It’s Friday Eve…
President Biden’s public schedule for 08/17/2023:
| 10:00 AM Presidential Daily Brief | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing The White House Closed Press |
| 10:30 AM | Out-of-Town Pool Call Time Joint Base Andrews Overhang Out-of-Town Pool |
| 11:25 AM Leaves the White House | The President departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews South Lawn Open Press |
| 11:45 AM Leaves Joint Base Andrews | The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Avoca, Pennsylvania Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool |
| 12:35 PM Arrives in Avoca, Pennsylvania | The President arrives in Avoca, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport, Avoca, PA Out-of-Town Pool |
| 12:55 PM Privately Pays Respects | The President privately pays respects to former Pennsylvania First Lady Ellen Casey in advance of a viewing St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, PA Closed Press |
| 2:10 PM Departs Avoca, Pennsylvania | The President departs Avoca, Pennsylvania en route to Hagerstown, Maryland Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport, Avoca, PA Out-of-Town Pool |
| 3:05 PM Departs Hagerstown, Maryland | The President departs Hagerstown, Maryland en route to Camp David Hagerstown Regional Airport Out-of-Town Pool |
| 3:15 PM Arrives at Camp David | The President arrives at Camp David Camp David |
6ABC.com reported on August 11th, that former First Lady of Pennsylvania Ellen Casey had passed away at the age of 91. Her husband Bob Casey Sr., was Governor of PA from 1987 to 1995.
President Biden issued the following statement:
On the many trips I’ve taken home to Scranton over the decades, one of the things I’ve looked forward to most was the chance to visit or talk with Ellen Casey – I truly loved her.
I’ve often said that everything important I learned in life I learned in Scranton and you didn’t have to look any further than Ellen Casey to know why. To spend just a few minutes with Ellen was to get a lifetime’s education in Scranton values. Honesty. Decency. Integrity. Character. They were non-negotiable. It was who you were. Kindness was not a sign of weakness – it was a sign of strength. And no one was more kind. Hard work was expected. Family always came first. But life was about serving others. Public service was a public trust – an opportunity to help others and change lives for the better.
She and Bob raised their eight children with those values, passing along a devotion to family and serving others.
Growing up just a few blocks from the big Irish Catholic Casey household on Washington Avenue, I admired them from a young age. I got to know Ellen as an adult when I became a Senator, and I came to respect her even more. I watched the resolute and loving support she offered her husband, Pennsylvania’s former governor. I saw the work as she did as First Lady in literacy and breast cancer. And later, I saw the extraordinary young man she raised, my friend Bobby, become one of the most effective and respected members of the United States Senate.
Ellen Casey lived a life of extraordinary dignity and grace. Jill and I will miss her dearly, never more so than on our trips back to Scranton. We’re grateful to her and Bob for giving the world so many wonderful children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, to carry on the Casey family legacy and values. Our hearts are with them today.
White House.gov. 08/14/2023.
From the White House…
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea for a trilateral leaders summit at Camp David on August 18, 2023. At the summit, the leaders will celebrate a new chapter in their trilateral relationship as they reaffirm their strong bonds of friendship and the ironclad alliances between the United States and Japan, and the United States and the Republic of Korea. The three leaders will discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and beyond – including to address the continued threat posed by the DPRK and to strengthen ties with ASEAN and the Pacific Islands. The summit will advance a shared trilateral vision for addressing global and regional security challenges, promoting a rules-based international order, and bolstering economic prosperity.
White House.gov. 07/28/2023.
‘Bidenomics”/Celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act Tweets
From Wednesday…
The YouTube is 31 minutes and 15 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
First, it’s taking the most aggressive action ever on climate energy — ever. I’ve long said — and I’ve — that’s why I think all the unions have come along. I’ve long said: When I think climate — not a joke — I think jobs. I think jobs. (Applause.) For real.
White House.gov. 08/16/2023.
Second, because the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re — we’re — we’re talking about lifesaving steps to reduce healthcare costs. It locks in place the lower healthcare premiums for millions of American families under the Affordable Care Act, saving them an average of $800 a year.
[snip]
This time, we finally beat Big Pharma. Medicare finally has the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, like the Department of Veterans Affairs has — had the power.
That’s not all. We’ve heard — you’ve heard — this was already spoken to: insulin. Companies pay — it costs — and, by the way, the guy who invented the insulin, he never patented it because he wanted it available for everybody. It never was patented.
And guess what? It costs 10 bucks to make. And if you use everything including packaging, it could be as high as 12 and a half dollars. Now those companies are charging 30 times that amount.
Now seniors on Medicare — and, by the way, it should be beyond seniors and Medicare, but I’ll come back to that at another time — were paying as much as $400 a month for insulin. And they’re now just paying 35 bucks a month.
We’re also capping total out-of-pocket expense for drugs for seniors on Medicare to $2,200 a year — $2,000 a year for even the expensive cancer drugs that could cost as much as $10-, $12-, $14,000 a year. Combine all the costs of their drugs, by 2025, they’ll never have to pay more than a total of $2,000 after 2025. (Applause.)
One — one in three — one in three seniors on Medicare is going to save an average of $400 a year. Seniors with the highest drug costs are going to save an average of $2,500 a year. And the Pharma companies are still going to do very, very well.
The laws require that drug companies will raise prices faster than inflation. If they do that, they’re going to have to pay the difference back to Medicare. That’ll create an incentive to keep prices from skyrocketing. And negotiating drug prices alongside other parts of the law will save the federal government $160 billon — reducing the cost of government by $160 billion.
It will lower the federal deficit because it means — what happens here is Medicare is going to be paying less for the prescription drugs they deliver to the American people. So, it not only lowers cost for the — for the person receiving the drug, it lowers the cost for taxpayers — lowers the cost for taxpayers.
White House.gov. 08/16/2023.
I made a commitment — and some thought it was too — too much of a commitment; it’s too high — that no one making less than $400,000 a year will pay a single penny more in federal taxes. It’s a commitment I’ve kept so far. And as long as I’m president, I will keep it.
Unlike the last president, in my first two years in office, we actually cut the federal debt — deficit by $1.7 trillion. You hear me? The first two years — we cut the debt [deficit] by $1.7 trillion. (Applause.)
White House.gov. 08/16/2023.
From Thursday…
And the law has already created an estimated 170,000 clean energy jobs in one year. It’s estimated that it will — it will — that will grow to 1.5 million more jobs over the next decade. First, it was one year. Now we’re talking about the decade.
White House.gov. 08/16/2023.
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).
Conservation Tweet
From Wednesday…
The video clip is 1 minute and 21 seconds long.
Remarks by President Biden on his Historic Conservation and Climate Action (08/08/2023):
From time immemorial, more than a dozen Tribal nations have lived, gathered, prayed on these lands. But some 100 years ago, they were forced out.
[snip]
Folks, our nation’s history is etched in our people and in our lands.
Today’s action is going to protect and preserve that history along with these high plateaus and deep canyons, majestic red cliffs over 300 million years old — older than the — the oldest dinosaur ever known; central to the creation stories of so many Tribal people and so many Tribal nations; fundamental to who we are, to their way of life, to their most sacred ceremonies. Ancestors are buried here, eternal sources of reverence and healing.
White House.gov. 08/08/2023.
[33 second mark]
As a simple proposition — I mean this is sincerely from the bottom of my heart — we decided we’re going to invest in America. (Applause.) *And this company is a great example.
They’re now poised to be the leader in the wind industry. But a few years ago, they were laying off workers because we weren’t investing in them. So we passed a significant climate legislation not only that moves us away from fossil fuels to cleaner technologies like wind, but it means we’re going to make things and new technology here in America. (Applause.)
[snip]
**They’re now poised to be the leader in the wind industry. But a few years ago, they were laying off workers because we weren’t investing in them. So we passed a significant climate legislation not only that moves us away from fossil fuels to cleaner technologies like wind, but it means we’re going to make things and new technology here in America. (Applause.)
*black and white text was taken out of order*
**the closed caption text says “we’re” when President Biden said “They’re”**
White House.gov. 08/09/2023.
Remarks by President Biden on the One-Year Anniversary of the PACT Act | Salt Lake City, UT (08/10/2023):
[1 minute and 1 second mark]
One year ago today, we met that sacred obligation when I signed — after fighting so damn hard for the PACT Act — to sign it into law. And I want to thank all the veterans organizations for helping make that happen, because it matters.
The PACT Act is one of the most significant laws ever signed to help veterans exposed to toxic materials and their — help their families recover as well as receive compensation.
[snip]
This is now the law. And let me give you an example of why it matters
White House.gov. 08/10/2023.
FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument (08/08/2023).
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act, 08/10/2022).
Maui Wildfires Tweet
From Wednesday…
Remarks by President Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act and Bidenomics | Milwaukee, WI (08/15/2023):
In the meantime — you always hear this phrase; and I’ve been to so many disasters in my career, it’s almost hollow — our prayers — our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Hawaii. But not just our prayers. Every asset — every asset they need will be there for them. And we be — we’ll be there in Maui as long as it takes. As long as it takes. And I meant that sincerely.
White House.gov. 08/15/2023.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that the death toll has risen to 111 people. Officials continue to caution that number is likely to rise in the coming days.
The President and First Lady will travel to Maui on August 21st.
This is an Open Thread.
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