Day: January 24, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today with Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago to continue their dialogue on efforts to strengthen the energy security and climate resilience of the Caribbean.  The Vice President conveyed to the Prime Minister that the Treasury Department would take action to help meet the region’s long term energy needs.  The Vice President and the Prime Minister also discussed progress on the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030), including recent trips by the U.S. Government’s PACC 2030 Investment Facilitation Team to support a pipeline of clean energy projects in the…

Roosevelt Room 3:10 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m excited. We got a strong group of leaders here, a new start and a new Congress. And I’m excited about the leadership we have running the Democratic side. We — we got a lot done in the last couple years, and we got a lot more to do and a lot more to finish than what we’ve already done. And we’ve already made some real progress on the economy, on inflation, and a number of other things. Foreign policy is — we’ve united the West in a way that it hadn’t…

This afternoon President Biden and Vice President Harris hosted Leader Schumer, Senator Durbin, Senator Stabenow, Leader Jeffries, Representative Clark, and Representative Aguilar in the Roosevelt Room. The leaders agreed on the importance of building on the historic economic progress being achieved because of their shared accomplishments from the last two years, including the lowest unemployment in 50 years, significant ground gained against inflation, and more Americans getting health coverage than ever. The President and the congressional leaders discussed continued stepped-up implementation of groundbreaking laws like the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which…

From its first day in office, the Biden-Harris Administration has focused on helping the nation’s businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic and grow. Last week, the Census Bureau released data that showed that over the last two years Americans have applied to start 10.5 million new businesses, making 2021 and 2022 the strongest two years on record for new business applications. With unemployment at a record low and the two strongest years of job creation in our history, this is just the latest confirmation that the President’s economic plan is working to build our economy from the…

Today’s state unemployment rates give even more reasons for optimism all over the country. We see record lows from Pennsylvania to South Dakota to Alaska. 38 states are now at or below 4 percent unemployment, including 15 States at or below 3 percent. At the same time, with the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re delivering on my promise to lower health care costs for Americans by capping seniors’ insulin costs at $35 for a month’s supply. New data released today shows that if this provision had been in effect in 2020, over 1.5 million seniors across the country could have saved…

Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay, California. For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence.  Following a briefing from my homeland security team, I have directed my administration to ensure local authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay community have the full support of the federal government in the wake of this heinous attack.  Yesterday, Senator Feinstein — alongside Senators Murphy, Blumenthal and others — reintroduced a federal Assault Weapons Ban and legislation that would raise the…

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 2:44 P.M. EST MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Happy Monday.  As many of you are tracking, this week, House Republicans will vote to raise gas prices on American families.  The contrast in priorities could not be more stark.  The President spent the last two years, as you know, doing everything he could to lower gas prices for American families, and prices are down about $1.60 a gallon since last summer. Now, House Republicans are using their narrow majority to force the American people to pay higher gas prices, just as big oil companies are…

When I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the first significant piece of gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years – I said that there was still work to be done to keep our communities safe and keep dangerous firearms out of dangerous hands. In the short time since, communities across America have been struck by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado Springs to Monterey Park and daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines.  Today, Senator Feinstein, with whom I worked with to pass the last Assault Weapons Ban in 1994, has once again…

Via Teleconference (January 17, 2023) 12:38 P.M. EST MS. YANG:  Hi, everyone.  Again, thank you all so much for joining today’s call.  As a reminder, this call with White House Spokesperson Ian Sams is on the record and embargoed until completion of the call.  By participating in this call, you are agreeing to these ground rules. Ian will give some brief opening remarks and then we’ll move into Q&A.  As always, please indicate whether or not you have a question with the “Raise Hand” function. With that, I will turn it over to Ian. MR. SAMS:  Hey, guys.  And thanks…