It’s Friday.
Friday marks, President Biden’s 30th day in office.
For Day 30, President Biden will have already participated in the G7 virtual meeting. He will have already offered his remarks to the virtual Munich Security Conference before he travel’s to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he will tour the Pfizer Kalamazoo Manufacturing facility. President Biden is expected to deliver remarks from the Pfizer manufacturing site at 3:10 p.m. D.C., time.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki is holding an Air Force One Press gaggle.
President Biden for Thursday tweeted 7 times. As mentioned in Thursday’s Open Thread, President Biden had not tweeted by the time it was published.
12:38 p.m. D.C., time, he says that he and his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are keeping “Texas, Oklahoma, and other” states impacted by severe weather conditions in their prayers.
On February 14th, 2021, President Biden Approved Texas Emergency Declaration.
On February 18th, 2021, President Approved both Oklahoma‘s and Louisiana‘s Emergency Declaration’s.
Each declaration authorizes FEMA to “identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures for mass care and sheltering and direct federal assistance will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.”
On the 17th of February President Biden also Approved Alaska‘s Disaster Declaration stemming from severe storms and flooding that impacted the state from November 30 to December 2nd, 2020.
At 1:40 p.m. D.C., time, he shares a link to TDEM for residents in Texas to find warming centers near them.
5:54 p.m. D.C., time, President Biden posts an image of himself watching as NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars. He congratulates NASA and everyone who had a hand in the successful landing.
NASA’s YouTube channel has a live event scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. D.C., time.
At 7:45 p.m. D.C., time, he posts a video clip of himself explaining how come we need the American Rescue plan.
The clip is 29 seconds long:
President Biden: There is a consensus among economists left, right, and center, and including the IMF and in Europe that the overwhelming consensus is in order to grow the economy a year, two, three, four down the line we can’t spend too much. Now’s the time we should be spending. Now’s the time to go big.
At 8:48 p.m. D.C., time, he reminds us to wear our masks, to continue to social distance, and to wash our hands, using another video clip.
The video clip is 23 seconds long:
President Biden: It matters whether you continue to wear that mask. It matters whether you continue to socially distance. It matters whether you wash your hands with hot water. Those things matter, they matter. And that can save a lot of lives while we’re getting to this point, we get to herd immunity.
9:35 p.m. D.C., time he shares a statement on the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.
Immigration is an irrefutable source of our strength and is essential to who we are as a nation. The last four years of misguided policies have exacerbated the already broken immigration system and highlighted the critical need for reform. I applaud the important work done by Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Linda Sánchez to modernize our immigration system and introduce The U.S. Citizenship Act. I look forward to working with leaders in the House and Senate to address the wrongdoings of the past administration and restore justice, humanity, and order to our immigration system. This is an important first step in pursuing immigration policies that unite families, grow and enhance our economy, and safeguard our security.
The legislation I sent to Congress will bring about much needed change to an immigration system where reform is long overdue. It will responsibly manage the border with smart investments. It will address the root causes of irregular migration from Central America. It will modernize our legal immigration pathways and create an earned path to citizenship for so many – including Dreamers, farmworkers and TPS holders.
These are not Democratic or Republican priorities – but American ones. I’ve laid out my vision for what it’ll take to reform our immigration system and I look forward to working with leaders in Congress to get this done.
White House. 02/18/2021.
January 20th, 2021, the White House posted a Fact Sheet regarding U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.
Some highlights from the Fact Sheet:
- Create an earned roadmap to citizenship for undocumented individuals; The bill allows undocumented individuals to apply for temporary legal status, with the ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their taxes. Applicants must be physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021.
- Keep families together; The bill reforms the family-based immigration system by clearing backlogs, recapturing unused visas, eliminating lengthy wait times, and increasing per-country visa caps. It also eliminates the so-called “3 and 10-year bars,” and other provisions that keep families apart.
- Embrace diversity. The bill includes the NO BAN Act that prohibits discrimination based on religion and limits presidential authority to issue future bans. The bill also increases Diversity Visas to 80,000 from 55,000.
- Promote immigrant and refugee integration and citizenship. The bill provides new funding to state and local governments, private organizations, educational institutions, community-based organizations, and not-for-profit organizations to expand programs to promote integration and inclusion, increase English-language instruction, and provide assistance to individuals seeking to become citizens.
- Grow our economy. This bill clears employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, reduces lengthy wait times, and eliminates per-country visa caps.
- Protect workers from exploitation and improve the employment verification process. The bill requires that DHS and the Department of Labor establish a commission involving labor, employer, and civil rights organizations to make recommendations for improving the employment verification process.
- Supplement existing border resources with technology and infrastructure. The legislation builds on record budget allocations for immigration enforcement by authorizing additional funding for the Secretary of DHS to develop and implement a plan to deploy technology to expedite screening and enhance the ability to identify narcotics and other contraband at every land, air, and sea port of entry.
- Manage the border and protect border communities. The bill provides funding for training and continuing education to promote agent and officer safety and professionalism.
- Crack down on criminal organizations. The bill enhances the ability to prosecute individuals involved in smuggling and trafficking networks who are responsible for the exploitation of migrants.
On Thursday Democrat leaders “unveiled an immigration overhaul bill,” CBS News reported that the 353 page U.S. Citizenship Act would “would create a two-tier legalization program which would automatically make farmworkers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children eligible for green cards, according to a 66-page summary of the legislation. After three years, they could apply to become U.S. citizens.”
Bloomberg Quicktake: Now posted on Thursday a 48 minute video of the Democrats unveiling the sweeping immigration overhaul.
He announced at 11:30 p.m. D.C., time, that he spoke with Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott.
The White House published a readout of his call.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this evening with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about the severe winter weather situation facing central and southern parts of the United States, including Texas.
President Biden conveyed his support to the people of Texas in this trying time. He reiterated that the federal government will continue to work hand-in-hand with state and local authorities in Texas to bring relief and address the critical needs of the families affected. He also shared his intentions to instruct additional federal agencies to look into any immediate steps that could be taken to support Texans at this time.
The President also expressed that his administration was at the ready should the State of Texas or any other impacted region need additional federal disaster support or assistance as severe storms move across the US.
White House.gov. 02/18/2021.
So far for Friday he has tweeted 3 times and retweeted 1 time.
10:56 a.m. D.C., time.
1. Urges Congress to pass the Equality Act, which is said to provide protections for LGBTQ+ Americans.
The White House posted his statement regarding the bill:
I applaud Congressman David Cicilline and the entire Congressional Equality Caucus for introducing the Equality Act in the House of Representatives yesterday, and I urge Congress to swiftly pass this historic legislation. Every person should be treated with dignity and respect, and this bill represents a critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality and freedom for all.
Full equality has been denied to LGBTQ+ Americans and their families for far too long. Despite the extraordinary progress the LGBTQ+ community has made to secure their basic civil rights, discrimination is still rampant in many areas of our society. The Equality Act provides long overdue federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, locking in critical safeguards in our housing, education, public services, and lending systems — and codifying the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law.
On my first day in office, I was proud to sign an Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. I directed agencies to implement the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling, and fully enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Now, it’s time for Congress to secure these protections once and for all by passing the Equality Act — because no one should ever face discrimination or live in fear because of who they are or whom they love.
White House.gov. 02/19/2021.
11:15 a.m. D.C., time.
2. He posted a live feed to his remarks at the Munich Security Conference.
Prior to his remarks at the Munich Secruity Conference he attended virtually the G7 meeting as the News Blender explained this morning.
11:56 a.m. D.C., time.
3. Shares a video montage that is 11 seconds long, so more gif with cheesy music and the words “America is Back” and “Diplomacy is Back”, than video montage.
Time for the way back machine trip.
January 31st, 2021, he tweeted 4 times and retweeted zero times.
11:38 a.m. D.C., time.
3:15 p.m. D.C., time.
6:45 p.m. D.C., time.
1. Pushes the American Rescue Plan.
2. Same.
3. Same.
For more on the American Rescue Plan @ White House.gov.
10:15 p.m. D.C., time.
4. Shares a photo of himself from the White House covered in snow.
Not gonna lie, while I might still hate Presidential tweeting, this is one of my favorite pictures being shared so far by President Biden.
For Monday February 1st, 2021, his 12th Day in office, he tweeted 3 times and retweeted zero times.
8:55 a.m. D.C., time.
1:00 p.m. D.C., time.
1. Says we really need the American Rescue Plan.
2. Says the same thing.
9:34 p.m. D.C., time.
3. Offers remarks for the first day of Black History month.
The White House published his full statement on Black History Month:
This February, during Black History Month, I call on the American people to honor the history and achievements of Black Americans and to reflect on the centuries of struggle that have brought us to this time of reckoning, redemption, and hope.
We have never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation that all people are created equal and have the right to be treated equally throughout their lives. We know that it is long past time to confront deep racial inequities and the systemic racism that continue to plague our nation.
A knee to the neck of justice opened the eyes of millions of Americans and launched a summer of protest and stirred the nation’s conscience.
A pandemic has further ripped a path of destruction through every community in America, but we see its acute devastation among Black Americans who are dying, losing jobs, and closing businesses at disproportionate rates in the dual pandemic and economic crises.
We are also less than a month after the attack on the Capitol by a mob of insurrectionists and white supremacists that shows that we are very much in a battle for the soul of America.In the Biden-Harris Administration, we are committed to finishing the work left undone and fulfilling the promise of America for Black families and communities and for all Americans.
We bring to our work a seriousness of purpose and urgency to contain the pandemic, deliver economic relief to tens of millions of Americans, and advance racial justice and equity across the board in health care, education, housing, our economy, our environment, our justice system, and in our electoral process.
We do so not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the smart thing to do and benefits all of us in this nation.
White House.gov. 02/01/2021.
And that concludes our trip in the way back machine. In other news, we are almost caught up to President Biden’s Presidential tweets, in real-time.
Live Feed to President Biden remarks from Pfizer. His remarks are expected sometime around 3:10 p.m. D.C., time.
The White House.
This is an Open Thread.
