Part of President Biden’s public schedule for Tuesday 05/16/2023:
| 9:30 AM | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing Closed Press |
| 1:45 PM Press Briefing | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
| 4:30 PM Remarks | The President, The First Lady, and The Second Gentleman deliver remarks at a celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month; The Vice President attends East Room |
Howard University Commencement Address Tweet
From Monday…
Remarks by President Biden at the Howard University Class of 2023 Commencement Address (05/13/2023)
The video clip is 1 minute and 31 seconds long.
President Biden:
I give you my word as a Biden: Class of 2023, you’re the reason I’m so optimistic about the future. And I give you my word, I really mean it. You’re part of the most gifted, tolerant, talented, best-educated generation in American history. That’s a fact.
[snip]
We know that American history has not always been a fairytale. From the start, it’s been a constant push and pull for more than 240 years between the best of us, the American ideal that we’re all create equal — and the worst of us, the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart. It’s a battle that’s never really over.
But on the best days, enough of us have the guts and the hearts to st- — to stand up for the best in us. To choose love over hate, unity over disunion, progress over retreat. To stand up against the poison of white supremacy, as I did in my Inaugural Address — to single it out as the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy. (Applause.)[snip]
To stand up for truth over lies — lies told for power and profit.
[snip]
I made it clear that America — Americans of all backgrounds have an obligation to call out political violence that has been unleashed and emboldened. As was mentioned already, bomb threats to this very university and HBCUs across the country.
[snip]
And it’s your generation, more than anyone else’s, who will answer the questions for America: Who are we? What do we stand for? What do you believe? What do we believe? What do we want to be?
White House.gov. 05/13/2023.
Debt Ceiling/Budget Fight Tweets
From Monday…
From Tuesday…
His budget can be found here.
The House passed H.R.2811–Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 on 04/26/2023.
The rest of President Biden’s public schedule for Tuesday 05/16/2023:
| 3:00 PM Meeting | The President meets with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Leader Chuck Schumer, Leader Mitch McConnell, and Leader Hakeem Jeffries Oval OfficeIn-House Pool Spray |
The Infrastructure Week Tweets
From Monday…
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
In Friday’s (05/12/2023) press briefing Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu said:
All of you may remember, but on November 15th, 2021, just a short 18 months ago, President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, a $1.2 trillion once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness.
We say “once in a generation” because it hasn’t happened in our lifetimes and, quite frankly, it may not happen again in the — in the near future.
As you know, this is a critical part of the President’s Investing in America agenda, which is growing our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
We’re making historic investments and delivering real results for working families across the country. This investment is not only creating good-paying jobs but it’s encouraging private investment, and it’s creating new belief and confidence in the idea that when we come together, we can actually do really big things in America.
While “Infrastructure Week” was a punchline under our predecessor, it is now a reality. And it is now, in fact, going to be a “Infrastructure Decade.”
Next week actually is Infrastructure Week, but now the difference is we’re in full progress. We’re breaking ground, we’re turning dirt, and we’re getting it done.
There is no way for us to get from work to home to our kids’ schools to our mosque, our synagogue, our church, to our playgrounds, to keep the economy humming, to get goods from our ships to shelves without good roads, bridges, airports, ports, and waterways.
There’s no way to keep our economy humming, to make sure that everybody in America has access to knowledge, to make sure that farmers have access to precision agriculture or people that live in rural areas have access to telemedicine if we don’t have access to high-speed Internet, which is why this bill also makes sure that that happens everywhere in the United States of America.
The President and the Vice President think that everybody in America has a right to clean air and safe water, which is why there are billions of dollars to make sure that we get lead out of the pipes; to make sure that we clean up abandoned mine lands; to make sure that we clean up orphan wells, superfund sites, and brownfield sites; to make sure that the Great Lakes are cleaned up and the Everglades and the coastal parts of America.
And then, finally, to get ready for the existential crisis that is upon us now, the climate crisis, we all need to prepare for a clean energy economy. That is why this $1.2 trillion bill is so critically important to the people of America. And that is why it was on the top of the President’s list.
We’re going to do this on time, on task, and on budget. We’re actually getting it done.
To date, we have announced over $220 billion in funding for over 32,000 projects, reaching over 4,500 communities in every state in the nation, all of the territories, and D.C. And today, we are launching a new map at Build.gov to showcase our progress not only for the 32,000 specific projects but for the major projects, highlighting all the signature projects in all of the states, territories, and in D.C.
Now, that’s a lot of projects and investments in a short period of time, so let me dig into some of the details and tell you what that really means.
Under President Biden’s leadership, we have begun repair on over six thou- — 69,000 miles of roadway, over 4,600 bridges. We’ve invested in over 3,000 new clean transit buses and school buses for our kids.
We have invested in hundreds of port projects, including 13 major port and waterway projects.
We’ve begun construction on hundreds of airports, including 70 that are already getting terminal upgrades across the country, and more.
Now, these projects, as you must imagine and have heard the announcements, grow by the week. Just take a look at the work that’s happening across the country as we speak.
In fact, today we’re breaking ground in New Haven, Connecticut, on the Walk Bridge, which runs from New Haven to Mount Vernon, New York — a crucial connector on the Northeast Corridor for the Metro-North Amtrak and freight lines.
Also today, the Corps of Engineers is breaking ground on the final phase of a $2.9 billion flood resilience project in Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area in North Dakota to better protect that major health, education, cultural, and commercial center from flooding.
Next week, the First Lady will be doing a Tribal broadband project kickoff in Alaska. We’ll also be announcing new funding awards for FEMA resilience grants, which are much needed. And I will break ground next week on $1 billion series of locks along the Mississippi River in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri with the Corps of Engineers, a critical project for our farmers and agricultural community as we move goods up and down the mighty Mississippi River.
Now, this is happening all across America, from coast to coast and in the Heartland and everywhere in between. All of you will recall, I hope with great fondness, that the President kicked off the new year at the Brent Spence Bridge on the Ohio-Kentucky border, where we’re investing a total of $1.6 billion for that existing bridge, and then we’re going to build a new one right next to it to relieve the congestion and improve travel time reliability on one of the most critical arteries of our nation’s supply chain. And we’re breaking ground on that project, actually, later this year.
We’re also seeing some early projects get started and actually get finished.
Just a few weeks ago, I was in San Diego at the West Mission Bay Bridge to celebrate the replacement of a 70-year-old bridge spanning the San Diego River. That was the largest project in the city’s history, and it’s going to transform the day-to-day commute of the folks that live in that area.
Now, as predicted by President Biden, our investments in infrastructure are motivating the private sector to manufacture and build things in America. We are in the midst of a “Made in America” manufacturing boom all across this country, and we have the receipts.
In fact, this administration’s investments have now driven over $470 billion dollars in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments, which are creating good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. And you have been read into all of those things.
In particular, there have been major new private sector announcements in electric vehicle charging; EV battery; rail, fiberoptic, and cable manufacturing since this infrastructure was signed just 18 months ago.
Now moving forward, our progress on infrastructure goes hand in hand with our economy’s trajectory. You see the foundation of a strong economy is literally our country’s infrastructure.
And as the President often says and reminds us: When we invest in America, when we invest in ourselves, we win.
So, “Infrastructure Week” is a punchline no more. It is here. President Biden and Vice President Harris have delivered.
Now, it’s Employee Appreciation Week, and so I would be remiss if I did not just take a minute to thank all of the folks that have made this possible. The President has always said, when we come together, we can do big things in America.
So, the President, the Vice President, all of the Cabinet members, all of the federal employees — we have 5,000 new of them who have been working on this project — the partnership with the mayors and the governors, the partnership with the business, the labor, the private sector, the faith-based community, and, of course, Congress have made this possible. The President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet have made over 300 trips to talk about this across the country.
And as the President often reminds us, this is what a one-team, one-fight mission looks like and why America can do big things when we come together.
So, 18 months in, we hit the ground running; we’re now seeing real, tangible progress. And now it’s time for us to finish the job.
Thank you all very much. I’ll be happy to answer questions that you might have.
White House.gov. 05/12/2023.
On Monday (05/15/2023), the White House released the following fact-sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Releases Updated Fact Sheets Highlighting Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Investments in all 50 States, D.C. and Territories
White House Underscores Progress through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda On First Day of Infrastructure Week and 18 Month Anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 18 months ago, the Biden-Harris Administration has hit the ground running to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. While “Infrastructure Week” was a punchline under his predecessor, President Biden is delivering an “infrastructure decade” that is producing real results to connect communities, create good-paying jobs, and boost American manufacturing.
As part of the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Administration has already announced over $220 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Lawfunding, including over 32,000 specific projects and awards, across over 4,500 communities in all 50 states, D.C., and territories.
Today, the White House released updated state by state fact sheets that highlight how across the country, the Biden-Harris Administration is rebuilding our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes to provide clean water, cleaning up legacy pollution, expanding access to affordable, high-speed internet, and ushering in a new era of clean energy.
In addition to announced funding to date, the fact sheets include key project highlights for all 50 states, D.C. and territories.
White House.gov. 05/15/2023.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- American Samoa
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Connecticut
- DC
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaiʻi
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Tribal Fact Sheet
- US Virgin Islands
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
President Joe Biden Op-Ed Tweet
From Monday…
USA TODAY (05/14/2023):
“America doesn’t have to be a place where our children learn how to duck and cover from a shooter, or scan a movie theater or restaurant for their exit options,” Biden wrote.
[snip]
Biden concluded with a message to Congress: “For God’s sake, do something.”
USA TODAY.com. 05/14/2023.
From the White House’s posting of the op-ed that matches President Biden’s tweet text:
Gun violence is mobilizing an entire generation of young people. But we cannot sit back and pass this problem off to the next generation to solve. If we wait, too many of them will never have the chance to grow up. They deserve better than that, as do all of the gun violence survivors and victims’ families asking Congress to do more.
White House.gov. 05/14/2023.
The full op-ed was shared in Monday’s Biden Bits.
This is an Open Thread.
