It’s Tuesday.
For Tuesday, May 11th, 2021 President Biden will have received his daily brief. This afternoon the President will hold a virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of Governors.
When Monday’s Open Thread was published President Biden had not tweet. He ended up issuing 7 tweets and no retweets for Monday.
1:00 p.m. D.C., time he says the American Rescue Plan is working, but we need the American Jobs Plan.
1:41 p.m. D.C., time he shared a live feed to his remarks regarding the economy.
The video stream is 20 minutes and 32 seconds long. President Biden begins speaking at the 3 minute and 19 second mark. His full remarks can be found @ White House.gov. According to their timestamp President Biden started speaking at 1:44 p.m. and concluded at 1:59 p.m. D.C., time.
1:49 p.m. D.C., time he says that in his first hundred days “we’ve” added 1.5 million jobs in the country.
President Biden (6:07): As we learned Friday, the economy created 266,000 jobs in April. In fact, altogether, since the time we took office, we’ve created more than 1.5 million jobs in the country. It’s the most jobs created in the first 100 days of any President on record: more than three times the solid job creation that President Carter [Clinton] saw in his first 100 days and more than six times what President Reagan saw.
Obviously the debate is whether or not those are new jobs, or just jobs that have returned to the economy. I believe most of the job growth we are seeing is those jobs returning to the economy post coronavirus shutdowns.
3:52 p.m. D.C., time he says we need the American Jobs Plan, again.
Hours after he’s issued other tweets, @ 6:13 p.m. D.C., time he shares a video clip from his remarks on the economy.
President Biden (16:56): So we need to stay focused on creating jobs and beating this pandemic today, and building back better for tomorrow. America — the American Rescue Plan is just that: a rescue plan. It’s to get us out of the crisis and back on the track, but it’s not nearly enough. That’s why *we need the American Jobs Plan, which is an eight-year investment — an eight-year investment strategy to make sure working people of this country get to share in the benefits of a rai- — a rising economy, **and to put us in a position to win the competition with China and the rest of the world for the 21st century.
*the bold text is from the tweet shared at 3:52 p.m. D.C., time.*
**text is not included in the tweet or in the video clip, but is the full context of what he said.**
4:30 p.m. D.C., time he says something I didn’t know needed said.
They aren’t new protections, they are old protections that Reuters says were established in 2016. In June of 2020 the last guy’s Health and Human Services agency issued a “a rule that lifted some anti-discrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act.”
On Monday HHS announced that; Today, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s prohibitions on discrimination based on sex to include: (1) discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in covered health programs or activities. The update was made in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and subsequent court decisions.
More from the announcement:
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)’s prohibition on employment discrimination based on sex encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Bostock v. Clayton County, GA, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020). The Bostock majority concluded that the plain meaning of “because of sex” in Title VII necessarily included discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity. Id. at 1753-54. Consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock and Title IX, beginning today OCR will interpret Section 1557’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to include: (1) discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination on the basis of gender identity. This interpretation will guide OCR in processing complaints and conducting investigations, but does not itself determine the outcome in any particular case or set of facts.
In enforcing Section 1557 as stated above, OCR will comply with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., and all other legal requirements. Additionally, OCR will comply with all applicable court orders that have been issued in litigation involving the Section 1557 regulations, including Franciscan Alliance, Inc. v. Azar, 414 F. Supp. 3d 928 (N.D. Tex. 2019); Whitman-Walker Clinic, Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., 485 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.D.C. 2020); Asapansa-Johnson Walker v. Azar, No. 20-CV-2834, 2020 WL 6363970 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 29, 2020); and Religious Sisters of Mercy v. Azar, No. 3:16-CV-00386, 2021 WL 191009 (D.N.D. Jan. 19, 2021).
HHS. 05/10/2021.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement:
The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. That’s why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination.
Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences. It is the position of the Department of Health and Human Services that everyone – including LGBTQ people – should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.
HHS. 05/10/2021.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize that this had to be said, but apparently I was wrong.
5:31 p.m. D.C., time he shares a Proclamation on National Women’s Health Week, 2021.
It’s a simple proposition for me: women are entitled to the same rights and opportunities as men, including access to high-quality, affordable health care. National Women’s Health Week is an opportunity to focus on the work we need to do as a Nation to ensure equal access to high-quality, affordable care for women, and to build a more prosperous, healthy future for all.
This starts by strengthening the Affordable Care Act, which ensures that women cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, such as pregnancy, or charged more for coverage simply because they are women. The Affordable Care Act also expanded coverage to millions of women who were previously uninsured, and made various preventive services available free of charge, including Pap smears and mammograms. In addition, it covers screening and counseling for domestic and intimate partner violence.
To cover more Americans, the Biden-Harris Administration began a special open enrollment period on healthcare.gov, so that women who are uninsured have the opportunity to sign up for coverage through August 15. And, we are committed to building on the successes of this law to make coverage more affordable. The American Rescue Plan, enacted earlier this year, will save women buying coverage on their own $50 per month on their health care premiums.
The theme of this year’s National Women’s Health Week is “Ending the Pandemic and Elevating Women’s Health.” The quickest and most effective way to defeat this pandemic and restore public health is through vaccination.
My Administration is committed to advancing women’s health and ensuring an equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have prioritized and increased access to the COVID-19 vaccine and expanded the criteria for eligibility to include all adults over the age of 16. We encourage women to talk to their doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants about the COVID-19 vaccine.
And, it is important for women and girls to catch up on any missed vaccines or medical care from this past year. Delays in routine care — such as Pap smears, mammograms, bone density scans, stress tests, cholesterol screenings, blood pressure screenings, physical exams, general check-ups and other preventive health screenings — can cause many conditions to go undetected. As we mark National Women’s Health Week, let us make sure that all women and girls, particularly those with underlying health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and mental health needs, can prioritize their own health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed why the unique needs of women and girls must be centered in our health care system, and further brought to light the health disparities and systemic biases that women, particularly women of color, continue to face, including inequitable maternity care and access to reproductive health care.
My Administration aims to address persistent and unconscionable disparities in maternal health outcomes. Pregnancy-related mortality for Black and American Indian and Alaska Native women is two to three times higher than for white, Hispanic, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women. Ensuring that all women have equitable access to health care before, during, and after pregnancy is essential. I am committed to building a health care system that delivers equity and dignity to all women and girls. In addition, we must protect access to sexual and reproductive health care, including the broad range of family planning services.
As we strive to improve the health of our Nation, we must prioritize the health and well-being of our women and girls. During National Women’s Health Week, we reaffirm our commitment to this important work.
White House.gov. 05/10/2021.
For Tuesday President Biden has tweeted 1 time and retweeted 0 times so far.
10:46 a.m. D.C., time he says “Let’s pass,” the American Families Plan.
The White House daily brief is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. D.C., time.
President Biden’s virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of Governors is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
