It’s Wednesday…
President Biden’s public schedule for 07/26/2023:
| 9:00 AM Presidential Daily Brief | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing The White House Closed Press |
| 1:00 PM Press Briefing | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
Press briefing:
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Tweets
From Tuesday…
The YouTube is 18 minutes and 29 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 7 minute mark. The transcript of the event can be found here.
President Biden:
At a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we’re making it clear — crystal, crystal clear –(applause) — while darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing. They can hide, but they erase nothing.
We can’t just choose to learn what we want to know. We have to learn what we should know. We should know about our country. We should know everything: the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a nation. That’s what great nations do, and we are a great nation. That’s what they do.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
President Biden:
But today, on what we’ve been — would have been Emm- — Emmett’s 82nd birthday, we add another chapter to the story of remembrance and healing.
Just as we joined together when I signed the law in his name to make lynching a federal crime — and think how long that took for that to happen — I mean — and we screened the movie “Till” at the White House — today, we join together as I sign a proclamation designating Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in both Illinois and in Mississippi. (Applause.)
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
Going off book as the above tweet text is only semi-related to his remarks.
The Vice President introduced Rev. Parker, Jr., so he could introduce President Biden. I will share a bit of her remarks and his opening remarks as I found them funny…
THE VICE PRESIDENT [snip]: And so, now it is my great honor to introduce a leader who has dedicated his life to preserving and protecting our history. And Reverend Wheeler Parker, Jr., just also shared with me that he and his wife will be celebrating this weekend their fifty- —
REVEREND PARKER: Sixth.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — -sixth anniversary of marriage. (Laughter and applause.)
Reverend Wheeler Parker, Jr. (Applause.)
REVEREND PARKER: In fact, we were married 56 years on Sunday. My wife say, “When we get to heaven, I’m going to say, ‘Lord, not up here too.’” (Laughter.) I see we have a whole lot of amens to that. (Laughter.)
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
From Monday…
The video clip is 1 minute and 19 seconds long.
Vice President Harris:
To our President, Joe Biden; members of Congress; the members of the Till family; and my fellow Americans: Today, we gather to remember our history.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
Rev. Parker, Jr.:
When I sat with my family on the night of terror — when Emmett Till, our beloved Bobo, was taken from us, taken to be tortured and brutally murder — murdered — back then, when I was overwhelmed with terror and fear of certain death in the darkness of a thousand midnights, in a pitch-black house on what some have called Dark Fear Road. Back then in the darkness, I could never imagine a moment like this: standing in the light of wisdom, grace, and deliverance.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
President Biden:
Just as we joined together when I signed the law in his name to make lynching a federal crime — and think how long that took for that to happen — I mean — and we screened the movie “Till” at the White House — today, we join together as I sign a proclamation designating Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in both Illinois and in Mississippi. (Applause.)
[snip]
At a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we’re making it clear — crystal, crystal clear –(applause) — while darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing. They can hide, but they erase nothing.
[snip]
And it’s up to all of us to deal with that, up to all of us to stop it. Up to all of us. The best way to do that is with the truth. It’s used in a different context, but I think it’s apply — applies here. Silence is complicity. I will not be silent, nor will you be silent about what happened. (Applause.)
[snip]
For only with truth comes healing, justice, repair, and another step forward toward forming a more perfect union. We got a hell of a long way to go.
[snip]
No, I mean, it’s just barbaric — barbaric what happened. And, seriously, all you moms out there, imagine the courage it took to say, “Let them see.” The courage. It’s now my honor to sign this proclamation in memory of Emmett Till and Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
Rev. Parker, Jr.:
I’m truly humbled by this honor. You see, I was born in Mississippi. I spent my early years as a sharecropper and was focused upon filling up a nine-foot sack — focused upon my quota, not making history. From the outhouse to the White House; from a time when we lived in fear to a time when President and Vice President gave us this great hope — kept their promise by delivering — this is what America means to me: promises made, promises kept.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
The Proclamation on Establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is too long to post in full.
Student Debt Relief Tweet
From Tuesday…
For some reason the Reuters article is freezing chrome. 🙄
But I did manage to find that the article is based on a Department of Education press release:
The Biden-Harris Administration today announced it will deliver $130 million in automatic relief to 7,400 students who enrolled at Colorado-based locations of CollegeAmerica between Jan. 1, 2006, and July 1, 2020. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) found that CollegeAmerica’s parent company, the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), made widespread misrepresentations about the salaries and employment rates of its graduates, the programs it offered, and the terms of a private loan product it offered. The Department used evidence provided by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who led a multi-year investigation and lawsuit against CEHE and its leadership. Borrowers will receive this relief regardless of whether they have filed a borrower defense to repayment application.
Today’s action is yet another result of the strong partnership between the Department and state attorneys general, whose investigations and lawsuits focused on wrongdoing by predatory schools, have helped deliver billions of dollars in relief to affected student loan borrowers. The Biden-Harris Administration has approved $14.7 billion in relief for 1.1 million borrowers whose colleges took advantage of them or closed abruptly. This includes giving hundreds of thousands of borrowers a fresh start from loans taken out at Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute. The Department also issued a new, stronger borrower defense regulation that gives borrowers a fairer path to a discharge when their college took advantage of them. Overall, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $116 billion in relief to over 3.4 million borrowers under President Biden’s leadership.
“This announcement means a clean slate for thousands of students hurt by CollegeAmerica’s widespread misconduct,” said the Department’s Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray. “The close partnership between the Department of Education and Attorney General Weiser’s office made this action possible. We will continue to work to deliver targeted student loan relief to borrowers whose schools take advantage of them.”
“I applaud the Department of Education for providing much-deserved relief to the many Coloradans who were mistreated by CollegeAmerica,” said Colorado Attorney General Weiser. “CollegeAmerica knowingly took advantage of students by luring them into high-priced, low-quality programs with promises of high-earning potential and job placement that it knew were not attainable. Protecting borrowers from predatory lending and helping Coloradans navigate through student loan burdens will continue to be a priority for our office.”
Starting in 2012, the Colorado Attorney General investigated the practices of CEHE and its leadership in that state, which culminated in a 2017 bench trial, and a judgment in favor of the state in 2020. The Department had more than 300 trial exhibits, including internal policies, procedures, and emails that CEHE provided to its accreditor, ACCSC. The Colorado Attorney General’s Borrower Defense application, which cited to the district court’s 2020 opinion, helped point the Department to the most relevant evidence. The Department also reviewed testimony given under oath from 40 witnesses during the trial, including experts, former students, and CEHE officials. The Department reached its conclusions based on its independent review of the Colorado evidence, as well as information from other borrower defense applications. The Colorado CollegeAmerica campuses stopped enrolling new students in 2019 and closed by September 2020. CEHE closed all its remaining campuses in August 2021.
Based on that evidentiary review, the Department concluded that CEHE engaged in the following pervasive and widespread misrepresentations over a multi-year period at the Colorado campuses of CollegeAmerica:
Ed.gov. 07/25/2023.
- From 2006 until 2020, CEHE prominently included in its admission and advertising materials that its graduates would earn high salaries. But the included data was misleadingly based on national averages. In fact, internal CEHE data showed Colorado CollegeAmerica campus graduates on average earned just $25,000 five years out of school, less than the salaries of high school graduates publicized by the school.
- From 2009 through 2012, and again in 2015, CollegeAmerica campuses in Colorado advertised inflated and falsified job placement rates of 70 percent, when internal figures showed the actual number was 40 percent. This included counting a business administration graduate working as a produce clerk and a medical specialties graduate working as a waiter as successful placements.
- From 2007 through 2017, CEHE falsely told students that its private loan product was “affordable,” when it knew that some years as many as 70 percent of CollegeAmerica borrowers enrolled in the Colorado campuses defaulted. Overall, more than 850 CollegeAmerica students had judgments filed against them by CEHE’s debt collectors.
- Starting in 2006 and continuing until 2014, CEHE lied to students of the Colorado CollegeAmerica campuses by telling them that it either offered certain programs or that a given offering would qualify the borrower for employment in a given field. For instance, from 2006 through 2012, CEHE claimed that a medical specialties program would allow students to obtain the certifications to become an X-ray technician, though the school did not even own any X-ray machines.
The Department will begin notifying eligible borrowers in August that they are approved for discharges. Borrowers will see any remaining loan balances zeroed out and credit trade lines deleted. Any payments they made to the Department will be refunded.
The Department invites more states to provide evidence of wrongdoing as Colorado did here to justify relief for students who were harmed. The borrower defense regulations that went into effect on July 1, 2023, include a specific process for states to use to submit group applications. The group application that state agencies and legal assistance organizations can use is available on StudentAid.gov.
Unwavering commitment to relief
Ed.gov. 07/25/2023.
The Biden-Harris Administration remains steadfast in its commitment to use all available tools to deliver promised relief to students, borrowers, and their families. Thus far, more than 3.4 million people have been approved for over $116 billion in loan discharges. The changes that the Administration has made include fixes to ensure that borrowers get relief promised by Congress through income-driven repayment programs, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and discharges for borrowers with a total and permanent disability. This month, the Department also initiated a rulemaking process aimed at opening an alternative path to provide debt further relief to as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible.
Mental Health Tweets
From Tuesday…
From Wednesday…
The YouTube is 26 minutes and 48 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 10 minute and 34 second mark. His full remarks can be found here.
President Biden:
But — and you were paying insurance every month. You know, you shouldn’t be your own — well, you shouldn’t have to do what you had to do, going through one of the hardest things in life.
[snip]
Today, my administration is announcing new steps to dramatically expand access to mental health care in America. Our plans would require health insurance plans to identify the gaps in the mental health care that they provide.
[snip]
Now insurance companies — now insurers are going to measure how often they require prior authorization and how often they deny those requests.
[snip]
And under the existing law, when facts reveal that mental health care is not being treated on par with physical healthcare, they would be required by law to fix it. Fix it, fix it, fix it. (Applause.)
[snip]
Folks, this mental health crisis is something we need to face together as a country. We have a moral obligation, in my view, to be there for each other, to reach out — reach to our neighbors in grief and stress and trauma and despair. Reach out to them to offer help or just a listening ear; to have the courage to ask for help when we need it. And it’s hard, because we know that even when it feels as dark as it can get, we aren’t alone. It’s important for people to realize they’re not alone.
That’s what I want everyone — that’s what I want for everyone in America: not to feel isolated and alone, to know their country has their back and their President has their back.
[snip]
Let me close with this. Many people will have to seek mental health care at some point in their lives. Whether you’re in a red state, a blue state, it doesn’t matter.
Mental health care can be life-changing and even lifesaving. For all those brave enough and strong enough to seek help — and I mean that — brave enough and strong enough to seek help, we have to do better. Together, I know we will.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Tweet
From Wednesday…
From the White House…
A Proclamation on Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2023
Thirty-three years ago, the Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — one of the most important civil rights laws in our history. Its tireless champion, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, celebrated with a speech on the United States Senate floor in American Sign Language. His remarks were not only a tribute to his brother, who was deaf, but a message to the millions of Americans with disabilities that, in this country, everyone is equal and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. I was proud to co-sponsor that landmark law back then, and I am proud to celebrate its lasting legacy with a renewed push for opportunity and justice today.
It is hard for younger generations to imagine a world without the ADA, but before it existed, if you were disabled, stores could turn you away and employers could refuse to hire you. Transit was largely inaccessible. America simply was not built for all Americans, but courageous activists pushed to change that. In 1973, the Congress passed the landmark Rehabilitation Act, banning discrimination by any federally funded entity. Then, 17 years later, a bipartisan group of legislators persevered in passing the ADA, banning discrimination against people with disabilities in most areas of public life, from the workplace and public schools to public transit and telecommunications.
The ADA has had a profound impact, but we still have much more work to do. Disabled Americans are still three times less likely to have a job; and when they do, they often earn less for doing the same work. Voting locations, transit, and public spaces are too often inaccessible. And we need to continue building a culture that not only protects disability rights but also celebrates disability pride.
My Administration has worked hard to build on the ADA’s foundation. Soon after I came into office, I signed an Executive Order advancing opportunities for people with disabilities in the Federal workforce; and we are helping State and local governments, employers, and nonprofits tap Federal funds to hire more Americans with disabilities as well. We ended the use of unjust sub-minimum wages in Federal contracts, and the Department of Labor is working around the clock to protect the rights of disabled workers. The Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services also developed guidance for emergency responders to better protect the rights of people with disabilities. And to ensure that every American has the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to vote, I signed an Executive Order directing agencies to make voter registration and information about voting resources more accessible.
We are also rebuilding our Nation’s infrastructure and making transit and public spaces more accessible. Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes our Nation’s biggest investment ever in accessible transit. This includes $1.75 billion to repair and improve accessibility in transit stations across America — including in some of our oldest and busiest railways. This historic investment also expands access to high-speed Internet, so millions of disabled Americans can work, study, and stay connected from home. The Department of Transportation is working to improve air travel for all, including for people who use wheelchairs. And the United States Access Board is developing new guidelines under the ADA that will improve the accessibility of sidewalks, streets, crosswalks, and other public rights of way.
We also know the isolation and loss of the pandemic hit the disability community especially hard. That is a big reason why we provided tens of billions of dollars to States to expand Medicaid — an essential lifeline for 21 million Americans, including many in the disability community. And last month, I worked with members of the Congress to reach a bipartisan budget deal that protects Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I also signed an Executive Order to improve jobs and support for caregivers and provide more care options for people with disabilities and their families. I continue to urge States that have not yet expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to at least cover residents who are currently locked out. And I call on the Congress to improve and expand home- and community-based services so more seniors and people with disabilities can live independently in their own homes.
The ADA is an essential foundation to this continued work -‑ a reminder that we can still do big things in America when we come together. For over 61 million disabled Americans, it is much more than a law — it is the key to equality, opportunity, and independence. And for our country, it is a testament to our character and commitment to keep pushing to finally realize the full promise of America for all Americans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 26, 2023, as the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I encourage Americans to celebrate the 33rd year of this defining moment in Civil Rights law and the essential contributions of individuals with disabilities to our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
From Wednesday…
From the White House…
Announces new proposed rule ahead of 33rd anniversary of the ADA that would improve online access to state and local services for nearly 50 million people with vision, hearing, cognitive, and manual dexterity disabilities.
For more than three decades, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been a driving force in moving America closer to the promise of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for the 61 million individuals with disabilities in our country. Because of the ADA and its protections against discrimination in public accommodations, employment, transportation, and community living, millions of people with disabilities have grown up with the promise of the same rights and chances as their peers without disabilities — and our communities, our economy, and our country are all stronger as a result.
Despite the important progress made under the ADA, many people with disabilities cannot access web or mobile-based state and local services—such as voter registration, filing taxes, applying for critical social services, accessing vital records, registering for vaccines, and taking online courses. This lack of accessibility has led unequal access to critical services for millions of Americans. As most services turned online during the pandemic, access disparities worsened. Deaf and hard of hearing people could not understand video messages from governors and mayors due to lack of captioning and American Sign Language interpretation. Community college students with certain disabilities, such as manual dexterity disabilities, could not properly navigate online course content.
That’s why tomorrow, in recognition of the 33rd Anniversary of the ADA, the Biden-Harris administration is taking new steps to strengthen the ADA and improve online accessibility to state and local services for the nearly 50 million people with disabilities with vision, hearing, cognitive, and manual dexterity disabilities.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
New Biden-Harris administration Rule to Improve Online Accessibility:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is proposing a new rule that would establish accessibility standards for state and local governments’ web and mobile app-based services. This proposed rule will better enable state and local governments to meet their ADA obligation to provide equal access to their services, programs, and activities for people with disabilities. The proposed rule suggests clear technical standards, like including text descriptions of images so people using screen readers can understand the content, providing captions on videos, and enabling navigation through use of a keyboard instead of a mouse for those with limited use of their hands. Clearer standards will both ensure that people with disabilities can access vital services and make it easier for states and localities to understand their ADA obligations.
The proposed rule will move us toward a more inclusive nation through equal access to crucial state and local services. It will help ensure that students with disabilities can access course content for the courses they enroll in, including higher level math and science. It will improve voter registration websites so that voters with disabilities can register independently. And it will help people with disabilities commute to work by helping them access bus and train information online.
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
Previous Administration Actions to Support People with Disabilities
Tomorrow’s announcement follows a series of historic investments through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to strengthen accessible infrastructure, provide affordable internet, expand access to health care, and increase access to educational and job opportunities for Americans with disabilities. And it builds upon the Administration’s broader agenda to achieve a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable country for people with disabilities. In the past year, the Administration has been:
White House.gov. 07/25/2023.
- Investing in Accessible Infrastructure
- Accessible Rail Stations. The Federal Transit Authority’s All Stations Accessibility Program, established by BIL, has awarded $686 million in funding to 15 projects in 9 states to increase the number of rail stations that meet or exceed ADA standards.
- Accessibility of Electric Vehicle Network. Last summer, the U.S. Access Board developed design recommendations for accessible electric vehicle charging stations, the foundation for ensuring access to new forms of transportation.
- Delivering Internet for All, including People with Disabilities
- Affordable Broadband. In June, the Department of Commerce announced $42.5 billion in grants to states to ensure everyone in American has affordable, reliable high-speed internet. This is especially important for people with disabilities who often rely heavily on the internet to access basic services.
- Communications Services for Incarcerated People with Disabilities. In September 2022, the Federal Communications Commission took action to expand access to telecommunications relay services and direct video communications for incarcerated people with communication disabilities.
- Accessibility of Virtual Meeting Platforms. On June 8, the Federal Communications Commission voted to require video conferencing platforms like Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams to incorporate accessibility like captioning and display of sign language interpreters.
- Supporting Community Living and Employment
- Care as Infrastructure. On April 18, the President signed an Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers. The Executive Order included more than 50 directives to agencies, including to expand home-based care for veterans with disabilities, improve pay for direct support workers, and ensure access to home and community-based services (HCBS).
- Transition from Education to Employment. The Department of Education (ED) is increasing employment among youth with disabilities through their Pathways to Partnerships Project, which will provide an estimated $224 million to improve pre-employment transition services for students through vocational rehabilitation, state and local education agencies, and centers for independent living.
- Nondiscrimination in Housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update its Section 504 regulation and invite public input on accessible design, websites and other technology, auxiliary aids, and services including assistive technologies.
- Expanding Access to Health Care
- Easier Enrollment in Medicaid. In August 2022, CMS issued a proposed rule that would reduce red tape and simplify applications, verifications, enrollment, and renewals for health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. This proposed rule will help ensure continuity of services for children and adults with disabilities and reduce paperwork.
- Access to Services at School. On May 18, HHS and ED took action to make it easier for schools to provide critical health care services, especially mental health services, for millions of students across the nation through a new regulation to streamline Medicaid billing protections at school and a comprehensive guide to billing Medicaid for schools.
- Reforming Public Charge. So that immigrants and their U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen family members can access important government services to keep their families safe and healthy, the Department of Homeland Security finalized a regulation on how it determines whether noncitizens are inadmissible to the United States because they are likely to become a public charge.
- Responding to COVID-19
- Improving Indoor Air Quality. The Administration continues to promote the importance of indoor air quality to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne diseases, protect against outdoor air pollutants such as smog and wildfire smoke, and decrease the number of environmental triggers for conditions like asthma and allergies. In May, CDC updated its guidance on ventilation in buildings to promote better indoor air quality.
- Addressing Long COVID. As announced last August, HHS will create an Office of Long COVID Research and Practice. This office will coordinate the whole-of-government response to the long-term impacts of COVID-19, as directed by the April 2022 Presidential memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19.
This is an Open Thread.
