President Biden’s public schedule for 12/20/2024:
| 10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 11:00 AM The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing Closed Press |
| 12:15 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
| 1:20 PM The President and The First Lady depart the White House en route to a Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC South Grounds In-Town Travel Pool |
| 2:10 PM The President and The First Lady make a holiday visit to patients and families at Children’s National Hospital In-Town Travel Pool |
| 2:45 PM The President and The First Lady depart en route to the White House In-Town Travel Pool |
| 3:00 PM The President and The First Lady arrive at the White House South Grounds In-Town Travel Pool |
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre @12:15 PM D.C., time:
President Biden and the First Lady Visit Patients and Families at the Children’s National Hospital @2:10 PM D.C., time:
Portal Bridge/San Diego Airport Tweet
From Thursday…
For decades, the Portal Bridge caused delays and frustration. Not anymore.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 19, 2024
Thanks to my infrastructure investments, we’re replacing it with a modern bridge that’ll keep trains moving between New Jersey and New York – faster, safer, and built to last. pic.twitter.com/3xGce9AZsV
From Amtrak.com
12/19/2024:
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project
Amtrak has achieved a major milestone for the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project, selecting a Skanska, Walsh & Herzog Joint Venture to conduct pre-construction activities along with future contract opportunities for the project’s full construction scope. This important state-of-good-repair investment will construct multiple bridge structures with four total tracks, replacing the existing aging asset and significantly enhancing capacity, reliability, and speed along the most heavily traveled segment of the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
Amtrak Executive Vice President, Capital Delivery Laura Mason:
- “Today’s milestone marks an important step for this extremely complex and critical investment that will improve commuter and intercity passenger rail in the busiest section of the NEC. Amtrak is making strides to address decades of underinvestment as we rebuild America’s Railroad for the next generation. We thank our partners at NJ TRANSIT, PATH and Conrail, as well as elected officials from across the region for supporting this project that advances our common goal of enhancing and expanding rail service in New Jersey, New York, and beyond.”
Supporting contract: Amtrak has also awarded a project and construction management contract to a Joint Venture of AECOM and STV for pre-construction support services during the project final design phase, and to perform construction management for the construction phase. This team will work closely with the Skanska, Walsh & Herzog Joint Venture and Amtrak’s in-house Capital Delivery department.
Why it matters: The Sawtooth Bridges were originally constructed in 1907 and serve as a critical link in the NEC, supporting more than 400 daily trains operated by Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT over tracks used by NJ TRANSIT, PATH and Conrail freight trains. Their age and structural deficiencies limit train speeds to 60 mph, creating bottlenecks that impact rail operations for intercity and commuter services.
About the project: This investment will address critical state-of-good-repair needs by replacing the aging Sawtooth Bridges with modern, reliable structures. Additional benefits include:
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
- Doubling track capacity with the addition of two new tracks (for a total of four).
- Restoring 90 mph maximum speeds, improving efficiency and cutting travel times.
- Enhancing reliability by reducing service disruptions and enabling seamless connectivity.
- Meeting growing demand for commuter and intercity rail services on the nation’s busiest rail corridor.
What’s happening: The project will construct three new bridges along a 1.9-mile corridor in Kearny, N.J., between Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction:
- Bridge #1: Realigns NJ TRANSIT’s Morris & Essex Track 5, creating space for additional NEC tracks built with Bridge #2.
- Bridge #2: Features two new NEC tracks, adjacent to the existing Sawtooth Bridges.
- Bridge #3: Completely replaces the existing Sawtooth Bridges structures, which carry the two current NEC tracks.
Innovative approach: Construction of the new bridges is being delivered through the innovative Construction Manager At-Risk (CMAR) delivery method, which improves project delivery time and allows design, pre-construction, and other work to proceed simultaneously.
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
- The nearly two-mile project corridor presents unique challenges as a congested area with limited access points and space that require extensive coordination with NJ TRANSIT, PATH, Conrail, and third-party utilities. The new design will modernize rail infrastructure while preserving operations during construction.
About the bridges: The 115-year-old Sawtooth Bridges have surpassed their design life, limiting efficiency and reliability on this critical segment of the NEC, the busiest rail line in the United States and vital to the nation’s economy.
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
- A 2013 condition survey confirmed that the bridges must be replaced.
- Replacement of the existing bridges received federal environmental approval in 2020 with the signing of an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.
- Final design of the new bridges is underway.
- Planning for enabling construction is advancing, with major construction slated to begin in 2026.
How it’s paid for: This project is highly rated on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) NEC Project Inventory and has been awarded multiple grants through FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program to support project development, final design and construction of early-action, critical path activities. Amtrak is contributing the non-local match to these grants.
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
- FRA has also issued a Letter of Intent for future grant funding to support the project through construction completion, following Amtrak’s satisfactory completion of necessary project development lifecycle stages and grant program applications.
The big picture: Amtrak continues to transform rail and provide a high-quality experience, serving a record 32.8 million customers and investing an unprecedented $4.5 billion into major infrastructure and fleet projects in Fiscal Year 2024.
Recent milestones across Amtrak’s portfolio of major bridge projects include:
Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 12/19/2024.
- Portal North Bridge: Achieving 75% construction completion for this project sponsored by NJ TRANSIT, in partnership with Amtrak
- Connecticut River Bridge: Breaking ground and beginning major construction
- Susquehanna River Bridge: Kicking off early construction activities and completing the first early construction milestone
To learn more about recent progress on other Amtrak projects, visit our infrastructure news page.
On November 26th, News 12 had a short news segment about the installation of the first arch of the new Portal North Bridge.
From Friday…
My Administration is investing in airports across America because we know that you can’t compete in the 21st century with 20th-century infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/Oxl1XsBzFx
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 20, 2024
San Diego International Airport has a website dedicated to the new terminal construction called New T1.com. Part of the new terminal is expected to be open in summer of 2025.
Public Sector Debt Cancellation Tweets
From Friday…
The 55,000 public servants approved for debt cancellation today are workers who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 20, 2024
Now, they are finally earning the relief they are entitled to under the law. pic.twitter.com/mT3s1VXGG8
My Administration is announcing another 55,000 public service workers are approved for student debt relief – meaning nearly 5 million borrowers have received forgiveness, including over 1 million public servants.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 20, 2024
Tanya and Chad know firsthand what that breathing room means. pic.twitter.com/rZAUscXdLg
The video clip is 1 minute and 8 seconds long.
From the White House…
12/20/2024:
Statement from President Joe Biden on Student Debt Cancellation for Public Service Workers
Today, my Administration is announcing student debt cancellation for another 55,000 public service workers, bringing the total number of individuals who have been approved for student debt relief under my Administration to nearly 5 million people through various actions. The public servants approved for debt cancellation today include teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities and who are finally earning the relief they are entitled to under the law.
Over the last four years, we have made significant progress for students and borrowers – including securing the largest increase to the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade; holding institutions accountable for taking advantage of students; and fixing broken student loan programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income Driven Repayment.
From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.
Statement from President Joe Biden on Student Debt Cancellation for Public Service Workers. 12/20/2024.
From the Department of Education
12/20/2024:
The Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of $4.28 billion in additional student loan relief for 54,900 borrowers across the country who work in public service. This relief—which is the result of significant fixes that the Administration has made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program—brings the total loan forgiveness by the Administration to approximately $180 billion for nearly five million Americans, including $78 billion for 1,062,870 borrowers through PSLF.
“Four years ago, the Biden-Harris Administration made a pledge to America’s teachers, service members, nurses, first responders, and other public servants that we would fix the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and I’m proud to say that we delivered,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “With the approval of another $4.28 billion in loan forgiveness for nearly 55,000 public servants, the Administration has secured nearly $180 billion in life-changing student debt relief for nearly five million borrowers. The U.S. Department of Education’s successful transformation of the PSLF Program is a testament to what’s possible when you have leaders, like President Biden and Vice President Harris, who are relentlessly and unapologetically focused on making government deliver for everyday working people.”
The PSLF Program provides an incentive for Americans to pursue and remain in careers in education, public health, law enforcement, emergency response, and other critical public service fields by forgiving borrowers’ remaining student loan balance after they have made the required 120 qualifying monthly payments. The relief announced today includes both borrowers who have benefitted from the Administration’s limited PSLF waiver, a temporary opportunity that ended in October 2022, as well as from regulatory improvements made to the program during this Administration.
In addition to these fixes to PSLF, the Biden-Harris Administration also implemented further improvements to PSLF to make it easier for borrowers to participate in the program. As of July 2024, the PSLF Program is now fully managed by the Department via StudentAid.gov, rather than by a single loan servicer, making it easier for borrowers to track their progress toward forgiveness.
An Unparalleled Record of Support for Federal Student Loan Borrowers
Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to helping borrowers who have struggled with the burden of student loan debt. Over the past four years, the Administration has approved nearly $180 billion in student debt relief for 4.9 million borrowers through various actions, taking historic steps to aid hardworking Americans across the country who have worked to repay their student loans but remained in debt.
In total, the Biden-Harris Administration has also approved:
Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $4.28 Billion in Student Debt Relief for Nearly 55,000 Public Service Workers. 12/20/2024.
- $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through Income-Driven Repayment, including the Saving on a Valuable Education SAVE plan. This includes administrative adjustments to income-driven repayment that brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed longstanding problems due to past inaccuracies and the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers.
- $28.7 billion for more than 1.6 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.
- $16.2 billion for almost 572,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.
In addition to ensuring that student loans are not a barrier to educational and economic opportunity for students and families, the Administration also secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant—the largest increase in a decade—and finalized new rules to help protect borrowers from career programs that leave graduates with unaffordable debts and insufficient earnings.
Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $4.28 Billion in Student Debt Relief for Nearly 55,000 Public Service Workers. 12/20/2024.
Happy Birthday Tweet
From Friday…
Happy 5th Birthday, Space Force! https://t.co/CSQnMnt6tW
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 20, 2024
This is an open thread
