It’s Tuesday.
Tuesday marks President Biden’s 27th day of his first 100 day’s in office.
For day 27, President Biden will be traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will participate in a CNN town hall.
CNN says the “CNN Presidential Town Hall with Joe Biden,” will air at 9:00 p.m. D.C., time, and you can watch it; live on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International, with access to the livestream on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android, and simulcast on SiriusXM Channels 116, 454 and 795. The town hall can also be viewed on CNNgo (at CNN.com/go on your desktop, smartphone and iPad, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku and Samsung Smart TV). The special will be available on demand to subscribers via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.
Anderson Cooper is scheduled to moderate the town hall. There is a possibility that a thread will be provided, without a live feed as CNN typically does not provide live streams to their town halls.
For Tuesday President Biden has so far tweeted just 1 time and retweeted zero times.
NPR reported this morning that the U.S., is currently administering over 1.6 million shots a day.
When Monday’s Open Thread was posted President Biden had not tweeted. At 12:47 p.m. D.C., time, he tweeted a message for President’s Day.
The video is 1 minute and 29 seconds long and yes, there is cheesy music to accompany his words.
President Biden: Today we celebrate Presidents’ Day. But the American story isn’t a story of presidents, it’s a story of the American people, a story of courage, character, strength, and resilience; of facing the toughest challenges and overcoming them. It was true when Lincoln saved the Union. It was true when Franklin Delano Roosevelt told us the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. It was when John F. Kennedy stood in the winter air and summoned the country to serve. It was true when Lyndon B. Johnson watched the images of Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday and went to Congress to guarantee voting rights.
President Biden con’t: Today, we are living through another long dark winter in our nation’s history. Combating a deadly virus, joblessness, hunger, racial injustice, violent extremism, hopelessness, and despair. But I know we’ll get through this. I know better days are ahead. I know it because I know the story of the history of the journey of this nation. The American people have never, ever, ever, let this country down, given half a chance. So on this Presidents’ Day, I promise you, as your president, my whole soul is in the work ahead of us. And if we do it together, as one people, one nation, one America, we will not fail. American never has.
At 4:34 p.m. D.C., time, he tweeted that “starting today, we’re opening a special enrollment period for health insurance.”.
From the White House:
Health care is a right, not a privilege. No one should have to lay awake at night staring at the ceiling wondering what they are going to do to get the care they need or to pay the bills if a family member gets sick. That is why I will do everything in my power to ensure that all Americans have access to the quality, affordable health care they deserve – and the peace of mind it brings.
That is especially critical in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has already taken the lives of more than 470,000 of our fellow Americans and infected more than one out of every 12 additional Americans, often with devastating consequences to their health.
Starting today and running through May 15, 2021, we are opening HealthCare.gov for all Americans to have the opportunity to sign up for health insurance. Now, everyone will be able to use a special enrollment period to help secure some peace of mind as we work to beat the pandemic and strengthen and build on the Affordable Care Act.
White House.gov. 02/15/2021.
It’s a little bit ironic that today, he spoke of health care, and we are traveling back in our way back machine, to January 28th, 2021, where he talked about health care.
On day 8 of his first 100 day’s in office, President Biden tweeted 5 times and retweeted 0 times.
8:49 a.m. D.C., time.
1. Posts a propaganda video that encourages unity.
President Biden: Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged, or found a time more challenging, our difficult than the time we’re in now. Once in a century virus–that silently stalks the country. It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II. Millions of jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed. A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer. A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear. And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat. To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. Unity.
12:52 p.m. D.C., time.
2. Announces he’ll take action to strengthen Americans’ access to health care.
2:50 p.m. D.C., time.
3. Shares an image of two actions taken to ensure “every American has access to quality, affordable health care.”
4:59 p.m. D.C., time.
4. Shares an image of himself signing one of the actions taken regarding health care.
7:45 p.m. D.C., time.
5. We are still focused on the actions taken regarding health care.
Executive Order on strengthening medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Section 1. Policy. In the 10 years since its enactment, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has reduced the number of uninsured Americans by more than 20 million, extended critical consumer protections to more than 100 million people, and strengthened and improved the Nation’s healthcare system. At the same time, millions of people who are potentially eligible for coverage under the ACA or other laws remain uninsured, and obtaining insurance benefits is more difficult than necessary. For these reasons, it is the policy of my Administration to protect and strengthen Medicaid and the ACA and to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for every American.
Sec. 2. Special Enrollment Period. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a historic public health and economic crisis. In January of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency. In March of 2020, the President declared a national emergency. Although almost a year has passed, the emergency continues — over 5 million Americans have contracted the disease in January 2021, and thousands are dying every week. Over 30 million Americans remain uninsured, preventing many from obtaining necessary health services and treatment. Black, Latino, and Native American persons are more likely to be uninsured, and communities of color have been especially hard hit by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn. In light of the exceptional circumstances caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consider establishing a Special Enrollment Period for uninsured and under-insured Americans to seek coverage through the Federally Facilitated Marketplace, pursuant to existing authorities, including sections 18031 and 18041 of title 42, United States Code, and section 155.420(d)(9) of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, and consistent with applicable law.
Sec. 3. Immediate Review of Agency Actions. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies with authorities and responsibilities related to Medicaid and the ACA (collectively, heads of agencies) shall, as soon as practicable, review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to determine whether such agency actions are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order. [The order lists 7 things up for review]
Sec. 4. Revocation of Certain Presidential Actions and Review of Associated Agency Actions. (a) Executive Order 13765 of January 20, 2017 (Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal), and Executive Order 13813 of October 12, 2017 (Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States), are revoked.
(b) As part of the review required under section 3 of this order, heads of agencies shall identify existing agency actions related to or arising from Executive Orders 13765 and 13813. Heads of agencies shall, as soon as practicable, consider whether to suspend, revise, or rescind –- and, as applicable, publish for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding — any such agency actions, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.
White House.gov. 01/28/2021.
As the News Blender explained at the time, the memorandum issued that protects women’s health at home and abroad aka the global gag rule aka the Mexico City Policy has become a political football. When a Democrat is in office, the policy is rescinded, and when a Republican is in office they reinstate it.
From the Memorandum:
Section 1. Policy. Women should have access to the healthcare they need. For too many women today, both at home and abroad, that is not possible. Undue restrictions on the use of Federal funds have made it harder for women to obtain necessary healthcare. The Federal Government must take action to ensure that women at home and around the world are able to access complete medical information, including with respect to their reproductive health.
Sec. 2. Revocations and Other Actions. (a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall review the Title X Rule and any other regulations governing the Title X program that impose undue restrictions on the use of Federal funds or women’s access to complete medical information and shall consider, as soon as practicable, whether to suspend, revise, or rescind, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding, those regulations, consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act.
(b) The Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2017 (The Mexico City Policy), is revoked.
(c) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of USAID, and appropriate officials at all other agencies involved in foreign assistance shall take all steps necessary to implement this memorandum, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law. This shall include the following actions with respect to conditions in assistance awards that were imposed pursuant to the January 2017 Presidential Memorandum and that are not required by the Foreign Assistance Act or any other law:
White House.gov. 01/28/2021.
On January 29th, day 9 of President Biden’s first 100 day’s, he tweeted 3 times and retweeted 2 times.
8:55 a.m. D.C., time.
1. Offers a platitude.
2. Pushes his American Rescue Plan.
For details of the American Rescue Plan, you can find those here.
3. Another platitude, but it’s at least the right kind of platitudes…
He isn’t wrong. Please continue to wear your mask, even as more people, including yourselves become vaccinated.
A live feed to the Daily Brief, that was scheduled to start thirty-minutes ago, but according to this feed hasn’t started at the time of posting…
The White House.
This is an Open Thread.
