Month: February 2023

Ahead of the 30th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council, and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, convened state legislators on the frontlines of advancing paid family and medical leave in their respective states. White House senior staff and officials from the Department of Labor, including the Women’s Bureau, also participated. The Biden-Harris Administration continues to support a national paid family and medical leave program for families across the country and applauds states…

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that an estimated 18 million[1]  students have received direct financial aid since the start of 2021 thanks to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which was dramatically expanded by President Biden in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Today’s announcement and a report from the Department of Education (Department) show that tens of billions of dollars—accounting for roughly half of all funds provided by ARP and earlier pandemic legislation—went directly to aiding students in the form of emergency financial aid grants and the discharge of unpaid student account balances. First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of…

Indian Treaty RoomEisenhower Executive Office Building 4:35 P.M. EST THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Please have a seat.  Good afternoon. To the members of Congress who are here, the members of our administration, and, of course, leaders of NASA and leaders of our military, private sector partners, to all of you: This is a wonderful afternoon of celebration — the celebration of excellence. So, today, for the first time in nearly 17 years, we award the highest civilian honor that our nation can bestow upon our astronauts: the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Today, we welcome two American heroes…

President Biden Will Call for a Junk Fee Prevention Act to Eliminate Unfair and Costly Junk Fees As part of the fourth meeting of the President’s Competition Council, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing two actions that further advance the President’s agenda of promoting competition in the American economy. First, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a rule that would slash excessive credit card late fees, pursuant to its authority under the bipartisan Credit CARD Act of 2009. The rule is projected to reduce typical late fees from roughly $30 to $8, saving consumers as much as $9 billion a…

Private ResidenceNew York, New York 2:31 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Stacey, thank you as well.  Appreciate it.  And, particularly, thank your daughter for permission to be here.  (Laughter.) You know, this is what in our business we call a busman’s holiday.  The Leader of the Senate has to listen to me again.  (Laughter.) LEADER SCHUMER:  Always — THE PRESIDENT:  Meaning the senator from Jersey has to be there in the back corner.  If I were you, I’d check if that door opens so you could sneak out.  (Laughter.) And who else is here, the elected offi-…

Today, Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council, and Danielle Carnival, Coordinator of the White House Cancer Moonshot, were joined by medical experts, researchers, and patient advocates to discuss opportunities and challenges in combatting cervical cancer through immunizations, screening, and treatment and to mark Cervical Health Awareness Month. Participants included cervical cancer survivors, primary care physicians, specialists, and representatives from the National Cancer Institute. White House staff from the Office of the First Lady, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Domestic Policy Council also participated. Participants discussed the need to expand…

Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer met today with Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljka Cvijanovic, Zeljko Komsic, and Denis Becirovic. Mr. Finer reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and multi-ethnic character of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He underscored that the United States will continue to hold accountable destabilizing actors who undermine the state and the Dayton Peace Agreement. He congratulated Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens on obtaining EU candidacy status in December and urged leaders to seize the momentum to help adopt key rule of law reforms that would strengthen the fight…