It’s Wednesday aka the Day I get Disneyland Annual Passes…
For Wednesday August 25th, 2021, President Biden has received his daily brief. He has also received a brief on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. This afternoon President Biden will meet with Cabinet members to discuss how “we” can collectively improve the Nation’s cybersecurity. Late this afternoon President Biden will sign H.R. 1448 and H.R. 3642 into law.
The White House published a transcript from the background press call by Senior Admin Officials who previewed the upcoming Cybersecurity Cabinet Meeting.
Tomorrow, the President will meet with leaders from a range of sectors and companies with the power to immediately act to improve our nation’s cybersecurity, specifically from tech, insurance, education, and critical infrastructure.
From tech, the companies participating will be Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, and ADP. You’ll note that we particularly included ADP because of the services they provide to thousands and thousands of small- and medium-sized companies.
From financial: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, TIAA, and U.S. Bancorp.
From insurance: Coalition, Vantage Group, Resilience, and Travelers.
From education, a creative set: Code.org, University of Texas System, Tougaloo College, Girls Who Code, and Whatcom Community College.
So, after the meeting with the President, participants will also join smaller meetings with various members of the President’s Cabinet and national security team for a more informal discussion on concrete steps we can take to improve national cyber posture.
Those discussions will occur in three parallel breakout sessions, specifically:
“Critical Infrastructure Resilience,” which will be co-chaired by Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Granholm, with participants across energy, financial, and water
“Building Enduring Cybersecurity,” which is chaired by Secretary Raimondo and the Small Business Administrator Guzman — participants: tech and insurance. We really see insurance as a way to drive better cybersecurity practices.
And then the “Cybersecurity Workforce,” chaired by the National Cyber Director. Participants are education leaders.
Following those sessions, the National Cyber Director and I will bring back groups to get a readout of what was discussed and summarize that and provide that to the President.
White House.gov. 08/24/2021
Before taking your questions, I want to emphasize that tomorrow is a call to action. The federal government can’t solve this complex, growing international challenge alone, and we can’t do it overnight.
H.R. 1448’s summary:
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act or the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act
This bill implements a program and a policy related to service dog therapy for veterans. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as an element of a complementary and integrative health program. Eligible veterans are those who are enrolled in the VA health care system and have been recommended for participation by a qualified mental health care provider or clinical team.
The VA must seek to enter agreements containing specified elements with accredited nongovernmental entities that have demonstrated ability to provide canine training.
The Government Accountability Office must brief Congress and submit a report on the program.
The bill also authorizes the VA to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses, regardless of whether they have a mobility impairment.
Congress.gov. 05/12/2021.
H.R. 3642’s summary:
Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I.
Congress.gov. 06/15/2021.
President Biden has not tweeted so far for Wednesday; He has issued two retweets.
When Biden Bits was posted on Tuesday, President Biden had not tweeted. He added 7 tweets giving him a Tuesday Tweeting Total of 7 tweets and 2 retweets.
The YouTube video is 12 minutes and 42 seconds long. President Biden’s full remarks can be found here.
President Biden (5:06): **I’ve met this morning with my counterparts in the G7, as well as heads of the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union. I expressed my thanks for the solidarity we have seen as we’ve stood up an unprecedented global effort. I updated our partners on the significant progress we’ve made in the past 10 days. As of this afternoon, *we’ve helped evacuate 70,700 people, just since August the 14th; 75,900 people since the end of July. Just in the past 12 hours, another 19 U.S. military flights, 18 C-17s, and one C-130 carrying approximately 6,400 evacuees and 31 coalition flights carrying 5,600 people have left Kabul — just in the last 12 hours. A total of 50 more flights, 12,000 more people since we updated you this morning. These numbers are a testament to the efforts of our brave service women and men, to our diplomats on the ground in Kabul, and to our Allies still standing with us.
On Tuesday President Biden met virtually with G7 leaders to discuss the evacuation process that’s ongoing in Afghanistan. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki released the following statement regarding the meeting:
During a meeting this morning with the G7 leaders, the President conveyed that our mission in Kabul will end based on the achievement of our objectives. He confirmed we are currently on pace to finish by August 31st and provided an update on progress in evacuating Americans who want to come home, third-country nationals, and Afghans who were our allies during the war.
He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risk to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K, and that completion of the mission by August 31st depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport. In addition, the President has asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timeline should that become necessary.
White House.gov. 08/24/2021.
*bold text is how it appears in the 1st tweet*
**includes all the text from the 1 minute and 11 second video shared in the second tweet**
President Biden (11:38): In short, we all — all of us agreed today that we’re going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our closest partners to meet the current challenges we face in Afghanistan, just as we have for the past 20 years. We’re acting in consultation and cooperation with our closest friends and fellow democracies.
He issued 3 tweets not related to the Afghanistan situation. Two of those three tweets he mentioned in his remarks from Tuesday.
President Biden (4:24): Look, I also want to thank everyone who voted to support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. You know, advancing — it’s an act to restore and expand voting protections, to prevent voter suppression, and to secure the most sacred of American rights: the right to vote freely, the right to vote fairly, and the right to have your vote counted. The House has acted. The Senate also has to join them to send this important bill to my desk. And the Senate must also move on the [For the] Peoples Act, critical legislation to protect our democracy and the right to vote. We need both of those — those election bills.
CBS News reported that on Tuesday the House advanced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act aka H.R. 4. The vote was along party lines and heads to the Senate where it is expected to languish in a tied Senate.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed the House on Tuesday, with the 219-212 vote going along party lines.
The bill, named after the late Georgia representative, would restore a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that was gutted by the Supreme Court. It would require certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to receive approval, known as preclearance, from the Justice Department before making changes to their voting rules.
CBS News. 08/24/2021.
President Biden (0:15): I just got off the telephone with the leaders in the House. Today, the House of Representatives has taken a significant step toward making a historic investment that’s going to transform America, cut taxes for working families, and position the American economy for long-term — long-term growth.
CNBC News reported that on Tuesday the House passed along party lines a $3.5 trillion budget resolution; In a 220-212 party-line vote, the chamber passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution and advanced a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The vote allows Democrats to write and approve a massive spending package without Republicans and puts the Senate-passed infrastructure plan on a path to final passage in the House.
The measure also includes a non-bidding commitment to vote on the Senate passed bi-partisan Infrastructure Plan by September 27th, 2021.
Just an FYI…
The $1 trillion bi-partisan spending deal includes $550 billion in new funding. CNBC explained on August 10th, 2021; The Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Tuesday, a huge step for Democrats as they try to push President Joe Biden’s sweeping economic agenda through Congress. The legislation, which includes $550 billion in new funding for transportation, broadband and utilities, got through in a 69-30 vote, as 19 Republicans joined all 50 Democrats. The chamber in a 50-49 party-line vote then proceeded to a budget resolution that would allow Democrats to approve what they see as a complementary $3.5 trillion spending plan without Republican votes.
The daily press briefing is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
