Biden Bits: Make A Difference…

February 16, 2023 12:00 pm EST Tiff Biden Tweets (Open Thread) Comments Off on Biden Bits: Make A Difference…
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President Biden’s public schedule for Thursday 02/16/2023:

8:00 AMThe President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
The White House Closed Press
8:30 AMIn-Town Pool Call Time
The White HouseIn-Town Pool
12:45 PMPress Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
5:00 PMThe President hosts a screening of “Till”
East Room Pooled for TV and Pre-Credentialed Media

Press briefing @12:45 p.m. D.C., time.


On 02/13/2023 April Ryan of The Grio reported that President Biden and the First Lady would host the screening of the movie “Till” in the East Room on Thursday evening.

From The Grio.com; Those expected to attend Thursday’s White House screening are high school students from Chicago and the state of Mississippi. Till relatives will be in attendance as well as Goldberg, who played Till’s grandmother, actress Danielle Deadwyler, who played Till’s mother, and the young actor who portrayed Emmett, Jalyn Hall. 


This morning the White House posted the following fact-sheet; President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Across the Federal Government

On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. That Order emphasized the enormous human costs of systemic racism and persistent poverty, and provided a powerful and unprecedented mandate for all federal agencies to launch a whole-of-government approach to equity. Over the past two years, agencies have taken historic steps toward ensuring that federal programs are serving the American people in an equitable and just manner and supporting communities that have been locked out of opportunity. Through the implementation of landmark legislation and historic executive action, the Biden-Harris Administration is working to make real the promise of America for everyone—including rural communities, communities of color, Tribal communities, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, women and girls, and communities impacted by persistent poverty.

Despite the meaningful progress that the Biden-Harris Administration has made, the reality is that underserved communities—many of whom have endured generations of discrimination and disinvestment—still confront unacceptable barriers to equal opportunity and the American Dream.  It is imperative that we reject the narrow, cramped view of American opportunity as a zero-sum game. When any segment of society is denied the full promise of America, our entire Nation is held back. But when we lift each other up, we are all lifted up. As the President has said: “Advancing equity is not a one-year project. It’s a generational commitment.”  

To strengthen the federal government’s ability to address the barriers that underserved communities continue to face, today, President Biden signed a new Executive Order, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. This second Order reaffirms the Administration’s commitment to deliver equity and build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

The Executive Order:

White House.gov. 02/16/2023.
  • Launches a new annual process to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities. Building on the initial Equity Action Plans developed under Executive Order 13985, this Executive Order directs agencies to produce an annual public Equity Action Plan that will assess and include actions to address the barriers underserved communities may face in accessing and benefitting from the agency’s policies, programs, and activities.
  • Empowers Federal equity leaders. The Executive Order strengthens requirements for agencies to build and resource Agency Equity Teams and designate senior leaders accountable for implementing the President’s equity mandate. In line with the President’s commitment to advancing gender equity and equality at home and abroad and the President’s commitment to advancing environmental justice, equality for LGBTQI+ individuals, and other equity work streams, this Executive Order fosters greater collaboration and accountability, and streamlines agencies’ reporting of progress and planning in order to advance equity in support of all those who face overlapping discrimination and bias.
  • Strengthens community partnerships and engagement. Too often, underserved communities face significant hurdles and a legacy of exclusion in engaging with federal agencies and providing input on the very federal policies and programs that impact them. The Executive Order requires agencies to improve the quality, frequency, and accessibility of their community engagement, and to consult with impacted communities as each agency develops its Equity Action Plan, funding opportunities, budget proposals, and regulations.
  • Invests in underserved communities. The Executive Order directs the Office of Management and Budget to support implementation of the annual agency Equity Action Plans through the President’s budget request to Congress. The Executive Order also formalizes the President’s goal of increasing the share of federal contracting dollars awarded to small disadvantaged business (SDBs) by 50 percent by 2025, and instructs agencies to expand procurement opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses through grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and other investments and programs that flow through states and local entities.
  • Improves economic opportunity in rural and urban communities. The Executive Order directs agencies to spur economic growth in rural areas and advance more equitable urban development by ensuring that federal resources contribute to building wealth and opportunity in these communities through locally-led development.
  • Addresses emerging civil rights risks. The Executive Order instructs agencies to focus their civil rights authorities and offices on emerging threats, such as algorithmic discrimination in automated technology; improve accessibility for people with disabilities; improve language access services; and consider opportunities to bolster the capacity of their civil rights offices. It further directs agencies to ensure that their own use of artificial intelligence and automated systems also advances equity.
  • Promotes data equity and transparency. The Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data created by the day one Executive Order has been institutionalized at the National Science and Technology Council. This Executive Order directs the body to facilitate better collection, analysis, and use of demographic data to advance equity, and to regularly report on progress to the White House and the American public.

Since the release of their Equity Action Plans in April 2022, federal agencies continue to take ambitious action to expand federal investment in and support for underserved communities. For instance, the following are some recent actions to advance equity:

White House.gov. 02/16/2023.
  • The Department of Agriculture is administering $3.1 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding to distressed USDA farm loan borrowers and is expediting assistance for those whose agricultural operations are at financial risk. The Department will also provide $2.2 billion in assistance to farmers who have experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending programs.
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development is administering $2.8 billion in competitive funding to homeless services organizations across the country for wrap-around services and housing programs for people experiencing homelessness. To combat the long history of discrimination in housing, the Department has proposed a new “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule to help overcome patterns of segregation and to hold state, localities, and public housing agencies that receive federal funds accountable for ensuring that underserved communities have equitable access to affordable housing opportunities.
  • The Department of Transportation issued proposed rules to modernize the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program regulations to help further level the playing field for small disadvantaged businesses, including Black and brown owned businesses. The Department also adopted a set of Disability Policy Priorities to guide efforts to ensure people with disabilities can move freely, fairly, safely, affordably, and spontaneously through every part of our transportation system and released the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights to empower travelers to understand their rights and help the travel industry uphold those rights.
  • The Department of the Treasury established the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Department on matters related to the advancement of racial equity, particularly aspects of the domestic economy that have directly and indirectly resulted in unfavorable conditions for communities of color. The Committee is addressing topics like financial inclusion, access to capital, housing stability, federal supplier diversity, and economic development. The agency also created a new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs to work across its portfolio on issues related to Tribal nations, and intends to work with Congress to ensure this office is adequately resourced to carry out its mission.
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched a Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program to foster partnerships between the agency and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), community colleges, and very high research-intensive universities. The program focuses on providing students with paid research and engineering opportunities to support the transition of undergraduate students into graduate programs and/or employment with NASA and in the broader science and engineering fields; it supports capacity-building efforts at partner institutions that are historically under-resourced in the NASA research and engineering enterprise.
  • The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development released the 2022 U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, directing U.S. foreign policy and assistance to address the factors that increase the risks of gender-based violence and undermine access to services and safety, particularly for the most marginalized groups, and enhance the U.S. Government’s partnerships to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs is engaging in robust outreach to veterans, including those who are not already in the VA system, particularly veterans in underserved communities, to ensure that they receive information on potential eligibility through the PACT Act, the largest expansion of veteran health care and benefits in decades. In addition to having hosted more than 125 PACT Act ‘Week of Action’ events across the country and Puerto Rico, VA is developing a National Rural Recruitment and Hiring Plan for health care professionals to better reach under-resourced communities; exploring efforts to increase the workforce in rural and underserved areas to provide PACT Act benefits; and spearheading targeted social media outreach and events to foster awareness of PACT Act benefits among women and minority veterans.
  • The Department of Defense awarded $27 million to HBCUs to conduct research in defense critical technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber security, and autonomy. This investment will enhance the capacity of the HBCUs to participate more fully in the Department’s research programs and activities, while also elevating their own research rankings among other universities and improving potential access to federal research funding, philanthropic donations, and other funding sources. Additionally, the Department selected Howard University as the first HBCU to lead a University Affiliated Research Center with a five-year $90 million contract.
  • The Department of the Interior announced $2.7 million in funding to support Tribes’ planning activities for the installation or expansion of broadband internet, which will improve the quality of life, spur economic development and commercial activity, create opportunities for self-employment, enhance educational resources and remote learning opportunities, and meet emergency and law enforcement needs in Native American communities.
  • The Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Management and Budget are coordinating the Justice40 Initiative, which is transforming hundreds of federal programs to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool measures burdens such as legacy pollution and projected climate risk to identify 27,251 geographically-defined disadvantaged communities across the U.S. that can benefit from the Justice40 Initiative.
  • The President took bold action to address our failed approach to marijuana. The criminalization of marijuana possession has upended too many lives—for conduct that is now legal in many states. While white, Black, and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are disproportionately arrested, prosecuted and convicted for it. In October 2022, the President announced a full, unconditional, and categorical pardon for prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana. This pardon lifts barriers to housing, employment, and educational opportunities for thousands of people with those prior convictions. The President also called on every state governor to follow his lead, as most marijuana prosecutions take place at the state and local level. And because this Administration is guided by science and evidence, he called on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to expeditiously review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
  • The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy also released the first-ever federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity, a roadmap that federal agencies will use to ensure they are collecting the data and building the evidence they need to improve the lives of LGBTQI+ Americans.
  • The White House hosted the second Tribal Nations Summit of this Administration to help foster Nation-to-Nation relationships and provide Tribal leaders with an opportunity to engage directly with senior Administration officials. The President signed a new Presidential Memorandum on Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation, establishing uniform standards to be implemented across all federal agencies regarding how Tribal consultations are conducted. In the FY23 omnibus funding law, the Administration also secured—for the first time in history— advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service, which will ensure a more predictable funding stream and improve health outcomes across Indian Country.

To read more about additional steps agencies have taken and details on the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to advance equity and justice for underserved communities, visit www.whitehouse.gov/equity. Find all agency 2022 Equity Action Plans and links to other equity-related public documents at www.performance.gov/equity.

White House.gov. 02/16/2023.

The Executive Order can be found here.

The event starts at 5:00 p.m. D.C., time.


President Biden has tweeted…

@POTUS has posted 1 tweet so far for Thursday…

Wednesday the White House posted a fact-sheet; The Congressional Republican Agenda to Increase the Debt by Over $3 Trillion

Snips:

  • House Republicans have advocated and proposed repealing tax increases on large corporations that President Biden has signed into law, adding $296 billion to the debt.

Enrich Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations: In 2020, 55 of the largest, most profitable corporations paid $0 in taxes. The President signed into law legislation to level the playing field for companies and small businesses that are already paying their fair share in taxes. Under his corporate minimum tax, the largest, most profitable corporations—those with over $1 billion in profits—have to pay a 15% minimum tax on the profits they report to their shareholders. But House Republicans—through their Inflation Reduction Act repeal bill and other statements—have made clear that they want to enrich large corporations that don’t pay their fair share. That would add $222 billion to the debt.

  • “Advocated” =’s link to a Reuters article posted on 11/04/2022:

Republicans aiming to win control of Congress on Tuesday say they plan to force President Joe Biden into a difficult choice on taxes: sign Republican legislation to make their 2017 tax cuts permanent or veto it and be branded as the president who put tax hikes on middle class Americans.

Congressional Republicans’ tax strategies and a Democratic White House could ultimately mean a status quo on rates, deductions and credits for the next two years, tax professionals and analysts say.

But expect the political heat they generate to last until the 2024 presidential election.

[Snip]

Smith also wants to restore some already expired business investment tax breaks passed in the 2017 act, and kill a global tax deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a 15% corporate minimum tax and a reallocation of some taxing rights on large multinationals to countries where their products and services are sold, he told Reuters in a statement.

Still, corporate tax planners say they may breathe a bit easier after two years of watching to see if overall company tax rates would increase to finance Democratic spending initiatives, said Ray Beeman, tax principal at Ernst and Young in Washington.

“Assuming the Republicans take at least the House, or both, it will probably really suppress a lot of the risk and uncertainty around tax policy, certainly compared to this Congress,” Beeman said.

Democrats’ ability to block Republican attacks on Biden’s tax and spending policies would be much easier if they retain control of the Senate, where they could allow most House-passed measures to die.

But if Republicans do win both House and Senate control, Biden’s veto becomes their first line of defense, as Republicans would be able to invoke budget rules that allow tax and spending bills to pass the Senate with only a slim partisan majority.

There are some decision-forcing events that may prompt Democrats and Republicans to engage in limited negotiations on tax policy: a government funding bill deadline of Dec. 16, expiration of more corporate tax breaks next year and a new deadline for raising the federal debt ceiling in late 2023.

Reuters.com. 11/04/2022.

Summary: A legislative analyst in the Congressional Research Service will begin analyzing this legislation after text becomes available.

The bill was introduced on 02/02/2023.

  • “$296 billion” =’s link to 35 page PDF of charts posted by the CBO on 09/07/2022.

It really is 35 pages of charts.

  • “55″ =’s link to a report posted by Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) on 04/02/2021.

Snip:

At least 55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year despite enjoying substantial pretax profits in the United States. This continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations, and it appears to be the product of long-standing tax breaks preserved or expanded by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as well as the CARES Act tax breaks enacted in the spring of 2020.

The tax-avoiding companies represent various industries and collectively enjoyed almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income in 2020, according to their annual financial reports. The statutory federal tax rate for corporate profits is 21 percent. The 55 corporations would have paid a collective total of $8.5 billion for the year had they paid that rate on their 2020 income. Instead, they received $3.5 billion in tax rebates.

Their total corporate tax breaks for 2020, including $8.5 billion in tax avoidance and $3.5 billion in rebates, comes to $12 billion.

This report is based on ITEP’s analysis of annual financial reports filed by the nation’s largest publicly traded U.S.-based corporations in their most recent fiscal year. All data presented here come directly from the income tax notes of these reports. Some companies with unusual fiscal years have not yet filed such reports. Some publicly traded corporations paid nothing on profits in their most recent fiscal year but are not included in this report because they are not part of the S&P 500 or Fortune 500.

ITEP.org. 04/02/2021.
  • “Statements” =’s the same Reuters article linked in Advocated.

The article was published on 11/04/2022.

  • “$222 billion” =’s link to the CBO “Estimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 117-169, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of S. Con. Res. 14”

You can view the same 35 page PDF of charts but this link takes us to the summary page.

CBO estimates that Public Law 117-169 will result in a net decrease in the unified deficit totaling $58.1 billion over the 2022-2031 period. That decrease in the deficit is estimated to result from an increase in direct spending of $50.6 billion and an increase in revenues of $108.7 billion.

Some of those budgetary effects are associated with programs that are classified as off-budget. The decrease in the on-budget deficit over that period is estimated to be $53.5 billion.

CBO.gov. 09/07/2022.

When the post was posted for Wednesday, President Biden had tweeted 1 time. He added 10 tweets giving him a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 11 tweets and 0 retweets.

I’m skipping over a few tweets to place like with like…

The fact-sheet; Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Standards and Major Progress for a Made-in-America National Network of Electric Vehicle Chargers was posted on 02/15/2023.

Made in America Policies and New Technical Standards Support the Future of the Electric Vehicle Charging Industry, 

Public and Private Actions Accelerate Buildout of National Network and Catalyze Manufacturing Boom 

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its latest set of actions aimed at creating a convenient, reliable and Made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) charging network so that the great American road trip can be electrified.  These steps will help the United States meet President Biden’s ambitious goals to confront the climate crisis, by building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along America’s highways and in our communities and have EVs make up at least 50% of new car sales by 2030, all while advancing an industrial strategy to continue to build-out the domestic EV and EV charging industry. The path to net-zero emissions by 2050 is creating good-paying manufacturing and installation jobs on the way.   

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and over $7 billion in EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials. These flagship programs complement the Inflation Reduction Act’s landmark support for advanced batteries and new and expanded  tax credits for purchases of EVs and to support installations of charging infrastructure, as well as dozens of other federal initiatives designed to drive domestic manufacturing and build a national network of EV charging. The result is that the future of American transportation is on track to be cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more reliable than ever before. Today’s announcements are a further demonstration of the President’s successful industrial strategy, ensuring that the clean energy transition is powered by American manufacturing and good-paying union jobs. 

Because of President Biden’s leadership and record federal investment, EV sales have tripled and the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by at least 40% since he took office. There are now more than three million EVs on the road and over 130,000 public chargers across the country. Further accelerating the buildout of a convenient, reliable charging network is critically important to make electric vehicle charging a seamless experience. Today, companies including Tesla, General Motors, EVgo, Pilot, Hertz and bp, among others, are announcing new commitments to expand their networks by thousands of public charging ports in the next two years, using private funds to complement federal dollars and putting the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach.  

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.

Today’s actions include:

  • The Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Department of Energy, finalized new standards to make charging EVs convenient and reliable for all Americans, including when driving long distances. The new standards will ensure everyone can use the network – no matter what car you drive or which state you charge in. The standards also require strong workforce standards;
  • The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) outlined its final plan for compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act for federally funded EV chargers.  Effective immediately, all EV chargers funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law must be built in the United States. The plan requires that, effective immediately, final assembly and all manufacturing processes for any iron or steel charger enclosures or housing occur in the United States.  By July 2024, at least 55 percent of the cost of all components will need to be manufactured domestically as well;
  • The new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation released a notice of intent to issue a funding opportunity for its Ride and Drive Electric research and development program. This program will advance the goal of building a national network of EV chargers for all Americans by supporting EV charging reliability, resiliency, equity, and workforce development;
  • The Department of Energy today announced $7.4 million in funding for seven projects to develop innovative medium-and heavy-duty EV charging and hydrogen corridor infrastructure plans serving millions of Americans across 23 states;
  • FHWA announced details for its soon-to-launch Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) discretionary grant program. The program will make available more than $2.5 billion over five years – including $700 million in funding through the first round of funding available to states, localities, Tribes, territories, and public authorities – to deploy publicly accessible charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in communities across the country, including at schools, grocery stores, parks, libraries, apartment complexes, and everywhere else Americans live and work; and,
  • The Administration highlighted major manufacturing and other new facilities spurred by these investments and the Biden-Harris Administration’s Made in America policies, including new commitments from domestic EV charging manufacturers and network operators.

These announcements build on the well over $100 billion that the private sector has invested in electric vehicle, battery, and EV charging manufacturing in the United States to date. Today’s announcements are evidence of the President’s successful industrial strategy, ensuring that federal funds are attracting private investment to ensure the clean energy transition is powered by American manufacturing and good-paying union jobs. Combined with investments in battery manufacturing and tax credits for electric vehicle purchases and charging infrastructure driven by the Inflation Reduction Act, these programs are key to achieving the Administration’s climate goals.

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.

ACCESSIBLE, RELIABLE, CONVENIENT, USER-FRIENDLY EV CHARGING NETWORK

To ensure ready access to charging and spur good manufacturing jobs at home, President Biden has publicly committed to building out a convenient, reliable, and user-friendly national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030.  In support of this vision, the Department of Transportation announced the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program (NEVI), a $5 billion initiative to create a coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle chargers focused on major highways that support the majority of long-distance trips.  This national network will give drivers confidence they can always find a place to charge, jump start private investment in charging infrastructure and electric vehicles, and support the President’s goal of at least 50% of vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

Today, FHWA, with support from the Joint Office, unveiled new national standards for federally funded EV chargers, including NEVI-funded chargers. All 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico are participating in the NEVI program and initial investments will electrify over 75,000 miles of the national highway system. These standards will direct federal dollars to build out a national EV charging network that is user-friendly, reliable, and accessible so that charging is as easy as filling up at a gas station. Until now, there were no comprehensive standards for the installation, operation, or maintenance of EV charging stations, and disparities exist among EV charging stations in key areas, such as connector types, payment methods, data privacy, speed and power of chargers, reliability, and the overall user experience. A recent survey of EV users reported frustration with chargers that are too slow, too crowded, or that just don’t work. Under FHWA’s new standards, we are fixing this. The standards will ensure that:

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.
  • Charging is a predictable and reliable experience, by ensuring that there are consistent plug types, power levels, and a minimum number of chargers capable of supporting drivers’ fast charging needs;
  • Chargers are working when drivers need them to, by requiring a 97 percent uptime reliability requirement;
  • Drivers can easily find a charger when they need to, by providing publicly accessible data on locations, price, availability, and accessibility through mapping applications;
  • Drivers do not have to use multiple apps and accounts to charge, by requiring that a single method of identification works across all chargers; and,
  • Chargers will support drivers’ needs well into the future, by requiring compatibility with forward-looking capabilities like Plug and Charge.

The standards will also help to ensure that these historic investments in EV charging create good-paying jobs and that EV chargers are well-serviced by requiring strong workforce standards such as Registered Apprenticeships and the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP). Through the White House Talent Pipeline Challenge, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has certified 20,000 electricians through EVITP.

Together, the standards will ensure that chargers operated by different networks operate similarly and provide the traveling public with a predictable EV charging experience – no matter what car you drive or what state you charge in.

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.

ACCELERATING THE BUILDOUT OF EV CHARGING NETWORKS

The Biden-Harris Administration’s actions on EVs have spurred network operators to accelerate the buildout of coast-to-coast EV charging networks. Public dollars will supplement private investment by filling gaps, serving rural and hard to reach locations, and building capacity in communities. Announcements being spotlighted today will add more than 100,000 public chargers available for all EVs, and include:

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.
  • Tesla, for the first time, will open a portion of its U.S. Supercharger and Destination Charger network to non-Tesla EVs, making at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024. The open chargers will be distributed across the United States. They will include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers along highway corridors to expand freedom of travel for all EVs, and Level 2 Destination Charging at locations like hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations.  All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website. Additionally, Tesla will more than double its full nationwide network of Superchargers, manufactured in Buffalo, New York.
  • Hertz and bp are announcing their intention to build out a national network of EV fast charging infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.  Hertz and bp intend to bring charging infrastructure to Hertz locations across America, including major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The charging hubs will serve rideshare and taxi drivers, car rental customers and the general public at high-demand locations, such as airports. A number of installations are expected to include large-scale charging hubs, known as “gigahubs.” bp aims to invest $1 billion in EV charging in the US by 2030. Hertz’s objective is to make one-quarter of its fleet electric by the end of 2024.
  • Pilot Company, General Motors, and EVgo have partnered to build a coast-to-coast network of 2,000 high power 350 kW fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers along American highways. The nationwide network of up to 500 travel centers will enable long distance EV travel by connecting urban and rural communities. Today, the companies are announcing that the first 200+ chargers in this network are expected to be available for use by drivers in 2023.
  • TravelCenters of America and Electrify America announced that they will offer electric vehicle charging at select Travel Centers of America and Petro locations, with a goal of installing approximately 1,000 EV chargers at 200 locations along major highways over the next five years.
  • Electrify America recently held the official groundbreaking of Electrify America Solar Glow™ 1, the new 75 MW solar PV project in San Bernardino County, CA to help back all energy delivered to EV drivers with renewable energy across more than 800 DC fast charging stations nationwide.  
  • Mercedes-Benz, ChargePoint, and MN8 Energy announced a partnership to deploy over 400 charging hubs with more than 2,500 publicly accessible DC fast charging ports across the U.S. and Canada.
  • ChargePoint, Volvo Cars, and Starbucks announced a partnership to deploy 60 DC fast chargers at up to 15 locations along the 1,350-mile pilot route between Seattle and Denver to be completed by summer 2023.
  • General Motors, in partnership with FLO, has announced a collaborative effort with dealers to install up to 40,000 public Level 2 EV chargers in local communities by 2026 through GM’s Dealer Community Charging Program. The new charging stations will join the GM’s Ultium Charge 360 network, and will be available to all EV drivers.
  • Francis Energy, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based EV charge point operator, is expanding into 40 states in 2023, with plans to install 50,000 EV charging ports by 2030 in partnership with municipalities, auto dealers, Tribal Nations, and private businesses. Currently 75% of Francis Energy’s network is in Justice40 communities.
  • Forum Mobility, a zero-emission trucking solutions provider, recently announced a $400 million commitment to deploy over 1,000 DC fast-chargers. The charging infrastructure will serve the thousands of heavy-duty electric trucks projected to begin operating at the San Pedro and Oakland ports in California over the next decade. The community charging depots will create over 600 new union jobs in disadvantaged communities while reducing harmful emissions at the ports and along freight corridors.
  • Ford has committed to installing at least one public-facing DC Fast charger with two ports at 1,920 Ford dealerships by January 2024.

AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE FUTURE THAT IS MADE IN AMERICA

The Build America, Buy America implementation plan for EV charging equipment reflects the success of the Biden-Harris Administration at spurring new domestic investments in the manufacture of EV fast-charging equipment.  The rapidly-expanding industry is ramping up production to make high-quality, Buy America compliant chargers, creating good jobs and helping the Unites States strengthen its leadership in clean energy manufacturing.  That strategy will ensure that electric vehicle chargers purchased through the NEVI program will be assembled in the United States, effective immediately, and fully compliant with Build America, Buy America requirements for manufactured products by July 1, 2024 to support investments in the supply chain consistent with an aggressive expansion of domestic manufacturing.

Today’s announcement is a tool to promote domestic production. The Build America, Buy America requirements for EV charging equipment will help revitalize our manufacturing base. The phased approach to these requirements will incentivize companies to invest in domestic production of EV charging components, positioning U.S. workers and businesses to compete and lead globally while providing a transition period for companies to onshore their supply chains.  In order to meet the requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act, domestic manufacturing is ramping up aggressively.  The Office of Management and Budget’s new Made in America Office is working with agency experts, labor and industry to implement industrial strategy by incentivizing greater U.S. manufacturing in key sectors.

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.
  • Domestic assembly requirements for electric vehicle charging equipment will be effective immediately. This ensures that all electric vehicle charging equipment supported by federal funds supports American jobs and American technological leadership.
  • FHWA’s Buy America requirements will be effective immediately for EV charger enclosures and housing predominantly of steel or iron.  This means that all manufacturing processes for these enclosures, from melting and pouring through the final application of coatings, must occur in the United States. 
  • Beginning July 1, 2024, FHWA will require that the cost of components manufactured domestically for EV charging equipment must meet the Build America, Buy America Act’s requirement of at least 55 percent domestic content for manufactured products, consistent with an ambitious build out of this new industry.
  • In order to ensure that chargers installed during the bulk of the NEVI program are fully compliant with the requirement under the Build America, Buy America Act of 55 percent domestic content, any equipment that does not meet that standard must be installed no later than October 1, 2024.

Federal agencies and states are standing up processes to implement and track Made in America requirements to ensure that federally-funded infrastructure projects use American-made iron, steel, construction materials, and manufactured products. Our success in creating an EV charging equipment industry nearly from scratch demonstrates what Made in America policies can do to build a manufacturing base.

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.

MANUFACTURING BOOM

The Biden economic agenda has ignited a manufacturing boom.  Made in America requirements have already sent a strong signal to the market that federal dollars will be spent on products that are produced and sourced in the United States – and industry has responded. Since the President took office, companies have announced more than $100 billion in manufacturing investments for EVs, batteries and chargers.

A recent report found that private sector investment in EVs and related infrastructure in the United States is now surpassing China and other nations for the first time. Three years ago, there was little American footprint in the advanced EV charging industry. Now, producers are making investments to establish new headquarters, facilities, or production lines to build the next generation of EV chargers in the United States. For six of these companies, these investments represent their first U.S. manufacturing footprint.

Investments include:

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.
  • Tritium DCFC Limited, an Australian-based EV fast charger producer, held a grand opening in August for its first US-based factory, located in Lebanon, Tennessee. The facility will produce up to 30,000 DC fast chargers per year at peak capacity. Today, Tritium announced it will add more than 250 jobs to this facility, for a total of more than 750 cleantech jobs at the company’s Lebanon factory. Tritium is a participant in the White House Talent Pipeline Challenge, a nationwide initiative to create equitable job opportunities in growing industries.
  • Electrify America last year announced a new investment of $450 million into its charging network by Siemens, a global technology and electrification company, and Volkswagen Group. These investments will support the rapid deployment of up to 10,000 ultra-fast chargers at 1,800 charging stations, in the U.S. and Canada by 2026.
  • ChargePoint is expanding its partnership with SMTC Corporation to expand DCFC production, establish a manufacturing line for Level 2 chargers at their Milpitas, CA facility, and create approximately 250 new manufacturing jobs. The expanded facility will be able to produce 10,000 DCFC chargers and 10,000 Level 2 chargers by 2026.
  • Wallbox, a Spanish-based provider of EV charging and energy management solutions worldwide, opened its first North American manufacturing facility in Arlington, TX. The $70 million, 150,000 square foot facility has the capacity to produce over 250,000 units in 2023 and over one million in 2030, including its next-gen Hypernova DC Fast Chargers. The facility will support 250 high-paying jobs by 2025 and 700 jobs by 2030.
  • SK Signet, a South Korean-based EV charging company specializing in ultra-fast charging infrastructure, is building its first American manufacturing facility in Plano, TX. By 2026, SK Signet expects to be producing up to 10,000 DC Fast chargers annually and will support 183 highly-skilled jobs.
  • ADS-Tec Energy, a German-based provider of battery powered EV Charging stations, will invest $8 million in building its first U.S. facility to perform assembly, sales, warehousing, and servicing in Auburn, AL. The facility is expected to create more than 180 jobs.
  • EVBox, a Netherlands-based EV charging manufacturer, announced plans for its first North American headquarters and production facility in Libertyville, IL. The 60,000 square foot facility aims to produce around 200 units of DC fast charging per week – a level of production expected to create between 80-120 new jobs in the immediate region.
  • FreeWire announced a new 66,000 square foot global headquarters in Newark, CA, a $20 million investment that will focus on R&D and manufacturing of ultrafast EV charging equipment and more than 200 well-paying engineering and manufacturing jobs in electrification and clean energy across the community.
  • ABB E-Mobility recently commenced production of DC Fast Chargers from its new facility in Columbia, SC. This $4 million investment follows previous commitments to add 125 jobs across its operations at its Sugarland, Texas training center and Southern California product development and research facility.
  • Siemens has expanded its electric vehicle (EV) charging manufacturing footprint with the recent selection of Carrollton, Texas, to serve as its second U.S. EV charger manufacturing hub. This announcement builds on the more than $140 million Siemens has newly invested across its electrical products manufacturing sites in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Pomona, California, facilities that serve critical infrastructure markets and support union jobs.  The new facility, expected to be fully operational in Spring 2023. Siemens is also a partnering with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) by developing curriculum to ensure a skilled talent pipeline of American EV charger installation workers.
  • EverCharge, a provider of turnkey EV charging solutions, is opening a new 30,000 square foot production factory in Hayward, CA and plans to double its factory workforce by mid-2023. 
  • Lincoln Electric, long-time welding giant, has announced a new product line of DC fast chargers that leverages core manufacturing and engineering capabilities in power supply technology at its facility in Cleveland, Ohio.      
  • FLO, a North American EV charging network operator and smart charging solutions provider, announced a $3 million investment in its first U.S. assembly facility located in Auburn Hills, Michigan earlier this month. By 2028, the facility will help FLO bring 250,000 charging stations to American drivers, create, and support upwards of 730 jobs, and bolster Michigan’s economy by $76 million.
  • EdgeEnergy will be investing $150 million in the Ohio economy to build 3 phase power converters for DC Fast Chargers, adding 60 new manufacturing and engineering jobs over the next 24 months.
  • Blink will expand its Bowie, Maryland facility by 30,000sq ft, investing $49M over 10 years and create 60 new jobs to produce L2 Chargers. Additionally, in 2023, Blink will announce a new 200,000sq ft. manufacturing plant for DC fast chargers investing a total $156M over 10yrs, creating 160 new jobs. 

Other companies and networks are working to ensure EV chargers are well-maintained:

  • ChargerHelp! and SAE International’s Sustainable Mobility Solutions have announced a partnership to assist in the EV charging workforce development for the next generation of Certified Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) Maintenance Technicians. The EVSE Field Technician Program will certify skills needed by EVSE field technicians to diagnose, report and help repair technical components of the charging equipment, including hardware and software issues. Within the next two years, this national program will help more than 3,000 trainees from low-income, disadvantaged, typically underrepresented communities, and those transitioning from other industries reach these technology-forward jobs;
  • Mercedes-Benz USA and the Department of Labor announced a national partnership to create pathways for students from 16 to 24 years of age toward good-paying jobs as auto technicians, including potential employment with Mercedes-Benz.  Job Corps will now offer students opportunities to study high-voltage and electric vehicles, and training opportunities with high-voltage vehicles at the following campuses: Earle C. Clements Job Corps in Morganfield, Kentucky; Westover Job Corps in Chicopee, Massachusetts; Edison Job Corps in Edison, New Jersey; and Clearfield Job Corps in Clearfield, Utah.  The Job Corps network currently has 121 centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and,
  • Qmerit, a provider of Distributed Workforce Management solutions for EV charging and other electrification technologies in North America, plans to perform over 120,000 EV and electrification jobs at residential and mid-market commercial properties in 2023. This expansion builds on the more than 250,000 Level 2 charging systems and hundreds of thousands of related electrification technologies that Qmerit has installed to date. In addition, Qmerit will facilitate access to EVITP training and certification for its network of over 12,000 electricians through the Qmerit Resource Center. This platform helps grow a diverse and climate-conscious workforce by connecting small- and medium-size electrical contractors, more than 15% of which are minority and disadvantaged businesses, with individuals looking to begin or repurpose their careers in the electric and EV sectors.   

For more information on these announcements visit driveelectric.gov. See here for a
more comprehensive list of investments in EV charging in the United States.

White House.gov. 02/15/2023.

The YouTube is 36 minutes and 31 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.

Skipped tweets to put like with like…

President Biden: Look, folks, let’s be crystal clear about what’s happening. If you add up the proposals the Republican friends — my Republican friends have offered just so far, what they’ve of- — they’ve offered these now — it would add more than $3 trillion to the debt over 10 years. Three trillion dollars. When I introduce my budget a few weeks ago — a few weeks from now — you’ll see that what — I’ve made a commitment and I’ve kept it so far, and I’ll continue to keep it: No one making less than 400,000 bucks a year — and I don’t know a lot of people I grew up who made $400,000 — will not see a penny increase in their taxes. Not a penny. (Applause.) And you’ll see that my budget will invest in America, lower costs, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, cut the deficit by $2 trillion in 10 years.

President Biden: Because of you, my economy is working. It’s in stark contrast to our Republican friends who are doubling down on the same failed politics of the past: top-down, trickle-down economics. There’s not much “trickle down,” as I said, to most kitchen tables in America. I’m looking forward to that debate, because the debate — we’re going to debate with the facts.

President Biden: And right now, we all know — we all know — what we all know is that — to say you want to reduce the deficit, but their plans are going to increase the deficit by $3 trillion, based on what they introduced so far. So where are they going to cut? Are they going to cut Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act? Are they going to cut Social Security and Medicare? Veterans’ benefits? Aid to farmers? At the State of the Union, they seemed to say they’re not going to cut Social Security or Medicare. Well, okay, great. I hope that’s true. But how are they going to make these num- — numbers nadd [sic] up — add up?

President Biden: Look, the last two years, we’ve created 12 million new jobs. That’s more jobs than any President has created in four years. (Applause.) Twelve million new jobs. The unemployment rate is 3.4 percent. That’s a 50-year low. My first two years in office, we created 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. Eight hundred thousand. (Applause.) And where is it written that says America can’t lead the world again in manufacturing? Gas prices are down $1.60 a gallon, and they’re going to come down further from their peak. And inflation is coming down. Take-home pay for workers has gone up over the past several months. We got more to do, but, I’m telling you, the Biden economic plan is working because of you all. (Applause.) And I really mean it. And the IBEW workers here in Maryland and across the country are seeing it firsthand. I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment putting Americans to work rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.


From Brown.Senate.gov 02/14/2023:

Today, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023, whichwould increase taxes a publicly-traded company spends on buying back its own stock from one percent to four percent. This will help reinvest in the economy, while also preventing abuse and reducing tax avoidance, both of which are significant risks from stock buybacks. Brown and Wyden introduced this legislation following a record year for stock buybacks, which topped $1.2 trillion, and recent reports that stock buybacks continue to be a popular option for highly-profitable corporations. President Biden called for this increase in his State of the Union address, urging Congress to crackdown on wealthy tax cheats who exploit loopholes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

“Big corporations should never pay less in taxes than middle-class families. With the Inflation Reduction Act, we took the first steps to make sure corporations and Wall Street pay more of their fair share, but there is more work to do,” said Brown. “While corporations are raising prices to pad their profits and reward executives, Congress needs to do our part to hold them accountable.”

“It is not lost on the American people that corporate profits have climbed right along with the prices that families have been paying for groceries, rent, gas and other basics over the last few years. To see big multinational corporations announcing record stock buybacks benefitting their executives and wealthy shareholders at a time when so many families are feeling squeezed by inflation is simply offensive,” Wyden said. “Senator Brown has worked harder than anybody to ensure that big corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share, and that’s what this stock buyback proposal is all about. He and I wrote the bill last year that set the stock buyback tax at one percent, but it’s already clear that Congress needs to go further. We’re going to keep at it and pursue any opportunity to get this done.”

Brown and Wyden fought to include a version of their Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2021in the Inflation Reduction Act, which for the first time, imposed a one percent excise tax on corporate stock buybacks. This excise tax was in response to a 2017 tax law that delivered a massive tax windfall to wealthy corporations, leading to a record number of stock buybacks that enriched shareholders and CEOs instead of creating new jobs or raising workers’ wages. To curb this trend, the bill requires corporations to pay a tax on the total amount they spend on stock buybacks.

This legislation includes an improvement to rules for when a company buys back stock but then issues new stock, and it can generally reduce the amount of its buyback tax – this is referred to as the “netting rule.” One significant source of new stock issuance is stock compensation for employees, and this netting rule creates a small incentive to share stock with the employees of a company. But some companies may abuse the netting rule by increasing stock-based compensation packages to their wealthy executives, rather than sharing stock with their workers. To minimize this impact, this provision would exclude the stock compensation to the top executives and highest paid employees from the netting rule. A similar rule in the tax code already makes a portion of this compensation non-deductible.

In addition to Brown and Wyden, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) cosponsored the legislation.

Bill text is available HERE. 

Brown.Senate.Gov. 02/14/2023.

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About Tiff 2551 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.