It’s Thursday.
When Biden Bits was posted for Wednesday, President Biden had tweeted 1 time. He added 7 tweets giving him a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 8 tweets and 0 retweets.
The YouTube is 35 minutes and 45 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
The below tweets are similar remarks to tweet text. They aren’t exact copies.
President Biden: Two hundred multiemployer pension plans for 2 to 3 million workers and retirees were going insolvent. What that means is to those 2 or 3 million workers — they faced painful cuts to the benefits they counted on and for the dignified security of retirement. You just heard from Bill what it’s like to work 30, 40, 50 years — working hard every day, doing everything to provide for your family; track every dollar of that paycheck for groceries, the mortgage, and, hopefully, for a family vacation maybe one day; knowing when it’s time to retire, your pension you earned will be there; knowing that together with your Social Security benefits, that pension will continue a good middle-class life for you in retirement. For some, just — my dad used to say, “Just a little peace of mind.”
President Biden: As a candidate for President, I argued for its passage and promised, when it passed, I would sign it. And that’s the promise I’ve kept when I — I included the Butch Lewis Act in the American Rescue Plan. (Applause.)
President Biden: This Fourth of July, let’s remember who — who is the backbone of this country. It’s you, the American worker. I promised you I would be the most pro-labor, pro-union, pro-worker President in our history. And there’s another promise I am going to be keeping as well. (Applause.) So, let me tell you something: There’s no other place I want to be than right here with the workers in this room and the workers that built America. (Applause.)
The above tweet is not taken from his remarks.
Neither is this tweet, really.
On Wednesday the FDA announced; Pharmacists to Prescribe Paxlovid with Certain Limitations
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), to authorize state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid to eligible patients, with certain limitations to ensure appropriate patient assessment and prescribing of Paxlovid.
“The FDA recognizes the important role pharmacists have played and continue to play in combatting this pandemic,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment for some patients who are eligible to receive this drug for the treatment of COVID-19.”
When testing positive for COVID-19, patients should first consider seeking care from their regular health care provider or locating a Test-to-Treat site in their area. While this action allows state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid with certain limitations as described below, community pharmacies not already participating as a Test-to-Treat site can decide if or how they will offer this service to patients.
Patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are seeking to determine their eligibility for receiving Paxlovid at locations where prescribing by state-licensed pharmacists is available should bring the following information to ensure that the state-licensed pharmacist has sufficient information to determine their eligibility to receive Paxlovid:
FDA.gov. 07/06/2022.
- Electronic or printed health records less than 12 months old, including the most recent reports of laboratory blood work for the state-licensed pharmacist to review for kidney or liver problems. State-licensed pharmacists could also receive this information through a consult with the patient’s health care provider.
- A list of all medications they are taking, including over-the-counter medications so the state-licensed pharmacist can screen for drugs with potentially serious interactions with Paxlovid.
Under the limitations outlined in the authorization, the state-licensed pharmacist should refer patients for clinical evaluation with a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant licensed or authorized under state law to prescribe drugs, if any of the following apply:
FDA.gov. 07/06/2022.
- Sufficient information is not available to assess renal and hepatic function.
- Sufficient information is not available to assess for a potential drug interaction.
- Modification of other medications is needed due to a potential drug interaction.
- Paxlovid is not an appropriate therapeutic option based on the current Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers or due to potential drug interactions for which recommended monitoring would not be feasible.
Paxlovid is authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kilograms or about 88 pounds) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. Patients in the authorized population who report a positive home test result from a rapid antigen diagnostic test, or a positive PCR test, to their provider are eligible for Paxlovid under the EUA. Confirmation of a positive home rapid antigen diagnostic test with additional direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, such as a PCR, is not required. Antibody tests are not considered to be direct SARS-CoV-2 viral tests.
FDA.gov. 07/06/2022.
For some unknown to me reason, partly, cause I didn’t really contrast and compare the tweet, the above tweet was deleted and then reissued later in the day.
The video snip is 1 minute and 1 second long. I will not be transcribing. To sum up the video he is calling the recipients to tell them he’s giving them the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The voice-over’s are many and mostly the words “thank you,” are said.
President Biden’s Public Schedule for Thursday, July 7th, 2022:
| 10:15 AM | The President and The Vice President receive the President’s Daily Brief Oval OfficeClosed Press |
| 1:30 PM | In-Town Pool Call Time The White HouseIn-Town Pool |
| 2:00 PM | The President awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to seventeen recipients; The Vice President and The Second Gentleman attend by 10:00 am] East RoomPre-Credentialed Media [RSVP here by 10:00 AM] |
| 3:10 PM | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
On July 1st, 2022, the White House announced the: Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Today, President Biden named seventeen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.
President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities. These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith. They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.
The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022.
The following individuals will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom:
White House.gov. 07/01/2022.
Simone Biles
Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Biles is also a prominent advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.
Sister Simone Campbell
Sister Simone Campbell is a member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a prominent advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and healthcare policy.
Julieta García
Dr. Julieta García is the former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville, where she was named one of Time magazine’s best college presidents. Dr. García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region.
Gabrielle Giffords
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, serving first in the Arizona legislature and later in the U.S. Congress. A survivor of gun violence, she co-founded Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention.
Fred Gray
Fred Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction. As an attorney, he represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, who called him “the chief counsel for the protest movement.”
Steve Jobs (posthumous)
Steve Jobs (d. 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.
Father Alexander Karloutsos
Father Alexander Karloutsos is the former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After over 50 years as a priest, providing counsel to several U.S. presidents, he was named by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Khizr Khan
Khizr Khan is a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. He is a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom and served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under President Biden.
Sandra Lindsay
Sandra Lindsay is a New York critical care nurse who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. She was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and is a prominent advocate for vaccines and mental health for health care workers.
John McCain (posthumous)
John McCain (d. 2018) was a public servant who was awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He also served the people of Arizona for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.
Diane Nash
Diane Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King, who described her as the “driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters.”
Megan Rapinoe
Megan Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion. She also captains OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights.
Alan Simpson
Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During his public service, he has been a prominent advocate on issues including campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality.
Richard Trumka (posthumous)
Richard Trumka (d. 2021) was president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade, president of the United Mine Workers, and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Throughout his career, he was an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice.
Wilma Vaught
Brigadier General Wilma Vaught is one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, repeatedly breaking gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces.
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also served as National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.
Raúl Yzaguirre
Raúl Yzaguirre is a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for thirty years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Barack Obama.
President Biden has tweeted…
President Biden has not tweeted so far for Thursday.
This morning the White House did post the following announcement; Biden Administration Announces Nearly $1B in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Improving Airport Terminals across U.S.
Projects will increase airport capacity, energy efficiency and accessibility
Funding going to communities small, medium and large across country
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award nearly $1 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to 85 airports across the country to improve terminals of all sizes. The grants expand capacity at our nation’s airport terminals, increase energy efficiency, promote competition and provide greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Building better airport terminals will improve customer experiences, move goods through the economy more efficiently to lower prices and enhance U.S. competitiveness.
Two grants will also be awarded to build and improve new air traffic control towers.
“Americans deserve modern airports that meet the needs of their families and growing passenger demand. Funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, today’s grants will improve airport terminals while also creating good jobs in communities across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
View a data visualization of the airports receiving grants and how the funds will be invested.
“The work that goes in to build safer, more accessible and sustainable terminals will provide opportunities for people across the nation. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a critical investment not only in our nation’s infrastructure, but an investment in the future of our country’s workforce,” said FAA Deputy Administrator A. Bradley Mims.
Historically, the FAA has invested in runways, traffic-control towers and back-of-house infrastructure. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, there is dedicated funding to support modernizing airport terminals across the country.
70 grants contain an element that will expand terminal capacity. Among them are:
White House.gov. 07/07/2022.
- Pittsburgh International Airport (Pittsburgh, Pa.): $20 million to construct a new 700,000-square-foot landside terminal adjacent to the existing airside terminal and includes an improved passenger security screening checkpoint and checked baggage inspection system, baggage handling equipment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection area, and associated public spaces and support functions to serve passengers and meet the operational needs of the airport.
- Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Chattanooga, Tenn.): $5 million for phase one of a terminal expansion project that will expand its second level by nearly 27,000 square feet to allow for two new gates, one expanded gate, a new set of restrooms, and additional passenger queuing, hold room and circulation space. This phase will also reorient the TSA Checkpoint to allow for an additional screening lane and expand the terminal rotunda sufficient to provide adequate passenger queuing space. The project will increase terminal capacity, improve ADA accessibility, increase energy efficiency, promote airline competition, and create jobs.
- Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Field (Huntsville, Ala.): $10 million to replace aging elevators, escalators, and mechanical equipment; adding one elevator and three escalators; constructing new terminal and concourse restrooms, family restrooms, nursing rooms, and a Service Animal Relief Area; expanding terminal public areas; and ticket counter modifications. The project will provide more amenities for passengers, increase capacity, achieve ADA compliance, improve energy efficiency, improve accessibility, and create construction jobs.
- Orlando International Airport (Orlando, Fla.): $50 million to construct four gates capable of serving either four wide body or eight narrow body aircraft. The project increases capacity, provides ADA-compliant facilities, achieves LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and provides for increased competition.
76 grants contain an element that will increase terminal sustainability. Among them are:
- Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (Texas): $35 million to construct a zero-carbon electrical central utility plant to assist the airport in achieving its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Phase 1 will construct the facility and cover two of five terminals.
- Boise Airport (Boise, Ida.): $960,000 to install energy efficient boilers to support Boise’s clean energy goal. The funds will also be used to replace aging skylight infrastructure with new skylights that will be more energy efficient.
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Seattle, Wash.): $10 million for Phase 3 of a restroom modernization that will be ADA compliant and include energy efficient lighting, low flow fixtures and refillable water bottle stations and service animal relief areas.
- Bishop International Airport (Flint, Mich.): $3.5 million to replace the terminal roof, which has failed in many places. It will be replaced with energy efficient materials, including improved insulation. This will result in decreased heating and cooling needs and reduce energy consumption.
47 grants contain an element that will go to improving airport access to historically disadvantaged populations and rural airports. Among them are:
- Dexter Regional Airport (Dexter, Maine): $760,000 to build a new 800 square foot terminal building replacing the existing 50-year-old 200 square foot terminal building. It includes the reconstruction of the access road. The existing terminal building is beyond its useful life and does not meet current standards or needs for a basic general aviation terminal building. It does not meet ADA requirements and energy efficiencies. The new terminal building will enhance and meet all these needs and requirements. This project provides access to improved terminal facilities for a disadvantage population area in this rural part of Maine.
- Washington Municipal Airport (AWG) Washington, Iowa: $129,675 to install a solar power system and associated electrical efficiency enhancements for the general aviation terminal.
- Chamberlain Municipal Airport (Chamberlain, S.D.): $855,000 to construct a new general aviation terminal. This project will replace an existing annex to a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) building that is currently being used as a general aviation terminal. The existing facility does not meet ADA requirement and does not meet the needs of the airport.
- Fillmore County Airport (Preston, Minn.): $950,000 to replace an existing facility that was constructed in the 1981 that is in poor condition and does not meet ADA requirements.
73 grants contain an element that provide greater access to individuals with disabilities. Among them are:
- Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (Phoenix, Az.): $14.4 million to expand and update existing temporary terminal space with a permanent five-gate ADA compliant facility.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (Minneapolis, Minn.): $7.1 million to replace five passenger boarding bridges and relocate one passenger boarding bridge. This project will modify walkways, ramps, and slopes to better utilize space and meet ADA requirements. The new boarding bridges will also be more energy efficient.
- Austin Bergstrom International Airport (Austin, Texas): $15 million to complete Phase 2, which includes needed capacity expansion immediately and infill for future expansion for the medium hub on the cusp of large hub. In addition to capacity, the project improves access with hearing loops, wayfinding, and multi-lingual assistance, plus assistive care restrooms and ADA compliance throughout. LEED Silver goal projects include energy efficient systems, glass tinting, and sustainable energy construction.
Two grants are awarded to airports to build new air traffic control towers. Those airports are:
- General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (Peoria, Ill.): $15 million to construct a new air traffic control tower. The existing tower is 63 years old, in poor condition, and does not meet ADA standards. The new tower will meet all current building codes including ADA, and will utilize modern, energy efficient HVAC systems and lighting.
- Asheville Regional Airport (Asheville, N.C.): $15 million to construct a new air traffic control tower. This project replaces an existing 61-year-old air traffic control tower with a new, expanded facility. It is also an enabling project for the expansion and renovation of the existing terminal building. The project will enable increased terminal capacity, replace aging and obsolete infrastructure, improve airfield safety, upgrade the facility to ADA standards, and increase energy efficiency.
One grant will increase multimodal transportation access. That grant goes to:
- Gainesville Regional Airport (Gainesville, Fla.): $1.67 million to improve a multi-modal ground transport facility. This project consists of multi-modal ground transport facility improvements, including lighted, accessible, covered walkways to the commercial airline terminal, a covered passenger waiting area, accessible restrooms, and queuing lanes for taxis and city busses arriving and departing the terminal. The project will reduce curbside congestion, increase ADA accessibility, improve accessibility for historically disadvantaged populations, and provide construction jobs.
Today’s funding is from the Airport Terminal Program, one of three aviation programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law provides $1 billion annually for five years for Airport Terminal grants. Learn more at faa.gov/bil.
The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, makes a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. It will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, upgrade and expand public transit, modernize the nation’s ports and airports, improve safety, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably to help everyone get ahead for decades to come.
White House.gov. 07/07/2022.
He still hasn’t tweeted as of 8:45 a.m., my time.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. D.C., time.
The daily press briefing is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
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