peace of mind that health insurance brings. To do that, the President is calling on Congress to make the expanded premium tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act extended permanent.
Provided health coverage to 3 million Americans who would have otherwise had no health insurance.
Provided affordable health coverage to millions of middle-class Americans who were previously excluded from receiving consumer subsidies.
Provided more than $3 billion in Medicaid funding to North Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota for Medicaid expansion, covering over one million people.
Gave states an easier pathway to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage for a full 12 months – ensuring access to critical care for nearly 700,000 women in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Largest Small Business Boom in History Due to ARP-Driven Strong Recovery and Small Business Investments: The Biden-Harris Administration:
Increased COVID EIDL to $2 million while increasing anti-fraud controls.
Reformed PPP to more equitably distribute funds to the smallest businesses.
Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 100,000 restaurants, bars, and food trucks stay open.
Shuttered Venues Program provided relief to 13,000 venues.
Invested a historic $10 Billion in the State Small Business Credit Initiativeleveraging up to $100 billion in capital for small businesses.
Invested in innovative Community Navigators program that delivered training to over 350,000 entrepreneurs and 1:1 counseling services to over 33,000 small business owners
Invested $125 million through the Capital Readiness Program to 43 non-profit community-based organizations to help underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their small businesses – winners ranged from Asian/Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce to Urban League of Greater Atlanta. This, and the strong recovery that ARP powered, led to:
A record 16 million new business applications over the past 3 years; 55% higher than year before pandemic.
Share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled, and Latino and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander small business formation surged as well.
Women-owned businesses formation substantially outpaced overall business formation.
Led to Lowest Child Poverty Rate in American History: The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit, made it fully refundable, and delivered it monthly in 2021. This historic expansion drove:
Child poverty cut nearly in half to lowest rate ever.
Black child poverty cut by over 50%, Hispanic child poverty cut by 43%, and dramatic drops in Native American, white and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander child poverty—all record lows.
Over 9 million children in rural areas benefited from the expanded credit.
5 million children in Veteran and active-duty families benefited from the expanded credit.
Child Tax Credit payments were delivered reliably with the first ever monthly payment – on the 15th of each month with 90% using direct deposit.
Over 60 million children in 40 million working families received largest Child Tax Credit in history.
Historic expansion to ~240,000 Puerto Rican families: For the first time, ARP permanently made Puerto Rican families eligible for the same Child Tax Credit as other American families. ARP also quadrupled funding available for Puerto Rico’s Earned Income Tax Credit.
Funded a Historic Vaccination Campaign: ARP provided $160 billion to support vaccination, therapeutics, testing and mitigation, PPE, and the broader COVID Response effort. This led to:
Over 230 million Americans are fully vaccinated, up from 3.5 million when President Biden took office, while closing the racial gap in vaccine access.
First-Ever National Eviction Policy Called “The most important eviction prevention policy in American history.”
Emergency Rental Assistance and other American Rescue Plan assistance helped over 8 million hard-pressed renters stay in their homes without sacrificing other basic needs.
Emergency Rental Assistance and Other ARP housing policies cut eviction filings to 20% below historic averages since start of Biden-Harris Administration.
Called the “the most important eviction prevention policy in American history” by Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize Winner author of “Evicted” – and the “deepest investment the federal government has made in low-income renters since the nation launched its public housing system.”
HUD Emergency Housing Vouchers have already helped 47,500 households at risk of homelessness lease their own rental housing – supporting those at risk of or experiencing homelessness or housing instability, and those fleeing domestic violence.
Helped Keep Over 225,000 Child Care Programs Open and Provided Historic Nationwide Support for Medicaid Home-Based Care
American Rescue Plan Stabilization Assistance has reached over 225,000 Child Care Providers – that employ 1 million child care workers – and have the capacity to serve as many as 10 million children.
Led to lower child care costs by $1,250 per child, helped bring hundreds of thousands of women with young children into the workforce, and increased wages for child care workers by 10%, according to Council of Economic Advisors Report.
More than 8-in-10 licensed child care centers nationwide received ARP assistance.
Benefited 30,000 rural child care programs – in most states, 97% of rural counties or more received aid.
Invested $37 billion to expand access to home-based care and support direct care workers: Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, President Biden delivered $37 billion that all 50 states and the District of Columbia chose to invest to expand access to home care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
Investing in ALL of America:
For First Time in History, Direct Relief to Every Town, City, County, Tribe and State – No Matter How Big or Small, Urban or Rural – So they Could Design their Own Recovery:
Before ARP, 70% of cities forecasted layoffs or major cuts in services and half of states were freezing or cutting jobs. Today, cities and states have funds to invest in major challenges – like public safety, housing, workforce, and rehiring, instead of making dramatic cuts.
ARP provided direct fiscal relief to every state & territory and 30,000 cities and towns – while previous plans reached only 154 local governments or fewer. This has led to:
Immediately reversed planned layoffs in cities and states across the country – and helped drive a recovery of 1.3 million state and local jobs, recovering all of the state and local jobs lost in roughly one-third the time it took to recover state and local jobs after the Great Recession.
Major investments in critical areas:
$25 billion to jumpstart universal broadband access – including Broadband Connections for 18 million students through the Emergency Connectivity Fund so that schools and libraries could close the homework gap.
$12.8 billion in State & Local Funds invested in over 4,300 workforce investments by state and local governments.
Over $20 billion in State & Local Funds invested in water infrastructure.
$18.5 billion in State & Local Funds invested in housing – expanding supply, investing in homeless services, and providing 3.7 million additional households rent, mortgage, and utility relief.
Largest Ever Investment in Tribal Communities
ARP provided largest one-time investment in Tribal communities in history – providing more than $32 billion specifically allocated for Tribal communities and Native people, including $20 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds that were quickly and directly distributed to Tribal governments in 2021 to stabilize Tribal economies devastated by the pandemic.
Invested in first-ever Tribal Small Business Credit Initiative Awards.
Focus on Tribal Communities in Place-Based grants including $45 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBB-RC) grant to the Mountain Plains Regional Native CDFI Coalition to grow the Native finance sector and expand economic opportunity.
Investing in Rural America: Innovative rural-focused investments include:
ARP provided direct fiscal recovery funding to every single rural government so that they could avoid painful layoffs and design their own recovery. Past recovery bills only sent direct fiscal relief to largest cities.
ARP Child Care Stabilization Reached 30,000 rural child care programs – in most states, 97% of rural counties or more received aid.
USDA invested $1 billion to expand independent meat and poultry processing capacity to give farmers more market options and fairer prices, and reduce reliance on a handful of meat and poultry corporations.
Rural unemployment rates in 2023 were at their lowest point (3.6 percent) since before 1990.
Full rural jobs recovery: Rural employment has returned fully to pre-COVID levels.
Major Investment in Workforce Training and Connecting Americans to Good Jobs:
Tens of billions from the American Rescue Plan have gone to workforce training efforts, including $12.8 billion in State and Local Funds invested in over 4,300 workforce investments across the country, including pre-apprenticeships and other programs to prepare for new infrastructure, health care & care jobs.
$500 million in competitive Good Jobs Challenge Awards for 32 Workforce High-Quality Training Partnerships across the country.
$1 billion Competitive Build Back Better Regional Challenge – 21 Winners won between $25 million and $65 million to execute transformational projects and revitalize local industries. Projects include developing workforce training programs, connecting workers to jobs, and other transformational investments.
Historic investment in expanding and supporting our health care workforce, including:
$1.1 billion investment in the community health workforce, including in mental health workforce.
Rapid deployment of 14,000+ community outreach workers (in 150+ national & local organizations). For example, the Association of Asian/Pacific Community Health Organizations used American Rescue Plan funds to establish the CHW Workforce Collaborative (the Collaborative). The Collaborative has since hired, trained, and deployed more than 250 CHWs who speak over 36 Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander languages in 12 continental U.S. states and Hawaii.
Establishment of the first-of-its-kind public health AmeriCorps to build and train the next generation of public health leaders, already serving 82 organizations across the country and supporting more than 3,000 AmeriCorps members.
Supporting the largest field in history (over 22,700 providers) for the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs, treating more than 23.6 million patients in underserved communities.
Provided recovery funding for more than 15,000 School Districts to Safely Reopen K-12 Schools, Support Academic Recovery, and Invest in Student Mental Health:
ARP provided critical relief to more than 15,000 school districts to reopen safely, support academic recovery, and invest in student mental health.
Data from school district plans show that schools are using these funds well, focusing on efforts to support academic recovery:
Nearly 60% of funds are committed to investments like staffing, tutoring, afterschool and summer learning programs, new instructional resources and materials, and mental and physical health supports.
Another 23% is going to keep schools operating safely, including providing PPE and updating school facilities. This includes investments in lead abatement and nearly $10 billion for HVAC.
Nearly half of school districts invested in summer learning programs which proven to boost math scores.
This has led to:
Going from 46% of schools that had safely opened to full-time in-person teaching to 100%: In January 2021, CDC data showed that just 46% of schools were open full-time in-person. Today, all schools are open.
Led to a major increase in staffing and investments to address student mental health: Schools now employ 31% more school social workers and 31% more school nurses than pre-pandemic. School districts have added more than 600,000 local education jobs since January 2021 and recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Eighteen Million College Students Have Received Direct Financial Assistance from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fundthat was expanded by ARP:
Colleges reached an estimated 18 million students with direct financial assistance from the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) fund since the beginning of 2021.
Direct financial assistance for an estimated 6 million community college students.
80% of Pell Grant recipients received direct financial relief in 2021.
An estimated 450,000 students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) received direct financial assistance. In 2021, 77% of HBCUs used HEERF funds to discharge unpaid student balances.
Historic Investment in Pension Security for up to 3 million Union workers & retirees: ARP’s Special Financial Assistance is the most significant investment in pension security for union workers and retirees in the past 50 years.
Over 200 multiemployer plans that were on pace to become insolvent in the nearterm will now have solvency and able to pay full benefits until at least 2051.
Preventing a wave of multi-employer insolvencies for 2-3 million workers who would have seen major cuts to their earned retirement benefits.
Pension cuts reversed for over 80,000 workers and retirees in 18 “MPRA” multiemployer plans
Most significant effort to protect the solvency of the multiemployer pension system in almost 50 years.
First-Ever Summer Nutrition Benefit for Students w/ Nationwide Reach – Extended Permanently:
ARP created the first-ever summer nutrition benefit with nationwide reach, helping children who rely on free and reduced-price school meals afford food over the summer.
30 million young people: Reached the families of 30 million students.
Permanent: Congress extended this innovative program permanently in 2022’s Omnibus bill, the first major new permanent food assistance program in nearly five decades
Here is edited and highlighted transcript of President Biden’s fiery State of the Union Address, as delivered, ad libs and all, in which he trolled and baited Republicans, laid out the stakes of the 2024 election, and contrasted his record and his vision of the future with “my predecessor.” –Karen Rubin, [email protected]
THE PRESIDENT: (The President presents his prepared remarks to Speaker Johnson.) Your bedtime reading.
Tony! (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.) Looking for Jill. (Applause.)
Good evening. (Applause.) Good evening. If I were smart, I’d go home now. (Laughter and applause.)
Mr. Speaker, Madam Vice President, members of Congress, my fellow Americans.
In January 1941, Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation. And he said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union”. Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe.
President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary time. Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.
Tonight, I come to the same chamber to address the nation. Now it’s we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union.
And, yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today.
What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack at — both at home and overseas at the very same time.
Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.
If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you: He will not. (Applause.)
But Ukraine — Ukraine can stop Putin. (Applause.) Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons that it needs to defend itself. (Applause.)
That is all — that is all Ukraine is asking. They’re not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, and I’m determined to keep it that way. (Applause.)
But now assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership.
It wasn’t long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” (Applause.)
Now — now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, “Do whatever the hell you want.”
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: That’s a quote.
A former president actually said that — bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable. (Applause.)
America is a founding member of NATO, the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War Two prevent — to prevent war and keep the peace.
And today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever. We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year. (Applause.) And just this morning, Sweden officially joined, and their minister is here tonight. Stand up. (Applause.) Welcome. Welcome, welcome, welcome. (Applause.) And they know how to fight.
Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen.
I say this to Congress: We have to stand up to Putin. (Applause.) Send me a bipartisan national security bill. History is literally watching. History is watching.
If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish to do us harm.
My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away. (Applause.) We will not bow down. (Applause.) I will not bow down. (Applause.)
In a literal sense, history is watching. History is watching — just like history watched three years ago on January 6th — (applause) — when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy.
Many of you were here on that darkest of days. We all saw with our own eyes the insurrectionists were not patriots. They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power, to overturn the will of the people.
January 6th lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election posed a great — gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War.
But they failed. (Applause.) America stood — (applause) — America stood strong and democracy prevailed. We must be honest: The threat to democracy must be defended [defeated].
My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th. I will not do that.
This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here’s the simple truth: You can’t love your country only when you win. (Applause.)
As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask all of you, without regard to party, to join together and defend democracy. Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic. (Applause.)
Respect — respect free and fair elections, restore trust in our institutions, and make clear political violence has absolutely no place — no place in America. Zero place. (Applause.)
Again, it’s not — it’s not hyperbole to suggest history is watching. They’re watching. Your children and grandchildren will read about this day and what we do.
History is watching another assault on freedom. Joining us tolight [tonight] is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama.
Fourteen months ago — fourteen months ago, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF. (Applause.) She scheduled treatments to have that second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. She was told her dream would have to wait.
What her family had gone through should never have happened. Unless Congress acts, it could happen again.
So, tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers. To my friends across the aisle — (applause) — don’t keep this waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF. (Applause.) Guarantee it nationwide.
Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right.
I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader defending reproductive freedom and so much more. (Applause.) Thank you.
My predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned. He’s the reason it was overturned, and he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted.
Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother from Dallas. She’d become pregnant again and had a fetus with a fatal condition. Her doctor told Kate that her own life and her ability to have future in the fil- — children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act. Because Texas law banned her ability to act, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get what she needed.
What her family had gone through should have never happened as well. But it’s happening to too many others.
There are state laws banning the freedom to choose, criminalizing doctors, forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states to get the treatment they need.
Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: My God, what freedom else would you take away?
Look, its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote the following — and with all due respect, Justices — “Women are not without electoral — electoral power” — excuse me — “electoral or political power.”
You’re about to realize just how much you were right about that. (Applause.)
Clearly — (applause) — clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women.
But they found out. When reproductive freedom was on the ballot, we won in 2022 and 2023. And we’ll win again in 2024. (Applause.)
If you — if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again. (Applause.)
Folks, America cannot go back.
I am here to- — tonight to show what I believe is the way forward, because I know how far we’ve come.
Four years ago next week, before I came to office, the country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century.
Remember the fear, record losses?
Remember the spikes in crime and the murder rate? A raging virus that took more than 1 million American lives of loved ones, millions left behind.
A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness.
A president, my predecessor, failed in the most basic presidential duty that he owes to American people: the duty to care.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Lies!
THE PRESIDENT: I think that’s unforgivable.
I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation’s history. We have.
It doesn’t make new, but in a — news — in a thousand cities and towns, the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told. (Applause.)
So, let’s tell the story here — tell it here and now.
America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities; building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down; investing in all of America, in all Americans to make every- — sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one — no one behind.
The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccine that saved us from COVID is — are now being used to beat cancer.
Turning setback into comeback. That’s what America does. That’s what America does. (Applause.)
Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now, our economy is literally the envy of the world.
Fifteen million new jobs in just three years. A record. A record. (Applause.)
Unemployment at 50-year lows. (Applause.)
A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses, and each one is a literal act of hope, with historic job growth and small-business growth for Black and Hispanics and Asian Americans.Eight hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs in America and counting. (Applause.)
Where is it written we can’t be the manufacturing capital of the world? We are and we will. (Applause.)
More people have health insurance today — more people have health insurance today than ever before.
The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years.
Wages keep going up. Inflation keeps coming down. Inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent — the lowest in the world and tending [trending] lower. (Applause.)
The landing is and will be soft. And now, instead of aporting — importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs — (applause) — right here in America, where they belong.
And it takes time, but the American people are beginning to feel it. Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring.
“Buy America” has been the law of the land since the 1930s. Past administrations, including my predecessor — including some Democrats, as well, in the past — failed to buy American. Not anymore.
On my watch, federal projects that you fund — like helping build American roads, bridges, and highways — will be made with American products and built by American workers — (applause) — creating good-paying American jobs. (Applause.)
And thanks to our CHIPS and Science Act — (applause) — the United States is investing more inresearch and development than ever before. During the pandemic, a shortage of semiconductors, chips that drove up the price of everything from cell phones to automobiles — and, by the way, we invented those chips right here in America.
Well, instead of having to import them, instead of — private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America — (applause) — creating tens of thousands of jobs, many of those jobs paying $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree. (Applause.)
In fact, my policies have attracted$650 billion in private-sector investment in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America. (Applause.)
And thanks — and thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced all across your communities.
And, by the way, I noticed some of you who’ve strongly voted against it are there cheering on that money coming in. (Laughter and applause.) And I like it. I’m with you. I’m with you.
And if any of you don’t want that money in your district, just let me know. (Laughter.)
Modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, public transit systems. Removing poi- — poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of brain damage. (Applause.)
Providing affordable — affordable high-speed Internet for every American, no matter where you live — urban, suburban, or rural communities in red states and blue states.
Record investments in Tribal communities.
Because of my investment in family farms — (applause) — because I invested in family farms — led by my Secretary of Agriculture, who knows more about this anybody I know — we’re better able to stay in the family for the — those farms so their — and their children and grandchildren won’t have to leave — leave home to make a living. It’s transformative.
The great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years. Before I came to office, the plant was on its way to shutting down. Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading.
Then, I was elected to office, and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with auto companies, knowing unions would make all the difference. The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get these jobs back. And together, we succeeded.
Instead of auto factories shutting down, auto factories are reopening and a new state-of-the-art battery factory is being built to power those cars there at the same. (Applause.)
To the folks — to the folks of Belvidere, I’d say: Instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again. Because instead of watching auto ja- — jobs of the future go overseas, 4,000 union jobs with higher wages are building a future in Belvidere right here in America. (Applause.)
Here tonight is UAW President Shawn Fain, a great friend and a great labor leader. Shawn, where are you? (Applause.) Stand up.
And — and Dawn — and Dawn Simms, a third-generation worker — UAW worker at Belvidere.
Shawn, I was proud to be the first President to stand in the picket line. And today, Dawn has a good job in her hometown, providing stability for her family and pride and dignity as well.
Showing once again Wall Street didn’t build America. They’re not bad guys. They didn’t build it, though. The middle class built the country, and unions built the middle class. (Applause.)
I say to the American people: When America gets knocked down, we get back up. (Applause.) We keep going. That’s America. (Applause.) That’s you, the American people.
It’s because of you America is coming back. It’s because of you our future is brighter. It’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the state of our Union is strong and getting stronger. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Tonight — tonight, I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together — a future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and the biggest corporations no longer get the — all the tax breaks.
And, by the way, I understand corporations. I come from a state that has more corporations invested than every one of your states in the state — the United States combined. And I represented it for 36 years. I’m not anti-corporation.
But I grew up in a home where trickle-down economics didn’t put much on my dad’s kitchen table. That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well. When they do well, the poor have a way up and the wealthy still do very well. We all do well.
And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing.
Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world. It’s wrong, and I’m ending it. (Applause.)
With a law that I proposed and signed — and not one of your Republican buddies work- — voted for it — we finally beat Big Pharma.
Instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin with diabetes — and it only costs 10 bucks to make — they only get paid $35 a month now and still make a healthy profit. (Applause.)
And I want to — and what to do next, I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it — everyone. (Applause.)
For years, people have talked about it. But finally, we got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, just like the VA is able to do for veterans. (Applause.)
That’s not just saving seniors money. It’s saving taxpayers money. We cut the federal deficit by $160 billion — (applause) — because Medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.
This year, Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis. It’s now time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 different drugs over the next decade. (Applause.)
They’re making a lot of money, guys. And they’ll still be extremely profitable. It will not only save lives; it will save taxpayers another $200 billion. (Applause.)
Starting next year, the same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $200 — at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $15,000. Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone. (Applause.)
Folks, I’m going to get in trouble for saying that, but any of you want to get in Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow — I mean, excuse me. (Laughter.) Well, even Moscow, probably. (Laughter.) And bring your prescription with you, and I promise you, I’ll get it for you for 40 percent the cost you’re paying now. Same company, same drug, same place.
Folks, the Affordable Care Act — the old “Obamacare” — (applause) — is still a very big deal. (Laughter and applause.)
Over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of a preexisting condition. But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take the — that prescription drug away by repealing Affordable Care Act.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to let that happen. (Applause.) We stopped you 50 times before, and we’ll stop you again. (Applause.)
In fact, I’m not only protecting it, I’m expanding it. The — we enacted tax credits of $800 per person per year [to] reduce healthcare costs for millions of working families. That tax credit expires next year. I want to make that savings permanent. (Applause.)
To state the obvious: Women are more than half of our population, but research on women’s health has always been underfunded.
That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill — (applause) — doing an incredible job as First Lady — (applause) — to pa- — to pass my plan for $12 billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives all across America.
I know the cost of housing is so important to you. Inflation keeps coming down. Mortgage rates will come down as well, and the Fed acknowledges that.
But I’m not waiting. I want to provide an annual tax credit that will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgages when they buy their first home or trade up for a little more space. (Applause.) That’s for two years.
And my administration is also eliminating title insurance [fees] on federally backed mortgages. (Applause.) When you refinance your home, you can save $1,000 or more as a consequence. (Applause.)
For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who use antitrust law — using antitrust — who break antitrust laws — (applause) — by price-fixing and driving up rents. (Applause.)
We’ve cut red tape so builders can get federally financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million new house u- — housing units nationwide.
Now pass — now pass [my plan] and build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents down. (Applause.)
To remain the strongest economy in the world, we need to have the best education system in the world. (Applause.) And I, like I suspect all of you, want to give a child — every child a good start by providing access to preschool for three- and four-years-old. (Applause.)
You know, I think I pointed out last year — (applause) — I think I pointed out last year that children coming from broken homes where there’s no books, they’re not read to, they’re not spoken to very often start school — kindergarten or first grade hearing — having heard a million fewer words spoken.
Well, studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two- and four-year degree no matter what their background is. (Applause.)
I met a year and a half ago with the leaders of the Business Roundtable. They were mad that I was ever — angry — I — well, they were discussing — (laughter) — why I wanted to spend money on education.
I pointed out to them: As Vice President, I met with over 8- — I think it was 182 of those folks — don’t hold me to the exact number — and I asked them what they need most — the CEOs. And you’ve had the same experience on both sides of the aisle. They say, “A better-educated workforce,” right?
So, I looked at them. And I say, “I come from Delaware. DuPont used to be the eighth-largest corporation in the world. And every new enter- — enterprise they bought, they educated the workforce to that enterprise. But none of you do that anymore. Why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best-educated workforce in the world?”
And they all looked at me and said, “I think you’re right.” (Applause.)
I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning to see that every child learns to read by third grade. (Applause.)
I’m also connecting local businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college. (Applause.)
And I want to make sure that college is more affordable. Let’s continue increasing the Pell Grants to working- and middle-class families and increase record investments in HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, including Hispanic institutions. (Applause.)
When I was told I couldn’t universally just change the way in which we did — dealt with student loans, I fixed two student loan programs that already existed to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 million Americans, including nurses, firefighters — (applause) — and others in public service.
Like Keenan Jones, a public educator in Minnesota, who’s here with us tonight. Keenan, where are you? (Applause.) Keenan, thank you.
He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college. Now he’s able to help, after debt forgiveness, get his own daughter to college. (Applause.)
And, folks, look, such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home, start a business, start a family.
And while we’re at it, I want to give public school teachers a raise. (Applause.)
And, by the way, the first couple of years, we cut the deficit.
Now let me speak to the question of fundamental fairness for all Americans. I’ve been delivering real results in fiscally responsible ways. We’ve already cut the federal deficit — we’ve already cut the federal deficit by over $1 trillion. (Applause.)
I signed a bipartisan deal to cut another trillion dollars in the next decade. (Applause.)
It’s my goal to cut the federal deficit another $3 trillion by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally beginning to pay their fair share. (Applause.)
Look, I’m a capitalist. If you want to make or can make a million or millions of bucks, that’s great. Just pay your fair share in taxes. (Applause.)
A fair tax code is how we invest in things that make this country great: healthcare, education, defense, and so much more.
But here’s the deal. The last administration enacted a $2 trillion tax cut overwhelmingly benefit the top 1 percent — the very wealthy —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: — and the biggest corporations — and exploded the federal deficit. (Applause.)
They added more to the national debt than any presidential term in American history. Check the numbers.
Folks at home, does anybody really think the tax code is fair?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax break?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair. Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in federal taxes — (applause) — nobody — not one penny. And they haven’t yet.
In fact, the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in half. (Applause.)
Restore that Child Tax Credit. No child should go hungry in this country. (Applause.)
The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy begin to pay their share. Remember in 2020, 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 billion and paid zero in federal income tax. Zero.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: Not anymore.
Thanks to the law I wrote and we signed, big companies now have to pay a minimum of 15 percent. But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes.
It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21 percent — (applause) — so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.
I also want to end tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, massive executive pay when it was only supposed to be a million bal- — a million dollars that could be deducted. They can pay them $20 million if they want, but deduct a million.
End it now.
You know, there are 1,000 billionaires in America. You know what the average federal tax is for those billionaires?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Zero!
THE PRESIDENT: No. (Laughter.)
They’re making great sacrifices — 8.2 percent.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.
No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, or a nurse. (Applause.)
I proposed a minimum tax for billionaires of 25 percent — just 25 percent. You know what that would raise? That would raise $500 billion over the next 10 years. (Applause.)
And imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable childcare, millions of families can get what they need to go to work to help grow the economy. (Applause.)
Imagine a future with paid leave, because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of their sick family member. (Applause.)
Imagine — imagine a future with home care and eldercare, and people living with disabilities so they can stay in their homes and family caregivers can finally get the pay they deserve.
Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors. (Applause.)
Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block.
If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you. (Applause.)
The working people — the working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.
We have two ways to go. Republicans can cut Social Security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy. I will —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: That’s the proposal. Oh, no? You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Liar!
THE PRESIDENT: I kind of thought that’s what your plan was. (Laughter.) Well, that’s good to hear. You’re not going to cut another $2 trillion for the super-wealthy? That’s good to hear.
I’ll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share. (Applause.)
Look, too many corporations raise prices to pad their profits, charging more and more for less and less.
That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging and deceptive pricing, from food to healthcare to housing.
In fact, the snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer — (laughter) — same — same size bag — put fewer chips in it. No, I’m not joking. It’s called “shrink-flation.”
Pass Bobby Casey’s bill and stop this. (Applause.) I really mean it.
You probably all saw that commercial on Snickers bars. (Laughter.) And you get — you get charged the same amount, and you got about, I don’t know, 10 percent fewer Snickers in it. (Laughter.)
Look, I’m also getting rid of junk fees — those hidden fees — (applause) — at the end of your bill that are there without your knowledge. My administration announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to $8. (Applause.)
Banks and credit card companies are allowed to charge what it costs them to in- — to instigate the collection. And that’s more — a hell of a lot like $8 than 30-some dollars.
But they don’t like it. The credit card companies don’t like it, but I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating. (Applause.)
Folks at home, that’s why the banks are so mad. It’s $20 billion in profit.
I’m not stopping there.
My administration has proposed rules to make cable, travel,utilities, and online ticket sellers tell you the total price up front so there are no surprises. (Applause.)
It matters. It matters.
And so does this. In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, you don’t think so?
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, you don’t like that bill — huh? — that conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I’ll be darned. That’s amazing.
That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges to help tackle the backload of 2 million cases, 4,300 more asylum officers, and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now. (Applause.) What are you against?
One hundred more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles smuggling fentanyl into America that’s killing thousands of children. (Applause.)
This bill would save lives and bring order to the border. (Applause.)
It would also give me and any new president new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.
The Border Patrol union has endorsed this bill.
(Cross-talk.)
The federal Chamber of Commerce has — yeah, yeah. You’re saying “no.” Look at the facts. (Laughter and applause.) I know — I know you know how to read.
I believe that given the opportunity — for — a majority in the House and Senate would endorse the bill as well — a majority right now.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes!
THE PRESIDENT: But unfortunately, politics have derailed this bill so far.
I’m told my predecessor called members of Congress in the Senate to demand they block the bill. He feels political win — he viewed it as a — it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. It’s not about him. It’s not about me. I’d be a winner — not really. I —
REPRESENTATIVE GREENE: What about Laken Riley?
(Cross-talk.)
AUDIENCE: Booo —
REPRESENTATIVE GREENE: Say her name!
THE PRESIDENT: (The President holds up a pin reading “Say Her Name, Laken Riley.”) Lanken — Lanken [Laken] Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed.
REPRESENTATIVE GREENE: By an illegal!
THE PRESIDENT: By an illegal. That’s right. But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?
(Cross-talk.)
To her parents, I say: My heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand.
But, look, if we change the dynamic at the border — people pay people — people pay these smugglers 8,000 bucks to get across the border because they know if they get by — if they get by and let into the country, it’s six to eight years before they have a hearing. And it’s worth the — taking the chance of the $8,000.
(Cross-talk.)
But — but if it’s only six mon- — six weeks, the idea is it’s highly unlikely that people will pay that money and come all that way knowing that they’ll be — able to be kicked out quickly. (Applause.)
Folks, I would respectfully su- — suggest to my friend in — my Republican friends owe it to the American people. Get this bill done. We need to act now. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Get it done! Get it done! Get it done!
THE PRESIDENT: And if my predecessor is watching: Instead of paying [playing] politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it.
We can do it together.
But that’s what he apparently — here’s what he will not do.
I will not demonize immigrants, saying they are “poison in the blood of our country.” (Applause.)
I will not separate families. (Applause.)
I will not ban people because of their faith.
Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office, I introduced a comprehensive bill to fix our immigration system. Take a look at it. It has all these and more: secure the border, provide a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, and so much more. (Applause.)
But unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans. We’re the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new.
Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people of every pla- — from every place on Earth.
They came freely. Some came in chains. Some came when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland. Some to flee persecution, to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America.
That’s America. (Applause.) And we all come from somewhere, but we’re all Americans.
Look, folks, we have a simple choice: We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it. (Applause.) I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now.
AUDIENCE: Fix it! Fix it! Fix it!
THE PRESIDENT: A transformational his- — moment in history happened 58 — 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama. Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, to claim their fundamental right to vote.
They were beaten. They were bloodied and left for dead. Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was on that march. We miss him. (Applause.)
But joining us tonight are other marchers, both in the gallery and on the floor, including Bettie Mae Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma.”
The daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday to help shake the nation’s conscience.
Five months later, the Voting Rights Act passed and was signed into law. (Applause.)
But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time: voter suppression, election subversion, unlimited dark money, extreme gerrymandering.
John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time to do more than talk. (Applause.)
Pass the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Right[s] Act. (Applause.)
And stop — stop denying another core value of America: our diversity across American life. Banning books is wrong. Instead of erasing history, let’s make history. (Applause.)
I want to protect fundamental rights.
Pass the Equality Act. (Applause.)
And my message to transgender Americans: I have your back. (Applause.)
Pass the PRO Act for workers’ rights. (Applause.)
Raise the federal minimum wage, because every worker has the right to a decent living more than eig- — seven bucks an hour. (Applause.)
We’re also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it. I don’t think any of you think there’s no longer a climate crisis. At least, I hope you don’t. (Laughter.)
I’m taking the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world. (Applause.)
I’m cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030; creating tens of thousands of clean energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations — (applause); conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030; and taking action on environmental justice — fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.
And patterned after the Peace Corps and AmericaCorps [AmeriCorps], I launched the Climate Corps — (applause) — to put 20,000 young people to work in the forefront of our clean energy future. I’ll triple that number in a decade. (Applause.)
To state the obvious, all Americans deserve the freedom to be safe. And America is safer today than when I took office.
The year before I took office, murder rates went up 30 percent.
MR. NIKOUI: Remember Abbey Gate!
THE PRESIDENT: Thirty percent, they went up —
MR. NIKOUI: United States Marines! Kareem Mae’Lee Nikoui!
THE PRESIDENT: — the biggest increase in history.
MR. NIKOUI: (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: It was then, through no — through my American Rescue Plan — which every American [Republican] voted against, I might add — we made the largest investment in public safety ever.
Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history. Violent crime fell to one of its lowest levels in more than 50 years.
But we have more to do. We have to help cities invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, more community violence intervention. (Applause.)
Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking.Keep building trust, as I’ve been doing, by taking executive action on police reform and calling for it to be the law of the land.
Directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana and expunging thousands of convictions for the mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply using or have it on their record. (Applause.)
Take on crimes of domestic violence. I’m ramping up the federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act that I proudly wrote when I was a senator so we can finally — finally end the scourge against women in America. (Applause.)
There are other kinds of violence I want to stop.
With us tonight is Jasmine, whose nine-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers in her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Very soon after that happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde for a couple days. We spent hours and hours with each of the families. We heard their message so everyone in this room, in this chamber could hear the same message.
The constant refrain — and I was there for hours, meeting with every family. They said, “Do something.” “Do something.”
Well, I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House, that the Vice President is leading the charge. Thank you for doing it. (Applause.)
Meanwhile — (applause) — meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE PRESIDENT: After another shooting in Iowa recently, he said — when asked what to do about it, he said, just “get over it.” That was his quote. Just “get over it.”
I say stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it. (Applause.)
I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years because of this Congress. We now must beat the NRA again.
I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. (Applause.) Pass universal background checks. (Applause.)
None of this — none of this — I taught the Second Amendment for 12 years. None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.
(Cross-talk.)
You know, as we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad, including in the Middle East.
I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people — for the Israeli people, for the Palestinian people, and so many here in America.
This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by a terrorist group called Hamas, as you all know. One thousand two hundred innocent people — women and girls, men and boys — slaughtered after enduring sexual violence. The deadliest day of the — for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. And 250 hostages taken.
Here in this chamber tonight are families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas. I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring every one of your loved ones home.
We also — (applause) — we will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul — Americans being unjustly detained by the Russians — and others around the world.
Israel has a right to go after Hamas. Hamas ended this conflict by releasing the hostages, laying down arms — could end it by — by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and s- — surrendering those responsible for October 7th.
But Israel has a h- — excuse me. Israel has a added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards — under hospitals, daycare centers, and all the like.
Israel also has a fundamental responsibility, though, to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. (Applause.)
This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Says who?
THE PRESIDENT: — most of whom are not Hamas. Thousands and thousands of innocents — women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned.
Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine.
It’s heartbreaking.
I’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for six weeks to get all the prisoners released — all the hostages released and to get the hostages home and to ease the intolerable an- — humanitarian crisis and build toward an enduring — a more — something more enduring.
The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.
No U.S. boots will be on the ground.
A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. (Applause.)
And Israel must also do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire. (Applause.)
And they’re announcing they’re going to — they’re going to ca- — have a crossing in Northern Gaza.
To the leadership of Israel, I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.
As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time. (Applause.)
And I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel, my entire career. No one has a stronger record with Israel than I do. I challenge any of you here. I’m the only American president to visit Israel in wartime.
But there is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy. There is no other path that guarantees Pa- — that Palestinians can live in peace with po- — with peace and dignity.
And there is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its neighbors — including Saudi Arabia, with whom I’m talking.
Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
I’ve ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capability and defend U.S. forces in the region.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and our military personnel. (Applause.)
For years, I’ve heard many of my Republican and Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America is falling behind. They’ve got it backwards. I’ve been saying it for over four years, even when I wasn’t president.
America is rising. We have the best economy in the world. And since I’ve come to office, our GTB [GDP] is up, our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade. (Applause.)
And we’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices.
We’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
I’ve revitalized our partnership and alliance in the Pacific: India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Pacific Islands. I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China — not allowing to trade them there.
Frankly, for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that. (Applause.)
I want competition with China, not conflict. And we’re in a stronger position to win the conflict [competition] of the 21st century against China than anyone else for that matter — than at any time as well.
Here at home, I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills. But there’s more to pass my Unity Agenda.
Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking. You don’t want to do that, huh?
Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online. (Applause.)
Harness — harness the promise of AI to protect us from peril. Ban AI voice impersonations and more.
And keep our truly sacred obligation to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don’t. (Applause.)
That’s why, with the strong support and help of Denis and the VA, I signed the PACT Act — (applause) — one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans exposed to toxins who now are battling more than 100 different cancers. Many of them don’t come home, but we owe them and their families support.
And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H — (applause) — and remind us — to remind us that we can do big things, like end cancer as we know it. And we will. (Applause.)
Let me close with this. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yay! (Applause and laughter.)
I know you don’t want to hear anymore, Lindsey, but I got to say a few more things. (Laughter.)
I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. (Laughter and applause.) When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever.
I know the American story. Again and again, I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation, between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.
My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy, a future based on core values that have defined America — honesty, decency, dignity, and equality — (applause); to respect everyone; to give everyone a fair shot; to give hate no safe harbor. (Applause.)
Now, other people my age see it differently. (Laughter.) The American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.
That’s not me. I was born amid World War Two, when America stood for the freedom of the world. I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, among working-class people who built this country.
I watched in horror as two of my heroes — like many of you did — Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated. And their legacies inspired me to pur- — pursue a car- — a career in service.
I left a law firm and became a public defender because my city of Wilmington was the only city in America occupied by the National Guard after Dr. King was assassinated because of the riots. And I became a county councilman almost by accident.
I got elected to the United States Senate when I had no intention of running, at age 29.
Then vice president to our first Black president. Now a president to the first woman vice president. (Applause.)
In my career, I’ve been told I was too young. (Laughter.) By the way, they didn’t let me on the Senate elevators for votes sometimes. They — not a joke. (Laughter.)
And I’ve been told I am too old. (Laughter.)
Whether young or old, I’ve always been known — I’ve always known what endures. I’ve known our North Star. The very idea of America is that we’re all created equal, deserves to be treated equally throughout our lives.
We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I won’t walk away from it now. (Applause.)
I’m optimistic. I really am. I’m optimistic, Nancy. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are; it’s how old are our ideas. (Applause.)
Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future and what can and should be done. (Applause.)
Tonight, you’ve heard mine.
I see a future where [we’re] defending democracy, you don’t diminish it.
I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect our freedoms, not take them away. (Applause.)
I see a future where the middle class has — finally has a fair shot and the wealthy have to pay their fair share in taxes. (Applause.)
I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. (Applause.)
Above all, I see a future for all Americans. I see a country for all Americans. And I will always be President for all Americans because I believe in America. I believe in you, the American people. (Applause.) You’re the reason we’ve never been more optimistic about our future than I am now.
So, let’s build the future together. Let’s remember who we are.
We are the United States of America. (Applause.) And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we act together. (Applause.)
God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
Thanks to a steady stream of desperate migrants escaping conflict and climate disasters at the southern border but all over the world (and propaganda), voters now consider immigration (not women’s reproductive rights, gun violence or climate action) the leading issue. And Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to keep it that way. So after negotiating the toughest immigration reform in 30 years (and Democrats abandoning calls to legalize status for DACA recipients and the rest of the millions of undocumented migrants who have been living and working in the US for years in order to reach a compromise), Trump issued his order that House Republicans nix adopting the National Security Plan, that also included aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian aid and instead, voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, while Republican Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis are working hard to increase the misery of the desperate migrants and the Democratic cities they are shipping these individuals to, without warning or coordination, just to elevate the crisis. Meanwhile, Trump’s agenda for a second term would go beyond the cruelty of his family-separation program of his first term.
Rather than playing politics on the issue, Biden is trying to take action, and today, in traveling to Brownsville, Texas to meet with U.S. Border patrol agents, is laying out why Republicans’ failure to act is handicapping the administration’s effort to address the migrant crisis in a humanitarian way. This fact sheet is provided by the White House – Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
Today, President Biden is traveling to Brownsville, Texas to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, frontline personnel, and local leaders to discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate bipartisan border security agreement.
President Biden has repeatedly said he is willing to work in a bipartisan way to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system. Over several months, his Administration negotiated with a bipartisan group of Senators to release a bill that includes the toughest and fairest reforms to secure the border we have had in decades. It would make our country safer, make our border more secure, and treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our nation’s values. The bill received support from the Border Patrol Union, the Chamber of Commerce, the South Texas Alliance of Cities, and the Wall Street Journal – but Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans have decided to play politics at the expense of border security.
At the President’s request, the agreement included over $20 billion for border security. The agreement would provide critical resources at the border and significant policy changes, including:
Border Patrol: Border Patrol staffing has remained roughly flat over the last four years, despite border encounters increasing by 250 percent over the same period. Today, there are just shy of 20,000 Border Patrol Agents. The bipartisan Senate bill would add more than 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel.
Asylum Officers and Asylum Reform: Similarly, Asylum Officer staffing has remained stagnant over the last four years and there is an insufficient number of asylum officers to do initial screenings. As a result, each asylum case generally takes 5 to 7 years to be heard and adjudicated. Today, there are approximately 1,000 Asylum Officers; the bipartisan Senate bill would add an additional 4,300 Asylum Officers and it would make the asylum process faster and fairer.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): ICE detention facilities are currently over capacity. Today, ICE has approximately 40,000 detention beds. The bipartisan Senate agreement would increase detention beds to a total of 50,000. Moreover, without immediate action from Congress DHS will need to move funding to ICE from other critical missions or reduce ICE’s enforcement operations to manage a shortfall of several hundred million dollars.
Immigration Judges: Currently there is a backlog of over 2 million cases for immigration judges. Each asylum case generally takes 5 to 7 years to complete. Without more judges, these timelines and backlogs will continue to grow. Today there is funding for 734 immigration judges, the bipartisan Senate bill would provide funding for an additional 100 immigration judges and their associated staff.
Combatting Drug Trafficking: We continue our fight against the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. The bipartisan agreement would fund the installation of 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect fentanyl at our Southwest Border ports of entry. It would also give the President the authority to impose sanctions on foreign nationals knowingly involved in significant trafficking of fentanyl by a transnational criminal organization.
The bill also includes $1.4 billion for cities and states who are providing critical services to newcomers, and would expedite work permits for people who are in the country and qualify.
In order to truly tackle this problem and support the more than four thousand border and immigration officials who work in the Rio Grande Valley – which includes Brownsville – with the additional personnel and resources they need to secure our border, Congress must act.
Today, President Biden is issuing an Executive Order to protect Americans’ sensitive personal data from exploitation by countries of concern. The Executive Order, which marks the most significant executive action any President has ever taken to protect Americans’ data security, authorizes the Attorney General to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to countries of concern and provides safeguards around other activities that can give those countries access to Americans’ sensitive data.
The President’s Executive Order focuses on Americans’ most personal and sensitive information, including genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data, and certain kinds of personally identifiable information. Bad actors can use this data to track Americans (including military service members), pry into their personal lives, and pass that data on to other data brokers and foreign intelligence services. This data can enable intrusive surveillance, scams, blackmail, and other violations of privacy.
Companies are collecting more of Americans’ data than ever before, and it is often legally sold and resold through data brokers. Commercial data brokers and other companies can sell this data to countries of concern, or entities controlled by those countries, and it can land in the hands of foreign intelligence services, militaries, or companies controlled by foreign governments.
The sale of Americans’ data raises significant privacy, counterintelligence, blackmail risks and other national security risks—especially for those in the military or national security community. Countries of concern can also access Americans’ sensitive personal data to collect information on activists, academics, journalists, dissidents, political figures, and members of non-governmental organizations and marginalized communities to intimidate opponents of countries of concern, curb dissent, and limit Americans’ freedom of expression and other civil liberties.
To protect Americans’ sensitive personal data, President Biden is directing:
The Department of Justice to issue regulations that establish clear protections for Americans’ sensitive personal data from access and exploitation by countries of concern. These protections will extend to genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data, and certain kinds of personal identifiers. They will prevent the large-scale transfer of that data to countries of concern—which have a track record of collecting and misusing data on Americans.
The Department of Justice to issue regulations that establish greater protection of sensitive government-related data, including geolocation information on sensitive government sites and information about military members.
The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to work together to set high security standards to prevent access by countries of concern to Americans’ data through other commercial means, such as data available via investment, vendor, and employment relationships.
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and Veterans Affairs to help ensure that Federal grants, contracts, and awards are not used to facilitate access to Americans’ sensitive health data by countries of concern, including via companies located in the United States.
The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (often called “Team Telecom”) to consider the threats to Americans’ sensitive personal data in its reviews of submarine cable licenses.
That these activities do not stop the flow of information necessary for financial services activities or impose measures aimed at a broader decoupling of the substantial consumer, economic, scientific, and trade relationships that the United States has with other countries.
These actions not only align with the U.S.’ longstanding support for the trusted free flow of data, but also are consistent with U.S.’ commitment to an open Internet with strong and effective protections for individuals’ privacy and measures to preserve governments’ abilities to enforce laws and advance policies in the public interest. The Administration will continue its engagements with stakeholders, including technology companies and advocates for privacy, safety, competition, labor, and human rights, to move forward in a way that appropriately balances all these objectives.
Additionally, President Biden continues to urge Congress to do its part and pass comprehensive bipartisan privacy legislation, especially to protect the safety of our children.
In this, President Joe Biden’s first major speech of 2024, on January 5 marking the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection which he delivered at Valley Forge, he highlights what is at stake in the upcoming 2024 election: nothing short of whether the United States will be ruled by democracy or a despot. “Is democracy still America’s sacred cause” he askedin what may well be considered Biden’s “Gettysburg Address.”
In this, President Joe Biden’s first major speech of 2024, which he delivered at Valley Forge on January 5, marking the third anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection, he highlights what is at stake in the upcoming 2024 election: nothing short of whether the United States will be ruled by democracy or a despot. “Is democracy still America’s sacred cause” he askedin what may well be considered Biden’s “Gettysburg Address.”
In contrast, Donald Trump’s first campaign speech committed himself to “retribution, revenge,” weaponizing the Department of Justice to persecute anyone who looks like they are doing well against him, literally tearing up the Constitution, enacting the Insurrection Act, pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists (he calls “hostages”) and being dictator (for the first day). And by suggesting that his own top military general be executed (for showing loyalty to the Constitution instead of him), he has laid down the gauntlet of weaponizing and routinizing political intimidation to insure his power.
As President Biden has said so many times, “this is not hyperbole” but a real call out to the existential crisis Americans must confront.
“Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time, and it’s what the 2024 election is all about.” “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.”
“Without democracy, no progress is possible. Think about it. The alternative to democracy is dictatorship — the rule of one, not the rule of ‘We the People.’”
“Democracy means having the freedom to speak your mind, to be who you are, to be who you want to be. Democracy is about being able to bring about peaceful change. Democracy — democracy is how we’ve opened the doors of opportunity wider and wider with each successive generation, notwithstanding our mistakes.”
“But if democracy falls, we’ll lose that freedom. We’ll lose the power of “We the People” to shape our destiny. If you doubt me, look around the world. Travel with me as I meet with other heads of state throughout the world.”
Here is a slightly edited, highlighted transcript of President Biden’s remarks at Valley Forge, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on January 5 –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
In this, President Joe Biden’s first major speech of 2024, on January 5 marking the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection which he delivered at Valley Forge, he highlights what is at stake in the upcoming 2024 election: nothing short of whether the United States will be ruled by democracy or a despot. “Is democracy still America’s sacred cause” he askedin what may well be considered Biden’s “Gettysburg Address.”
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please. Thank you. Please. Thank you very, very much.
Today — the topic of my speech today is deadly serious, and I think it needs to be made at the outset of this campaign.
In the winter of 1777, it was harsh and cold as the Continental Army marched to Valley Forge. General George Washington knew he faced the most daunting of tasks: to fight and win a war against the most powerful empire that existed in the world at the time.
His mission was clear. Liberty, not conquest. Freedom, not domination. National independence, not individual glory.
America made a vow. Never again would we bow down to a king.
The months ahead would be incredibly difficult. But General Washington knew something in his bones, something about the spirit of the troops he was leading, something — something about the soul of the nation he [that] was struggling to be born.
In his general order, he predicted, and I quote, “with one heart and one mind,” “with fortitude and with patience,” they would overcome every difficulty — the troops he was leading.
And they did. They did.
This army that lacked blankets and food, clothes and shoes. This army whose march left bloody, bare footprints in the snow. This ragtag army made up of ordinary people. Their mission, George Washington declared, was nothing less than “a sacred cause.” That was the phrase used: “a sacred cause.”
Freedom, liberty, democracy. American democracy.
I just visited the grounds of Valley Forge. I’ve been there a number of times from the time I was a Boy Scout years ago. You know, it’s the very site that I think every American should visit because it tells the story of the pain and the suffering and the true patriotism it took to make America.
Today, we gather in a new year, some 246 years later, just one day before January 6th, a day forever shared in our memory because it was on that day that we nearly lost America — lost it all.
Today, we’re here to answer the most important of questions. Is democracy still America’s sacred cause? I mean it. (Applause.)
This is not rhetorical, academic, or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time, and it’s what the 2024 election is all about.
The choice is clear. Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power.
Our campaign is different. For me and Kamala, our campaign is about America. It’s about you. It’s about every age and background that occupy this country. It’s about the future we’re going to continue to build together.
And our campaign is about preserving and strengthening our American democracy. Three years ago tomorrow, we saw with our own eyes the violent mob storm the United States Capitol. It was almost in disbelief as you first turned on the television.
For the first time on our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer — transfer of power in America — first time — smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police.
Outside, gallows were erected as the MAGA crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.”
Inside, they hunted for Speaker Pelosi [of] the House, was chanting, as they marched through and smashed windows, “Where’s Nancy?”
Over 140 police officers were injured. Jill and I attended the funeral of police officers who died as a result of the events of that day.
And because Donald — because of Donald Trump’s lies, they died because these lies brought a mob to Washington.
He promised it would be “wild,” and it was. He told the crowd to “fight like hell,” and all hell was unleashed.
He promised he would right them — right them. Everything they did, he would be side by side with them. Then, as usual, he left the dirty work to others. He retreated to the White House.
As America was attacked from within, Donald Trump watched on TV in the private small dining room off my Oval — off the Oval Office.
The entire nation watched in horror. The whole world watched in disbelief. And Trump did nothing.
Members of his staff, members of his family, Republican leaders who were under attack for the — at that very moment pled with him: “Act. Call off the mob.”
Imagine had he gone out and said, “Stop.”
And still, Trump did nothing. It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history: an attempt to overturn a free and fair election by force and violence.
A record 81 million people voted for my candidacy and to end his presidency. Trump lost the popular vote by 7 million.
Trump’s claims about the 2020 election never could stand up in court. Trump lost 60 court cases — 60. Trump lost the Republican-controlled states. Trump lost before a Trump-appointed judge — and then judges. And Trump lost before the United States Supreme Court. (Applause.) All of it, he lost.
Trump lost recount after recount after recount in state after state. But in desperation and weakness, Trump and his MAGA followers went after election officials who ensured your power as a citizen would be heard. These public servants had their lives forever upended by attacks and death threats for simply doing their jobs.
In Atlanta, Georgia, a brave Black mother and her daughter, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, were doing their jobs as elected workers until Donald Trump and his MAGA followers targeted and threatened them, forcing them from their homes and unleashing racist vitriol on them. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was just hit with $148 million judgment for cruelty and defamation that he inflicted against them.
Other state and local elected officials across the country faced similar personal attacks. In addition, Fox News agreed to pay a record $787 million for the lies they told about voter fraud.
Let’s be clear about the 2020 election. Trump exhausted every legal avenue available to him to overturn the election — every one. But the legal path just took Trump back to the truth that I had won the election and he was a loser. (Applause.)
Well, knowing how his mind works now, he had one — he had one act left — one desperate act available to him: the violence of January the 6th.
And since that day, more than 1,200 people have been charged for their assault on the Capitol. Nearly 900 of them have been convicted or pled guilty. Collectively, to date, they have been sentenced to more than 840 years in prison. (Applause.)
And what has Trump done? Instead of calling them “criminals,” he’s called these insurrectionists “patriots.” They’re “patriots.” And he promised to pardon them if he returns to office.
Trump said that there was “a lot of love” on January the 6th. The rest of the nation, including law enforcement, saw a lot of hate and violence. One Capitol police officer called it a “medieval battle.” That same officer called vile — was called vile, racist names. He said he was more afraid in the Capitol of the United States of America, in the chambers, than when he was fighting as a soldier in the war in Iraq. He said he was more afraid inside the halls of Congress than fighting in the war in Iraq.
In trying to rewrite the facts of January 6th, Trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election. But we knew the truth because we saw it with our own eyes. It wasn’t like something — a story being told. It was on television repeatedly. We saw it with our own eyes.
Trump’s mob wasn’t a peaceful protest. It was a violent assault. They were insurrectionists, not patriots. They weren’t there to uphold the Constitution; they were there to destroy the Constitution.
Trump won’t do what an American president must do. He refuses to denounce political violence.
So, hear me clearly. I’ll say what Donald Trump won’t. Political violence is never, ever acceptable in the United States political system — never, never, never. It has no place in a democracy. None. (Applause.)
You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.
You know, Trump and his MAGA supporters not only embrace political violence, but they laugh about it. At his rally, he jokes about an intruder, whipped up by the Big Trump Lie, taking a hammer to Paul Pelosi’s skull and echoing the very same words used on January 6th: “Where’s Nancy?”
And he thinks that’s funny. He laughed about it. What a sick — (laughter and applause). My God.
I think it’s despicable, seriously — not just for a president, for any person to say that. But to say it to the whole world listening.
When I was overseas — anyway. (Laughter.)
Trump’s assault on democracy isn’t just part of his past. It’s what he’s promising for the future. He’s being straightforward. He’s not hiding the ball.
His first rally for the 2024 campaign opened with a choir of January 6th insurrectionists singing from prison on a cell phone while images of the January 6th riot played on a big screen behind him at his rally.
Can you believe that? This is like something out of a fairy tale — a bad fairy tale.
Trump began his 2024 campaign by glorifying the failed violent insurrectionist — insurrection at our — on our Capitol.
The guy who claims law and order sows lawlessness and disorder.
Trump’s not concerned about your future, I promise you. Trump is now promising a full-scale campaign of “revenge” and “retribution” — his words — for some years to come. They were his words, not mine. He went on to say he would be a dictator on day one.
I mean, if I were writing a book of fiction and I said an American president said that, and not in jest —
He called it, and I quote, the “termination of all the rules, regulation, and articles, even those found in the U.S. Constitution,” should be terminated, if it’s his will.
It’s really kind of hard to believe. Even found in the Constitution, he could terminate?
He’s threatened the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the death penalty. Says he should be put to death because the Chairman put his oath to the Constitution ahead of his personal loyalty to Trump.
This coming from a president who called — when he visited a cemetery, called dead soldiers “suckers” and “losers.” Remember that?
Sometimes, I’m really happy the Irish in me can’t be seen. (Laughter.)
It was right around the time I was at Beau’s grave, Tommy.
How dare he? Who in God’s name does he think he is?
With former aides, Trump plans to invoke the Insurrectionist Act — the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy — which he’s not allowed to do in ordinary circumstances — allow him to deploy U.S. military forces on the streets of America. He said it.
He calls those who oppose him “vermin.” He talks about the blood of Americans being poisoned, echoing the same exact language used in Nazi Germany.
He proudly posts on social media the words that best describe his 2024 campaign, quote, “revenge”; quote, “power”; and, quote, “dictatorship.”
There’s no confusion about who Trump is and what he intends to do.
I placed my hand on our family Bible, and I swore an oath on the very same steps of the Capitol just 14 days after the attack on January the 6th.
As I looked out over the capital city, whose streets were lined with National Guard to prevent another attack, I saw an American that had been pushed to the brink — an America that had been pushed to the brink.
But I felt enormous pride — not in winning. I felt enormous pride in America because American democracy had been tested and American democracy had held together. And when Trump had seen weakness in our democracy and continues to talk about it, I saw strength — your strength. It’s not hyperbole. Your strength. Your integrity. American strength and integrity.
Ordinary citizens, state election officials, the American judicial system had put the Constitution first and sometimes at their peril — at their peril.
Because of them, because of you, the will of the people prevailed, not the anger of the mob or the appetites of one man.
When the attack on January 6th happened, there was no doubt about the truth. At the time, even Republican members of Congress and Fox News commentators publicly and privately condemned the attack.
As one Republican senator said, “Trump’s behavior was embarrassing and humiliating for the country.” But now, that same senator and those same people have changed their tune.
As time has gone on, politics, fear, money, all have intervened. And now these MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump on January 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy.
They made their choice. Now the rest of us — Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans — we have to make our choice.
I know mine. And I believe I know America’s.
We will defend the truth, not give in to the Big Lie. We’ll embrace the Constitution and the Declaration, not abandon it. We’ll honor the sacred cause of democracy, not walk away from it.
Today, I make this sacred pledge to you. The defense, protection, and preservation of American democracy will remain, as it has been, the central cause of my presidency. (Applause.)
America, as we begin this election year, we must be clear: Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot. (Applause.)
Yes, we’ll be voting on many issues: on the freedom to vote and have your vote counted, on the freedom of choice, the freedom to have a fair shot, the freedom from fear. And we’ll debate and disagree.
Without democracy, no progress is possible. Think about it. The alternative to democracy is dictatorship — the rule of one, not the rule of “We the People.”
That’s what the soldiers of Valley Forge understood. And so was me — was what we have to understand it as well. We’ve been blessed so long with a strong, stable democracy. It’s easy to forget why so many before us risked their lives and strengthened democracy, what our lives would be without it.
Democracy means having the freedom to speak your mind, to be who you are, to be who you want to be. Democracy is about being able to bring about peaceful change. Democracy — democracy is how we’ve opened the doors of opportunity wider and wider with each successive generation, notwithstanding our mistakes.
But if democracy falls, we’ll lose that freedom. We’ll lose the power of “We the People” to shape our destiny. If you doubt me, look around the world. Travel with me as I meet with other heads of state throughout the world.
Look at the authoritarian leaders and dictators Trump says he admires — he, out loud, says he admires. I won’t go through them all. It would take too long.
Look, remember when he refers to what he calls the “love letter” exchanges between he and the dictator of North Korea? Those women and men out there in the audience who ever fought for the American military, would you ever believe you’d hear a president say something like that?
His admiration for Putin — I can go on.
And look at what these autocrats are doing to limit freedom in their countries. They’re limiting freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to assemble, women’s rights, LGB[T]Q rights, people are going to jail, so much more.
It’s true: The push and pull of American history is not a fairy tale. Every stride forward in America is met with a ferocious backlash, many times from those who fear progress and those who exploit that fear for their own personal gain; from those who traffic in lies told for power and profit; from those who are driven by grievance and grift, consumed by conspiracy and victimhood; from those who seek to bury history and ban books.
Did you ever think you’d be at a political event talking about book banning for in a presidential election?
The choice and contest between those forces — those competing forces, between solidarity and division — is perennial. But this time, it’s so different.
You can’t have a contest — you can’t have a contest if you see politics as an all-out war instead of a peaceful way to resolve our differences. All-out war is what Trump wants.
That’s why he doesn’t understand the most fundamental truth about this country. Unlike other nations on Earth, America is not built on ethnicity, religion, geography. We’re the only nation in the history of the world built on an idea — not hyperbole — built on an idea: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”
It’s an idea declared in the Declaration, created in a way that we viewed everybody as equal and be — should be treated equally throughout their lives.
We’ve never fully lived up to that. We have a long way to go. But we’ve never walked away from the idea. We’ve never walked away from it before. But I promise you, I will not let Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans — (applause) — force us to walk away now.
We’re living in an era where a determined minority is doing everything in its power to try to destroy our democracy for their own agenda. The American people know it, and they’re standing bravely in the breach.
Remember, after 2020, January 6th insurrection to undo the election in which more Americans had voted than any other in American history? America saw the threat posed to the country, and they voted him out. In 2022, historic midterm election, in state after state, election after election, the election deniers were defeated.
Now, in 2024, Trump in running as the “denier-in-chief” — the election denier-in-chief. Once again, he’s saying he won’t honor the results of the election if he loses.
Trump says he doesn’t understand. Well, he still doesn’t understand the basic truth, and that is you can’t love your country only when you win. (Applause.) You can’t love your country only when you win.
So, I’ll keep my commitment to be president for all of America, whether you voted for me or not. I’ve done it for the last three years, and I’ll continue to do it.
Together, we can keep proving that America is still a country that believes in decency, dignity, honesty, honor, truth. We still believe that no one, not even the President, is above the law. We still believe — (applause) — the vast majority of us still believe that everyone deserves a fair shot at making it. We’re still a nation that gives hate no safe harbor.
I tell you from my experience working with leaders around the world — and I mean this sincerely, not a joke — that America is still viewed as the beacon of democracy for the world.
I can’t tell you how many — how many world leaders — and I know all of them, virtually all of them — grab my arm in private and say, “He can’t win. Tell me. No, my country will be at risk.”
Think of how many countries, Tommy, you know that are on the on the edge. Imagine.
We still believe in “We the People,” and that includes all of us, not some of us.
Let me close with this. On that cold winter of 1777, George Washington and his American troops at Valley Forge waged a battle on behalf of a revolutionary idea that everyday people — like where I come from and the vast majority of you — not a king or a dictator — that everyday people can govern themselves without a king or a dictator.
In fact, in the rotunda of the Capitol, there’s a giant painting of General George Washington — not President Washington — and he is resigning his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
A European king at this — at the time said, after he won the revolution, “Now is the time for him to declare his kingship.”
But instead, the mob that attacked the Capitol, waving Trump flags and Confederate flags, stormed right past that portrait. That image of George Washington gave them no pause, but it should have.
The artist that painted that portrait memorialized that moment because he said it was, quote, “one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world.” End of quote.
George Washington was at the height of his power. Having just defeated the most powerful empire on Earth, could have held onto the power as long as he wanted. He could have made himself not a future president but a future monarch, in effect.
And, by the way, when he got elected president, he could have stayed for two, three, four, five terms, until he died. But that wasn’t the America he and the American troops at Valley Forge had fought for.
In America, genuine leaders — democratic leaders, with a small “d” — don’t hold on to power relentlessly. Our leaders return power to the people. And they do it willingly, because that’s the deal. You do your duty. You serve your country.
And ours is a country worthy of service, as many Republican presidents and Democratic presidents have shown over the years.
We’re not perfect. But at our best, we face on — we face head on the good, the bad, the truth of who we are. We look in the mirror and ultimately never pretend we’re something we’re not. That’s what great nations do. And we’re a great nation. We’re the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. We really are. (Applause.)
That’s the America I see in our future. We get up. We carry on. We never bow. We never bend. We speak of possibilities, not carnage. We’re not weighed down by grievances. We don’t foster fear. We don’t walk around as victims.
We take charge of our destiny. We get our job done with the help of the people we find in America, who find their place in the changing world and dream and build a future that not only they but all people deserve a shot at.
We don’t believe — none of you believe America is failing. We know America is winning. That’s American patriotism. (Applause.)
And it’s not winning because of Joe Biden. It’s winning.
This is the first national election since January 6th insurrection placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy — since that moment. We all know who Donald Trump is. The question we have to answer is: Who are we? That’s what’s at stake. (Applause.) Who are we?
In the year ahead, as you talk to your family and friends, cast your ballots, the power is in your hands. After all we’ve been through in our history, from independence to Civil War to two world wars to a pandemic to insurrection, I refuse to believe that, in 2024, we Americans will choose to walk away from what’s made us the greatest nation in the history of the world: freedom, liberty. (Applause.)
Democracy is still a sacred cause. And there’s no country in the world better positioned to lead the world than America.
That’s why — (applause) — I’ve said it many times. That’s why I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. And I’ve been doing this a hell of a long time. (Laughter.)
Just have to remember who we are — with patience and fortitude, with one heart. We are the United States of America, for God’s sake. (Applause.)
I mean it. There is nothing — I believe with every fiber that there is nothing beyond our capacity if we act together and decently with one another. Nothing, nothing, nothing. (Applause.) I mean it.
We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went into that crisis. That was true yesterday and it’s true today, and I guarantee you will be true tomorrow.
God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you.
(The First Lady joins the President onstage.) I understand power. (Laughter.)
Thank you all so very much. (Inaudible.) Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
During the inaugural convening of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, President Biden will unveil more than 30 new actions to strengthen America’s supply chains
You don’t hear anything about it because 1) it’s lots of facts and figures and 2) the nonstop criminality, latest court craziness of Trump and his scheme to become a dictator are dominating news. But the collapse of supply chains during the COVID pandemic was the biggest reason for triggering inflation, and the Biden administration focus to develop Made in America manufacturing and reduce dependency on foreign production is one of the biggest factors in reducing costs for Americans (despite greed-based price hikes). Here’s a Fact sheet from the White House:
As part of his Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families, President Biden is announcing nearly 30 new actions to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security. These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home.
President Biden announced these actions alongside members of his Cabinet and other senior Administration officials at the inaugural meeting of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. The Council, which President Biden established, will support the enduring resilience of America’s critical supply chains.
Robust supply chains are fundamental to a strong economy. When supply chains smooth, prices fall for goods, food, and equipment, putting more money in the pockets of American families, workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs. That is why President Biden made supply chain resilience a priority from Day One of his Administration—including by signing an Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains and establishing a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force that worked with states, Tribes, local governments, businesses, family farms, labor, and allies and partners to address the acute supply chain crises caused by the pandemic. Since then, the Administration has made historic investments to strengthen supply chains and prevent future disruptions by expanding production capacity in key sectors and building infrastructure through the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
These efforts helped unsnarl supply chains, re-normalize the flow of goods, and lower inflation. From October 2021 to October 2023, supply chain pressures as measured by the New York Fed declined from near-record highs to a record low, helping lower inflation, which has fallen by 65% from its peak.
Today, President Biden is building on this progress by announcing bold new actions to further strengthen supply chains, lower costs for families, and help Americans get the goods they need, including:
The creation of the Council on Supply Chain Resilience. Today, President Biden will convene the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which will advance his long-term, government-wide strategy to build enduring supply chain resilience. The Council will be co-chaired by the National Security Advisor and National Economic Advisor, and include the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs; the Attorney General; the Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration; the Directors of National Intelligence, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers; the U.S. Trade Representative; and other senior officials from the Executive Office of the President and other agencies.
Use of the Defense Production Act to make more essential medicines in America and mitigate drug shortages. President Biden will issue a Presidential Determination to broaden the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) authorities under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to enable investment in domestic manufacturing of essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs that have been deemed by the President as essential to the national defense. HHS has identified $35 million for investments in domestic production of key starting materials for sterile injectable medicines. HHS will also designate a new Supply Chain Resilience and Shortage Coordinator for efforts to strengthen the resilience of medical product and critical food supply chains, and to address related shortages. HHS intends to institutionalize this coordination to advance the department’s supply chain resilience and shortage mitigation goals over the long term. The Department of Defense (DOD) will also soon release a new report on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience aimed at reducing reliance on high-risk foreign suppliers. These actions are a subset of the Administration’s broader work to increase access to essential medicines and medical products.
New cross-governmental supply chain data-sharing capabilities. The Administration has developed several cross-government partnerships to improve supply chain monitoring and strategy, including:
The Department of Commerce’s new, first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Center is integrating industry expertise and data analytics to develop innovative supply chain risk assessment tools, and is coordinating deep-dive analyses on select critical supply chains to drive targeted actions to increase resilience. This Center is building broad partnerships across government, industry, and academia, including collaborating with the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct deep-dive analyses on clean energy supply. Additionally, Commerce is partnering with HHS to assess industry and import data that can help address foreign dependency vulnerabilities and points of failure for critical drugs.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Freight Logistics Optimization Works (“FLOW”) program is a public-private partnership that brings together U.S. supply chain stakeholders to create a shared, common picture of supply chain networks and facilitate a more reliable flow of goods. DOT is announcing a new milestone for FLOW, in which participants are beginning to utilize FLOW data to inform their logistics decision making, helping to avoid bottlenecks, shorten lead times for customers, and enable a more resilient and globally competitive freight network through earlier warnings of supply chain disruption. As the effort continues to mature, DOT will work with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase data transparency for containerized shipments of agricultural products in the United States, efforts that can help producers and sellers avoid disruptions that can increase food prices.
These new analytical capabilities will enable the Council to coordinate a more complete, whole-of-government critical supply chain monitoring function.
Additional actions to support stronger supply chains and access to affordable, reliable energy and critical technology:
Investing in critical supply chains:
DOE today announced $275 million in grant selections for its Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, investments that will revitalize communities affected by coal mine or coal power plant closures through investment in clean energy supply chains, including production of critical materials, components for grid-scale batteries and electric vehicles, onshore wind turbines, and energy conservation technologies. DOE also announced up to $10 million of funding for a “critical material accelerator” and a $5.6-million prize to develop circular clean energy supply chains. These efforts build on action by President Biden to authorize DOE’s use of the DPA to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies—including electric heat pumps—as well as DOE’s recently announced $3.5-billion investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials needed for essential clean energy technologies such as stationary storage and electric vehicles.
USDA is making investments worth $196 million to strengthen our domestic food supply chains and create more opportunity for farmers and entrepreneurs in 37 states and in Puerto Rico. These investments—which build on prior investments in diversified food processing, resilient agricultural markets, and fertilizer production—expand farmer income opportunities, create economic opportunities for people and businesses in rural areas, and lower food costs.
DOD, building on the $714 million in DPA investments it has made in 2023 to support defense-critical supply chains, will publish the first ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS). The NDIS will guide engagement, policy development, and investment in the defense industrial base over the next three to five years. It will ensure a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to and focus on the multiple layers of suppliers and sub-suppliers that make up these critical supply chains.
Planning for long-term industrial resilience and future supply chain investments:
Launch of the quadrennial supply chain review. The Council will complete the first quadrennial supply chain review by December 31, 2024. As part of the review, the Council will update criteria on industries, sectors, and products defined as critical to national and economic security. In addition, 12 months after the Council promulgates the criteria, and annually thereafter, the Council will apply the criteria to review and update the list of critical sectors, as appropriate.
Smart manufacturing plan. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) is sponsoring a study by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to develop a nationwide plan for smart manufacturing. The report will establish key priorities for investment to support new digital and artificial intelligence technologies. These investments will enhance the productivity and security of the manufacturing systems that are critical for maintaining domestic supply chains.
Deploying new capabilities to monitor existing and emerging risks:
New Resilience Center and tabletop exercises for supply chain disruptions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing the launch of a new Supply Chain Resilience Center (SCRC), which will be dedicated to ensuring the resilience of supply chains for critical infrastructure needed to deliver essential services to the American people. Near-term priorities will include addressing supply chain risks resulting from threats and vulnerabilities inside U.S. ports. Additionally, in 2024, in collaboration with other federal agencies and foreign governments, DHS will facilitate at least two tabletop exercises designed to test the resilience of critical cross-border supply chains. Further, DHS and the Department of Commerce will collaborate to continue to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain and further the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act.
Launch of DOT Multimodal Freight Office. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) implementation, DOT is launching its Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy (“Multimodal Freight Office”). This office is responsible for maintaining and improving the condition and performance of the nation’s multimodal freight network including through the development of the National Multimodal Freight Network, review of State Freight Plans, and the continued advancement of the FLOW initiative in partnership with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Monitoring of climate impacts. The White House National Security Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Council of Economic Advisers will co-lead an interagency effort in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor global developments related to El Niño, including this climate phenomenon’s impact on U.S. and global commodity prices, agriculture and fishery output, disruptions to global and trade supply chains, and resulting impacts on food security, human health, and social instabilities.
Energy and critical mineral supply chain readiness. To more consistently track risk and opportunity across energy supply chains, DOE is developing an assessment tool that accounts for raw materials, manufacturing, workforce, and logistics considerations. Additionally, to help assess the potential for trade disruptions of select critical minerals and materials, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will map and develop geospatial databases for select global critical product supply chains, with a current focus on semiconductor components; and will seek designation by the Chief Statistician of the United States of a federal statistical unit providing the nation’s official minerals statistics. Additionally, the National Science and Technology Council’s Critical Minerals Subcommittee plans to launch a new criticalminerals.gov website in January 2024 that will highlight cross-governmental supply chain efforts.
Defense supply chain mapping and risk management. DOD is increasing supply chain visibility through the creation of a Supply Chain Mapping Tool to analyze supplier data for 110 weapon systems. This capability will be used to develop defense industrial base wargaming scenarios to identify vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies.
Engaging public and private stakeholders to expand supply chain risk modeling:
Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit. The Department of Commerce will convene a diverse array of public and private stakeholders at a Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit in 2024. A key aim of the summit will be to invite expert input into supply chain risk assessment models and tools. The summit will also assess data availability, utility, and limitations and consider actions to improve data flows.
AI hackathons to strengthen critical mineral supply chains. USGS, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), building on their 2022 prize challenges announcement, will host a series of hackathons beginning in February 2024 to develop novel artificial intelligence approaches to assess domestic critical mineral resources.
Risk mapping for labor rights abuses. The Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Comply Chain guidance for identifying and addressing labor rights violations in global supply chains. In addition, DOL is providing $8 million for two four-year projects to identify supply chain traceability methods and technologies to address child labor or forced labor risks in diverse supply chains, such as the cobalt and cotton sectors. DOL will also undertake new supply chain research on mining and agriculture products across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
In addition to the announcements above, the Administration continues to deepen engagement with allies and partners to strengthen global supply chains, including:
Deepening international early warning systems to detect and respond to supply chain disruptions in critical sectors with allies and partners, including:
With the European Union. In May 2023, the United States and the EU established an early warning system for semiconductor supply chain disruptions under the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.
With Japan and the Republic of Korea. In August, the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea committed at Camp David to launch early warning system pilots, starting by identifying priority products and materials such as critical minerals and rechargeable batteries and establishing mechanisms to rapidly share information on disruptions to critical supply chains.
With Mexico and Canada. Through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the United States, Canada, and Mexico established a trilateral Sub-Committee on Emergency Response to coordinate North American efforts to maintain regional trade flows during emergency situations.
With Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the World Health Organization. The Global Regulatory Working Group on Drug Shortages, currently chaired by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meets quarterly to discuss product shortages participating jurisdictions are encountering and ways such shortages are being addressed. The group’s exchange of information helped address product shortages experienced by each partner during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent “tripledemic” including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus.
With global partners. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), the U.S. government funds activities to improve the weather, water, and climate observing capabilities and data sharing in regions and countries that are needed to produce actionable local, regional, and global climate information and minimize impacts upon infrastructure, water, health, and food security.
Strengthening global supply chains through other innovative multilateral partnerships:
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement. The United States and 13 IPEF partners concluded a first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Agreement that gives partners new tools to build diversified, competitive supply chains for critical sectors, including an IPEF Supply Chain Council to coordinate action. The Department of Commerce is kickstarting this effort through pilot projects to enhance the resilience of key supply chains, including those related to semiconductors, critical minerals, and cold chain services. In addition, the Supply Chains Agreement establishes a Crisis Response Network that will allow IPEF partners to better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions through emergency communication channels and joint crisis simulations, as well as a Labor Rights Advisory Board to promote worker rights across supply chains.
Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (Americas Partnership). The Americas Partnership is focused on, among other things, strengthening and diversifying supply chains. In its first year of work, the Americas Partnership will focus on the development of regional competitiveness plans in three critical sectors: semiconductors, clean energy, and medical supplies.
North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS). Through NALS, the United States, Canada, and Mexico are enhancing the resilience of North America’s supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, and other essential goods. This trilateral effort includes partnering with regional industry and academia to create quality jobs, promote investment, grow talent, and catalyze innovation.
Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). Through PGI, the United States is mobilizing public and private financing to incentivize investments and develop transformative economic corridors to diversify global supply chains and create new opportunities for American workers and businesses. From the development of the Lobito Corridor, connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia with global markets through Angola, to the launch of the landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor—through PGI, the United States is creating novel interconnections across regions to facilitate trade and secure clean energy, digital, food security, and other critical supply chains.
Global Labor Directive. On November 16, President Biden signed the Presidential Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally. The President directed several departments to address labor rights abuses in global supply chains and identify innovative approaches to promote internationally recognized labor rights throughout the supply chain, including by collaborating with labor organizations, workers, and other labor stakeholders to consider efforts that support worker-led monitoring of labor rights compliance.
The Mineral Security Partnership (MSP). The Department of State, along with partners including Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (represented by the European Commission), established the MSP to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains. The MSP works with host governments and industry to facilitate targeted financial and diplomatic support for strategic projects along the value chain with an emphasis on those projects which adhere to and promote the highest labor, environmental and sustainability standards.
International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund. Created by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the ITSI Fund promotes the diversification of the global semiconductor supply chain. State will partner with countries to develop the most attractive economic environments for private investment. With ITSI Fund support, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development has established the Semiconductor Exchange Network allowing policymakers in the semiconductor industry to examine risks and interdependencies on the current state of the semiconductor ecosystem. Additionally, the ITSI Fund is supporting ecosystem reviews in key partner countries that will inform future collaboration on developing this critical sector.
President Joe Biden: “Will we relentlessly pursue our positive vision for the future, or will we allow those who do not share our values to drag the world to a more dangerous and divided place?”
Today, the world faces an inflection point, where the choices we make — including in the crises in Europe and the Middle East — will determine the direction of our future for generations to come.
What will our world look like on the other side of these conflicts?
Will we deny Hamas the ability to carry out pure, unadulterated evil? Will Israelis and Palestinians one day live side by side in peace, with two states for two peoples?
Will we hold Vladimir Putin accountable for his aggression, so the people of Ukraine can live free and Europe remains an anchor for global peace and security?
And the overarching question: Will we relentlessly pursue our positive vision for the future, or will we allow those who do not share our values to drag the world to a more dangerous and divided place?
Both Putin and Hamas are fighting to wipe a neighboring democracy off the map. And both Putin and Hamas hope to collapse broader regional stability and integration and take advantage of the ensuing disorder. America cannot, and will not, let that happen. For our own national security interests — and for the good of the entire world.
The United States is the essential nation. We rally allies and partners to stand up to aggressors and make progress toward a brighter, more peaceful future. The world looks to us to solve the problems of our time. That is the duty of leadership, and America will lead. For if we walk away from the challenges of today, the risk of conflict could spread, and the costs to address them will only rise. We will not let that happen.
That conviction is at the root of my approach to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue to defend their freedom against Putin’s brutal war.
We know from two world wars in the past century that when aggression in Europe goes unanswered, the crisis does not burn itself out. It draws America in directly. That’s why our commitment to Ukraine today is an investment in our own security. It prevents a broader conflict tomorrow.
We are keeping American troops out of this war by supporting the brave Ukrainians defending their freedom and homeland. We are providing them with weapons and economic assistance to stop Putin’s drive for conquest, before the conflict spreads farther.
The United States is not doing this alone. More than 50 nations have joined us to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself. Our partners are shouldering much of the economic responsibility for supporting Ukraine. We have also built a stronger and more united NATO, which enhances our security through the strength of our allies, while making clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory to deter further Russian aggression. Our allies in Asia are standing with us as well to support Ukraine and hold Putin accountable, because they understand that stability in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific are inherently connected.
We have also seen throughout history how conflicts in the Middle East can unleash consequences around the globe.
We stand firmly with the Israeli people as they defend themselves against the murderous nihilism of Hamas. On Oct. 7, Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people, including 35 American citizens, in the worst atrocity committed against the Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust. Infants and toddlers, mothers and fathers, grandparents, people with disabilities, even Holocaust survivors were maimed and murdered. Entire families were massacred in their homes. Young people were gunned down at a music festival. Bodies riddled with bullets and burned beyond recognition. And for over a month, the families of more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas, including babies and Americans, have been living in hell, anxiously waiting to discover whether their loved ones are alive or dead. At the time of this writing, my team and I are working hour by hour, doing everything we can to get the hostages released.
And while Israelis are still in shock and suffering the trauma of this attack, Hamas has promised that it will relentlessly try to repeat Oct. 7. It has said very clearly that it will not stop.
The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas. I, too, am heartbroken by the images out of Gaza and the deaths of many thousands of civilians, including children. Palestinian children are crying for lost parents. Parents are writing their child’s name on their hand or leg so they can be identified if the worst happens. Palestinian nurses and doctors are trying desperately to save every precious life they possibly can, with little to no resources. Every innocent Palestinian life lost is a tragedy that rips apart families and communities.
Our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today — it should be to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence, and build something stronger in Gaza and across the Middle East so that history does not keep repeating itself.
Just weeks before Oct. 7, I met in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The main subject of that conversation was a set of substantial commitments that would help both Israel and the Palestinian territories better integrate into the broader Middle East. That is also the idea behind the innovative economic corridor that will connect India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, which I announced together with partners at the Group of 20 summit in India in early September. Stronger integration between countries creates predictable markets and draws greater investment. Better regional connection — including physical and economic infrastructure — supports higher employment and more opportunities for young people. That’s what we have been working to realize in the Middle East. It is a future that has no place for Hamas’s violence and hate, and I believe that attempting to destroy the hope for that future is one reason that Hamas instigated this crisis.
This much is clear: A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. Though right now it may seem like that future has never been further away, this crisis has made it more imperative than ever.
A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. Reaching it will take commitments from Israelis and Palestinians, as well as from the United States and our allies and partners. That work must start now.
To that end, the United States has proposed basic principles for how to move forward from this crisis, to give the world a foundation on which to build.
