Biden Bits: “Happy Halloween”…

October 31, 2023 12:00 pm EDT Tiff Biden Tweets (Open Thread) Comments Off on Biden Bits: “Happy Halloween”…
Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

It’s Tuesday…

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President Biden’s public schedule for 10/31/2023:

10:00 AMIn-Town Pool Call Time
In-Town Pool
1:00 PM
Press Briefing		Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:30 PM
Presidential Daily Brief		The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval OfficeClosed Press
3:30 PM
Remarks		The President delivers remarks on protecting Americans’ retirement security
State Dining Room Pre-Credentialed Media and Pooled for TV

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby @1:00 p.m. D.C., time:

From the White House…

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Announce New Actions to Protect Retirement Security by Cracking Down on Junk Fees in Retirement Investment Advice:

New proposal builds on Biden-Harris Administration’s work to eliminate junk fees and promote competition—a key pillar of Bidenomics

America’s families spend a lifetime saving so they can retire with dignity. But junk fees are chipping away at their savings, going to financial advisers with conflicts of interests instead of to American families, and making retirements less secure.

Right now, when a financial adviser provides retirement advice, they may be paid by the saver or by the firm who makes the investment product they recommend. Responsible retirement advisers deserve to be paid for their important work. But when a firm pays a retirement adviser more to recommend a specific investment product, that creates a conflict of interest that often leads to Americans selecting an investment product recommended to them that generates lower returns. And these conflicts of interest are meaningful: an adviser may receive a commission as high as 6.5 percent to recommend some insurance products. When the saver pays for advice that is not in their best interest, and it comes at a hidden cost to their lifetime savings, that’s a junk fee.

These costs add up. Requiring advisers to make recommendations in the savers’ best interest can increase retirement savers’ returns by between 0.2% and 1.20% per year. Over a lifetime, that can add up to 20% more retirement savings—potentially tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per impacted middle-class saver that could otherwise have been lost to junk fees. For example, advice rooted in conflicts of interest regarding the sale of just one investment product—fixed index annuities—may cost savers as much as $5 billion per year. This hurts workers, families, and the American economy.

That’s why today, as part of his broader Bidenomics agenda to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, President Biden is announcing that the Department of Labor will propose a new rule to close loopholes and require that financial advisers provide retirement advice in the best interest of the saver, rather than chasing the highest payday. This step would minimize junk fees in retirement products, promote competition, and protect American workers’ retirements. Specifically, the rule would:

White House.gov. 10/31/2023.
  • Close loopholes so that recommendations to purchase any investment product must be in the savers’ best interest. Under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Regulation Best Interest, advice to purchase securities like mutual funds must currently be in the saver’s best interest. However, the SEC’s authority and rule does not generally cover commodities or insurance products like fixed index annuities, which are often recommended to retirement savers. Instead, advice to purchase these insurance products is governed by state law, which often varies state by state. These inadequate protections and misaligned incentives have helped drive sales of fixed index annuities up 25 percent year-to-date. The proposed rule would ensure that retirement advisers must provide advice in the saver’s best interest, regardless of whether they are recommending a security or insurance product and where they are giving advice.
  • Cover advice to roll assets out of an employer-sponsored plan like a 401(k). Under the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA), the federal law governing retirement plans, advice that is provided on a one-time basis, such as advice to rollover assets from a 401(k) plan into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or annuity, is typically not presently required to be in the saver’s best interest. Yet, one-time advice is often the most important advice the retirement investor will ever receive and affects roughly 5 million savers per year who are rolling their money out of 401(k)s and into IRAs. There is real money at stake. In 2022 alone, Americans rolled over approximately $779 billion from defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, into IRAs. The proposed rule will close this loophole to ensure this advice is in the saver’s best interest.
  • Cover advice to plan sponsors about which investments to make available as options in 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored plans. When advisers make recommendations to plan sponsors, including small employers, about which investments to include in 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plans, that advice is not subject to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest and right now is not required to be in the customer’s best interest. Since most Americans primarily save for retirement through their employers, making sure the investments available to them are in their best interest is critically important.

The proposed rule builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to eliminate junk fees, putting cash back in the pockets of Americans. The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would ban businesses from charging hidden and misleading fees and require them to show the full price up front and a “click-to-cancel” rule making it as easy to sign up for a service as to cancel it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action to require large banks and credit unions to provide basic information to consumers without charging fees. The Department of Transportation has proposed several new rules that would lead to more transparent pricing by airlines and reimburse customers when there are significant changes to their flight.

Today’s announcement also builds on important actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to protect the retirement of hardworking Americans. In December 2022, President Biden signed SECURE 2.0 into law, which encourages more employers to offer retirement plan benefits to their workers and makes it easier for Americans to save. Additionally, as part of the American Rescue Plan, President Biden signed the Butch-Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act, which protects the pensions of 2 to 3 million workers.

White House.gov. 10/31/2023.

President Biden Delivers Remarks on Protecting Americans’ Retirement Security @3:30 p.m. D.C., time:


Artificial Intelligence EO/Big Tech Tweets

From Monday…

The YouTube is 22 minutes and 5 seconds long. Their full remarks can be found here.

One thing is clear: To realize the promise of AI and avoid the risks, we need to govern this technology, not — and there’s no other way around it, in my view.  It must be governed.   

That’s why we’re here today. 

White House.gov. 10/30/2023.

I’m about to sign an executive order.  An executive order that is the most significant action any government anywhere in the world has ever taken on AI safety, security, and trust. 

[snip]

With today’s executive order I’ll soon be signing, I’m determined to do everything in my power to promote and demand responsible innovation. 

White House.gov. 10/30/2023.

From Halloween:

The video clip is 27 seconds long.

The executive order, Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.

(The executive order is signed.)

[snip]

As artificial intelligence expands the boundary of human possibility and tests the bounds of human understanding, this landmark executive order is a testament to what we stand for: safety, security, trust, openness, American leadership, and the undeniable rights endowed by our Creator that no creator — no creation can take away, proving once again that America’s strength is not just the power of its example [example of its power] but the example of its power [power of its example]. 

White House.gov. 10/30/2023.

From the White House…

10/30/2023:

10/31/2023:


Investing in Rural America Tweet

From Monday…

From the White House…

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Visit Minnesota to Highlight Investments in Rural America, Lead Administration-Wide Rural Event Series

On Wednesday, November 1, President Biden will travel to Minnesota to lead his Administration’s Investing in Rural America Event Series. Over the course of two weeks, President Biden, Cabinet members, and Senior Administration Officials will barnstorm across the country to highlight how Bidenomics and the President’s Investing in America agenda are ensuring rural Americans do not have to leave their hometowns to find opportunity. The Administration’s investments, including climate smart agriculture, are bringing new revenue to farms, increased economic development in rural towns and communities and more opportunity throughout the country.

During the Event Series, President Biden and leaders across the Administration will travel to rural communities across the country that are benefitting from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This includes rural communities that are leveraging Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to support critical infrastructure such as high-speed internet, safe roads and bridges, modern wastewater systems, clean drinking water, and reliable and affordable electricity. This also includes rural communities that are expanding access to clean energy and lowering energy costs for rural Americans through the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. The Event Series will also highlight farmers benefitting from the climate-smart agriculture investments supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as American Rescue Plan funding that is strengthening local food systems, creating new and better markets opportunities, and enhancing competition for farmers. It will highlight how the Investing in America agenda has delivered for Tribal communities—from the American Rescue Plan, which made the largest infusion of federal funding into Indian Country ever to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which made the largest investment in Tribal infrastructure ever. Lastly, the series will highlight various efforts to improve the health care rural Americans receive at lower costs, and expand access to health care services in rural communities.

During the Event Series, the President and leaders across the Administration will showcase how investing in America means equitably investing in all of America – leaving no one behind.

As part of the Investing in Rural America Event Series:

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.
  • President Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will visit a family farm in Minnesota to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in rural America and efforts to support local farmers and communities.
  • Secretary Vilsack will also travel to Indiana to speak with FFA about opportunities for the next generation of agricultural leaders, as well as to Wyoming and Colorado to discuss how the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in Rural America, and helping protect and conserve our lands for future generations.
  • Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small will travel to Wisconsin and Michigan, to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to boost rural economic development and create new opportunities for rural families.
  • Secretary Haaland will travel to New Mexico to highlight rural water infrastructure investments from the Biden-Harris Administration and Colorado to highlight Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded projects to remediate abandoned mine lands in rural communities. She will also focus on rural investments during remarks at the Western Governors Association meeting in Wyoming.
  • Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm will travel to Arizona to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is making historic investments to upgrade the electric grid to deliver clean energy to rural communities across the Southwest and the entire United States.
  • Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough will travel to Iowa to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is supporting our nation’s veterans who live in rural communities by ensuring they have access to quality medical care.
  • Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tanya Bradsher will travel to Washington State and Oregon to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is improving access to health care for veterans in rural communities.
  • Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman will travel to Georgia, to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support rural small businesses, including loans for small businesses.
  • Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will travel to New Hampshire to highlight how community colleges are preparing rural Americans for good jobs in industries across the country, and how the Biden-Harris Administration is working to increase access to career pathways for more students and families.
  • Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra will travel to North Carolina to highlight the Administration’s efforts to deliver quality health care to rural Americans, including access to vaccines and support for substance use disorder.
  • Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su will travel to Pennsylvania to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is helping workers in rural America access good jobs, including union jobs, without having to leave their hometowns.
  • USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai will travel to Indiana to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support rural communities through international trade by ensuring that the benefits of trade reach farmers and producers.
  • Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman will travel to rural Southwest Georgia to speak about affordable housing and promote broadband connectivity for HUD-assisted families.
  • GSA Administrator Carnahan and Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta will travel to Kansas to tout the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to spur demand for lower-carbon construction materials, invest in American innovation, and create good-paying jobs.

The Investing in Rural America Event Series will focus on existing and new investments the Biden-Harris Administration has made to grow the economy from the bottom-up and middle-out, and to create opportunity for local producers, families, and communities. This includes:

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Creating New and Better Agricultural Markets to Increase Competition

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested $1 billion to expand independent meat and poultry processing capacity to give farmers more market options and fairer prices, and reduce reliance on a small handful of large meat and poultry corporations. These investments are also providing consumers with more choices and affordable prices at the grocery store. This is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain. USDA has awarded nearly $366.9 million to help more than 300 businesses build or expand new meat and poultry processing facilities in rural areas, or to help them achieve a federal grant of inspection so they can serve more customers.

To spur production of independent, American-made fertilizer, USDA has also made $900 million available through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, increasing innovative domestic fertilizer production, creating jobs in rural communities, and giving farmers more options. USDA has awarded more than $121 million in more than 30 projects to create a stronger, more sustainable fertilizer supply chain, helping mitigate increases in fertilizer costs caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture

The Biden-Harris Administration is helping farmers become more resilient in the face of climate change while sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, allowing them to tap into new revenue streams and market opportunities.  These investments are creating new income and opportunity to family farms. Through its groundbreaking Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative, USDA is investing more than $3.1 billion for 141 projects that seek to build and expand market opportunities for American commodities produced using climate-smart practices. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided a record $19.5 billion for USDA conservation programs, hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers will have the resources to apply practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting, and more to millions of acres of land. This has direct climate mitigation benefits and advances a host of other environmental co-benefits, in addition to offering farmers, ranchers and foresters new revenue streams.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Investing in Rural American Infrastructure

For far too long, critical infrastructure needs in rural communities have been ignored. Building on an initial investment provided by the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivers on the President’s promises to provide high speed internet, safe roads and bridges, modern wastewater systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, and good paying jobs in every rural community. A generational investment in rural America, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing billions of dollars to revitalize and rebuild rural communities across the country. This funding also represents the single largest investment in Tribal infrastructure ever. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $65 billion to ensure every American has access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment. That includes a $2 billion program at the Department of Commerce to invest in high-speed internet on Tribal lands. Since 2021, USDA has announced over $2 billion to 107 projects that will expand access to high-speed broadband to more than 300,000 people through its ReConnect Program, which provides the construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide high speed internet service in rural areas.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also provides an historic $8.25 billion investment to reduce wildfire risks for communities, better detect wildfires, and institute workforce reforms and landmark pay increases for federal wildland firefighters. Through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program USDA has awarded $197 million to 99 project proposals across 22 states and 7 tribes, which will assist with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks. USDA is also making $150 million available to help underserved and small acreage forest landowners connect to emerging voluntary climate markets. These markets can provide economic opportunities for landowners and incentivize improved forest health and management.

Additionally, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests billions of dollars to make sure rural families can get where they need to go, including through a $4.58 billion investment in Rural Area Formula Grants at the Department of Transportation. This program will support 1,300 rural transit systems by enabling them to purchase transit vehicles and infrastructure, plan transit more effectively, and fund operations. And $5 billion in funding over 5 years is supporting local initiatives to prevent roadway injuries and fatalities and make rural roads safer. This program benefits local communities and Tribes all across the nation and is a key part of DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, with a goal of reducing roadway fatalities to zero.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Delivering Clean, Reliable Water to Rural America

Too many communities in the United States are still living without the basics—including safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater systems. An estimated 2.2 million people in the U.S. lack basic running water and indoor plumbing in their homes. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s transformative $55 billion investment in our water and wastewater infrastructure will fundamentally change quality of life for millions of people in rural America by eliminating lead pipes, providing critical access to sanitation, ensuring access to affordable clean drinking water, and reducing drought. That includes a $3.5 billion investment in the Indian Health Service to build out a safe supply of drinking water, reliable sewage systems, and waste disposal facilities across Indian Country. EPA and USDA, in collaboration with the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, as well as the tribal nations of Santo Domingo Pueblo and San Carlos Apache, are working together on the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative to leverage technical assistance resources to help historically underserved communities identify and pursue federal funding opportunities to address their rural wastewater needs.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is also creating good-paying jobs cleaning up pollution in rural areas by investing $4.7 billion to plug, remediate, and restore dangerous orphan well sites across the country; nearly $11.3 billion to create good-paying jobs, including union jobs, and catalyze economic opportunity by reclaiming abandoned mine lands; and $1 billion to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country.

In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration is leading a whole-of-government effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and the ongoing megadrought by harnessing the full resources of the President’s historic Investing in America agenda. The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law together include $15.4 billion to enhance the West’s resilience to drought through water-saving projects and other conservation efforts.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Lowering Energy Costs and Strengthening the Grid

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act made nearly $13 billion available to support clean energy infrastructure for rural America through USDA Rural Development programs. The Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program is the largest increase in investment in rural America’s electric system since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act in 1936. It invests $9.7 billion to help member-owned rural electric cooperatives provide their communities with clean, reliable energy that is also affordable. The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program will fund new clean energy and energy storage projects to make it more affordable for rural Americans to use clean, reliable energy to heat and cool their homes, run their businesses, and power their cars, schools, and hospitals. The Rural Energy for America (REAP) program – which received a $2 billion boost through the Inflation Reduction Act – is also helping farms and small businesses invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements that will lower their energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resilience of their operations.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also invests billions of dollars to improve resilience, reliability, safety, and availability of energy in rural America. Last week, the Department of Energy announced nearly $3.5 billion through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to strengthen grid reliability and resilience across 44 states, including several major rural grid resilience projects. This funding is spurring private investment, bringing public-private investment to $8 billion to deliver affordable, clean electricity to all Americans and ensure that communities across the nation have a reliable grid that is prepared for extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis.

And, by expanding the availability of homegrown biofuels, the Biden-Harris Administration is also strengthening our energy independence while bringing good-paying jobs and other economic benefits to rural and farm communities. For example, up to $500 million from the Inflation Reduction Act is being made available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) to increase the availability of domestic biofuels and give Americans additional, cleaner fuel options at the pump. Through this funding, USDA has provided $25.8 million in grants to 59 projects.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Strengthening Local and Regional Food Systems

The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in local and regional food systems, which adds value for both agricultural producers and consumers, and spurs economic activity locally — helping communities that have been left behind by the current agricultural models and supporting good-paying jobs throughout the supply chain. USDA has helped created Twelve Regional Food Business Centers across the country that are providing coordination, technical assistance and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers and other food businesses reach local customers and navigate federal state and local resources. USDA is also investing up to $125 million to improve Tribal nations’ food and agriculture supply chain resiliency by developing and expanding value-added infrastructure related to meat from indigenous animals like bison, reindeer or salmon, and has announced a new, interagency pilot project aimed at offering more localized ground bison meat for Tribal communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). In addition, the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) is a $300 million effort through which USDA is offering tools to support farmers in transitioning to organic and build and strengthen organic markets so more farmers can participate. Improving Access to Health Care and Lowering Health Care Costs for Rural Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration is lowering health care costs for rural Americans and supporting access to high quality care in rural America.  Rural seniors are seeing lower drug costs, four states have expanded Medicaid since President Biden took office, reducing the risk of rural hospital closure by half, and the Administration continues to work to expand access to health care.  The Biden-Harris Administration has launched the new Rural Emergency Hospital designation to provide a new option to some struggling hospitals, and it is investing in training the next generation of health care providers to serve rural communities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also extended several grant opportunities to support rural communities, including $28 million to provide direct health services and expand infrastructure, $16 million to provide technical assistance to rural hospitals facing financial distress, and $161 million in awards for Emergency Rural Health Care grants – in an effort to help maintain access to health care services within rural communities. Lastly, recognizing the critical role nurses play in providing primary care, mental health and maternal health care services, particularly in rural areas, HHS announced more than $100 million in awards to address the increasing demand for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and nurse faculty.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

Partnering with Rural Communities to Create Jobs and Support Rural-led Economic Development

The Rural Partners Network (RPN) is transforming the way the federal government partners with rural communities to spur inclusive, sustainable economic growth. Launched in April 2022, RPN staff on the ground are now supporting 36 community networks in 10 states and Puerto Rico. Since its inception, USDA has awarded $831 million to 138 projects addressing critical infrastructure, economic development, and housing needs and more in RPN community networks. In addition, in February 2021, President Biden established the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization to identify and deliver resources to the coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities that have powered our country for generations. Since then, member agencies have helped drive nearly $18 billion in federal investment to these communities.

White House.gov. 10/29/2023.

UAW Tweet

From Monday…

His full statement:

I applaud the UAW and General Motors for coming together after hard fought, good faith negotiations to reach a historic agreement to provide workers with the pay, benefits, and respect they deserve. With this landmark agreement with GM, the UAW has now reached historic tentative agreements with all of the Big Three American automakers. This historic tentative agreement rewards the autoworkers who have sacrificed so much with the record raises, more paid leave, greater retirement security, and more rights and respect at work. I want to applaud the UAW and GM for agreeing to immediately bring back all of the GM workers who have been walking the picket line on behalf of their UAW brothers and sisters. 

This historic contract is a testament to the power of unions and collective bargaining to build strong middle-class jobs while helping our most iconic American companies thrive. The final word on these tentative agreements will ultimately come from UAW members themselves in the days and weeks to come.

White House.gov. 10/30/2023.

From the White House…

10/25/2023:

10/28/2023:

10/30/2023:


Australia U.S. State Visit Tweets

From Tuesday…

From the White House

10/25/2023:


Halloween Tweet

From Halloween…

The Hallo-READ YouTube is 22 minutes and 54 seconds long.
The Halloween event YouTube is 1 hour and 29 minutes long.


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About Tiff 2563 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.