It’s Wednesday aka Hump Day.
This Hump Day marks President Biden’s 63rd day in office.
For Day 63 President Biden will receive his daily brief. He will have his weekly lunch with Vice President Kalama Harris. After lunch the pair will meet with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and immigration advisors.
At 4:15 p.m. D.C., time the President and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will host an event with Margaret Purce, Megan Rapinoe, and members of the U.S. Soccer Women’s National team in order to mark Equal Pay Day.
When last we met on Tuesday, President Biden had tweeted 2 times. To finish Tuesday he added another 12 tweets giving him a total of 14 tweets and 1 retweet for Tuesday.
12:55 p.m. D.C., time he shared a live feed to his remarks regarding the deadly shooting that left ten dead including a police officer in Boulder, Colorado.
1:32 p.m. D.C., time he says that he and his wife First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are devastated by the shooting adding that as President he will use all the resources he has to keep the American people safe.
1:55 p.m. D.C., time he says we can “ban assault weapons.”
Jill and I are devastated for the lives that have been shattered by gun violence in Colorado. Less than a week after the horrific murders in Georgia, another American city is scarred by a senseless attack. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the survivors.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 23, 2021
There is a great deal we do not know about the killer, his motivation, and other critical aspects about this shooting, but know this: as president, I will use all the resources at my disposal to keep the American people safe.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 23, 2021
The live feed he shared is 6 minutes and 25 seconds long. His full remarks can be found @ White House.gov.
Snips:
There’s still a great deal we don’t know about the killer and the motivation of the killer in Boulder, Colorado, and other critical aspects of this mass shooting. I’ve been briefed this morning by the Attorney General of the United States, the Director of the FBI. I’ve spoken with the governor, and I’ll be speaking with the mayor on the aircraft.
As President, I can use all the resources at my disposal to keep the American people safe. As I said: At this moment, a great deal remains unknown. But three things are certain. First, 10 lives have been lost, and more families have been shattered by gun violence in the state of Colorado. And Jill and I are devastated. And the feeling — I just can’t imagine how the families are feeling — the victims whose futures were stolen from them, from their families, from their loved ones who now have to struggle to go on and try to make sense of what’s happened.
The second point I want to make is: My deepest thanks to the heroic police and other first responders who acted so quickly to address the situation and keep the members of their community safe. To state the obviously — the obvious, I commend the exceptional bravery of Officer Eric Talley. I send my deepest condolences to his family — his close, close family and seven children.
You know, when he pinned on that badge yesterday morning, he didn’t know what the day would bring. I want everybody to think about this: Every time an officer walks out of his or her home and pins that badge on, a family member that they just said goodbye to wonders whether they’ll — subconsciously — will they get that call. The call that his wife got.
He thought he’d be coming home to his family and his seven children. But when the moment to act came, Officer Talley did not hesitate in his duty, making the ultimate sacrifice in his effort to save lives. That’s a definition of an American hero.
And thirdly, I want to be very clear — this is the one thing I do know enough to say on it, in terms of what’s happened there: While we’re still waiting for more information regarding the shooter; his motive; the weapons he used — the guns, the magazines, the weapons, and the modifications that apparently have taken place to those weapons that are involved here — I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps that will save the lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act.
We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again. I got that done when I was a senator. It passed. It was law for the longest time, and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.
White House.gov. 03/23/2021.
For editorial thoughts regarding the Executive Action that President Biden might take regarding gun measures @ the News Blender.
On Tuesday President Biden traveled to Ohio to mark the anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act and promote the American Rescue Plan as part of the “Help is Here,” tour. At 5:18 p.m. D.C., time he shared a live feed to his remarks.
At 5:55 p.m. D.C., time he marks the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act in tweet form. And again via tweet he marks the anniversary at 9:36 p.m. D.C., time. And at 11:23 p.m. D.C., time. At 8:05 p.m. D.C., time sticking with the affordable healthcare theme he says that he believes every American deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare.
The live feed to his remarks is 27 minutes and 5 seconds long. He begins speaking at the 7 minute and 59 second mark.
Snips:
Earlier today at the White House, I addressed the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado. While the investigation is ongoing — and I spent time on the telephone with the Attorney General, as well as the head of the FBI, this — the investigation is still ongoing.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the survivors. I want to — I want to commend the heroic actions of Officer Eric Talley — the father of seven children, who left for work yesterday morning assuming he’d be able to go home — and for the ultimate sacrifice for others.
Now, let me turn to why I came today: to talk about, initially, the American Rescue Plan and the progress we’re making on tackling COVID. Tameka, thank you for sharing your stories and what you’re doing — my daughter is also a social worker, and you have a profound impact on people’s lives — and all you do to connect folks here in Ohio with the coverage and care they need.Look, I want everyone to be aware that there are three key parts to the American Rescue Plan all of my colleagues supported here. First, we’re going to more rapidly acquire — and we set out to more rapidly acquire enough vaccine to vaccinate every single American quicker than anticipated.
And what my COVID team and — went through — and with the use of the Defense Production Act, we’ve been able to organize and help increase the number of doses in a much shorter time.
So, by the end of May, we’re going to have on hand roughly 600 million doses — enough for every American. And the American Rescue Plan is also going to provide the funding for more vaccinations, vaccination sites, vaccinators, and the paraphernalia needed to put that vaccine in one’s arm.
I just concluded a tour of the Radiation Oncology Department here at the James Cancer Center, which was expanded thanks to a $100 million grant in the Affordable Care Act that Sherrod Brown was instrumental in making happen. That’s in addition to the research funding Ohio State received under the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot.
Because of our investments, this department has gone from being able to treat 60 to 70 patients a day to nearly 300 a day. This place is a source of hope.
America does big things. Eleven years ago today, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act — historic achievement that would not have been possible but for the vision and determination of one of the most successful Presidents in recent American history: Barack Obama.
I might note, parenthetically, when I got in the automobile to go over to the — to the — to HHS, he was laughing. *I didn’t know what he was laughing about. And he said, “Did you hear? They picked up what you said on the mic.” All I could think was, “Thank God my mother wasn’t around to hear it.” (Laughter.)
But, look, on this anniversary, we should remember just how close we have come to losing that act we so fought so hard for. And we have a duty not just to protect it, but to make it better and keep becoming a nation where healthcare is a right for all and not a privilege for a few.
When I ran for pro- — for President, I promised I would build on the foundation of the Affordable Care Act. And just 50 days into my administration, we’ve delivered on that promise with the American Rescue Plan. It does that by making healthcare more affordable. It means better coverage and lower premiums for millions of Americans.If you’re enrolled in Obamacare, you’re going to save an average of $50 a month — $600 a year — by the reduction of payments. For a family of four earning $90,000 a year, that could save you $200 a month in savings. For a 60-year-old couple here in Ohio earning $75,000 per year, it could save them about $1,000 per month and to maintain the same healthcare. That’s $12,000 a year in your pocket that you didn’t have before.
Because of the American Rescue Plan, if you lost healthcare because you lost your job or your hours were cut, we pay your contribution and your employer’s contribution under the so-called COBRA. That’s what your employer-based health insurance was. And so since — if they’ve gone out of business or you’re no longer there because you had to be laid off, you can stay covered for up to six months until you get back on your feet, because, look, the federal government will cover both ends of that COBRA payment.
White House.gov. 03/23/2021.
*When introducing President Obama, then-Vice President Biden whispered into Obama’s ear “this is a big fucking deal”, well, he whispered it over a hot mic. so…*
When not promoting the American Rescue Plan or Obamacare he welcomed to his Cabinet newly sworn-in Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabel Guzman at 7:32 p.m. D.C., time.
In a separate tweet posted at 8:49 p.m. D.C., time he welcomes newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai to his Cabinet.
Guzman was confirmed on March 16th, 2021; senate.gov records the vote as 81 yea’s, 17 nay’s, and 2 Senators did not vote.
Ambassador Tai was confirmed on March 17th, 2021; senate.gov records the vote as 98 yea’s, 0 nay’s, and 2 Senators did not vote.
For his final tweet on Tuesday he shares a photo of himself with Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine at 11:49 p.m. D.C., time.
So far for Wednesday President Biden has tweeted 1 time and retweeted 0 times so far.
At 10:08 a.m. D.C., time he shares a video posted by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The tweet was shared by Becerra on March 19th, 2021 a day after he was confirmed as HHS Secretary; senate.gov., records the vote as 50 yea’s, 49 nay’s, and 1 Senator did not vote.
Cecilia Rouse Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Heather Boushey a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers will join White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in Wednesday’s daily press briefing scheduled to start at 12:20 p.m. D.C., time.
Live Feed: The White House.
And because I know y’all are waiting with bait breath for President Biden’s first real press conference, during the gaggle from Air Force on Tuesday, Psaki said the event is still being worked out. She will possibly have more in today’s briefing.
This is an Open Thread.
