President Biden’s public schedule for 08/25/2023:
| 10:00 AM | In-Town Pool Call Time The White House In-Town Pool |
| 10:15 AM Presidential Daily Brief | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing The White House Closed Press |
| 11:30 AM Leaves the White House | The President and The First Lady depart the White House en route to a public school, Washington, DC South Grounds In-Town Travel Pool |
| 12:00 PM Welcomes Back Students | The President and The First Lady visit a public school to welcome students back to school Washington In-Town Travel Pool |
| 12:45 PM Leaves School | The President and The First Lady depart a public school, Washington, DC en route to the White House East Room Pre-Credentialed Media & Pooled for TV |
| 1:00 PM Press Briefing | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Director of the Office of Public Engagement Stephen Benjamin James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
| 6:00 PM Remarks | The President delivers remarks at a reception to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law East Room Pre-Credentialed Media & Pooled for TV |
The White House posted…
The President and First Lady will mark the start of the school year by visiting students at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Washington, D.C. When President Biden took office, less than half of K-12 students were going to school in person. Today, thanks to the President’s swift actions and historic investments, every school in America is open safely for in-person instruction. Since Day One, President Biden has worked to help every school open safely for in-person instruction, accelerate academic achievement, and build communities where all students feel they belong. The actions the President has taken to support schools and the students they serve, include:
Securing the Largest Investment in Public Education in History to Help Students Get Back to School and Recover Academically: COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges for kids, from school closures to lost instructional time and social isolation from their peers. To support the immediate response and the long-term recovery work our students need, the President secured $130 billion through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to help schools safely reopen, stay open, and address the academic and mental health needs of students. American Rescue Plan funding has put more teachers in our classrooms and more counselors, social workers, and other staff in our schools; is providing high-quality tutoring; supporting record expansion of summer and after-school programming; supporting HVAC improvements within school buildings to address air quality and environmental and safety needs in aging school buildings; and providing a wide range of student supports. Compared with the pre-pandemic period, as of the end of last year school year, the number of public school social workers is up 39% and the number of public school nurses is up 30%. Nearly half of school districts using these funds to expand summer learning programs have shown clear gains in math. While we have further to go, we are seeing increased evidence of improvement, including several states returning to pre-pandemic levels of achievement on their state math and literacy assessments.
Expanding Access to Mental Health Support in Schools Across the Country: Students around the nation continue to grapple with mental health challenges. Rates of depression, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness were already on the rise, but unprecedented disruptions in their school and social lives in the past years, have exacerbated these concerns. That’s why the President named tackling the mental health crisis, particularly among America’s young people, a top priority. Last year, the President signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) into law last year as the first major federal gun safety bill passed in nearly 30 years. BSCA included historic levels of funding to address youth mental health, including $2 billion for ED to create safe, inclusive learning environments for students and hire and train more mental health professionals for schools – where students are most likely to receive these crucial services. ED has awarded $286 million to date across 264 grantees in 48 states and DC to support mental health services in schools – investments that are estimated to support more than 14,000 new mental health professionals in schools in the coming years. ED is also working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to further extend the reach of Federal mental health programs and investments into schools, and to leverage Medicaid funding to provide crucial health and mental health services at schools. Earlier this year, the Administration released comprehensive guidance to make it easier for schools to bill Medicaid, including proposing a rule that would streamline Medicaid billing permissions to deliver mental health services to students. The Administration also launched a technical assistance center to help schools take advantage of this crucial funding stream – which supported an additional investment of more than $6 billion in schools in 2022.
Expanding Community Schools that Improve Academic Success: Meeting the needs of the whole child is essential to help America’s students grow academically and improve their well-being. That’s why the President is committed to increasing and supporting the adoption of community school models across the country. Full-Service Community Schools leverage local non-profit, private sector, and public partnerships to bring wraparound services into school buildings, such as health services, and assistance with shelter and nutrition. Research has shown that these schools contribute to increased student attendance, on-time grade progression, and high school graduation. Because of the President’s commitment to this model, federal funding for this model has increased five-fold over the course of this Administration. While the program supported 170 schools before 2021 it is now reaching more than 1,700 schools serving almost 800,000 students. Additionally, agencies across the federal government have also identified the ways that additional resources can support the expansion of this model and further integrate wraparound supports into our schools.
Expanding Teacher and Staff Capacity by Bringing in Tutors and Mentors: To provide students with the support they need to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, the President issued a call to action to bring 250,000 more tutors, mentors and other critical supports into schools over three years. Last summer, the Department of Education (ED), AmeriCorps, and the Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center launched the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS), a public-private partnership to accomplish this goal. To support this effort, ED recently launched a call to action to colleges, encouraging them to devote a greater share of their Federal Work-Study funds to bring college students into K-12 schools as tutors and in other high-impact roles. Early adopters include more than two dozen colleges ranging from large public university systems, like the State University of New York, to Howard University and Hispanic-serving institutions. In the coming weeks, the NPSS will highlight progress towards the President’s goal during the 2022-2023 school year.
Growing an Effective Teacher and School Leadership Workforce: From February to May 2020, communities lost 730,000 local public education jobs during the pandemic—a 9 percent decline in local public education employment—including teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, and other critical staff. As of June 2023, local public education employment has increased by 635,000 jobs since its low point in May 2020. This significant rebound now means that there are now only 1.2 percent fewer individuals working in local public education than before the pandemic; this progress has been significantly fueled by investments in educators through the American Rescue Plan and other Administration investments. The President has prioritized building an effective, diverse teacher pipeline, including by expanding high-quality and affordable programs that prepare and support teachers, including teacher Registered Apprenticeships. Registered Apprenticeship can be an effective, high-quality “earn and learn” model that allows prospective teachers to earn their credential while earning a salary by combining coursework with structured, paid on-the-job learning experiences with a mentor teacher. The Administration has worked closely with States to grow the number of registered apprenticeship programs for teachers from 2 to 23, with bipartisan Governors across the country scaling this effective model. The Department has also advanced teacher diversity by including priorities focused on educator diversity in 14 grant programs, totaling over $470 million and funding; for the first time, funding a teacher preparation program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to help accelerate the pace of preparing teachers of color for America’s schools. The Department’s Raise the Bar Policy Brief highlights progress by states across the country, with the support of the Administration, in advancing key strategies to eliminate educator shortages in the long term.
Directing Resources to Historically Underserved Schools and Students: The President’s leadership has garnered substantial increases for Federal student support programs to meet the needs of historically underserved students. The President has secured a nearly $2 billion (or 11%) increase in Title I funds, which delivers critical resources to 90 percent of school districts across the Nation and helps them provide students in low-income communities with necessary academic opportunities and supports. Additionally, the President has secured a historic $1.3 billion (or 10%) increase in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds, which helps States support special education instruction and services for 7.4 million students with disabilities, and increased funding by $92 million for programs that support English learners. The Administration has also increased funding to support subpopulations of students, including Alaska Native Education and Native Hawaiian Education programs which have increased by over 20%.
White House.gov. 08/28/2023.
There is currently no live feed for his visit to Eliot-Hine Middle School; my guess is it will be treated like a pool spray, posted after it concludes.
Press Briefing:
Student Debt Relief Tweet
From Friday…
You can find information on the newly announced SAVE Plan, here, here, and here…
“Bidenomics” Tweets
From Friday…
The video clip is 3 minutes and 2 seconds long. Given my latest, I will not be providing a transcript.
From Saturday…
American Rescue Plan (03/11/2021).
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (11/15/2021).
Inflation Reduction Act (08/16/2022).
CHIPS and Science Act (08/09/2022).
Jobs report Friday is this coming Friday…
Women’s Equality Day Tweets
From Saturday…
His full statement:
One hundred years ago, a pioneering group of women proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which would definitively enshrine the principle of gender equality in the Constitution. Now, a century later, our fight continues to finish the job and codify women’s rights and gender equality once and for all.
White House.gov. 08/26/2023.
I have long supported the ERA since I first ran for public office – and it is long past time that we heed the will of the American people and make this Amendment the law of the land. No one should be discriminated against based on their sex—and we, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality. As we mark Women’s Equality Day, I continue to urge Congress to act swiftly to recognize ratification of the ERA and affirm the fundamental truth that all Americans should have equal rights and protections under the law.
The White House posted…
A Proclamation on Women’s Equality Day, 2023:
America is the only Nation in the world based on an idea — the idea that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives. We have never fully lived up to that idea, but we have never walked away from it either. On Women’s Equality Day, we honor the pioneering suffragists who persisted through decades of struggle to finally win American women the right to vote, and we celebrate the advocates and everyday heroes who have continued the long march for equality ever since. On this day, we recommit to delivering a better future for all of America’s daughters and for our Nation.
The 19th Amendment was certified 103 years ago, but more remained to be done — especially for women of color, many of whom fought for the right to vote for another four decades until the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. Today, women still face discrimination and threats to their health and safety, as well as gaps in pay, access to health care, and caregiving responsibilities. These gaps are often even greater for women and girls of color. Last year, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating a woman’s constitutional right to make fundamental decisions about her own body and putting women’s health and lives at risk. And we are facing new efforts to suppress the fundamental right to vote and undermine our democracy.
My Administration is committed to realizing the promise of the suffragists, who knew that equality begins at the ballot box and requires women to have a seat at the table. That is why we will keep fighting to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to ensure fair Congressional maps give all Americans an equal chance to be heard. It is also why I have delivered on my promise to build an Administration that looks like America — with courageous leaders like Vice President Kamala Harris and the record number of women who serve in our Nation’s first gender-equal Cabinet leading the way. I have also appointed more Black women to Federal appellate courts — including the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — than all prior Presidents combined. And I established the White House Gender Policy Council to advance gender equity and equality across all domestic and foreign policy.
Equality also means ensuring women’s economic security — and I am pleased that a majority of the record 13 million jobs we have added to our economy since I took office are held by women. We are working to ensure women have access to opportunities in sectors like manufacturing and construction, where women have long been underrepresented. I also signed an Executive Order to eliminate discriminatory pay practices and advance pay equity. I have fought for safe and healthy workplaces, including by signing into law long-overdue protections for pregnant, postpartum, and nursing workers. I signed an Executive Order with the most comprehensive set of actions ever to support caregivers and expand child- and long-term care, and we have made other historic investments in affordable child care while requiring firms that receive significant Federal dollars to ensure that high-quality child care is available so parents can actually take the new jobs that we are creating.
We have to ensure women’s physical safety as well. As a United States Senator, I wrote the Violence Against Women Act to not only change the laws but also the culture that had allowed the scourge of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence to persist in America. As Vice President and now as President, I have worked to reauthorize and strengthen that law, improving law enforcement training, increasing support for survivors, addressing online harassment and abuse, expanding services for LGBTQI+ survivors, and more. I have also pushed to improve our military justice system, signing into law and implementing bipartisan reforms to better prevent and respond to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence in the Armed Forces.
This year, we also mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment. It is long past time to definitively enshrine the principle of gender equality in the Constitution, and I will continue to fight for the Equal Rights Amendment as I have throughout my career. Together we can and must build a future where our daughters have all the same rights and opportunities as our sons, where all women and girls have a chance to realize their God-given potential, and where we can finally realize the full promise of America for all Americans. May we be a Nation worthy of the abilities and ambitions of our women and girls.
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 August 26, 2023, as Women’s Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate and continue to build on our country’s progress toward gender equality and to defend and strengthen the right to vote.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of August, 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. 08/25/2023.
Jacksonville Shooting Tweet
From Sunday…
His full statement:
On Saturday, our nation marked the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington — a seminal moment in our history and in our work towards equal opportunity for all Americans. But this day of remembrance and commemoration ended with yet another American community wounded by an act of gun violence, reportedly fueled by hate-filled animus and carried out with two firearms.
Yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida a white gunman went on a shooting rampage at a store near a Historically Black University and killed three Black individuals. While we still need to learn more about the motivation for Saturday’s shooting, law enforcement has opened a federal civil rights investigation and is treating this incident as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.
Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America. We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbor. Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent.
Jill and I are praying for the victims and their families, and we grieve with the people of Jacksonville.
White House.gov. 08/27/2023.
I have searched for better media via twitter than this, but at this point, I’m gonna go with it…
NBC News said in their updated thread that the victims were: Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19; and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29.
Vice President Harris issued the following statement:
On Saturday, as Americans marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a gunman armed with an assault-style rifle and handgun opened fire at a Jacksonville store just blocks away from a Historically Black University, taking the lives of three Black Americans.
Already, federal law enforcement has opened a civil rights investigation into this attack and is treating it as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.
As we allow that investigation to proceed, let us continue to speak truth about the moment we are in: America is experiencing an epidemic of hate. Too many communities have been torn apart by hatred and violent extremism. Too many families have lost children, parents, and grandparents. Too many Black Americans live every day with the fear that they will be victims of hate-fueled gun violence—at school, at work, at their place of worship, at the grocery store.
Every person in every community in America should have the freedom to live safe from gun violence. And Congress must help secure that freedom by banning assault weapons and passing other commonsense gun safety legislation.
Doug and I will keep the victims and their loved ones in our prayers.
White House.gov. 08/27/2023.
Condolences Tweet
From Sunday…
From the gifted article:
Three U.S. Marines were killed and five were in critical condition after an Osprey aircraft crashed in Australia during “routine” military exercises, the Marine Corps and authorities in the country said.
The aircraft was carrying 23 personnel when it crashed in a remote area of Melville Island, off the coast of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday local time, the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin said in a statement. The five injured Marines were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital.
Washington Post via Gift Article. 08/27/2023.
Show more =’s family.
60th Anniversary of the March on Washington Tweets
From Monday…
The shared video is 1 minute and 28 seconds long.
Remarks by President Biden at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial (10/21/2021):
President Biden:
In his sermon to the March on Washington, Dr. King called on all of America to live up to the full meaning and promise of our Declaration of Independence.
And so, they stand here in perpetuity, in timely and timeless conversation that inspires us and challenges us. It reminds us of how far we’ve come, where we need to go, and how far and how much longer the journey is. And it is a conversation that shapes our days and that we must carry forward.
White House.gov. 10/21/2021.
Vice President Harris (:30):
So, today, as a nation, we must summon our own power. As leaders, we must leverage our own power. And we all have a role to play, and the President and I are clear on ours: We are and we must be unwavering in this fight. And we must use our voice to call out any effort to obstruct justice — (applause) — and to call for justice everywhere.
[snip]
The history that is told here, because of this place, is now a part of their own.
[snip]
With their sweat, with their tears, and with their blood, the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and the coalition they built won the Voting Rights Act. These were young men and women. After all, we remember Dr. King was only 39 years old when he died.
[snip]
Remember — and Dr. King knew this — America is not defined by her perfection. America is defined by our commitment to perfecting. (Applause.) And in our nation, that will forever be the work forward.
White House.gov. 10/21/2021.
The White House posted…
Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris Regarding the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington:
Sixty years ago, nearly a quarter of a million people marched on Washington to demand jobs and freedom. They came from every corner of our country. Gathering on the National Mall, they listened as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., shared his dream of an America that lives up to its promise: A nation without segregation and discrimination, with opportunity and equality for all. They heard from a young student organizer, the great John Lewis, who spoke of the importance of fighting to secure the sacred freedom to vote.
The March on Washington was a call to action for our nation. In the years to come, inspired by the passion and purpose of that day, Americans secured the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other landmark victories in the fight for progress.
The March on Washington was historic, but it was neither the beginning nor the end of the movement for civil rights. The fight continued in the years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and the fight for civil rights continues today. Today, as extremist so-called leaders attempt to erase our history and roll back progress on voting rights, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ+ equality, Americans are fighting for justice and equity.
Today, sixty years after that historic day, let us rededicate ourselves to the fight for equity, opportunity, and justice. And let us continue to work to secure our most foundational freedoms: the freedom to vote, the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, and the freedom to live free from hate and violence.
White House.gov. 08/28/2023.
Emmett Till Tweet
From Monday…
Emmett Till was murdered on August 28th, 1955.
President Biden is incorrect on the number of years since the death of Emmett Till.
Six years ago Time posted a YouTube video that is 8 minutes and 18 seconds long. The story contains images captured of Emmett Till after his death. The images might be disturbing to some viewers. Emmett Till was 14 years old.
Hurricane Idalia Tweets
From Monday…
The White House posted…
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Florida Emergency Declaration:
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Idalia beginning on August 27, 2023, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
Mr. Brett H. Howard of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
White House.gov. 08/28/2023.
This is an Open Thread.
