President Biden‘s public schedule for Tuesday 03/07/2023…
| 10:15 AM | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing; The Vice President attends Oval Office Closed Press |
| 10:30 AM | In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 1:30 PM Press Briefing | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
President Biden has tweeted…
He’s posted 4 tweets so far for Tuesday…
I’m gifting the article even though I plan to share it in full; I’m doing that so I can link back to the source. Which will be my tweet…
His full opinion piece:
Millions of Americans work their whole life, paying into Medicare with every working day — starting with their first job, even as teenagers. Medicare is more than a government program. It’s the rock-solid guarantee that Americans have counted on to be there for them when they retire.
For decades, I’ve listened to my Republican friends claim that the only way to be serious about preserving Medicare is to cut benefits, including by making it a voucher program worth less and less every year. Some have threatened our economy unless I agree to benefit cuts.
Only in Washington can people claim that they are saving something by destroying it.
The budget I am releasing this week will make the Medicare trust fund solvent beyond 2050 without cutting a penny in benefits. In fact, we can get better value, making sure Americans receive better care for the money they pay into Medicare.
The two biggest health reform bills since the creation of Medicare, both of which will save Medicare hundreds of billions over the decades to come, were signed by President Barack Obama and me.
The Affordable Care Act embraced smart reforms to make our health care system more efficient while improving Medicare coverage for seniors. The Inflation Reduction Act ended the absurd ban on Medicare negotiating lower drug prices, required drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if they increase prices faster than inflation and capped seniors’ total prescription drug costs — saving seniors up to thousands of dollars a year. These negotiations, combined with the law’s rebates for excessive price hikes, will reduce the deficit by $159 billion.
We have seen a significant slowdown in the growth of health care spending since the Affordable Care Act was passed. In the decade after the A.C.A., Medicare actually spent about $1 trillion less than the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected before the A.C.A. reforms were in place. In 2009, before the A.C.A., the Medicare trustees projected that Medicare’s trust fund would be exhausted in 2017; their latest projection is 2028. But we should do better than that and extend Medicare’s solvency beyond 2050.
So first, let’s expand on that progress. My budget will build on drug price reforms by strengthening Medicare’s newly established negotiation power, allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs and bringing drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch. That’s another $200 billion in deficit reduction. We will then take those savings and put them directly into the Medicare trust fund. Lowering drug prices while extending Medicare’s solvency sure makes a lot more sense than cutting benefits.
Second, let’s ask the wealthiest to pay just a little bit more of their fair share, to strengthen Medicare for everyone over the long term. My budget proposes to increase the Medicare tax rate on earned and unearned income above $400,000 to 5 percent from 3.8 percent. As I proposed in the past, my budget will also ensure that the tax that supports Medicare can’t be avoided altogether. This modest increase in Medicare contributions from those with the highest incomes will help keep the Medicare program strong for decades to come. My budget will make sure the money goes directly into the Medicare trust fund, protecting taxpayers’ investment and the future of the program.
When Medicare was passed, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans didn’t have more than five times the wealth of the bottom 50 percent combined, and it only makes sense that some adjustments be made to reflect that reality today.
Let’s ask them to pay their fair share so that the millions of workers who helped them build that wealth can retire with dignity and the Medicare they paid into. Republican plans that protect billionaires from a penny more in taxes — but won’t protect a retired firefighter’s hard-earned Medicare benefits — are just detached from the reality that hardworking families live with every day.
Add all that up, and my budget will extend the Medicare trust fund for more than another generation, an additional 25 years or more of solvency — beyond 2050. These are common-sense changes that I’m confident an overwhelming majority of Americans support.
MAGA Republicans have a different view. They want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. That means they want to take away the power we just gave to Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Get rid of the $35 per month cap for insulin we just got for people on Medicare. And remove the current $2,000 total annual cap for seniors.
If the MAGA Republicans get their way, seniors will pay higher out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs and insulin, the deficit will be bigger, and Medicare will be weaker. The only winner under their plan will be Big Pharma. That’s not how we extend Medicare’s life for another generation or grow the economy.
This week, I’ll show Americans my full budget vision to invest in America, lower costs, grow the economy and not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. I urge my Republican friends in Congress to do the same — and show the American people what they value.
New York Times Opinion Piece by President Biden. 03/07/2023.
This morning the White House posted the following fact-sheet; The President’s Budget: Extending Medicare Solvency by 25 Years or More, Strengthening Medicare, and Lowering Health Care Costs
The President’s FY 2024 Budget will lay out President Biden’s plan to invest in America, lower costs for families, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and reduce the deficit.
Millions of Americans have been working their whole lives, paying into Medicare with every working day, and want to know that they can count on Medicare to be there for them when they turn 65. The President’s Budget extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by at least 25 years. It achieves these gains with no benefit cuts—indeed, while lowering costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
White House.gov. 03/07/2023.
Extending Medicare Solvency
The proposals in the President’s Budget would extend the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund by at least 25 years, the Medicare Office of the Chief Actuary estimates. While the most recent Medicare Trustees Report projected that the HI Trust Fund would be insolvent in 2028, the President’s Budget would extend solvency at least into the 2050s.
The Budget extends the life of Medicare by:
White House.gov. 03/07/2023.
- Modestly increasing the Medicare tax rate on income above $400,000. The Budget proposes to increase the Medicare tax rate on earned and unearned income above $400,000 from 3.8 percent to 5 percent. Since Medicare was passed, income and wealth inequality in the United States have increased dramatically. By asking those with the highest incomes to contribute modestly more, we can keep the Medicare program strong for decades to come.
- Closing loopholes in existing Medicare taxes and dedicating the Medicare net investment income tax to the HI Trust Fund. High-income people are supposed to pay a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on all of their income, but some high-paid professionals and other wealthy business owners have managed to shield some of their income from tax by claiming it is neither earned income nor investment income. The Budget would ensure that Medicare taxes apply to incomes over $400,000 per year, without loopholes. It would also dedicate the revenue from the Medicare net investment income tax to the HI Trust Fund, as originally intended.
- Crediting savings from prescription drug reforms to the HI Trust Fund. Building on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which gave Medicare the authority to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs, the Budget strengthens this newly-established negotiation power by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs and bringing drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch. It also strengthens the IRA requirement that drug companies pay rebates to Medicare when they increase prices faster than inflation by extending this rule to commercial health insurance. The Budget credits the savings from these additional prescription drug reforms, amounting to $200 billion over 10 years, to the HI Trust Fund.
Lowering Costs for Beneficiaries
Not only does the President’s Budget extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund without benefit cuts, it does so while lowering costs for beneficiaries in key areas.
White House.gov. 03/07/2023.
- Lower out-of-pocket costs for drugs subject to negotiation. By reducing prices for high-cost drugs, the Budget’s expansion of Medicare drug negotiations will not only save money for the federal government, it will also cut beneficiary’s out-of-pocket costs by billions of dollars.
- $2 cost-sharing for generic drugs for chronic conditions. The Budget proposes capping Part D cost-sharing on certain generic drugs, such as those used to treat chronic conditions like hypertension and high cholesterol, to $2 per prescription per month.
- Lowering behavioral health care costs in Medicare. The Budget eliminates cost-sharing for three mental health or other behavioral health visits per year and requires parity between physical health and mental health coverage in Medicare. It also requires coverage and payment for new types of Medicare providers, such as peer support workers and certified addiction counselors, and evidence-based digital applications and platforms that facilitate delivery of mental health services, while removing unnecessary limitations on beneficiary access to psychiatric hospitals.
White House fact-sheet; The Congressional Republican Agenda to Increase the Debt by Over $3 Trillion (02/15/2023)…
Remarks @ the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference (03/06/2023)…
President Biden: And that’s why, as senator –- (applause) — I fought for the Public Safety Officers Benefit Program and helped strengthen it. As President, I signed legislation extending those benefits to firefighters who are permanently disabled and to families of firefighters who die after experiencing trauma like PS- — PTSD on duty. You see so much. You see so much, God love you. I’m not sure how you do it. Because your families make the sacrifice they make every day right along with you, when you put on that uniform or when they may be in the area where you may be working out of, and they hear that alarm go off, they hear that siren go off, they wonder. They wonder not just who, in fact — who, in fact, is in trouble, but are you going to be coming home — are you going to be coming home.
President Biden: When you respond to a fire, you don’t — you don’t leave until the fire is out. Well, I’m telling my colleagues: Don’t leave until we finish the job. We got more to do. I’m determined to finish the job.
Remarks Commemorating the 58th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday (03/05/2023)…
The video is 1 minute and 44 seconds long.
Narrator: This Alabama town will go down in the history books as a turning point in the civil rights drive. From the halls of Congress to the smallest crossroads hamlet. People can understand the plea that no America can have freedom and justice unless there is freedom and justice for all. In Selma, there is a lesson to be learned.
Video cuts away to President Biden’s remarks @ the 21 second mark.
President Biden: On this bridge of her beloved Selma, they were called to the altar of democracy, unsure of their fate but certain that the cause was righteous. So she would go on to say, quote, “You can never know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been.” We know where we have been. (Applause.)
President Biden: No matter how hard some people try, we can’t just choose to learn what we want to know and not what we should know. We should learn everything — the good, the bad, the truth — of who we are as a nation. And everyone should know the truth of Selma.
President Biden: Six hundred believers put faith into action to march across that bridge named after the Grand Dragon of the KKK. They were on their way to the state capitol in Montgomery to claim their fundamental right to vote laid in the bedrock of our Constitution but stolen by hate harbored in too many hearts. With unflinching courage, foot soldiers for marched — for justice marched through the valley of the shadow of death, and they feared no evil. The forces of hate conspired to demise, but they endured. They forced the country to confront the hard truths and to act to keep the promise of America alive.
President Biden: The right to vote — the right to vote and to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it, anything is possible. Without it — without that right, nothing is possible.
President Biden: Silence — as the saying goes: Silence is complicity. Now, I promise you my administration will not remain silent. I promise you. (Applause.)
President Biden: And, my fellow Americans, on this Sunday of our time, we know where we’ve been and we know, more importantly, where we have to go: forward together. So let’s pray, but let’s not rest. Let’s keep marching. Let’s keep the faith.
When the post was posted for Monday, President Biden had tweeted 1 time. He added 7 tweets giving him a Monday Tweeting Total of 8 tweets and 0 retweets.
Remarks from Virginia (02/28/2023)…
President Biden: If you get rid of the Affordable Care Act, it would mean that more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions would lose the critical protections they have now. The only reason people with preexisting conditions, who don’t have private insurance, are able to pay is because they have the Affordable Care Act. (Applause.) But, by the way, if they cut the Affordable Care Act, millions could lose free preventive care, like cancer screenings. Millions could lose basic services, like maternity care, which insurers would no longer have to cover.
Remarks @ the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference (03/01/2023)…
President Biden: Nearly 25 percent of the entire national debt, which took over 200 years to accumulate — nearly 25 percent was added by my predecessor in four years. Twenty-five percent of the 200-year debt. When you add it all up, all the proposals our MAGA Republican friends have offered so far, it would actually add another $3 trillion over the debt over the next 10 years if they stick with what they saying. So, folks, look, you know, they’re sure not acting like the party that cares about fiscal responsibility. Because the truth is, if you look at their record, it’s clear they’re not the party who cares about fiscal responsibility, especially not when they’re threatening our economic recovery by manufacturing a crisis over whether we’re going to pay our debts — our 200-year accumulated debt.
White House fact-sheet; The Congressional Republican Agenda to Increase the Debt by Over $3 Trillion (02/15/2023)…
Congressional Republican leaders insist that the national debt is among our nation’s greatest challenges, and reducing it is among their highest priorities. In fact, they claim that reducing the debt is so urgent it warrants endangering the entire U.S. economy through debt limit brinksmanship. But their legislative agenda to date points in a very different direction—with proposals that would increase the debt by over $3 trillion.
White House.gov. 02/15/2023.
From the Department of Commerce (02/28/2023)…
The Biden-Harris administration through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology today launched the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity for manufacturing incentives to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, support good-paying jobs across the semiconductor supply chain, and advance U.S. economic and national security.
As part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, the Department of Commerce is overseeing $50 billion to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry, including $39 billion in semiconductor incentives. The first funding opportunity seeks applications for projects to construct, expand or modernize commercial facilities for the production of leading-edge, current-generation and mature-node semiconductors. This includes both front-end wafer fabrication and back-end packaging. The department will also be releasing a funding opportunity for semiconductor materials and equipment facilities in the late spring, and one for research and development facilities in the fall.
“The CHIPS and Science Act presents a historic opportunity to unleash the next generation of American innovation, protect our national security and preserve our global economic competitiveness,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “When we have finished implementing CHIPS for America, we will be the premier destination in the world where new leading-edge chip architectures can be invented in our research labs, designed for every end-use application, manufactured at scale and packaged with the most advanced technologies. Throughout our work, we are committed to protecting taxpayer dollars, strengthening America’s workforce and giving America’s businesses a platform to do what they do best: innovate, scale and compete.”
The CHIPS and Science Act is part of President Joe Biden ’s economic plan to invest in America, stimulating private sector investment, creating good-paying jobs, making more in the United States, and revitalizing communities left behind.
CHIPS for America also today released a “Vision for Success,” laying out strategic objectives building on the vision Secretary Raimondo shared in her speech last week at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. To advance U.S. economic and national security, the department aims to reach the following goals by the end of the decade: (1) make the U.S. home to at least two new large-scale clusters of leading-edge logic chip fabs, (2) make the U.S. home to multiple high-volume advanced packaging facilities, (3) produce high-volume leading-edge memory chips, and (4) increase production capacity for current-generation and mature-node chips, especially for critical domestic industries. Read more about these goals in the Vision for Success paper here.
The first funding opportunity details the application process and outlines how the department will evaluate applications, including a primary focus on how projects advance U.S. economic and national security. Applications will also be evaluated for commercial viability, financial strength, technical feasibility and readiness, workforce development, and efforts to spur inclusive economic growth. Starting today, the department strongly encourages all potential applicants, including those for future funding opportunities, to submit statements of interest so it may gauge interest across the semiconductor ecosystem and begin preparing for application review. Read more about the application and evaluation process here.
Awards will take the form of direct funding, federal loans and/or federal guarantees of third-party loans. Awards are designed to complement — not replace — private investment and other sources of funding, and applicants are strongly encouraged to bring capital to the table. CHIPS for America awards will be made as soon as applications can be rigorously evaluated and negotiated.
Applicants are also encouraged to claim the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (Investment Tax Credit) administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. The Investment Tax Credit is a federal income tax credit for qualifying investments in facilities manufacturing semiconductors or semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a critical component of the suite of incentives provided by the CHIPS and Science Act. The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury are coordinating closely on CHIPS funding and the Investment Tax Credit to ensure these incentives work together to further the administration’s economic and national security goals. The Department of the Treasury expects to publish guidance on the Investment Tax Credit in March, in addition to forthcoming Department of Commerce guidance on national security guardrails.
Key priorities that will guide the CHIPS for America program include:
NIST.gov. 02/28/2023.
- Catalyzing Private Investment: CHIPS for America aims to spur private capital and investment, not replace it. CHIPS for America seeks to attract significant private capital and to create viable, scaled projects that advance U.S. economic and national security. The department also encourages applicants to create ecosystems of suppliers, customers and workforce training organizations that will make investments self-sustaining. Read more here. [1 page pdf; Funding Opportunity – Commercial Fabrication Facilities FACT SHEET: Catalyzing Private Investment]
- Protecting Taxpayer Dollars: CHIPS for America will be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, using safeguards to ensure that companies receiving funding hold up their end of the bargain. The department will conduct extensive due diligence to ensure it provides the minimum amount necessary to incentivize investment. In addition, the department will evaluate applications based on the extent of the applicant’s commitments to refrain from stock buybacks, and it will require recipients of more than $150 million in direct funding to share with the U.S. government a portion of any cash flows or returns that exceed the applicant’s projections above an established threshold. Awards will be disbursed over time and tied to applicants meeting agreed-upon commitments and milestones. Read more here. [2 page pdf; Funding Opportunity – Commercial Fabrication Facilities FACT SHEET: Protecting U.S. Taxpayers]
- Building a Skilled and Diverse Workforce: Recruiting, training and retaining a large, skilled and diverse workforce will be critical to strengthening the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. Companies seeking CHIPS funding will be required to submit workforce development plans for the workers who will operate their facilities and the workers who will build them, including plans to meet the Department of Commerce’s and the Department of Labor’s Good Jobs Principles. Applicants requesting over $150 million in direct funding must also submit plans to provide both their facility and construction workers with access to affordable, accessible, reliable and high-quality child care. In addition, applicants are strongly encouraged to use project labor agreements for construction projects. Read more here. [ 5 page pdf; Funding Opportunity – Commercial Fabrication Facilities FACT SHEET: Building a Skilled and Diverse Workforce (child care information starts at page 4).
- Engaging With U.S. Partners and Allies: The department will coordinate with international allies and partners to support a healthy global semiconductor ecosystem that drives innovation and is resilient to a range of disruptions, from cybersecurity threats to natural disasters and pandemics. This includes coordinating government incentive programs, building resilient cross-border semiconductor supply chains, promoting knowledge exchange and collaboration on future technologies, and implementing safeguards to protect national security. Read more here. [1 page pdf; Funding Opportunity – Commercial Fabrication Facilities FACT SHEET: Engaging with U.S. Partners and Allies]
- Driving Economic Opportunity and Inclusive Economic Growth: CHIPS for America is committed to building strong communities that share the prosperity of the semiconductor industry. The department will look at whether applicants commit to future investments in the U.S. semiconductor industry, support R&D programs, and create opportunities for minority-owned, veteran-owned, women-owned and small businesses. Applicants will also be assessed based on whether they demonstrate environmental responsibility and invest in their community. Read more here. [1 page pdf; Funding Opportunity – Commercial Fabrication Facilities FACT SHEET: Spurring Regional Economic Development and Inclusive Economic Growth]
Read more about CHIPS for America and the first funding opportunity:
- Secretary Raimondo’s CHIPS for America Speech
- Vision for Success Paper
- Application Process and Evaluation Fact Sheet
- Private Investment Fact Sheet
- Taxpayer Protection Fact Sheet
- Workforce Development Fact Sheet
- International Engagement Fact Sheet
- Economic Opportunity Fact Sheet
CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for manufacturing incentives, and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, responsible for the R&D programs, that both sit within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST is uniquely positioned to successfully administer the CHIPS for America program because of the bureau’s strong relationships with U.S. industries, its deep understanding of the semiconductor ecosystem, and its reputation as fair and trusted. Visit www.chips.gov to learn more.
NIST.gov. 02/28/2023.
Remarks from the Medal of Honor Ceremony (03/03/2023)…
President Biden (tweet text): I wish I could say that this story of Paris’s sacrifice on that day in 19- — in 1965 was fully recognized and rewarded immediately. But sadly, we know they weren’t. At the time Captain Davis returned from war, the country still battling segregation. He returned from Vrietnam [sic] — Vietnam to experience some of his fellow soldiers crossing to the other side of the street when they saw him in America. And although the men who were with him on that June day immediately nominated Captain Davis to receive the Medal of Honor, somehow the paper- — the paperwork was never processed not just once, but twice.
The video snip is 2 minutes and 19 seconds long.
President Biden: And although the men who were with him on that June day immediately nominated Captain Davis to receive the Medal of Honor, somehow the paper– — the paperwork was never processed not just once, but twice. But you know what Captain [Colonel] Davis said after learning he would finally receive the Medal of Honor? Quote, “America was behind me.” “America was behind me.” He never lost faith, which I find astounding. He never stopped believing in the founding vision of our nation — the vision that Lincoln kept alive 158 years ago and a vision Paris fought to defend 58 years ago. This vision for a more perfect Union, one where all women and men are created equal.
At the 27 second mark the video cuts away from President Biden’s remarks to show video of him meeting Colonel Davis.
President Biden: Colonel. God love ya.
Colonel Davis: Well thank you for–
President Biden: I’m so happy to see you.
Colonel Davis: Well after the conversation we had, I thought I knew all about all of this–should be a movie.
President Biden: God, you are a movie man.
Colonel Davis: I don’t know about all that.
At the 40 second mark the video cuts away from the meeting to President Biden sitting behind a desk.
President Biden: President of the United States of America, authorized by an act of Congress, March 3rd, has awarded tin the name of the Congress the Medal of Honor to Captain Paris D. Davis, United States Army. With pleasure. [He signs the document] And I’m going to give you the Presidential pen.
At the 1 minute and 1 second mark the video cuts back to his official remarks at the ceremony.
President Biden: You know, in the early hours of June 18th, 1965, and his — Captain — then-Captain Davis and his team, with three other Green Berets, were wrapping up a job well done. And together, they’d just finished a 10-mile march through the night to support a company of South Vietnamese soldiers on their first combat mission: a raid against the Viet Cong, thick in the jungle of Bồng Sơn. The raid was a success. But as the sun began to rise, the men heard that haunting sound ring out: a bugle. A bugle. A sure sign of a counterattack. Within minutes, the jungle lit up with enemy fire. Hundreds of Viet Cong began to swarm Captain Davis and his team, pinning them down in a rice paddy with no cover.
President Biden: But this time, the rescue helicopter — by this time, the rescue helicopter had landed. Captain Davis’s commander gave him a direct order: “Get on board.” Davis’s response was just as direct. “Sir,” he said, “I’m just not going to leave. I still have an American out there.”
President Biden: And nearly 20 hours — nearly 20 hours later — after that bugle first rang, Captain Davis saved — had saved each one of his fellow Americans. Every single one.
President Biden: Paris, you are everything this medal means. I mean everything this medal means. And look, you’re everything our generation aspired to be. And you are everything our nation is at our best: brave and big hearted, determined and devoted, selfless and steadfast. American. American.
Remarks @ the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference (03/06/2023)…
President Biden: The overwhelming human instinct is to run away from danger, but when the bell rings, you run toward it, no matter what.
Remarks @ the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference (03/06/2023)…
President Biden: That’s why — that’s why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration convened a multiple-agency panel to draft better standards to protect folks like you, to protect all the rest of it — who protect the rest of us. They’re on track to propose an updated rules this fall.
President Biden: In my first months as President, I invested $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan to help states and cities keep firefighters on the job during the pandemic. Cities like Tampa, Dallas, Tulsa, Knoxville used the funding for premium pay, new fire and rescue vehicles, extra staff during peak times. The law also increased federal firefighting grants by $300 million, paying for hundreds of emergency response vehicles; thousands — thousands of sets of turnout gear — and there’s so much we have to do; critical cancer research; and putting more local firefighters in the field.
Remarks @ the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference (03/01/2023)…
President Biden: I ran for President — literally, not figuratively — to build the economy from the middle out and the bottom up. Not a joke. I was so sick and tired of talking about trickle-down economics.
This is an Open Thread.
