It’s Monday.
When Biden Bits was posted for Friday, President Biden had tweeted 3 times. He added 6 tweets giving him a Friday Tweeting Total of 9 tweets and 0 retweets.
The YouTube is 32 minutes 29 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 16 minute and 8 second mark. His full remarks can be found here.
The White House announced Friday that Siemens; will invest $54 million in expanded domestic production and create 300 jobs manufacturing critical electrical infrastructure that supports everything from electric vehicle chargers to data centers to industrial sites.
President Biden: I just had a chance to visit — have a viral [virtual] tour of both the Siemens faci- — facilities — one in Pomona and the other in Grand Prairie, Texas — a chance to talk with some of the IBEW members working there. Because our Infrastructure Law provides $7.5 billion — $7.5 billion — to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across America. And it also provides $16.5 billion to modernize our power grid, how we move electricity across America. Companies like Siemens are investing here in the United States of America. And you just heard from Barbara, Siemens is announcing a $54 million investment to upgrade and expand those facilities in Texas and California that develop the high-tech, high-value electrical equipment that is used in electric circuitry,
switchboards, electric vehicles, chargers out on the highways, and data centers. This announcement alone is going to create 300 new good-paying, cutting-edge manufacturing jobs.
President Biden: Today, we’re going even further. I’m announcing the biggest change in the Buy American Act in 70 years. Right now, if you’re manufacturing a product that gets purchased by the federal government, the law says that it has to be “substantially all” of that product should be made in the United States. But because of loopholes over time, you know what “substantially all” means when I took office? If 55 percent is made in America, it’s “substantially all.” To me, 55 percent isn’t “substantially all;” it’s slightly over half. Today, we’re issuing a rule to raise the amount of domestic content required to be considered Made in America from 55 percent to 75 percent. “Substantially all” is going to start meaning substantially all.
From the White House:
Today’s final rule will deliver on President Biden’s commitment to “Make Buy American Real” by:
- Raising the domestic content threshold to 75 percent. Today, products qualify as Made in America for federal procurement if 55 percent of the value of their component parts are manufactured here. This final rule will increase that threshold to 60 percent this year, 65 percent in 2024, and 75 percent in 2029. This will close loopholes in the current regulation while allowing businesses to onshore manufacturing and adjust their supply chains to increase the use of American-made components. This change will create more opportunities for small- and medium-sized manufacturers and their employees, including small and disadvantaged enterprises, from all parts of the country.
To support this work, the Small Business Administration has created a new manufacturing office in its federal contracting division and agencies will work with the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to find and develop American sources for government needs.
- Strengthening domestic supply chains for critical goods with new price preferences. When President Biden took office, he signed an executive order to fortify our critical supply chains. Building off the release of the first-of-their-kind one-year industrial base reviews last week, this rule creates a framework to allow the government to apply enhanced price preferences to select critical products and components identified in a subsequent rulemaking. These preferences, once in place, will support the development and expansion of domestic supply chains for critical products by providing a source of stable demand for domestically-produced critical products.
The above is reference to Friday’s release of February’s Jobs Report.
President Biden: And we’ve learned that, in February, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent — down from 6.4 percent the day I took office, beginning in 2021 — which is the fastest decline in the unemployment rate in recorded history because of all of you.
Non-related to his remarks but related to the Jobs Report…
His full statement on February’s Jobs Report:
Today’s report shows that my plan to build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out is working to get America back to work. Since I took office, the economy has created 7.4 million jobs. That’s 7.4 million jobs providing families with dignity and a little more breathing room. We are building a better America.
White House.gov. 03/04/2022.
In February, the economy created 678,000 jobs, following the greatest year of job growth in American history and the fastest economic growth in almost 40 years. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8 percent. And, at the same time, more people are rejoining the labor force and finding jobs as we recover from the pandemic. And people went back to work in February across a wide ranges of industries—with jobs gained in leisure and hospitality, construction, retail, and manufacturing. In fact, last year has been the best year for manufacturing jobs and trucking jobs since 1994. We are making more and moving goods faster in America.
This progress is the result of the new economic approach I talked about in the State of the Union—grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. And it’s a result of our success combatting COVID-19 and moving forward safely. While we must tackle head on the challenge families are facing with rising costs, today’s report underscores that the United States is uniquely well positioned to deal with the challenge that inflation has posed across the world as we recover from the pandemic.
Prior to the bilateral meeting the two President’s offered remarks…
The YouTube is 2 minutes and 47 seconds long. Their full remarks:
President Biden:
Welcome. I’m delighted to have a good friend here with us today, the President of Finland, in the White House in what is a critical moment involving all of Europe.
White House.gov. 03/04/2022.
And, you know, we’ve been in regular touch for some time now and coordinated a united, transatlantic response to the Russians and holding Russians accountable for their unprovoked and unjustifiable aggression against Ukraine.
And we agreed it’s not only an attack on Ukraine, it’s an attack on the security of Europe and on the global peace and stability.
And Finland is a critical partner of the United States, a strong defense partner as well, a partner to NATO, especially in — on strengthening the security of the Baltic Sea area.
And we’re committed to helping Ukraine defend itself and — in support of the humanitarian needs of Ukraine and its people. And we’re coordinated on everything from sanctions to export controls and broader global issues of energy, security, climate, and human rights.
So, I want to thank you for making the trip, Mr. President. Our bilateral relati- — relationship is vitally important to the United States, and I think you see it the same way. And this is another opportunity for us to further strengthen that relationship.
So, thank you for being here. Welcome to the Oval Office. And the floor is yours.
Finland President Sauli Niinistö:
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much for the opportunity to have this discussion with you. We are really living in very difficult times. I want to thank you also for the leadership you have showed. We need it now.
White House.gov. 03/04/2022.
Our thoughts today undoubtedly are with the Ukrainian people who are fighting bravely for their country. And we do our best to help them.
Like you, Mr. President, said, we have a long-lasting partnership — very good relations — and I hope that during this meeting and discussion, we can strengthen them more between the United States and Finland and the Nordic countries all together.
Thank you, Mr. President.
They had a small exchange:
PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, you know, as my predecessor who sat in this seat, President Obama, used to say, we’d be alright if we left everything to the Nordic countries. Everything would be fine.
White House.gov. 03/04/2022.
PRESIDENT NIINISTÖ: Well, we usually don’t start wars.
PRESIDENT BIDEN: No. Anyway, well, thank you very much.
Thank you all for being here.
The White House published the following readout of the meeting:
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with President of Finland Sauli Niinistö to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and ensuring strong defense and deterrence in northern Europe. The leaders also discussed ongoing transatlantic coordination to impose costs on Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified military invasion of Ukraine, and their respective efforts to provide security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Presidents committed to start a process that would strengthen U.S.-Finnish security cooperation, which would be conducted in close consultation with other Nordic countries. The Presidents also discussed the importance of NATO’s Open Door policy. In addition, they discussed energy security and efforts to address climate change
White House.gov. 03/04/2022.
President Biden did not tweet for Saturday…
On Sunday President Biden tweeted 1 time…
His full statement:
On Sunday, March 7, 1965, time stopped and blood spilled as brave and righteous Americans sought to cross a bridge named after a Klansman in Selma, Alabama, to reach the other side of justice. Led by the late John Lewis, they marched to secure their sacred right to vote. Their heroism was met by batons and tear gas. They were beaten, but not defeated. Their absolute courage forced America to look in the mirror and Congress to act. Soon after, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
But over time, the strength of that groundbreaking law has been weakened not by brute force, but by insidious court decisions. Today, we’re seeing states across the country propose or enact laws that make it harder to vote and have that vote counted — an onslaught of deeply dangerous efforts to suppress the vote and subvert entire elections.
In Selma, the blood of John Lewis and so many other courageous Americans sanctified a noble struggle. We are determined to honor that legacy by passing legislation to protect the right to vote and uphold the integrity of our elections, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
My Administration will continue implementing my Executive Order to promote voter participation, increase access to the ballot, and rally the country to protect voting rights and election integrity. Vice President Harris, marching in Selma today, will continue to lead this effort. The U.S. Justice Department has doubled its voting rights enforcement staff to stop discriminatory voting laws as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 empowered it to do. And I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to strengthen our democracy and keep alive the promise of America for all Americans.
The battle for the soul of America has many fronts. The right to vote is the most fundamental.
White House.gov. 03/06/2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris offered remarks to Commemorate the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The YouTube is 16 minutes and 50 seconds long. Her full remarks can be found here.
For Monday, March 7th, 2022, President Biden has received his daily brief. Added to his schedule; The President discusses the latest developments regarding Russia and Ukraine in a secure video teleconference with President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Johnson of the United Kingdom.
President Biden has tweeted 1 time so far for Monday…
The video clip is 3 minutes and 25 seconds long.
The opening 19 seconds was taken from President Biden’s remarks regarding the nomination of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court on February 25th, 2022:
President Biden: And it’s my honor to introduce to the country a daughter of former public school teachers, a proven consensus builder, an accomplished lawyer, a distinguished jurist — one of the nation’s most — on one of the nation’s most prestigious courts. My nominee for the United States Supreme Court is Judge Ketanji Jackson.
It gets a bit complicated at the 20 second mark where Judge Jackson begins to speak; her remarks come from a clip shared by President Biden on March 2nd, 2022, as transcribed by me in March 3rd’s, Biden’s Bits:
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: I am Ketanji Brown Jackson, and I have just had the honor of being nominated to sit on the United States Supreme Court.
At the 30 second mark she adds new remarks:
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: I started thinking about the law when I was really young. My father went back to law school when I was a kid. We lived on campus of the University of Miami; and my dad would sit there with all of his big, thick legal books, and I would bring my coloring books and I would sit next to him and watch him study and pretend as though I was doing work as well. I had not really seen a lot of colleges except that I did speech and debate and Harvard has a tournament, and I went several years in a row and competed in that tournament and thought I like this campus. Maybe I’ll apply.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson con’t: I had the good fortune of working for a Supreme Court justice as a law clerk. Justice Breyer was an incredible boss and mentor. As a clerk, you help the judge or the justice that you’re working with to draft their opinions and to make sure that their thoughts are put down carefully in the law. And so it was just an enormous opportunity to get to see how the justice system really works at the highest level.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson con’t: I have spent my life admiring lawyers and judges from all backgrounds, but especially those who are African-Americas like me, who have worked very hard to get to where they are. I have been inspired by Judge Constance Baker Motely, who was the first Black woman ever to be appointed to the federal bench. She was a civil rights lawyer before she became a judge. It meant a lot to me in my career to have her as an inspiration, and I would hope to be an inspiration to other young people, lawyers, who may want to enter this career and who may want to go into the judicial branch.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson con’t: I have had the great good fortune of actually having been nominated to three prior positions that require Senate Confirmation. I was nominated by President Obama to the United States Sentencing Commission, nominated by President Obama as well to site on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The I was nominated by President Biden to sit on the Court of Appeals. And now, President Biden has given me the honor of nominating me to the United States Supreme Court.
The daily press briefing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
