It’s Thursday.
For Thursday September 16th, 2021, President Biden has received his daily brief. This afternoon D.C., time President Biden will deliver remarks on leveling the playing field in our economy.
President Biden has tweeted 2 times so far for Thursday.
From the linked article:
What to watch: A White House official tells me that Biden will argue that the nation has reached an inflection point — whether or not to perpetuate an economy where the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations play by a set of rules they’ve written for themselves.
Axios. 09/16/2021.
Biden will argue that we simply can’t revert to how things were before the pandemic, the official said.
The article contains the 1 page letter from 15 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics; including Joseph Stiglitz, write in an open letter that Biden’s agenda will reduce long-term inflationary pressure, provide inclusive economic growth and make the tax system more equitable:
When Biden Bits was published for Wednesday, President Biden had tweeted 2 times. He added 8 tweets and 2 retweets giving him a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 10 tweets and 2 retweets.
On Tuesday President Biden issued the following Proclamation:
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize that Hispanic heritage is American heritage. We see it in every aspect of our national life: on our television and movie screens, in the music that moves our feet, and in the foods we enjoy. We benefit from the many contributions of Hispanic scientists working in labs across the country to help us fight COVID-19 and the doctors and the nurses on the front lines caring for people’s health. Our Nation is represented by Hispanic diplomats who share our values in countries all over the world and strengthened by military members and their families who serve and sacrifice for the United States. Our communities are represented by Hispanic elected officials, and our children are taught by Hispanic teachers. Our future will be shaped by Hispanic engineers who are working to develop new technology that will help us grasp our clean energy future and by the skilled union workers who are going to build it.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is an important reminder of how much strength we draw as a Nation from our immigrant roots and our values as a Nation of immigrants. I am proud to recognize my four Hispanic Cabinet Secretaries — Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman — who are all leading executive departments that oversee critical components of American life. My Administration is focused on making equity a priority and ensuring that Hispanics are front and center in our efforts to improve the lives of working families across the country.
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we also recognize that America cannot succeed unless Hispanic families and communities succeed, sharing equally in the benefits of our recovery and our investments. My American Rescue Plan provided much-needed relief to the Hispanic community during the pandemic. Additional Paycheck Protection Program funding for small businesses and rental assistance has helped families stay in their homes, and the child tax credit is helping lift Hispanic children out of poverty.
A critical key to building back better is ensuring that Hispanic communities also benefit from investments in roads, clean water, and broadband as well as access to early education and other resources that support working families and improve educational outcomes. We must also continue the fight to protect the sacred right to vote and provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented Hispanics — especially Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, farmworkers, and essential workers — through desperately needed immigration reform. Creating a pathway to citizenship is a top priority for my Administration not only because this benefits our Nation’s economy but also because it is the right thing to do.
As we honor and celebrate the contributions of Hispanics to our Nation, we also reaffirm our commitment to extending the hand of friendship to Latin America and strengthening democracy in the region. My Administration has sent over 5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico with millions more on the way. We have donated over 33 million doses of the vaccine to 21 other countries in Latin America. This included the first doses of the vaccine to reach Haiti, carried there by the United States Coast Guard. This vaccine will help protect Haiti’s first responders and health care workers.
In recognition of the achievements of Hispanics, the Congress, by Public Law 100-402, as amended, has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month.”
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 15 through October 15, 2021, as National Hispanic Heritage Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all Americans to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
White House.gov. 09/14/2021.
His full statement on Yom Kippur:
For millennia, Jewish communities have marked Yom Kippur as an occasion to reflect and pray; fast and seek forgiveness; account for past transgressions, and commit to future change.
At its core, this sacred and solemn day reaffirms a universal principle at the essence of our humanity: that, through word and deed, we each have the ability to right wrongs, mend rifts, and heal wounds. That every place where we have fallen short provides an opportunity for growth, and that by acknowledging shortcomings with honesty and humility, before our Creator and to one another, we can forge a more promising future – for ourselves, for our communities, and for our country.
In that spirit, Jill and I extend our very best wishes for an easy and meaningful fast to all who observe Yom Kippur in the United States, Israel, and around the world. May we each be sealed in the Book of Life.
White House.gov. 09/15/2021.
G’mar Chatimah Tovah.
During Wednesday’s press briefing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her opening remarks:
Last piece I wanted to note is: Today, the families of more than 60 million children — nearly 90 percent of American kids — will receive the third monthly payment of the Child Tax Credit. This is one of the most significant tax cuts for working families in history and is already helping Americans meet the cost of raising children, using this additional money to help pay for groceries, back-to-school clothes, braces, and so many other expenses.
Most of the families will again see “Child CTC” in their bank account today with a payment of $250 to $300 for each child. Studies have shown that it will boost consumer spending, jobs, and is also — has already led to a major fall in hunger and child poverty.
Ninety-seven percent of the children receiving this tax relief are in working families, and we’ve already seen reports of strong support for the tax cuts for families across the board, including from independents and 41 percent of those who identify as Republicans.
And we’re working, of course, to get it extended for even longer.
White House.gov. 09/15/2021.
The White House published a fact-sheet on the; Biden-Harris Administration Whole-of-Government Effort to Ensure Child Tax Credit Reaches All Eligible Families.
IRS.gov issued a press release regarding the September Child Tax Credit payment:
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced today that millions of American families are now receiving their advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment for the month of September. This third batch of advance monthly payments, totaling about $15 billion, is reaching about 35 million families today across the country. The majority of payments will be issued by direct deposit. Under the American Rescue Plan, most eligible families received payments dated July 15 and Aug. 13, along with today’s September 15 payment. Future payments are scheduled for October 15, November 15 and December 15. For these families, each payment is up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17.
IRS.gov. 09/15/2021.
Based on the below Press Secretary tweet I think it’s safe for us to assume the above POTUS tweet is a preview of the remarks he will offer this afternoon.
The YouTube is 12 minutes and 36 seconds long. Full remarks can be found here.
The White House published the background press call on AUKUS ahead of Wednesday national address:
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL [1]:
Thank you, and good morning to everyone. So as [senior administration official] indicated, the three leaders of our maritime democracies will, this evening or later today, announce the formation of a new trilateral security partnership. And AUKUS obviously represents Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. I think this is an historic announcement. It reflects the Biden administration’s determination to build stronger partnerships to sustain peace and stability across the entire Indo-Pacific region. This new architecture is really about deepening cooperation on a range of defense capabilities for the 21st century.
And again, these relationships with Great Britain and Australia are time tested — our oldest allies, generally. This is designed not only to strengthen our capabilities in the Indo-Pacific but to link Europe, and particularly Great Britain, more closely with our strategic pursuits in the region as a whole.I think, you know, Great Britain is very focused on the concept of “global Britain,” and their tilt is about engaging much more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, and this is a down payment on that effort.
This new architecture, this new alignment is about collaborating on joint capabilities and pursuing deeper interoperability. And you will see several things: One, we will announce a new architecture of meetings and engagements among our senior defense and foreign policy officials to share perspectives, to align views. But we will also announce efforts to spur cooperation across many new and emerging arenas — cyber; AI — particularly applied AI; quantum technologies; and some undersea capabilities as well.We’ll also work to sustain and deepen information and technology sharing, and I think you’re going to see a much more dedicated effort to pursue integration of security and defense-related science, technology, and industrial bases, and supply chains. This will be a sustained effort over many years to see how we can marry and merge some of our independent and individual capabilities into greater trilateral engagement as we go forward.
I just want to underscore, just generally: Obviously, there are no better allies than the United Kingdom and Australia. This is about strengthening our alliances and working together to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
We undertake this effort as part of a larger constellation of steps, including stronger bilateral partnerships with our traditional security partners in Asia — Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines — and also stronger engagement with
new partners like India, Vietnam, and new formations like the Quad. And, as you know, the Quad will be held in person for this first time next week.But for AUKUS, in addition to this set of strategic and defense-related steps, our first initiative as part of AUKUS is the three countries will announce, later today, a shared ambition to support Australia’s desire to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. And we will launch a trilateral effort of 18 months, which will involve teams — technical and strategic and navy teams — from all three countries to identify the optimal pathway of delivery of this capability.
And I think, as you know, the only country that the United States has shared, traditionally, this kind of nuclear technology for propulsion is Great Britain, and that arrangement dates back to 1958.
We are adding — this is a unique set of circumstances — Australia to that deep partnership to explore the best ways for Australia to pursue nuclear-powered submarines.I do want to underscore that this will give Australia the capability for their submarines to basically — to deploy for longer periods. They’re quieter. They’re much more capable. They will allow us to sustain and to improve deterrence across the Indo-Pacific.
As part of that, we will work closely on efforts to ensure the best practices with respect to nuclear stewardship. I think you will see much deeper interoperability among our navies and our nuclear infrastructure people to ensure that our countries are working very closely together.I just want to underscore that this is a fundamental decision — fundamental — that binds decisively Australia to the United States and Great Britain for generations.
This is the biggest strategic step that Australia has taken in generations. And it is noteworthy that it comes here during the 70th anniversary of ANZUS. So it’s a substantial strategic alignment for Australia, building on a deep partnership with both countries.
I do want to underscore that the Biden administration remains deeply committed to American leadership and nonproliferation. This is nuclear propulsion. Australia has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons. And Australia is, in fact, a leader in all nonproliferation efforts in the NPT and elsewhere.
Australia, again, does not seek and will not seek nuclear weapons; this is about nuclear-powered submarines. But it’s a very important initiative that will basically set us on a new course of trilateral cooperation into the 21st century.
White House.gov. 09/15/2021.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL [2]:
Thanks very much. I’ll just follow up on what my colleague said about nonproliferation by adding that this partnership is, in many ways, possible because of Australia’s longstanding and demonstrated commitment to nuclear nonproliferation.
The partnership is going to be taken fully consistent with our respective nonproliferation obligations over the next 18 months during this consultation period.Our shared objective is to maintain the strength of the nonproliferation regime and Australia’s exemplary nonproliferation credentials. That will be central to the discussion. And, you know, as we embark on the effort for the next 18 months, we will be engaged fully with the IAEA.
White House.gov. 09/15/2021.
The White House published a joint-statement:
As leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order, we resolve to deepen diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including by working with partners, to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. As part of this effort, we are announcing the creation of an enhanced trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS” — Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Through AUKUS, our governments will strengthen the ability of each to support our security and defense interests, building on our longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties. We will promote deeper information and technology sharing. We will foster deeper integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains. And in particular, we will significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities.
As the first initiative under AUKUS, recognizing our common tradition as maritime democracies, we commit to a shared ambition to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. Today, we embark on a trilateral effort of 18 months to seek an optimal pathway to deliver this capability. We will leverage expertise from the United States and the United Kingdom, building on the two countries’ submarine programs to bring an Australian capability into service at the earliest achievable date.
The development of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines would be a joint endeavor between the three nations, with a focus on interoperability, commonality, and mutual benefit. Australia is committed to adhering to the highest standards for safeguards, transparency, verification, and accountancy measures to ensure the non-proliferation, safety, and security of nuclear material and technology. Australia remains committed to fulfilling all of its obligations as a non-nuclear weapons state, including with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Our three nations are deeply committed to upholding our leadership on global non-proliferation.
Recognizing our deep defense ties, built over decades, today we also embark on further trilateral collaboration under AUKUS to enhance our joint capabilities and interoperability. These initial efforts will focus on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities.
The endeavor we launch today will help sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. For more than 70 years, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have worked together, along with other important allies and partners, to protect our shared values and promote security and prosperity. Today, with the formation of AUKUS, we recommit ourselves to this vision.
White House.gov. 09/15/2021.
CNBC News said on September 9th; As part of the plan, the president announced a new requirement for federal employees to get a Covid vaccine, with no option for regular testing. He also signed an executive order extending the requirement to contractors that work with the U.S. government, impacting a total of 2.1 million employees. Biden had previously ordered all federal employees to prove their coronavirus vaccination status or submit to a series of rigorous safety protocols.
President Biden’s six point plan can be found here.
President Biden’s economic remarks are scheduled for 1:45 p.m. D.C., time.
The daily press briefing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
