President Biden Tweets for Tuesday’s Open Thread

May 18, 2021 12:09 pm EDT Tiff Editorial, News Commentary Comments Off on President Biden Tweets for Tuesday’s Open Thread
Pardon Our Mess. Photo by Marty Mankins.

It’s Tuesday.

Before we view what’s happening in President Biden’s world, I need to take one second and share the news that Kevin “My Rep,” McAsshole has offered a statement in opposition to the bipartisan agreement reached regarding the formation on a January 6th, 2021 Commission.

That’s right, the loser that backed the loser that lost, was a good boy and opposed an agreement to investigate insurrection.

No, it’s not really a surprise but it’s one of those things that makes me as one of his constituent, even if I’ll never vote for him again, livid.

Here is his statement:

For months, the Speaker of the House refused to negotiate in good faith on basic parameters that would govern a commission to examine the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During this time, the Speaker even falsely claimed in the press that she had delivered Republicans a counterproposal, when in reality her proposal would not surface until weeks later. To be clear, Republican requests for fair representation and an unbiased premise from which to begin such an investigation were always understood to be the starting point for bipartisan negotiations, not the end result.

While the Speaker has wasted time playing political games, numerous Congressional and intergovernmental agency efforts have picked up the slack. There are ongoing bipartisan investigations into all facets of the January 6 events occurring inside the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as well as the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Additionally, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol has been allocated $10 million to conduct a full, apolitical review into ways to remedy any security vulnerabilities that exist in the Capitol complex.

Most notably, the Department of Justice has announced 445 arrests in conjunction with the events of January 6, and expect 100 more arrests to follow. The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate any and all crimes committed that day, and I fully support these individuals being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Unfortunately, the legislation being considered in the House this week is drafted in such a way that could interfere with and ultimately undermine these ongoing prosecutorial efforts – just one byproduct of a process that circumvents committee markup and is expected to come to the House Floor under a closed rule.

Finally, the renewed focus by Democrats to now stand up an additional commission ignores the political violence that has struck American cities, a Republican Congressional baseball practice, and, most recently, the deadly attack on Capitol Police on April 2, 2021. The presence of this political violence in American society cannot be tolerated and it cannot be overlooked. I have communicated this to our Democrat colleagues for months and its omission is deeply concerning.

Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation.

McAsshole. 05/18/2021.

He’s mad cause nobody wants to focus on things that weren’t “insurrection.” Because he knows to do anything else would upset his cult leader and that cult leaders base. This is bullshit, Kevin, and just further evidence as to why I will not be supporting you, ever again. I’m sorry I ever did.

*ahem*

I suppose I should also mention that part of his reason for his objection would be the fact that he spoke with the loser that lost the election on January 6th, 2021, and doesn’t want to be forced to explain that call. Cause he’s a coward.

*ends rant, but reserves the right to mention it again later.*

For Tuesday President Biden will have received his daily brief before he travels to Detroit, Michigan. He will deliver remarks later this afternoon from Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. His remarks follow a tour of the plant.

When last we spoke on Monday, President Biden had tweeted just 2 times, he added 7 tweets giving him a Monday tweeting on Twitter total of 9 tweets and no retweets.

He shared a live feed to his remarks on the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccination program.

The stream is 20 minutes and 7 seconds long. President Biden begins speaking at the 1 minute and 46 second mark. His full remarks can be found here. The timestamp says he spoke from 1:22 p.m., and concluded speaking at 1:39 p.m. D.C., time.

He says in his next tweet “every day, the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter.”

President Biden (6:27): In fact, when tomorrow’s vaccination numbers come out, they’ll show that 60 percent — 60 percent of Americans have received at least one shot. Every day, the light at the end of that tunnel is growing brighter.

He says next that “America will never be fully safe while this pandemic is raging globally.” In light of that he announced that “over the next six weeks we will send 80 million vaccine doses overseas.”

President Biden (10:42): Now, over the past 118 days, our vaccinations program has led the world.  And today, we’re taking an additional step to help the world.  We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic that is raging globally is under control.  No ocean is wide enough, no wall is high enough to keep us safe. Rampant disease and death in other countries can destabilize them — those countries — and pose a risk to us as well.  New variants could arise overseas that could put us at greater risk.  And we need to help fight the disease around the world to keep us safe here at home and to do the right thing of helping other people.  It’s the right thing to do.  It’s the smart thing to do.  It’s the strong thing to do. In March, we shared over 4 million doses of our AstraZeneca vaccine with Canada and Mexico.  At the end of April, we announced that we would provide another 60 million doses of our AstraZeneca vaccine overseas. Remember, this is the vaccine that is not authorized for use in the United States yet, so we’re going to be sending it to folks once the FDA has reviewed this and said it’s safe.  This is all the AstraVeneca [AstraZeneca] vaccine produced in the United States — all of it will be sent to other countries. And today, I’m announcing that we’ll also share U.S.-authorized vaccines doses of Pfizer and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as they become available, with the rest of the world as well.  These are vaccinations and vaccines that are authorized to be put in arms of Americans. And by the end of June, when we’ll have taken delivery of enough of such vaccines to protect everyone in the United States, the United States will share at least 20 million doses of those doses — that extra supply — with other countries. This means, over the next six weeks, the United States of America will send 80 million doses overseas. 

With his next tweet he moves away from the coronavirus remarks and doesn’t mention the American Jobs Plan either.

The White House published the following Presidential statement on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

Jill and I are proud to recognize the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia — the anniversary of the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization took the long overdue step of declassifying ‘homosexuality’ as a mental disorder. 

So much has changed for the LGBTQI+ community since that day — not only in our laws, but in the hearts and minds of the American people.  Courageous activists in America and around the world have championed progress, and won.  Here at home, marriage equality and greater protections against hate crimes are the law of the land.  Overseas, foreign governments, civil societies, and international organizations like the United Nations finally recognize that LGBTQI+ people are deserving of the full measure of dignity and equality.

Despite this progress, both COVID-19 and rising authoritarianism around the world continue to widen economic, social, and safety gaps for LGBTQI+ people — and an epidemic of violence still rages, with a particular impact on the transgender community, specifically transgender women and girls of color.  Around the world, some 70 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships.  And here at home, LGBTQI+ Americans still lack basic protection in 25 states, and they continue to face discrimination in housing, education, and public services.

My Administration will always stand with the LGBTQI+ community.  Already, we have rolled back discriminatory polices targeting LGBTQI+ Americans, and we have made historic appointments of LGBTQI+ individuals to the highest levels of our government.  We continue to implement my executive orders to advance equality and equity.  And I continue to urge Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would confirm critical civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity for all Americans.

Everyone is entitled to dignity and equality, no matter who they are, whom they love, or how they identify — and we will continue to engage with allies and partners to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ people here at home and in all corners of the world.

White House.gov. 05/17/2021.

For his next tweet he shares a tweet from the Treasury Department.

From his remarks:

President Biden (3:53): But this — but here’s the great news: You won’t have to wait until your next year’s tax return to get that break.  I’m announcing today that on July 15th and the 15th of every month thereafter throughout the year, you will get, deposited into your bank account, half of your tax cut — at least $250 per child each month — a direct deposit into your account.  So if you’re a working family with two kids, you’re going to get $500 a month into your bank account on the 15th of every month, starting in July.  We’re getting — and we are getting you a tax cut this year — now, when you need it — and not have to wait. And if you get your tax cut refund deposited in your bank account automatically, this tax cut will be put into your account automatically.  If not, it will be mailed to you. In addition to helping Americans hard-pressed and working families, experts have told us that this will cut child poverty in America in half. This tax cut sends a clear and powerful message to American working — working families with children: Help is here. 

The Treasury Departments Twitter Thread:

From the IRS:

There have been important changes to the Child Tax Credit that will help many families receive advance payments starting this summer. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 expands the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for tax year 2021 only. The expanded credit means:

IRS.gov. 05/17/2021.
  • The credit amounts will increase for many taxpayers.
  • The credit for qualifying children is fully refundable, which means that taxpayers can benefit from the credit even if they don’t have earned income or don’t owe any income taxes.
  • The credit will include children who turn age 17 in 2021.
  • Taxpayers may receive part of their credit in 2021 before filing their 2021 tax return.

For tax year 2021, families claiming the CTC will receive up to $3,000 per qualifying child between the ages of 6 and 17 at the end of 2021. They will receive $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6 at the end of 2021. Under the prior law, the amount of the CTC was up to $2,000 per qualifying child under the age of 17 at the end of the year.
The increased amounts are reduced (phased out), for incomes over $150,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return and qualifying widows or widowers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $75,000 for all other taxpayers.

Advance payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit will be made regularly from July through December to eligible taxpayers who have a main home in the United States for more than half the year. The total of the advance payments will be up to 50 percent of the Child Tax Credit. Advance payments will be estimated from information included in eligible taxpayers’ 2020 tax returns (or their 2019 returns if the 2020 returns are not filed and processed yet).

The IRS urges people with children to file their 2020 tax returns as soon as possible to make sure they’re eligible for the appropriate amount of the CTC as well as any other tax credits they’re eligible for, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Filing electronically with direct deposit also can speed refunds and future advance CTC payments.
Eligible taxpayers do not need to take any action now other than to file their 2020 tax return if they have not done so.

Eligible taxpayers who do not want to receive advance payment of the 2021 Child Tax Credit will have the opportunity to decline receiving advance payments. Taxpayers will also have the opportunity to update information about changes in their income, filing status or the number of qualifying children. More details on how to take these steps will be announced soon.

The IRS also urges community groups, non-profits, associations, education groups and anyone else with connections to people with children to share this critical information about the CTC. The IRS will be providing additional materials and information that can be easily shared by social media, email and other methods.

The IRS will provide more information about advance payments soon.

IRS.gov. 05/17/2021.

Side-bar: President Biden tweeted 2 times so far for Tuesday, one of those tweets was a video snip from his remarks yesterday that focuses on the tax cut.

President Biden (2:40): As everyone knows, I firmly believe — we firmly believe the need to make our tax system work for the middle class. That’s why I think we should ask corporations and the top 1 percent to start paying their fair share, and why we should crack down on millionaires and billionaires who escape taxes by cheating. But I also think we need to give ordinary families a break — a tax break — to help them with the cost of raising their kids.  Most people don’t know it, but, for families with children, we put that tax cut into the American Rescue Plan, which was signed not long ago.  And I signed the tax cut into law in March. Ninety percent of families — all middle-class and working-class families — will get this tax cut. It’s a one-year tax cut that reduces your taxes by $3,000 a year for each child you have under the age of 18.  Two kids: It’s a $6,000 tax cut.  And if those kids are under the age of six, you’ll actually get $3,600 per child. So, as you file your taxes today, know that your tax cut coming.

*End side-bar*

To continue Monday’s tweets he says for those not vaccinated to head to “vaccines.gov,” to find the vaccine location near you.

President Biden (9:10): Getting vaccinated has never been easier.  We are at 80,000 locations where you can get a shot.  Ninety percent of you live within five miles of one of those locations. [he doesn’t mention the vaccines.gov, but he does say]: You can find a vaccine site near you by texting your ZIP Code to 438829.  438829.  Your ZIP Code and that number.  You’ll get all the places near you.

He says with his last tweet for Monday that he’s “sick and tired of corporations not paying their fair share.”

I believe this is a push for the Made In America Tax Plan, included at the bottom of the American Jobs Plan.

  • Set the Corporate Tax Rate at 28 percent. The President’s tax plan will ensure that corporations pay their fair share of taxes by increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent. His plan will return corporate tax revenue as a share of the economy to around its 21st century average from before the 2017 tax law and well below where it stood before the 1980s. This will help fund critical investments in infrastructure, clean energy, R&D, and more to maintain the competitiveness of the United States and grow the economy.
  • Discourage Offshoring by Strengthening the Global Minimum Tax for U.S. Multinational Corporations. Right now, the tax code rewards U.S. multinational corporations that shift profits and jobs overseas with a tax exemption for the first ten percent return on foreign assets, and the rest is taxed at half the domestic tax rate. Moreover, the 2017 tax law allows companies to use the taxes they pay in high-tax countries to shield profits in tax havens, encouraging offshoring of jobs. The President’s tax reform proposal will increase the minimum tax on U.S. corporations to 21 percent and calculate it on a country-by-country basis so it hits profits in tax havens. It will also eliminate the rule that allows U.S. companies to pay zero taxes on the first 10 percent of return when they locate investments in foreign countries. By creating incentives for investment here in the United States, we can reward companies that help to grow the U.S. economy and create a more level playing field between domestic companies and multinationals. 
  • End the Race to the Bottom Around the World. The United States can lead the world to end the race to the bottom on corporate tax rates. A minimum tax on U.S. corporations alone is insufficient. That can still allow foreign corporations to strip profits out of the United States, and U.S. corporations can potentially escape U.S. tax by inverting and switching their headquarters to foreign countries. This practice must end. President Biden is also proposing to encourage other countries to adopt strong minimum taxes on corporations, just like the United States, so that foreign corporations aren’t advantaged and foreign countries can’t try to get a competitive edge by serving as tax havens. This plan also denies deductions to foreign corporations on payments that could allow them to strip profits out of the United States if they are based in a country that does not adopt a strong minimum tax. It further replaces an ineffective provision in the 2017 tax law that tried to stop foreign corporations from stripping profits out of the United States. The United States is now seeking a global agreement on a strong minimum tax through multilateral negotiations. This provision makes our commitment to a global minimum tax clear. The time has come to level the playing field and no longer allow countries to gain a competitive edge by slashing corporate tax rates.
  • Prevent U.S. Corporations from inverting or claiming tax havens as their residence. Under current law, U.S. corporations can acquire or merge with a foreign company to avoid U.S. taxes by claiming to be a foreign company, even though their place of management and operations are in the United States. President Biden is proposing to make it harder for U.S. corporations to invert. This will backstop the other reforms which should address the incentive to do so in the first place.
  • Deny Companies Expense Deductions for Offshoring Jobs and Credit Expenses for Onshoring. President Biden’s reform proposal will also make sure that companies can no longer write off expenses that come from offshoring jobs. This is a matter of fairness. U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize companies shipping jobs abroad. Instead, President Biden is also proposing to provide a tax credit to support onshoring jobs.
  • Eliminate a Loophole for Intellectual Property that Encourages Offshoring Jobs and Invest in Effective R&D Incentives. The President’s ambitious reform of the tax code also includes reforming the way it promotes research and development. This starts with a complete elimination of the tax incentives in the Trump tax law for “Foreign Derived Intangible Income” (FDII), which gave corporations a tax break for shifting assets abroad and is ineffective at encouraging corporations to invest in R&D. All of the revenue from repealing the FDII deduction will be used to expand more effective R&D investment incentives.
  • Enact A Minimum Tax on Large Corporations’ Book Income. The President’s tax reform will also ensure that large, profitable corporations cannot exploit loopholes in the tax code to get by without paying U.S. corporate taxes. A 15 percent minimum tax on the income corporations use to report their profits to investors—known as “book income”—will backstop the tax plan’s other ambitious reforms and apply only to the very largest corporations.
  • Eliminate Tax Preferences for Fossil Fuels and Make Sure Polluting Industries Pay for Environmental Clean Up. The current tax code includes billions of dollars in subsidies, loopholes, and special foreign tax credits for the fossil fuel industry. As part of the President’s commitment to put the country on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050, his tax reform proposal will eliminate all these special preferences. The President is also proposing to restore payments from polluters into the Superfund Trust Fund so that polluting industries help fairly cover the cost of cleanups.
  • Ramping Up Enforcement Against Corporations. All of these measures will make it much harder for the largest corporations to avoid or evade taxes by eliminating parts of the tax code that are too easily abused. This will be paired with an investment in enforcement to make sure corporations pay their fair share. Typical workers’ wages are reported to the IRS and their employer withholds, so they pay all the taxes they owe. By contrast, large corporations have at their disposal loopholes they exploit to avoid or evade tax liabilities, and an army of high-paid tax advisors and accountants who help them get away with this. At the same time, an under-funded IRS lacks the capacity to scrutinize these suspect tax maneuvers: A decade ago, essentially all large corporations were audited annually by the IRS; today, audit rates are less than 50 percent. This plan will reverse these trends, and make sure that the Internal Revenue Service has the resources it needs to effectively enforce the tax laws against corporations. This will be paired with a broader enforcement initiative to be announced in the coming weeks that will address tax evasion among corporations and high-income Americans.

Speaking of taxes…

During yesterday’s press briefing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked when President Biden would be releasing his taxes, she said “soon.”

Q: Yeah, I wanted to follow on your opening remarks on taxes.  Will you be releasing, today, the President’s and Vice President’s tax returns?

Psaki: We will be, soon, releasing, as — as we believe is the transparent approach and what the public expect — expects, the tax returns of the President. I’ll have to double check on the Vice President, but I would expect those will be out soon…

Q: And — but not necessarily today?

Psaki: I — soon.  So I would say, “Stay tuned.  Stay at your computer.”

*Q: One last thing on that.  It used to, at least, be the policy that President’s returns were always automatically audited.  If he is audited, that doesn’t change your decision at all on releasing the return?

Psaki: No, I would expect that we will continue to release the President’s tax returns, as should be expected by every President of the United States. 

*The reporters name is George, and let’s take us a second to acknowledge the shade George made.*

“Soon” turned out to be shortly after the press briefing.

You can find President Biden’s and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s tax returns here.
You can find Vice President Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s tax returns here.

The statement from the White House:

Today, the President released his 2020 federal income tax return, continuing an almost uninterrupted tradition. With this release, the President has shared a total of 23 years of tax returns with the American public. 

The President and the First Lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported federal adjusted gross income of $607,336. The Bidens paid $157,414 in federal income tax and their 2020 effective federal income tax rate is 25.9 percent.

The President and First Lady also reported donating $30,704 – or about 5.1 percent of their total income – to 10 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was $10,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children are free from the threat of abuse.

The President and First Lady also released their Delaware income tax return and reported paying $28,794 in Delaware income tax. The First Lady also released her Virginia income tax return and reported paying $443 in Virginia income tax.

The Vice President and the Second Gentleman also released their 2020 federal income tax return, as well as state income tax returns for both California and the District of Columbia. Including today’s release, the Vice President has published 17 years of tax returns. 

The Vice President and the Second Gentleman reported federal adjusted gross income of $1,695,225. They paid $621,893 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2020 effective federal income tax rate of 36.7 percent. They also paid $125,004 in California income tax and Mr. Emhoff paid $56,997 in District of Columbia income tax. They contributed $27,006 to charity in 2020.

White House.gov. 05/17/2021.

The White House also released the President and Vice President’s financial disclosure reports.

Today, the President and Vice President released their public financial disclosure reports. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level federal officials to publicly disclose their personal financial interests on OGE Form 278. The public filing system serves to prevent financial conflicts of interest by providing for a systematic review of the finances of government officials. Those finances are set forth in annual disclosures, which are reviewed and certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest.

View the President’s financial disclosure report here.

View the Vice President’s financial disclosure report here.

White House.gov. 05/17/2021.

His second tweet for Tuesday was to announce he was on “his way,” to Michigan.

Since he his traveling today the daily briefing will be or has been a press gaggle on Air Force One.

President Biden’s remarks are expected around 1:40 p.m. D.C., time.

And yes for those wondering, I’m still pissed off at McAsshole, that’s a feature not a bug.

Rick Wilson has had some thoughts.

Wilson’s is a long thread.

One more this time from Bill Kristol.

This is an Open Thread.

About the opinions in this article…

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About Tiff 2551 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.