It’s Friday.
There are 2 days until Halloween!!!
For Friday, October 29th, 2021, President Biden has received his daily brief. The President has traveled overseas; in light of the time zone’s being real I’m gonna post an imagine of his remaining Friday schedule.
The White House has published the following readout:
In his audience with Pope Francis today, President Biden thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution. He lauded Pope Francis’ leadership in fighting the climate crisis, as well as his advocacy to ensure the pandemic ends for everyone through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery.
White House.gov. 10/29/2021.
According to Weijia Jiang CBS News Senior White House Correspondent; the Vatican has said the meeting between Pope Francis and President Biden lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The White House has also published a readout from President Biden’s meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin:
After an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin. President Biden thanked Cardinal Parolin for the Vatican’s active leadership in fighting the climate crisis— both through advocacy and encouraging the climate neutrality of hundreds of Christian organizations worldwide. The leaders discussed efforts to rally global support for vaccinating the developing world against COVID-19. President Biden thanked the Vatican for speaking out on behalf of the wrongfully detained, including in Venezuela and Cuba. The leaders committed to continue using their voices to advocate for personal and religious freedoms world-wide.
White House.gov. 10/29/2021.
President Biden has tweeted 1 time so far for Friday…
When Biden Bits was published for Thursday, President Biden had tweeted 2 times. He added a crap ton which =’s 15 tweets and 1 retweet giving him a Thursday Tweeting Total of 17 tweets and 1 retweet.
Prior to leaving D.C., for Europe President Biden announced the Build Back Better Framework. All but one of his tweets focuses on that Framework.
The YouTube is 22 minutes and 43 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here. The White House published two statements & releases regarding the Build Back Better Framework; one is a summary of the first statement issued. I will be using, where needed, the first more detailed statement.
President Biden: It’s a framework that will create millions of jobs, grow the economy, invest in our nation and our people, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path not only to compete, but to win the economic competition for the 21st century against China and every other major country in the world. It’s fiscally responsible. It’s fully paid for. Seventeen Nobel Prize winners in economics have said it will lower the inflationary pressures on the economy.
This framework will guide the drafting of legislative language. When enacted, this framework will set the United States on course to meet its climate goals, create millions of good-paying jobs, enable more Americans to join and remain in the labor force, and grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 10/28/2021.
President Biden: I know it’s hard. I know how deeply people feel about the things that they fight for. But this framework includes historic investments in our nation and in our people. Any single element of this framework would fundamentally be viewed as a fundamental change in America. Taken together, they’re truly consequential.
The largest effort to combat climate change in American history:
Scientists have warned for years that extreme weather will only worsen in the wake of climate change. Millions of Americans are living this reality in real time. In addition to the lives shattered and lost, extreme weather fueled by climate change destroys homes, schools, and small businesses, and cost America more than $100 billion last year alone. Delayed action on climate also sets us back in the global race on manufacturing and innovation and keeps us from harnessing the economic opportunity that this moment represents.The Build Back Better framework is the largest effort to combat the climate crisis in American history. The framework will start cutting climate pollution now, and deliver well over one gigaton, or a billion metric tons, of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in 2030 – at least ten times larger than any legislation Congress has ever passed. The framework’s $555 billion investment represents the largest single investment in our clean energy economy in history, across buildings, transportation, industry, electricity, agriculture, and climate-smart practices across lands and waters. The framework will set the United States on course to meet its climate targets, achieving a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels in 2030 in a way that grows domestic industries and good, union jobs — and advances environmental justice.
Specifically, the Build Back Better framework will:
White House.gov. 10/28/2021.
- Deliver substantial consumer rebates and ensure middle class families save money as they shift to clean energy and electrification. The consumer rebates and credits included in the Build Back Better framework will save the average American family hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs. These measures include enhancement and expansion of existing home energy and efficiency tax credits, as well as the creation of a new, electrification-focused rebate program. The framework will cut the cost of installing rooftop solar for a home by around 30 percent, shortening the payback period by around 5 years; and the framework’s electric vehicle tax credit will lower the cost of an electric vehicle that is made in America with American materials and union labor by $12,500 for a middle-class family. In addition, the framework will help rural communities tap into the clean energy opportunity through targeted grants and loans through the Department of Agriculture.
- Ensure clean energy technology – from wind turbine blades to solar panels to electric cars – will be built in the United States with American made steel and other materials, creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs here at home. The Build Back Better legislation will target incentives to grow domestic supply chains in solar, wind, and other critical industries in communities on the frontlines of the energy transition. In addition, the framework will boost the competitiveness of existing industries, like steel, cement, and aluminum, through grants, loans, tax credits, and procurement to drive capital investment in the decarbonization and revitalization of American manufacturing.
- Advance environmental justice through a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will invest in projects around the country, while delivering 40% of the benefits of investment to disadvantaged communities, as part of the President’s Justice40 initiative. The framework will also fund port electrification; facilitate the deployment of cleaner transit, buses, and trucks; and support critical community capacity building, including grants to environmental justice communities. In addition, the framework will create a new Civilian Climate Corps – with over 300,000 members that look like America. This diverse new workforce will conserve our public lands, bolster community resilience, and address the changing climate, all while putting good-paying union jobs within reach for more Americans.
- Bolster resilience and natural solutions to climate change through a historic investment in coastal restoration, forest management, and soil conservation. The framework will provide resources to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners, supporting their efforts to reduce emissions. At its peak, the increased investments in climate smart agriculture alone could reach roughly 130 million cropland acres per year, representing as many as 240,000 farms. Farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners have long demonstrated leadership in environmental stewardship with strategies that provide benefits for the farm, the environment, and the public. These investments will help meet the demand from the farming community for conservation support and enable producers to realize the full potential of climate benefits from agriculture.
- Provide more than 35 million households up to $3,600 (or $300 per month) in tax cuts per child by extending the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit. The Build Back Better framework will provide monthly payments to the parents of nearly 90 percent of American children for 2022 – $300 per month per child under six and $250 per month per child ages 6 to 17. This historic tax cut will help cover the cost of food, housing, health care, and transportation and will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history. And critically, the framework includes permanent refundability for the Child Tax Credit, meaning that the neediest families will continue to receive the full Child Tax Credit over the long-run.
- Provide universal and free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, the largest expansion of universal and free education since states and communities across the country established public high school 100 years ago. Preschool in the United States costs about $8,600 per year. The Build Back Better framework will enable states to expand access to free preschool for more than 6 million children per year and increase the quality of preschool for many more children already enrolled. Importantly, parents will be able to send children to high-quality preschool in the setting of their choice – from public schools to child care providers to Head Start. The program will lead to lifelong educational and economic benefits for children and parents, and is a transformational investment in America’s future economic competitiveness. In fact, research shows that every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood care and education can yield $3 to $7 over the long-run, as they do better in school, are more likely to graduate high-school and college, and earn more as adults.
He issued a 7 tweet thread; yes–yes he did…
Today — with my Democratic colleagues — we have a framework for my Build Back Better plan.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
Here’s how it will fundamentally change the lives of millions of people for the better:
President Biden: Today, with my Democratic colleagues, we have a framework for my Build Back Better initiative. And here’s how it will fundamentally change the lives of millions of people for the better.
About 820,000 seniors and people with disabilities are on a Medicaid waiting list right now to get home care.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
The framework will expand services for seniors, so that families can get help from well-trained, well-paid professionals.
President Biden: Millions of you are in the so-called “sandwich generation,” who feel financially squeezed by raising a child and caring for an aging parent. About 820,000 seniors in America and people with disabilities have applied for Medicaid — and they’re on a waiting list right now — to get home care. They need some help. They don’t have to be put — they don’t have to be kicked out of their homes. But they need a little help getting around, having their meals made occasionally for them.
From the Framework:
- Deliver affordable, high-quality care for older Americans and people with disabilities in their homes, while supporting the workers who provide this care. Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of older Americans and Americans with disabilities on waiting lists for home care services or struggling to afford the care they need, including more than 800,000 who are on state Medicaid waiting lists. A family paying for home care costs out of pocket currently pays around $5,800 per year for just four hours of home care per week. The Build Back Better framework will permanently improve Medicaid coverage for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, making the most transformative investment in access to home care in 40 years, when these services were first authorized for Medicaid. The framework will improve the quality of caregiving jobs, which will, in turn, help to improve the quality of care provided to beneficiaries.
A typical family spends $11,000 a year on child care — in many states it’s more than that.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
With the framework, we are going to make sure nearly all working families earning less than $300,000 a year will not pay more than 7% of their income on child care.
President Biden: A typical family spends about $11,000 a year on childcare. In some states, it’s $14,500 a year per child. We’re going to make sure nearly all families earning less than $300,000 a year will pay no more than 7 percent of their income for childcare. And for a family making $100,000 a year, that will save them more than $5,000 on childcare.
From the Framework:
- Make the largest investment in child care in the nation’s history, saving most working American families more than half of their spending on child care. For decades, child care prices in the United States have risen faster than family incomes, yet the United States still invests 28 times less than its competitors on helping families afford high-quality care for toddlers. The Build Back Better framework will ensure that the vast majority of working American families of four earning less than $300,000 per year will pay no more than 7 percent of their income on child care for children under 6. Parents who are working, looking for work, participating in an education or training program, and who are making under 2.5 times their states median income will receive support to cover the cost of quality care based on a sliding scale, capped at 7% of their income. The framework will help states expand access to high-quality, affordable child care to about 20 million children per year – covering 9 out of 10 families across the country with young children. For two parents with one toddler earning $100,000 per year, the framework will produce more than $5,000 in child care savings per year. Better access to high-quality child care can increase the likelihood that parents, especially mothers, are employed or enrolled in education and training beyond high school, while also providing lifetime benefits for children, especially those who are economically disadvantaged.
We’ll also extend the historic middle-class tax cut for parents — the expanded Child Tax Credit — we passed through the American Rescue Plan.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
The framework will make it permanently refundable — making sure that the families who need it most get the full credit.
President Biden: We’ve also extended the historic middle-class tax cut — that’s what I call it — middle-class tax cut for parents. That is the expanded Child Tax Credit we passed through the American Rescue Plan.
President Biden: This framework will make it permanently refundable — making sure that the families who need it get a full credit for it, in addition to those who are already getting full credit.
From the Framework:
- Provide more than 35 million households up to $3,600 (or $300 per month) in tax cuts per child by extending the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit. The Build Back Better framework will provide monthly payments to the parents of nearly 90 percent of American children for 2022 – $300 per month per child under six and $250 per month per child ages 6 to 17. This historic tax cut will help cover the cost of food, housing, health care, and transportation and will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history. And critically, the framework includes permanent refundability for the Child Tax Credit, meaning that the neediest families will continue to receive the full Child Tax Credit over the long-run.
With the framework, we are going to make sure every 3-and 4-year old child in America will go to high quality preschool.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
This will take us from 12 years to 14 years of universal education in America.
President Biden: They’re going to make sure that every three- and four-year-old child in America will go to high-quality preschool. That’s part of the legislation I just brought up to the Congress. Studies show that when we put three- and four-years-old in school — school, not daycare; school — we increase by up to 47 percent the chance that that child, no matter what their background, will be able to earn a college degree. As my wife Jill, who’s in the back here, always says: Any country that out-educates us is going to outcompete us. We can finally take us from 12 years to 14 years of universal education in America.
See picture #3 for more details…
The framework extends tax credits to lower premiums for folks on the Affordable Care Act for another three years. And, Medicare will now cover the cost of hearing aids and services.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
President Biden: This framework extends tax credits to lower premiums for folks on — who are in the Affordable Care Act for another three years. For 4 million folks in the 12 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid — all the rest have — this framework will enable you to get affordable coverage. And Medicare will now cover the cost of hearing aids and hearing checkups.
From the Framework:
- Strengthen the Affordable Care Act and reduce premiums for 9 million Americans. The framework will reduce premiums for more than 9 million Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace by an average of $600 per person per year. For example, a family of four earning $80,000 per year would save nearly $3,000 per year (or $246 per month) on health insurance premiums. Experts predict that more than 3 million people who would otherwise be uninsured will gain health insurance.
- Close the Medicaid coverage gap, leading 4 million uninsured people to gain coverage. The Build Back Better framework will deliver health care coverage through Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to up to 4 million uninsured people in states that have locked them out of Medicaid. A 40-year old in the coverage gap would have to pay $450 per month for benchmark coverage – more than half of their income in many cases. The framework provides individuals $0 premiums, finally making health care affordable and accessible.
- Expand Medicare to cover hearing benefits. Only 30% of seniors over the age of 70 who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them. The Build Back Better framework will expand Medicare to cover hearing services, so that older Americans can access the affordable care they need.
The framework also makes the most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis — ever — beyond any other advanced nation in the world.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2021
And we’ll do it in a way that grows domestic industries, creates good-paying union jobs, and addresses environmental injustice.
President Biden: This framework also makes the most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis ever, ever happened — beyond any other advanced nation in the world. Over a billion metric tons of emissions reductions — at least 10 times bigger on climate than any bill that has ever passed before and enough to position us for a 50 to 52 percent emissions reductions by the year 2030. And we’ll do it in ways that grow the domestic industries, create good-paying union jobs, and address longstanding environmental injustices, as well. Tax credits to help people do things like weatherize their homes so they use less energy, install solar panels and develop clean energy products, and help businesses produce more clean energy.
See picture #1 for more details…
From the Framework:
The Build Back Better framework includes a $100 billion investment that will improve our immigration system by providing long awaited relief to millions through reconciliation, and making enhancements to reduce backlogs, expand legal representation, and make the asylum system and border processing more efficient and humane.
White House.gov. 10/28/2021.
President Biden: We can’t be competitive in the 21st century global economy if we continue to slide. That’s why I’ve said all along: We need to build America from the bottom up and the middle out, not from top down with the trickle-down economics that’s always failed us. I can’t think of a single time when the middle class has done well but the wealthy haven’t done very well. I can think of many times, including now, when the wealthy and the super-wealthy do very well and the middle class don’t do well.
Some FYI: I discovered this morning that if I use the “Copy Link to Highlight” feature; this means two things.
One: today’s thread features more links.
Two: if you follow the links it takes you right to the text I copied and pasted.
I don’t know if this is a sometimes I’ll do it feature or something I’ll start to include more often. Stay tuned.
This is an Open Thread.
