It’s Monday.
Today marks President Biden’s 47th day in office.
For day 47, President Biden will receive his daily brief, before he travels to a veterans medical center in Washington, D.C., that is administering the coronavirus vaccine. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, will accompany the President. This afternoon President Biden, along with the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, will deliver remarks on International Women’s Day.
When last we met in Friday’s Open Thread, President Biden had not tweeted, he ended up with 5 tweets and zero retweets for Friday.
At 2:57 p.m. D.C., time he shared a video that shows two women getting the first Johnson & Johnson single dose coronavirus vaccine.
The video is 1 minute and 15 seconds long and opens with a woman getting her shot. The video cuts to a man, explaining that some people have been waiting to get vaccinated in one dose versus two. He also explains that this was not the official roll-out but rather a dry run, giving 5 people the vaccine. Both women explain they felt no pain when getting the shot, but did feel relief from having gotten the single dose vaccine.
At 3:24 p.m. D.C., time he shared a live link to his remarks from a roundtable he participated in regarding the coronavirus relief package called the American Rescue Plan.
Those included in the meeting were; Ms. Alma Williams, George Kerr, and Ms. Lyda Vanegas. The video is 13 minutes and 25 seconds long and is basically just a welcome to the meeting type video. The meeting continued after the press left the room. For full remarks you can find those @ White House.gov.
At 5:15 p.m. D.C., time he says that Native American communities have been hard hit by COVID-19, but with the effort of the Indian Health Service and Tribal Governments, over 500,000 vaccines have already been administered.
According to Indian Health Service (IHS) as of March 1st, they have administered** 573,035 doses.
**Administered Data Source: CDC Clearinghouse data from Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) and IHS Central Aggregator Service (CAS). Data in the CDC Clearinghouse reflects prior day data. Data may be different than actual data as there are known CDC data lags and ongoing quality review of data including resolving data errors.
He pushes the American Rescue Plan at 6:31 p.m. D.C., time.
Since this was Friday, the Senate had not passed the American Rescue Plan, there will be more details, later in the thread on the American Rescue Plan.
At 8:02 p.m., D.C., time he shares a video to mark another week of his first term gone.
It’s a 9 second video without narration or cheesy music, so it’s more GIF, than video.
President Biden had a busier than normal tweeting Saturday sending out 8 tweets and no retweets.
At 10 a.m. D.C., time he shared a video from his weekly conversations with insert name here.
This time he spoke with Tammy from Michigan about how the direct payment from the American Rescue Plan would help her family through the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
The snip of the phone call with Tammy from Michigan lasts 3 minutes and 11 seconds.
At 2:05 p.m. D.C., time he shares a live feed to his remarks following the passage of the American Rescue Plan in the Senate.
2:27 p.m. D.C., time he thanked Senators again via tweet…
3:30 p.m. D.C., time he is still victory lapping the passage of the American Rescue Plan.
And again at 3:56 p.m. D.C., time this time with a video snip from his earlier remarks.
4:10 p.m. D.C., time he tweets out another video snip of his earlier remarks.
At 5:45 p.m. D.C., there is another snip of the remarks he gave regarding the Senate passage of the American Rescue Plan.
For his last Saturday tweet @ 7:50 p.m. D.C., time he posted a different snip of a video still regarding the passage of the American Rescue Plan.
The video is 22 seconds long.
President Biden: It puts us back on the road to recovery–and beyond that–setting down new principles–to care for our children, our families–and health care. There’s so much more in it, but the bottom line is–it’s going to start, and it’s going to start almost immediately. So thank you very much, keep the faith– there’s so much more we have to do, but this is consequential.
The American Rescue Plan was passed in the Senate on Saturday. The vote was 50 yea’s and 49 no’s.
All Republican Senators according to senate.gov., voted against the massive spending bill. Alaskan Republican Senator Dan Sullivan did not vote as he was in Alaska attending his father-in-laws funeral, according to The Hill.
The New York Times, reported on Sunday, that ” Unlike the president’s proposal and a version passed by the House last weekend, it omits an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15. It also narrows eligibility for stimulus checks and reduces weekly unemployment payments, which Mr. Biden and Democrats had hoped to increase to $400.”
They went on to explain; The legislation would send another round of direct payments to American taxpayers making $75,000 or less and extend weekly unemployment benefits through Labor Day, making a large portion of jobless aid from last year tax-free. It would provide $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $130 billion to primary and secondary schools, $14 billion for the distribution of a vaccine, $12 billion to nutrition assistance and money for reopening businesses around the country.
According to the article it will also “provide a benefit of $300 per child for those age 5 and younger — and $250 per child ages 6 to 17, increasing the value of the so-called child tax credit in an effort to significantly reduce child poverty. The bill also includes $45 billion in rental, utility and mortgage assistance, $30 billion for transit agencies, and billions more for small businesses and live venues. The measure also would provide federal subsidies for people to keep the health insurance they had from work if they lost their jobs.”
The bill travels back to the House with the changes expected to be debated there as early as Tuesday.
For more thoughts on the Republican’s no votes @ the News Blender.
For Sunday, President Biden tweeted 3 times each focused on voting rights.
At 11:43 a.m. D.C., time he shared a video marking the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
At 6:21 p.m. D.C., time he shares a photo of himself signing an Executive which he announced during his taped remarks.
4:15 p.m. D.C., time he urges Congress to fully restore the Voting Rights Act in the memory of Congressman John Lewis.
The video shared in the first tweet is 4 minutes and 1 second long, excerpts were taken from his pre-taped remarks shared at the Martin and Coretta Scott King unity breakfast.
His full remarks are available @ White House.gov.
President Biden: The blood of John Lewis and hundreds of other brave and righteous souls that was spilled in Selma, on this Sunday in 1965 sanctified a noble struggle. And when the country saw those images that night, America was forced to confront the denial of democracy — the fierce urgency of justice. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act a few months later, and President Johnson signed it into law. The legacy of the march in Selma is that while nothing can stop a free people from exercising
their most sacred power as a citizen, there are those who will do everything [“everything” is a typo he says “anything”] they can to take that power away.
President Biden con’t: Today, we have a hail storm, not a rain storm, a hail storm. In 2020, our very democracy on the line, even in the midst of a pandemic, more Americans voted than ever before. Multiple recounts in states and decisions in more than 60 cases from judges appointed by my predecessor, including at the Supreme Court – upheld the integrity of this historic election. Instead of celebrating this powerful demonstration of voting – we have seen an unprecedented insurrection in our Capitol and a brutal attack on our democracy on January 6th. A never before seen effort to ignore, undermine, and undo the will of the people. And to think that it’s been followed by an all-out assault on the right to vote in state legislatures all across the country happening right now. During the current legislative session, elected officials in 43 states have already introduced more than 250 bills to make it harder for Americans to vote. We cannot let them succeed.
President Biden con’t: Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021. This is a landmark piece of legislation that is urgently needed to protect the right to vote, the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen our democracy. I hope the Senate does its work so that I can sign it into law. I also urge Congress to fully restore the Voting Rights Act, named in John Lewis’ honor.
President Biden con’t: Today, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I am signing an executive order to make it easier for eligible voters to register to vote and improve access to voting. Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have that vote counted. If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote. I’ll close with this – a few days before he passed, Jill and I spoke with John, Congressman Lewis. But instead of answering our concerns about him, “how are you doing, John,” he asked us to stay focused on the work left undone to heal and to unite this nation around what it means to be an American. That’s the God’s truth. John wouldn’t talk about his pending death or his concerns. He said we just got to get this done. That we are all created equal. That we all deserve to be treated equally. On this day of reflection, please, let’s stay focused on the work ahead. Let’s remember all those who came before us as a bridge to our history so we do not forget its pain, and as a bridge to our future so we never lose our hope. May God bless their memory. May God bless you all.
The fact-sheet of the Executive Order can be found @ White House.gov.
The bullet points:
- Direct federal agencies to expand access to voter registration and election information.
- Direct federal agencies to assist states under the National Voter Registration Act.
- Improve and modernize Vote.gov.
- Increase federal employees’ access to voting.
- Analyze barriers to voting for people with disabilities.
- Increase voting access for active duty military and other overseas voters.
- Provide voting access and education to citizens in federal custody.
- Establish a Native American voting rights steering group.
From the Executive Order:
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections. It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to expand access to, and education about, voter registration and election information, and to combat misinformation, in order to enable all eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.
Sec. 3. Expanding Access to Voter Registration and Election Information. Agencies shall consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.
Sec. 4. Acceptance of Designation Under the National Voter Registration Act. (a) This order shall supersede section 3 of Executive Order 12926 of September 12, 1994 (Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993). (b) Each agency, if requested by a State to be designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to section 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act, shall, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, agree to such designation. If an agency declines to consent to such designation, the head of the agency shall submit to the President a written explanation for the decision.
Sec. 9. Ensuring Access to Voter Registration for Eligible Individuals in Federal Custody. (a) The Attorney General shall establish procedures, consistent with applicable law, to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting and, to the extent practicable, to facilitate voter registration, for all eligible individuals in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Such educational materials shall be incorporated into the reentry planning procedures required under section 4042(a)(7) of title 18, United States Code. The educational materials should also notify individuals leaving Federal custody of the restrictions, if any, on their ability to vote under the laws of the State where the individual resides and, if any such restrictions exist, the point at which the individual’s rights will be restored under applicable State law.
White House.gov. 03/07/2021.
For Monday, President Biden has tweeted 1 time so far.
At 10:48 p.m. D.C., time he says that last week was a big week in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but urges folks to wear masks, social distance, and please get vaccinated when it’s your turn.
This morning AP News reported that the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people can gather indoors, without wearing a mask or social distancing.
The guidance is designed to address a growing demand, as more adults have been getting vaccinated and wondering if it gives them greater freedom to visit family members, travel, or do other things like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world last year.
The CDC is continuing to recommend that fully vaccinated people continue to wear well-fitted masks, avoid large gatherings, and physically distance themselves from others when out in public. The CDC also advised vaccinated people to get tested if they develop symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.
AP News. 03/08/2021.
The announcement was shared in Monday’s White House COVID-19 Response Team’s briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s important to note, that the CDC is still urging masks, social distancing, and hand washing. The guidelines announced today apply to family and friends who have been vaccinated fully, that means two weeks after the second dose, meeting in private not public spaces or hugging random strangers.
This is an Open Thread.
