It’s Monday…
21 SLEEPS UNTIL #CHRISTMAS!
— Your Christmas Countdown (@christmas_clock) December 4, 2023
🕒 https://t.co/08kJVAWqc2 🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/Hp2kWb5UOO
President Biden’s public schedule for 12/04/2023:
| 10:00 AM | In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 12:15 PM Presidential Daily Brief | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing; The Vice President attends Oval Office Closed Press |
| 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 |
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby @1:00 p.m. D.C., time:
World Aids Day Tweet
From Friday…
On World Aids Day we remember the progress we've made and recommit ourselves to finishing the fight, remembering those lost along the way.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
We can eliminate HIV transmission.
We can get the epidemic under control in the U.S. and beyond.
Together, we can save lives. pic.twitter.com/OGROhzApyU
From the White House…
11/30/2023:
A Proclamation on World AIDS Day, 2023:
On World AIDS Day, my message is simple: Let us finish the fight.
Since recognizing the first World AIDS Day 35 years ago, we have made enormous progress in preventing, detecting, and treating HIV — greatly reducing annual HIV diagnoses and transmission. But despite these advancements, about 39 million people continue to live with HIV, including more than one million people in the United States. Far too often, people living with HIV face discrimination that prevents them from accessing the care they need. So, as we reflect on our progress today, we must also come together to renew our promise to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
At home, my Administration has taken historic steps to achieve this goal. During my first year in office, I reestablished the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and launched a new National HIV/AIDS Strategy — a roadmap for using innovative community-driven solutions to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States by 2030. This year, my Administration also ended the disgraceful practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood. We continue to work with State and community leaders to repeal or reform so-called HIV criminalization laws, which wrongly punish people for exposing others to HIV. I have asked the Congress for $850 million for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative to aggressively reduce new HIV cases, fight the stigma that stops many people from getting care, and increase access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — a critical drug that can help prevent the spread of HIV.
We are also focused on ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat worldwide by 2030 under the bipartisan President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR has reduced transmissions, expanded testing, and saved more than 25 million lives in over 50 partner countries over the last two decades. Further, PEPFAR is focusing on forging a future where every HIV infection is prevented, every person has access to treatment, and every generation can live free from the stigma that too often surrounds HIV. My Administration is committed to working with the Congress to pass a clean PEPFAR reauthorization bill to extend this lifesaving bipartisan program for 5 years and end HIV/AIDS by 2030.
We are within striking distance of eliminating HIV-transmission. We have the science. We have the treatments. Most of all, we have each other. On this 35th World AIDS Day — let us honor all the families who have lost a loved one to this disease and all the people currently living with HIV/AIDS. Let us remember the activists, scientists, doctors, and caregivers who have never given up in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Let us recommit to finishing this fight — together.
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 December 1, 2023, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the United States and its Commonwealths and Territories, the appropriate officials of all units of government, and the American people to join the HIV community in activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support, dignity, and compassion to people with HIV.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of November, 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. 11/30/2023.
12/01/2023:
FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration’s Efforts to End HIV/AIDS At Home and Abroad:
On this 35th commemoration of World AIDS Day, we remember those we have lost to HIV/AIDS and commit to accelerating our efforts to fight the disease and support those with and experiencing risk for HIV. The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to implementing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and achieving the bipartisan goal of ending the HIV epidemic domestically and globally. This year, the Administration also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest commitment by any nation in history to fight a single disease.
The global community, including the U.S., is making progress toward eliminating HIV transmission, but we must accelerate these efforts. In too many communities, barriers to comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment limit awareness, access, and engagement in HIV services by priority populations with or most at risk of HIV. In addition, HIV-related criminalization, stigma, and discrimination continue to undermine the effective use of tools to reduce HIV transmissions to our 2030 goals.
Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of community, state, and federal partners, we are making important progress toward the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and the PEPFAR Strategy goals. Recent data that indicate that:
White House.gov. 12/01/2023.
- New HIV infections in the U.S. have declined in recent years, after a period of general stability. Estimated annual new HIV infections were 12% lower in 2021 compared to 2017—dropping from about 36,500 infections to about 32,100.
- Overall, in 2022, 36% of the 1.2 million people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it, compared to 23% in 2019, though significant racial/ethnic and gender disparities persist.
- Nearly 90% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving HIV medical care in 2022 reached viral suppression, significantly higher than the 69.5% in 2010.
- Over the course of its 20 years, PEPFAR saved 25 million lives and enabled 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV.
- Across 55 countries, PEPFAR supports lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for more than 20 million people.
Over the past year, the Administration has taken action to:
Accelerate Our Domestic HIV Efforts
- Releasing the NHAS Interim Action Report. On December 1, 2023, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released the 2022 NHAS Interim Action Report, highlighting work done by federal and community partners to energize and invigorate our collective national work to end the HIV epidemic and ensure that no population or region is left behind.
- Implementing the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated EHE in 2019 to provide a targeted infusion of funds and resources to populations and regions with the greatest need. EHE advances innovative, community-driven solutions that leverage scientific advances in HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outbreak. It also works to address racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities. Increasing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage is one of the key prevention strategies outlined in the EHE initiative. Among many EHE accomplishments, in October 2023, CDC published preliminary data on PrEP coverage indicating that in 2022, for the first time, more than one-third of people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP had been prescribed it. Further, HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program awarded more than $17 million in EHE–Primary Care HIV Prevention Awards to 46 health centers to expand access to PrEP and other HIV prevention services that decrease the risk of HIV transmission in underserved communities.
- Requesting unprecedented investments to end the HIV epidemic. In his FY2024 budget proposal, President Biden requested $850 million to aggressively reduce new HIV cases by increasing access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment and supporting research initiatives implemented in the U.S. and worldwide. The budget included funding for domestic HIV activities across multiple agencies, a boost in funding for the EHE initiative, and proposals for a national PrEP delivery program to improve PrEP access for Medicaid beneficiaries.
Respond to HIV/AIDS Globally
Over the last 20 years, PEPFAR has supported more than 55 countries worldwide, saved more than 25 million lives, enabled 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free, and prevented millions of new HIV infections, all while strengthening global health and economic security. The Administration has taken action over the past year to build on that impact, including by:
White House.gov. 12/01/2023.
- Building on 20 years of lifesaving impact. When PEPFAR was announced by President George W. Bush in 2003, an AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence, with only 50,000 of the more than 4 million people across Africa who needed life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment receiving it. To date, PEPFAR has saved more than 25 million lives and prevented millions of new HIV infections. PEPFAR’s flagship Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) program, which has reached millions of adolescent girls and young women, has played a major role in reducing new HIV infections across 55 countries PEPFAR supports. In FY23, PEPFAR supported more than 71 million people with HIV testing services and 1.95 million people to newly enroll in antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an increase of 30 percent over FY22. In addition, PEPFAR directly supported more than 327,000 health workers to deliver HIV-related prevention, treatment and supportive services in FY23, building on its longstanding investments to support and train health workers around the world. Based on modeling data based on FY23 results in 12 high-disease burden countries, PEPFAR projects that it will prevent at least 5.2 million AIDS-related deaths and 6.4 million new HIV infections (including 1 million new infections among children), as well as prevent more than 4 million children from being orphaned due to AIDS between 2024 and 2030.
- Leveraging PEPFAR’s strong programmatic base. On August 1, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD), which brings together the strong PEPFAR programmatic base with the State Department’s diplomatic depth and experience to further progress toward control of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and address other global health security threats. Longstanding PEPFAR investments in creating sustainable health systems to respond to HIV/AIDS have enabled PEPFAR and partner countries to respond quickly and effectively to cholera, COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1 influenza, tuberculosis, and other health threats.
- Sustaining U.S. global leadership. For more than 20 years, PEPFAR has enjoyed strong bipartisan support and has been one of our nation’s most profound, transformational investments. The United States has invested more than $110 billion since 2003 in the global HIV/AIDS response through PEPFAR and the multilateral Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The United States held a historic Global Fund Replenishment in 2022, helping to raise over $15.7 billion in pledges. To achieve the goal of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the Biden-Harris Administration supports a clean, five-year PEPFAR reauthorization.
Address HIV Stigma and Discrimination
- Following the science. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its blood donor eligibility guidance, ending longstanding discriminatory policies that excluded gay and bisexual people from donating blood while maintaining appropriate safeguards to protect recipients of blood products. Further, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps updated its medical standards to accept future applicants with chronic hepatitis B and HIV, expanding eligibility for those who want to serve their nation in uniform as a Public Health Service Officer.
- Affirming the U=U message. HHS continued to affirm the federal government’s commitment to “undetectable=untransmittable” (U=U) messaging, meaning that people with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load will stay healthy and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative sexual partners. For example, CDC updated language for clinicians on treatment as prevention to reference U=U; SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) published a nearly $21 million notice of funding opportunity to increase HIV services in existing substance disorder treatment programs, including incorporating U=U messages into communication strategies. HHS continued implementing “I am A Work of ART,” a community-informed campaign to encourage people with HIV to seek care, stay in care, and achieve viral suppression through antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Ensure Equity
- Diversifying PACHA membership. President Biden added 13 new members to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), representing the full diversity of the HIV epidemic, to share their knowledge and help further inform our HIV response. Membership includes people with HIV, clinicians, advocates, and leaders of national organizations such as Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. and NMAC (formerly the National Minority AIDS Council.)
- Engaging with the HIV community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and HRSA co-sponsored a series of regional town hall listening sessions to collaborate with the community to address longstanding HIV-related disparities and reach NHAS and EHE goals. PACHA also held numerous PACHA-to-the-People community engagement sessions, and federal leaders visited EHE jurisdictions and participated in virtual town halls and discussions with people with lived experience of HIV, community-based organizations, state and local health departments, HIV advocates, and others.
- Advancing equity for marginalized and underserved Americans. To mark Pride Month 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to protect LGBTQI+ communities from attacks on their rights and safety. These include launching a new LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership, strengthening resources for LGBTQI+ youth, and shielding LGBTQI+ Americans from book bans threatening their rights. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the posting of a proposed National Coverage Determination for FDA-approved PrEP to ensure PrEP access for those for whom cost-sharing and deductibles are barriers to this highly effective HIV prevention tool.
- Improving health outcomes for people aging with HIV. With funding from the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund (MHAF), HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) and Administration for Community Living (ACL) organized the Innovations for Needs of People Aging with HIV/Long-term Survivors in Urban Communities Challenge and the $500,000 Rural HIV and Aging Challenge to support innovative efforts aimed at improving health outcomes for people aging with HIV and long-term survivors, particularly among racial and ethnic minority and LGBTQI+ populations. In addition, HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) launched the Aging with HIV Initiative to support and evaluate groundbreaking interventions that seek to improve the well-being of people with HIV ages 50 and older served by RWHAP.
- Promoting the equality, dignity, and safety of transgender Americans. Transgender women are an NHAS priority population due to the disproportionate impact of HIV on this population. In honor of Transgender Day of Visibility, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new steps to support transgender communities, including issuing a landmark report on ways to support and affirm LGBTQI+ youth, especially transgender youth, and issuing guidance on gender inclusion in the workforce. These efforts build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s other historic work to advance equality for transgender Americans since taking office.
Support and Treat People at Risk for “Syndemic” Conditions
- Facilitating the linkage of HIV services to harm reduction programs. The NHAS calls for integrated programs to address the interacting or “syndemic” conditions of HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, and substance use and mental health disorders, including by facilitating the linkage of HIV services to evidence-based harm reduction programs. HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published its Draft Harm Reduction Framework, the first document to comprehensively outline harm reduction and its role within HHS. Among many strategies, the Framework calls for health hubs that offer integrated HIV, viral hepatitis, and healthcare services for people who use drugs. The Biden-Harris Administration has identified harm reduction as a federal drug policy priority.
- Supporting people affected by HIV during the mpox public health emergency. While anyone can get mpox, CDC research shows that about 40% of people diagnosed with mpox in the U.S. also have HIV. The Biden-Harris Administration focused on expanding mpox vaccination for at-risk individuals and making testing more convenient for healthcare providers and patients nationwide. HHS provided resources on ways communities can stay protected from mpox in advance of the summer months and worked with LGBTQ+ community partners in late winter 2022 and early Spring 2023 to motivate actions to prevent mpox during Pride festivals and events. NIH also launched the STOMP trial to determine whether the antiviral tecovirimat can safely and effectively treat mpox.
- Implementing new approaches to preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs). CDC developed draft guidelines on using STI post-exposure prophylaxis with doxycycline (Doxy PEP) to prevent some bacterial STIs and released them for public comment. STIs are pervasive and increasing rapidly in the U.S., and Doxy PEP has demonstrated substantial benefits in reducing new chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis infections. Doxy PEP can benefit the health of some gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and transgender women who have increased chances of getting an STI. These draft guidelines represent a new approach to addressing STI prevention.
- Providing stable housing to people with HIV and their families. Achieving and maintaining stable housing can be a powerful structural intervention in preventing HIV and syndemic conditions and ending the HIV epidemic. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $50 million in competitive funding through its Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program to support housing assistance and supportive services for low-income people with HIV and their families, coordination and planning activities, and grants management and administration. Further, with MHAF resources, SAMHSA announced a new funding opportunity to support up to three pilot sites to deliver portable behavioral health, HIV, and other services for unsheltered racial and ethnic minority individuals.
Advance New Research
- Implementing a multiyear HIV research plan. The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office on AIDS Research continued implementation of its five-year NIH Strategic Plan, a roadmap for the NIH HIV/AIDS research program, ensuring that funds are allocated per established NIH scientific research priorities. The Plan guides the NIH investment, building on scientific progress and opportunities for advancing HIV/AIDS research toward ending the pandemic.
- Beginning a new clinical trial of an HIV vaccine. An NIH-supported trial of a preventive HIV vaccine candidate began enrollment at six sites in the U.S. and South Africa. The Phase I trial will evaluate a novel vaccine known as VIR-1388 for its safety and ability to induce an HIV-specific immune response in people.
- Reducing heart disease risk in adults with HIV. An NIH-supported study showed that statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications, may offset the elevated risk of cardiovascular disease experienced by people with HIV by more than a third, potentially preventing one in five major cardiovascular events (e.g., heart attack or stroke) or premature deaths in this population. The findings are expected to directly influence clinical guidelines and standards of care for the aging population of people with HIV.
Small Business Saturday Tweets
From Friday…
Every small business has a story.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
And @SBAgov has helped tell those stories and grow small businesses everywhere.
Supporting small businesses is one of the best investments America can make. pic.twitter.com/5DO8AbnhY4
From Saturday…
Our small businesses help make our nation strong. pic.twitter.com/FPFbQxdd7D
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 2, 2023
Small business Saturday is an annual event that happens the Saturday after Black Friday. Shop Small…
It’s important to support locally owned and operated businesses in our communities.
Bilateral Meeting Tweet
From Friday…
Simply put, the partnership between Angola and America is more important and more impactful than ever. pic.twitter.com/afUxeeK81c
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
The video clip is 48 seconds long.
Remarks by President Biden and President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola Before Bilateral Meeting; the YouTube is 11 minutes and 49 seconds long.
Well, welcome. And I want to welcome the President. It’s an honor to have you here at the White House in the Oval Office.
[snip]
But, as you understand, Mr. President — more than almost any leader in Africa — we meet at a historic moment. Simply put, a partnership between Angola and America is more important and more impactful than ever.
[snip]
Together, we’ll be mobilizing more than a million dollar — $1 billion for railway lines that extend from Angola to Zambia to the DRC, and ultimately to the Indian Ocean, connecting the continent for the first time from east to west.
[snip]
On top of that, Mr. President, we’re also investing nearly $1 billion more in Africa for a number of items and solar energy projects that will help Angola generate 75 percent of its clean energy by 2025 — 75 percent.
[snip]
And Mr. President, I want to thank you, especially, for your leadership, including working toward peace in the eastern DRC.
When I started as a young senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, I was the chairman of the African Affairs Subcommittee. And as you’ve heard me say before, America is all in on Africa. And we’re all in with you and Angola.
So, thank you very much for being here, and I look forward to our conversation.
White House.gov. 11/30/2023.
From the White House…
11/30/2023:
- Remarks by President Biden and President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola Before Bilateral Meeting; the YouTube is 11 minutes and 49 seconds long.
“Bidenomics”/Inflation Tweets
From Friday…
Annual inflation just fell to its lowest level in more than two and a half years.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
Grocery inflation is at its lowest level in over two years.
We’ve created 14 million jobs and kept unemployment under 4% for 21 months.
That’s Bidenomics in action.
We've made real progress getting breathing room to families.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
But I know prices are still too high for so many.
That’s why I’m fighting every day and calling on corporations to lower costs for families, even as Republicans in Congress focus on lowering taxes for the wealthy. pic.twitter.com/WJ8tdKjnGX
Inflation was 0% last month – and our economy grew by more than 5% last quarter.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 2, 2023
Bidenomics.
We covered the PCE data in Friday’s Biden Bits…
From Sunday…
I believe every American worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 4, 2023
From Monday…
Tony, because of workers like you and the hundreds of employees at CS Wind, America is changing.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 4, 2023
Instead of exporting jobs, companies from around the world are creating jobs here in America and exporting American-made products.
We are moving. pic.twitter.com/nhmujymZmE
The video clip is 1 minute and 23 seconds long.
Tony Salerno says: We’re in Pueblo, Colorado, where today the President is visiting the world’s largest tower manufacturing facility. My name is Tony Salerno and I’m the production manager here at CS Wind America. When I think of renewable energies, I just think about the impact it has on our economy. Here at this factory alone, we have 900 people that work here at CS Wind America. When I think of those people, I think of 900 families contributing into the local economy here in Pueblo, Colorado. Finding out that I was going to able to introduce President Biden is really an amazing, you know, opportunity.
Tony Salerno said during his introduction: And it’s with great honor and humility that I get to introduce the 46th President of the United States Joe Biden.
Remarks by President Biden on How Bidenomics is Mobilizing Investments in Clean Energy Manufacturing and Creating Good-Paying Jobs in Communities Around the Country | Pueblo, CO; the YouTube is 26 minutes and 37 seconds long:
President Biden (0:41):
We’re investing in America. We’re investing in Americans. And it’s working.
[snip]
Here in Colorado, CS Wind, a Korean company, makes towers and wind turbines. I know you all know it, but people seeing this on television may not be certain.
They used to make all their wind towers abroad. Then they decided to make them here in America as well. And today, CS Wind factory in Colorado is the largest wind tower manufacturer in the entire world — the entire world — (applause) — with over 870 employees.
[snip]
And all across America, instead of exporting jobs, companies both foreign and domestic are creating jobs here in America and exporting American-made products. (Applause.) That’s what we used to do 40 years ago.
[snip]
We’re moving, folks. We are moving. And no one is going to stop us.
White House.gov. 11/29/2023.
Remembering Sandra Day O’Conner Tweet
From Saturday…
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was an American icon, the first woman on our nation’s highest court. I admired her decency and unwavering devotion to the facts, to our country, to active citizenship and the common good.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 2, 2023
She knew that for democracy to work, we have to listen to each…
Show more =’s other, and remember how much more we all have in common as Americans than what keeps us apart. Our hearts today are with Justice O’Connor’s three sons, her brother, her grandchildren, and all those who loved her.
President Biden’s full statement:
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was an American icon, the first woman on our nation’s highest court. She spent her career committed to the stable center, pragmatic and in search of common ground. I did not agree with all of her opinions, but I admired her decency and unwavering devotion to the facts, to our country, to active citizenship and the common good.
Defined by her no-nonsense Arizona ranch roots, Justice O’Connor overcame discrimination early on, at a time when law firms too often told women to seek work as secretaries, not attorneys. She gave her life to public service, even holding elected office, and never forgot those ties to the people whom the law is meant to serve. She sought to avoid ideology, and was devoted to the rule of law and to the bedrock American principle of an independent judiciary. Unrelenting in her interrogations of attorneys before the Court, she was willing to learn and to change, open to the experience of fellow Americans and always conscious of the law’s real impact on their lives.
As a U.S. Senator on the Judiciary Committee, I remember the hope surrounding her historic nomination to the Supreme Court. The Senate voted 99-0 in her favor, proof that our nation can come together to move history forward.
Justice O’Connor never quit striving to make this nation stronger, retiring only to care for her husband, John, the love of her life. She never quit calling on us all to engage with our country and with one another, and her institute’s work to promote civics education and civil discourse has touched millions. She knew that for democracy to work, we have to listen to each other, and remember how much more we all have in common as Americans than what keeps us apart.
Our hearts today are with Justice O’Connor’s three sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay; her brother, Alan; her six grandchildren; and all those who loved her.
White House.gov. 12/02/2023.
Statement By Vice President Kamala Harris On The Passing Of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor:
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was a trailblazer.
As the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice O’Connor was guided by a deep respect for the rule of law. Opinions she authored will continue to shape our nation for decades to come.
As an associate justice of the Supreme Court, as a state senator, and as a proud daughter of Arizona, Justice O’Connor dedicated her life to public service. A champion of civics education, Justice O’Connor helped countless young Americans better understand the nature and importance of our democracy.
I first met Justice O’Connor years ago. Like so many who knew her, I will always remember her kindness, intelligence, and deep love for our country.Today, Doug and I send our prayers to Justice O’Connor’s family.
White House.gov. 12/02/2023.
Sandra Day O’Connor was 93 years old. May she rest in peace.
SAVE student loan repayment Tweet
From Sunday…
Under our SAVE student loan repayment plan, borrowers could save $1,000 a year.⁰ ⁰And I won't apologize for helping working people to the Republicans in Congress who are fighting to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 3, 2023
The SAVE plan; The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan is the newest income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. Like other IDR plans, the SAVE Plan calculates your monthly payment amount based on your income and family size. In addition, the SAVE Plan has unique benefits that will lower payments for many borrowers. The SAVE Plan replaced the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan. Borrowers on the REPAYE Plan automatically get the benefits of the new SAVE Plan.
Medicaid Tweet
From Friday…
Today, 600,000 North Carolinians can now access Medicaid coverage as North Carolina becomes the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2023
It's time every American had high-quality affordable health care.
And to those who want to repeal this lifesaving law: not on my watch.
His full statement:
Every American deserves high-quality affordable health care. Today, we are one step closer towards meeting that promise, as 600,000 North Carolinians can now access the affordable, quality coverage they need under Medicaid. Thanks to Governor Roy Cooper’s years of leadership, in partnership with bipartisan elected officials, North Carolina is the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. 300,000 North Carolinians will receive this coverage immediately and rural hospitals across the state will be able to keep their doors open to continue to care for their communities.
Despite this progress, MAGA Republicans still want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, just like my predecessor tried and failed to do repeatedly. There are 40 million people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and repealing the law would put their care at risk. Repealing the Affordable Care Act means that states, including North Carolina, wouldn’t be able to offer care through Medicaid expansion.
Let’s strengthen the Affordable Care Act instead of getting rid of it. Let’s work together to bring down Americans’ health care and prescription drug costs, and expand Medicaid in the 10 remaining states. And to those who want to repeal this lifesaving law let me be clear: I won’t let it happen on my watch.
White House.gov. 12/01/2023.
Kennedy Center Honorees at the White House Tweets
From Sunday…
Join Jill and me as we host the 2023 Kennedy Center Honorees. https://t.co/orYop9pJjh
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 3, 2023
The YouTube is 17 minutes and 48 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
The performing arts are more than just a sound or a scene – they reflect who we are.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 4, 2023
That’s especially true for the Kennedy Center honorees over the past 46 years who've shaped how we see our world.
This year’s class continues that legacy.
Congratulations to the 2023 Honorees. pic.twitter.com/ni7VGj7Te5
It’s simple as it is profound. The performing arts are more than just sound and scene. They reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.
That’s especially true for more than 200 Kennedy Center honorees over the past 46 years who have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other, and how we see our world. Honors not just based on the length of the career or the scope of work or the height of fame but because of their unique place in the conscience and the very soul of our dynamic and diverse nation. You’re an incredible group. You really are. This year’s — this year’s class continues that legacy.
[snip]
Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations to the 2023 Kennedy Center Honorees. Congratulations to your families and friends. And thank you all for supporting the performing arts that shape our conscience and the very soul of the nation.
White House.gov. 12/03/2023.
From The Kennedy Center.org: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has selected the 46th Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: actor and comedian Billy Crystal; acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming; British singer-songwriter producer, and member of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb; rapper, singer, and actress Queen Latifah; and singer Dionne Warwick. The gala event took place Sunday, December 3, 2023, and was hosted by previous Honoree Gloria Estefan. The show will air Wednesday, December 27 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+.
This is an Open Thread.
