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We, the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States, convened in the spirit of Camp David to commemorate the remarkable progress our three countries have made since our Trilateral Leaders’ Summit in 2023. Japan, the ROK, and the United States stand united in our dedication to promote human rights, democracy, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. We remain determined to align our collective efforts to ensure the continued success of our peoples, the region, and the world. We remain steadfast in our support for a free and open rules-based international order. The actions that we take together will continue to bolster regional and global peace and security well into the future.

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During the past 15 months, we have constructed a trilateral partnership that is built to last. Today, we announce the establishment of the Trilateral Secretariat responsible for coordinating and implementing our shared commitments. This new secretariat will seek to ensure that the work we do together further aligns our objectives and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a thriving, connected, resilient, stable, and secure region.

We applaud our expanding trilateral security cooperation, including the successful first two iterations of the trilateral multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge and the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework to institutionalize trilateral cooperation among our defense authorities. Our trilateral defense engagements are expanding to annual Chiefs of Defense and ministerial meetings that build upon existing senior-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises, and defense exchanges. Japan, the ROK, and the United States are promoting trilateral interoperability by sharing data in real time about ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and by working to strengthen our ballistic missile defense capabilities. We are enhancing junior officer exchanges to further build interoperability and people-to-people ties among our defense forces. President Biden reiterates that the U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan are ironclad and reaffirms the U.S. commitment to strengthen extended deterrence cooperation through the ROK-U.S. and Japan-U.S. alliances. These actions underscore our three countries’ shared commitment to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security.

We strongly condemn violations of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions by the DPRK and Russia, especially in light of the DPRK’s decision to deploy troops to Russia for combat against Ukraine. Japan, the ROK, and the United States strongly condemn the decisions by the leaders of the DPRK and Russia to dangerously expand Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including munitions and ballistic missile transfers, is particularly egregious given Russia’s status as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. We remain resolute as ever in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, consistent with UNSC resolutions. We commit to respond firmly to violations and evasions of DPRK-related UNSC resolutions as well as any attempt to undermine the global non-proliferation regime. Japan, the ROK, and the United States are committed to the work of the new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team responsible for conducting comprehensive and effective sanctions monitoring and reporting efforts regarding UNSC sanctions on the DPRK. We express grave concern over the DPRK’s illicit revenue generation methods, including its use of arms transfers, malicious cyber activities, and the dispatch of workers abroad, to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. We are committed to expanding trilateral efforts to counter the DPRK’s malicious cyber program and illicit revenue generation, including by collaborating to build capacity across the Indo-Pacific region to better protect against illicit DPRK activities. Our three countries continue to call for adherence to shared international norms and responsible behavior in the cyber domain to protect public critical infrastructure placed at risk by disruptive or destabilizing cyber activities. Prime Minister Ishiba and President Biden acknowledge their support for President Yoon’s vision of a free, peaceful, and prosperous Korean Peninsula and reiterate their support for a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace. With a clear recognition of the inextricable link between DPRK human rights issues and international peace and security, we promote the advancement of human rights in the DPRK and call for the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war.

We reaffirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region. We reaffirm our unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity and for the ASEAN-led regional architecture. We are committed to working closely with ASEAN to support robust implementation and mainstreaming of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We express concerns about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and we take this opportunity to announce a new Trilateral Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Framework that will strengthen our cooperation on shared regional challenges and protect rules-based approaches to the maritime domain.

We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, and we recognize the importance of opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea. We steadfastly oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities in the South China Sea. We express support for the global maritime order, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, based on international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We recognize that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

Japan, the ROK, and the United States are committed to deepening our trilateral economic partnership, including through continuing our close coordination on economic security. Japan and the United States look forward to the ROK’s hosting of APEC in 2025 and welcome the ROK’s chairmanship of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). Japan and the United States are committed to closely coordinating with the ROK to accelerate MSP projects. We recognize the MSP as a crucial institutional forum to develop a more diverse and sustainable critical minerals supply chain. We welcome the progress made by the Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE) partnership. We commend the Trilateral Economic Security Dialogue for deepening trilateral engagements on economic security issues, and we welcome regularized, active consultation among our countries to exchange early warning information on supply chain disruptions. We applaud the successful first trilateral meeting between our finance ministries and look forward to the next convening. We commit to continue cooperating to promote sustainable economic growth and financial stability, as well as orderly and well-functioning financial markets. We commend the successful launch of the first trilateral Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting and look forward to the next convening. We reaffirm our longstanding commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment, including through the upcoming 2024 Trilateral Women’s Economic Empowerment Conference in Washington. We applaud women leaders in STEM who are working to address barriers to entry and advancement. In addition, we are committed to enhancing cooperation within the Crisis Response Network established under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Supply Chain Agreement—with the ROK as the Chair and Japan as the Vice Chair—to ensure members maintain access to vital supplies during emergencies.

We concur on the need for trilateral collaboration on technology security, standards, and trusted ecosystems, and we commit to develop a trilateral framework to further advance our next generation critical and emerging technology cooperation. We hail the successful launch of the Trilateral Technology Leaders Training Program, which has served to train and connect policymakers focusing on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, digital economy, biotechnology, cybersecurity, energy, and space. In addition, Japan, the ROK, and the United States are working to accelerate the development of a trusted AI ecosystem across our three countries. We are strengthening commercial collaboration around AI chips in addition to enhancing protections for critical technology and strengthening engagement on AI safety. We are working to build resilient supply chains for active pharmaceutical ingredients through the “Bio-5” coalition. As founding members of the Quantum Development Group, we look forward to further strengthening cooperation on supply chains and trusted investment in our quantum ecosystems. We are proud of the launch of a new quantum workforce program by IBM, in partnership with Japanese, Korean, and U.S. universities, which aims to train 40,000 students over the next decade. We also welcome trilateral cooperation among our national research institutes, and we stress the significance of the successful launch of the Disruptive Technology Protection Network, which is essential for combatting illicit technology transfer.

Japan, the ROK, and the United States also are expanding our cooperation on development and humanitarian assistance across the globe, including through a senior-level biennial policy dialogue. Together, Japan, the ROK, and the United States have expanded trilateral development assistance to the Philippines and Ukraine. We commit to further advance collaboration in critical sectors across the Philippines, including ports modernization, energy infrastructure, agribusiness, and large-scale transportation projects. We support trilateral digital infrastructure and telecommunications initiatives in Southeast Asia, including through the expansion of digital infrastructure using Open RAN approaches across the region.

People-to-people ties between Japan, the ROK, and the United States are rapidly expanding, and we are discussing ways to maintain and build upon this momentum. We applaud the successful first Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit this year and look forward to the 2025 Youth Summit in Japan as the next iteration of what we hope will become an annual convening of youth delegates focused on tackling our shared security, economic, and environmental challenges. Furthermore, we support the newly launched Young Trilateral Leaders program, which aims to foster dialogue between our countries and concrete action by young people on global challenges.

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Our cooperation has soared to new heights in every corner of our governments, and we have created a brighter, safer, and more prosperous future for our people. We are proud of the partnership we have built and believe that the Japan-ROK-U.S. relationship will be a ballast of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for years to come.

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT:       Delegation of Authorities Under Sections 507(d)

               and 508(a) of the Ukraine Security Supplemental

               Appropriations Act, 2024

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authorities under sections 507(d) and 508(a) of the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 (Division B of Public Law 118-50).

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Today, ahead President Biden’s meeting with President Boluarte of Peru on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the United States commemorates our indispensable partnership with Peru.  The United States and Peru will celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations in 2026, which will mark two centuries of strong ties in the areas of diplomacy, trade, sustainable development, security, democracy and human rights, counter-narcotics, and protecting the environment.  This year, the United States and Peru marked 15 years of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement.  Since 2001, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested over $1.8 billion to promote economic, social, and political development and to support Peru as it manages the migration flows impacting the region.  Peru is a founding partner of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (Americas Partnership or APEP) initiative, endorsed the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, and recently agreed to increase cooperation with the United States on space and critical minerals.

Recent examples of our strong collaboration in key areas include:

Bolstering Security and Strengthening the Rule of Law.  The United States and Peru maintain a long-standing security and defense partnership focused on strengthening counternarcotics operations, combatting transnational organized crime, improving disaster response, building peacekeeping capacity, and bolstering regional security.

• During APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, the U.S. government announced a $65 million counternarcotics assistance package that includes the planned transfer of nine Black Hawk helicopters to Peru over the next five years.  This assistance, along with the decision by the United States and Peru to restart cooperation under the non-lethal aerial interception agreement for the first time in 10 years, will support Peru’s efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and transnational organized crime. 

• Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the United States, through the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, has provided more than $350 million in assistance to Peruvian law enforcement institutions to combat narcotics trafficking, disrupt transnational criminal organizations, and promote the rule of law.

• The United States is reinforcing security at the Port of Chancay through technical assistance and provision three cargo and vehicle inspection scanners totaling more than $8.5 million.  These state-of-the-art scanners will ensure that cargo moving through the port does not pose a safety threat to Peru.

• The United States Southern Command provides extensive training and capacity building on cyber defense strategies to Peru.  The United States and Peru co-led Resolute Sentinel military exercises in 2023 and 2024 to enhance interoperability among security forces in the region.  The United States has invested $750,000 in the construction of training areas, barracks, and buildings to support emergency response in Peru.

• This year, the United States and Peru relaunched the Defense Bilateral Working Group to be followed by the Political-Military Dialogue in 2025.  The United States and Peru also established a Bilateral Security Working Group to develop and address security issues facing Peru and the region.

• The U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit SOUTH (NAMRU-SOUTH) is a U.S. Navy command that conducts research on infectious diseases in South and Central America.  It is collocated on Peruvian naval bases in Callao and Iquitos, Peru, and is comprised of 15 U.S. active-duty military, five Department of Defense civilians, and nearly 180 Peruvian staff.

• The U.S. Coast Guard completed four successful partnership engagements with Peru during 2024 aimed at minimizing risks of inadequate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU-F) and port regulation and oversight, the lack of which leads to corruption, coercion, and other illicit activities.

Promoting Mutual Economic Prosperity, Development, and Good Governance

• The United States is Peru’s number one partner in job creation, generating over 1.1 million jobs in Peru in 2023 through bilateral trade totaling more than $20.5 billion in 2023, according to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.  U.S. direct investment in Peru in 2023 was more than $6.6 billion.

• Through Peru’s active participation in the Americas Partnership, we are driving inclusive, sustainable growth and strengthening critical supply chains via increased trade and investment.

• More than 500,000 U.S. citizens visit Peru annually, providing the largest single group of visitors that sustains Peru’s world-class tourism sector.  Peru has the largest Summer Work and Travel program of any country with 8,000 young Peruvians providing important annual staffing for U.S. ski resorts, theme parks, and small businesses.

• The State Department and USAID provided more than $580 million for Peru to advance critical development and humanitarian priorities since FY 2021 in support of efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and procurement transparency, combat environmental crime, protect natural resources, support farmers in cultivating alternative crops to coca, and enhance health security.  This support includes $335 million in humanitarian assistance to support integration for migrants and meet their immediate humanitarian needs inside Peru.

• USAID mobilized more than $5 million in private investments to expand internet access for more than 100 rural Peruvian Amazon communities. The initiative has trained over 15,000 people in digital skills and provided financial education to more than 20,000 individuals.

• USAID has supported the boom in the cacao, chocolate, and coffee industries in Peru over the course of the past 15 years. As a result, Peru is the second largest producer of organic cacao in the world and is among the top 10 producers of conventional cacao.

A Space Partnership.  The United States and Peru are advancing space cooperation into civil and defense sectors.  A significant milestone in this partnership is Peru’s decision to join the Artemis Accords this year, committing to shared principles for responsible and sustainable space exploration.

• During APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Peru’s Space Agency, the National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA), will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance space cooperation.  The MOU will include safety training, a joint feasibility study for a potential sounding rockets campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches, which are small, low-cost flight opportunities to suborbital space used to strengthen space science research and investigation.  Additionally, the U.S. and Peruvian governments will issue a Joint Communique on Space Exploration.

• In February 2024, USAID invested $2.1 million and partnered with NASA and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to launch the second phase of SERVIR Amazonia.  This three-year program uses cutting-edge NASA satellite data and geospatial technology to help Peru and others in the region address Amazon conservation, enhance climate risk strategies, and build resilience to extreme weather.

• The Department of Defense will deliver a telescope to Peru in 2025 to detect space debris, building on the Space Situational Awareness agreement that Peru signed with the United States Space Command in April 2023.

Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Infrastructure.  The United States’ public and private sectors play a significant role in strengthening Peru’s infrastructure through investments and capacity—building in critical sectors such as transportation, water and sanitation, energy, and agriculture.  This year Peru became the first country in Latin America to join the Blue Dot Network for quality infrastructure.

• Rail:  California commuter rail line Caltrain will donate 90 passenger cars and 19 locomotives to the city of Lima for its commuter metro rail project.  This transaction, facilitated by the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce, will provide efficient public transit, save the city of Lima millions of dollars, and generate up to $500 million in U.S. exports of rail, track material, signaling systems, and protection equipment for crossings.

• Seaports:  In October, Peru’s National Port Authority approved the master plan for the Port of Matarani, an expansion proposal that includes new U.S. private sector investments of more than $500 million to enable continued growth in Peru’s southern region as Latin America’s main port for copper and a key port for agricultural exports.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing thePeruvian Navy technical expertise through a $180 million foreign military sales case for construction at the Peruvian naval port at Callao, which may lead to a $1 billion effort beginning in 2025 to construct the new port for the Peruvian Navy.

• Sister Ports:  On November 1, the U.S. port of Hueneme in California and the Peruvian port of Paita established a “sister port” relationship under the new U.S. Sister Ports Program, managed by the Department of State’s Office of Transportation Policy.  The ports will exchange best practices in safety and security, smart port technology, sustainability, green shipping corridors, public-private collaboration, and port business and marketing.

• Clean Water:  The Transaction Advisory Fund (TAF)—a joint program of the U.S. State Department and USAID—is working with the Regional Government of Cajamarca and the U.S. private sector to support implementation studies for the Huatalpampa reservoir project in Cajamarca to close the region’s sizeable water infrastructure gap.  Furthermore, in FY 2023, USAID mobilized $30 million in new investments for water security through 15 projects in Peru, including improving natural water sources, wetlands, and watersheds.

• Management and Reform:  USAID, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce, has invested more than $2.4 million to improve Peru’s national public procurement system, build the capacity of procurement staff, and engage the private sector in regulatory reform to tackle corruption and improve infrastructure.  USAID helped Peru achieve full compliance with the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative agreement this year.

• Investment:  The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has a total of $45 million in active financial operations supporting businesses in Peru.  The DFC is working with financial intermediaries to support lending for small- and medium-scale agricultural producers, producer associations, and small merchants in the Peruvian Amazon.

Building People-to-People Connections.  The connections between the United States and Peruvian people embody the breadth and depth of our partnership.

• The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has supported 36 local projects with $4.1 million in 16 regions of Peru.  Through the bilateral Cultural Patrimony Agreement, 2,000 cultural pieces have been repatriated to Peru over the past three decades.

• The Fulbright Commission in Peru will celebrate its 70th anniversary in May 2026 with support for over 3,200 scholarships to date.  Over 14,000 Peruvians form part of a global alumni network of U.S. government-funded educational and professional exchange programs.

• Embassy Lima processed a record 200,000+ visa applications in FY2024.  In 2023, over 330,000 Peruvians traveled to the United States. 

• A network of eight American Spaces—educational centers sponsored by the U.S. Department—with 30 branches throughout Peru supports the learning of English and U.S. culture for 85,000 students per month.

• The U.S. Regional English Language Office has trained over 1,750 Peruvian teachers and provides English language instruction to an average of 60 students per year.  In 2025, the Access Scholarship program will reach 220 new students ages 13-18 with a grant of $250,000 dedicated to English language instruction.

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Two years ago, shortly after I signed the CHIPS & Science Act, I visited Arizona to announce a commitment by TSMC to invest in America, create American jobs, and shore up American supply chains. On that day, I spoke about how the United States invented semiconductors and used to manufacture nearly 40% of the world’s chips, but now makes closer to 10% of them and none of the most advanced chips. I came to office determined to change that, and we have since delivered on that promise, catalyzing nearly $450 billion in private investment in semiconductors, creating over 125,000 new construction and manufacturing jobs, and reshoring critical technologies to bolster our national and economic security.

Today’s final agreement with TSMC – the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors – will spur $65 billion dollars of private investment to build three state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona and create tens of thousands of jobs by the end of the decade. This is the largest foreign direct investment in a greenfield project in the history of the United States. The first of TSMC’s three facilities is on track to fully open early next year, which means that for the first time in decades an America manufacturing plant will be producing the leading-edge chips used in our most advanced technologies – from our smartphones, to autonomous vehicles, to the data centers powering artificial intelligence. 

Today’s announcement is among the most critical milestones yet in the implementation of the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Act, and demonstrates how we are ensuring that the progress made to date will continue to unfold in the coming years, benefitting communities all across the country.

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To have the best economy in the world, you have to have the best infrastructure in the world. That’s why three years ago, I was proud to sign the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – the largest investment in our nation’s infrastructure in a generation. And when the bill passed, we showed that we can get big things done when we work together.

In just the three years since I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, my Administration has launched over 66,000 projects across the country, repairing 196,000 miles of roads and 11,400 bridges, replacing 367,000 lead pipes, and expanding and modernizing ports and airports. And today, we’re investing an additional $1.5 billion in funding for rail investments along the Northeast Corridor – the most heavily trafficked rail corridor in the United States, supporting 800,000 trips per day – five times more passengers than all flights between Washington and New York.

We’re doing all this with American workers and products that are made in America. These investments are creating jobs, benefitting our communities, and ushering in an infrastructure decade that is planting the seeds for a better and more prosperous future.

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Over $695 billion in funding and over 74,000 projects announced thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda

For far too long, this country’s infrastructure was under resourced and neglected, leading to crumbling roads and bridges, aging water systems, an unreliable electric grid, and inadequate high-speed internet access. Three years ago today, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a once-in-a-generation investment in America’s infrastructure to reverse this trend, strengthen communities, and transform the U.S. economy. Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has been breaking ground and cutting ribbons on projects in every state to rebuild roads and bridges, strengthening our supply chains, ensuring safe routes to schools, providing clean drinking water for communities, expanding high-speed internet access for all, and much more.

To date, the Administration has announced over $568 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, including over 66,000 projects and awards in all 50 states, D.C., the territories, and Tribal Nations. That’s part of the 74,000 total clean energy and infrastructure projects funded so far under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, which also includes historic investments in clean air water, climate action, and semiconductor manufacturing.

President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering an Infrastructure Decade, unlocking access to economic opportunity, creating good-paying jobs, boosting domestic manufacturing, and growing America’s economy from the middle up and bottom out in every community across the country. His Investing in America agenda has improved the lives of millions of Americans and is planting the seeds for a better and more prosperous future for decades to come, including connecting everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet service, replacing every lead pipe in the country and much more by the end of the decade.

HISTORIC PROGRESS BY THE NUMBERS

Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Administration has already:

• Announced $568 billion for over 66,000 projects across the country;
• Started improvements on over 196,000 miles of roads and launched over 11,400 bridge repair projects, increasing safety and reconnecting communities across the country;
• Replaced 367,000 lead pipes, benefitting nearly 1 million people, with funding continuing to be deployed for more replacements;

• Provided funding to deploy over 4,600 American-made transit buses, more than doubling their number on America’s roadways, and funded approximately over 8,900 clean school buses;
• Delivered funding for over 580 port and waterway projects to strengthen supply chains, speed up the movement of goods, lower costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
• Deployed investments in over 400 airport terminal projects to modernize and expand terminals—over 200 of which are under construction or complete;
• Financed over 2,400 drinking water and wastewater projects across the country, including projects through the Indian Health Service that will deliver clean water to 100,000 Tribal households;
• Launched over 6,000 projects to help communities build resilience to threats such as the impacts of climate change and cyber-attacks;
• Provided funding to over 400 states, tribes, and territories and launched over 100 projects to improve the resilience and reliability of America’s electric grid and deliver cheaper and cleaner electricity—representing the largest single investment in electric transmission and distribution infrastructure in the history of the United States;
• Funded nearly 2,400 projects for water recycling, storage, conservation, desalination, and other purposes to improve drought resilience across the West;
• Removed hazardous fuel material from 18 million acres of land through the Infrastructure Law and other sources to protect communities from wildfires;
• Plugged over 9,600 orphaned oil and gas wells to address legacy pollution;
• Awarded funding to 95 previously unfunded Superfund projects, clearing a longstanding backlog of projects to clean up contaminated sites and advance environmental justice;
• Provided funding to 180 programs that advance President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal clean energy, climate, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities;
• Created 940,000 construction jobs and construction employment is at a record high—higher than the previous peak before the Great Recession.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACROSS KEY SECTORS

The Biden-Harris Administration has made notable progress implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across key sectors:

• Roads and Bridges: Safe, modern transportation systems connect people to opportunity and critical destinations, bringing goods to market, bringing communities together, and enabling economic growth. That’s why President Biden secured the largest investment in transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and major projects, since President Eisenhower’s investment in the Interstate Highway System. Since President Biden took office, improvements have started on over 196,000 miles of roads and over 11,400 bridge repair projects are underway – making our roadways safer and reconnecting communities across the country. This includes some of the most economically significant bridges in the country, like the Blatnik Bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota or the I-55 America’s River Crossing between Tennessee and Arkansas. The Infrastructure Law is also funding thousands of smaller bridge projects, many of which are already complete, like the Second Avenue Bridge in Detroit and the Montgomery Avenue Bridge in Philadelphia.

• Rail: When President Biden took office, he laid out his vision to bring world-class passenger rail to the United States. That’s why the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $66 billion in rail, the largest investment in passenger rail since the inception of Amtrak and an unprecedented investment in rail safety. Projects are underway across the country to modernize the Northeast Corridor – the most heavily trafficked rail corridor in the United States – to build new high-speed rail service, improve the efficiency of freight rail service, and eliminate dangerous rail crossings. An additional $1.5 billion will be announced today from the Department of Transportation for rail investments to provide faster, safer, and more reliable service for travelers and commuters. For example, the Brightline West High Speed Rail project broke ground earlier this year, using $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to connect Las Vegas and Southern California with 200-mile-per-hour zero emission train service and creating more than 35,000 jobs.

• Airports: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $25 billion to modernize and upgrade airports and air traffic facilities nationwide, improving passenger experience through expanding capacity, increasing accessibility, and reducing delays. The Biden-Harris Administration has delivered funding for over 400 airport terminal projects to modernize and expand terminals – over 200 of which are under construction or complete­. This includes projects like the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Terminal Modernization project, where a new concourse was built with five new gates and upgraded waiting area was completed this year, and the San Diego International Airport Project, where construction is underway to build a new terminal with the addition of 30 gates, a five-story parking plaza, and roadway improvements. The Administration has also completed over 1,600 projects to upgrade and replace air traffic control towers to ensure the safe operation of the Nation’s airspace.

• Ports and Waterways: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $17 billion to upgrade our nation’s ports and waterways. The Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers have together funded over 580 port and waterway projects to strengthen supply chain reliability, speed up the movement of goods, reduce costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Major projects are already under construction, including at Montgomery Locks and Dam in Pennsylvania and Soo Locks in Michigan, which received a combined $1.65 billion to modernize and expand aging locks on key rivers that are lynchpins of national supply chains, keeping critical goods flowing and lowering costs for families. The Army Corps of Engineers has also invested $142 million to make the Port of Norfolk, Virginia, the deepest port on the East Coast, allowing enhanced navigation for larger commercial vessels. And today, the Department of Transportation is announcing nearly $580 million to increase capacity and efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports, and inland river ports.

• Transit and School Buses: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the largest investment in public transit ever, at nearly $90 billion – including billions to electrify or upgrade our bus, transit rail, and ferry fleets. Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has deployed over 4,600 American-made transit buses and over 8,900 clean school buses in over 1,300 communities across the country, prioritizing disadvantaged communities. Through the Capital Investment Grant program, the Administration is funding long-awaited capital projects – like the Mill Plains BRT in Vancouver, Washington, that provides fast, reliable transit service, and which opened earlier this year; and the Phoenix Northwest Light Rail Extension, which is now complete and is expected to transport nearly 2 million Phoenix residents to new stations and employ transit-oriented development to develop new housing and retail along this route.

• Clean Water: President Biden believes that every American should be able to turn on the tap and drink safe, clean water. To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced over $40.3 billion to provide clean water across the country and improve water infrastructure, as part of the largest investment in clean water in U.S. history. This includes $9 billion announced so far toward President Biden’s commitment to replace every lead pipe within a decade. Under this Administration, 367,000 lead pipes have already been replaced, benefiting nearly 1 million people and protecting communities across the country from the irreversible health effects of lead exposure. To further accelerate lead pipe replacement, last month President Biden announced a new rule requiring water systems nationwide to replace lead service lines within 10 years. Altogether, funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has financed 2,400 drinking water and wastewater projects across the country. For example, the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System has now completed the construction of 300 miles of water pipeline to deliver reliable clean water to 350,000 people in rural Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration through the Department of Interior has funded 575 projects for water recycling, storage, conservation, desalination, and other purposes to improve drought resilience across the West. One project under construction is the B.F. Sisk Dam in California’s Central Valley, which has received over $210 million to fortify and expand the dam’s reservoir by 130,000 acre-feet, making it the largest addition of surface water storage currently underway in the country.

• High-Speed Internet: Since President Biden took office, 2.4 million American homes and small businesses have been connected to high-speed internet for the first time, and construction has begun in 21 states on high-speed internet projects that will improve network resilience and connect rural and Tribal communities. For example, homes and small businesses in Eureka, Montana, are now being connected to fiber-based high-speed internet through a $12 million USDA project. The Biden-Administration has also provided funding to more than 281 Tribal governments to connect over 65,000 Tribal households with high-speed internet. In addition, Infrastructure Law funding has helped launch construction on middle mile networks that are building or upgrading over 3,200 miles of middle mile high-speed internet infrastructure across 15 states and territories. One example is the HERO Project in North Carolina, an $11 million project to construct over 200 miles of fiber through central and southeastern North Carolina, including around Fort Liberty, Pope Air Force Base, and Camp Lejeune, benefitting both civilian and military populations. The Administration also implemented new rules to expose internet junk fees, enabling 300 million Americans to shop for home and mobile internet plans that best meet their needs and budget.

• Modernizing the Grid and Deploying Clean Energy: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes more than $62 billion in funding at the Department of Energy to advance our clean energy future by investing in clean energy demonstration and deployment projects, manufacturing technologies domestically, increasing U.S. competitiveness, making our power grid stronger and more resilient to extreme weather, and all while creating high-quality, good-paying union jobs and lowering costs for Americans across the nation. Since President Biden took office, the federal government has provided funding to over 400 states, Tribes, and territories and launched over 100 projects to improve the resilience and reliability of America’s electric grid and deliver cheaper and cleaner electricity—representing the largest single investment in electric transmission and distribution infrastructure in the history of the United States. For example, the Joint Targeted Interconnection Queue Transmission Study Process and Portfolio (JTIQ) project is coordinating the comprehensive planning, design, and construction of five transmission projects across seven Midwest states. Projects are also strengthening the grid locally and helping communities like Estes Park, CO to power through future severe weather events by installing an innovative battery storage project.

• Resilience: Across the country, Americans are experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change. The Biden-Harris Administration has deployed $27.4 billion in funding towards an “all hazards” approach to protecting our infrastructure and communities from physical, climate, and cybersecurity-related threats. To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has launched over 6,000 projects to help communities proactively build resilience to these threats before disasters strike. That includes protecting communities from wildfires by removing hazardous fuels from nearly 18 million acres of land through the Infrastructure Law and other sources, as well as funding projects to elevate or relocate over 3,500 homes and buildings outside of the reach of floodwaters, and creating a record wildland firefighting workforce of 16,700 with boosted pay.

• Legacy Pollution: The Biden-Harris Administration is cleaning up the air, land, and water in communities that have been burdened by legacy pollution for far too long. Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has helped plug over 9,600 orphaned oil and gas wells that pollute communities with methane leaks. To date, the Administration has allocated funding to 95 previously unfunded Superfund site projects, including the longstanding backlog of projects, to clean up contaminated sites and advance environmental justice, leading to completed cleanups at 10 Superfund sites and 24 brownfield sites. For example, after decades of community advocacy, the Environmental Protection Agency has completed the cleanup of the Clearview Landfill Superfund project in Philadelphia’s Eastwick neighborhood, which will prevent toxins from leaching into the nearby Darby Creek.

DELIVERING PROJECTS QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY

To deliver on the promise of this historic legislation and deliver impact to communities and workers as soon as possible, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

• Accelerated Federal Permitting: President Biden has been clear that the government can and must deliver more projects, more quickly. Through his Investing in America Agenda, he is delivering on that promise by accelerating project reviews while protecting communities and our environment. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic steps to accelerate and improve the federal permitting process so that Americans across the country can benefit from the promise of the Investing in America agenda – including lowering energy costs for families and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying and union jobs. The Administration has taken a three-prong approach. First, investing $1 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act funds to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews. Second, passing the first reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in 50 years and finalizing the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to accelerate the federal environmental review process. And third, using executive authorities, wherever possible, to improve permitting and environmental review processes. Thanks to these actions, the Biden-Harris administration has cut six months off the median time it takes for agencies to complete the most extensive form of environment review, cut the average time it takes to complete a Department of Transportation environmental assessment by more than one-third, and expanded use of the fastest form of environmental review – categorical exclusions. Since the start of the Administration, over 15 federal agencies have developed, expanded, or adopted 125 categorical exclusions for projects with insignificant environmental impact in key sectors such as electric vehicle charging, broadband, semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, and transmission.

• Expanded Technical Assistance: In the past, too many communities have lacked the resources to access and deploy transformative Federal funding opportunities. The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to help state, local, Tribal and territorial governments and other nongovernmental partners effectively navigate the historic funding provided through the Investing in America agenda. New technical assistance and capacity building programs like the Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities, Environmental Protection Administration’s Get the Lead Out Initiative, and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Partners Network provide training, hands-on support, and expert assistance to communities across the country. The Administration has identified over 100 technical assistance programs to help would-be applicants with their planning and delivery needs—and has worked with philanthropy and civil society stakeholders to ensure that historically-underserved communities have the tools they need to take advantage of this historic opportunity.

Invested in Workforce: The Investing in America agenda is projected to create hundreds of thousands of good-paying and union jobs for years to come that provide critical benefits and supportive services – many of which do not require a four-year college degree. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that all workers—including women, people of color, veterans, and those that have been historically left behind–have equitable access to those job opportunities and the training and skills needed to fill them. The Administration has launched nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs in Augusta, Baltimore, Columbus, Michigan, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Upstate New York to build partnerships that train and connect Americans to these jobs in key sectors such as transportation, clean energy and manufacturing. In addition, the Administration has made unprecedented federal investments in these sectors. Since the President took office over $80 billion from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan have been committed to strengthen and expand the American workforce. These investments have bolstered Registered Apprenticeships resulting in the hiring of more than 1 million apprentices and deployed hundreds of millions of dollars to support for community college workforce training programs.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists for the Crow Tribe of Montana and ordered federal aid to supplement the Tribal Nation’s efforts in the areas affected by a severe storm and straight-line winds on August 6, 2024. 

The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals on the Crow Tribe of Montana.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the Crow Tribe of Montana.

Mr. James R. Stephenson of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the Tribal Nation and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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       On America Recycles Day, we recognize the important role recycling plays in helping secure a more sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come.  We show our gratitude for all the people who work hard to make sure we limit our waste and responsibly steward our national resources.  And we recommit to building a Nation where we address the existential risk of climate change and where everyone can enjoy the benefits of a greener world.
     Producing and processing the materials we use every day cause more than a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the threat of climate change.  The health and well-being of too many people suffer due to the damaging effects of pollution and the toxins released when waste is landfilled, dumped, or incinerated.  That is why it is so important to reduce waste and recycle.  When we reduce waste, we conserve the energy and natural resources needed to make these materials.  And when we recycle, we give these materials another life — reducing the need for more production.  But recycling is still too difficult.  Too many Americans are unsure of where and which materials can be recycled.  And when materials do end up in recycling, municipalities struggle to find markets for them.  
     To make recycling easier and more efficient, my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made the largest investment in recycling in nearly three decades.  It has launched hundreds of new projects that are helping to support manufacturing, improve waste management, advance environmental justice, and educate people about recycling.  My Administration also released the first comprehensive, Government-wide strategy to limit the harms of plastic pollution at production, processing, use, and disposal, and we announced a goal to end the use of single-use plastics in the Federal Government by 2035.  We also crafted the first-ever National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics to coordinate agencies in recycling organic materials like food waste while cutting costs for families.  At the same time, we have been pursuing the initiatives outlined in our National Recycling Strategy to improve our recycling and waste management systems, working to find ways to better collect recyclable products, reach markets for these materials, and develop new technologies that will protect public health and the environment.  All this contributes to my Administration’s ambitious work to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — to that end, my Inflation Reduction Act made the largest investment in climate action in history.
     We have made important progress toward building an economy that values recycling, but there is still more to do.  Each of us can play a role in protecting our natural environment and addressing the existential risk of climate change by recycling — remember to dispose of waste in the proper bins whenever possible, reuse containers, compost food, and use products made with recycled materials.  I call on manufacturers and corporations to ensure their products and materials are reusable and recyclable when possible and limit the use of non-recyclable packaging.  On America Recycles Day, may we recommit to building a better, healthier future through recycling.
     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 November 15, 2024, as America Recycles Day.  I call upon the people of the United States of America to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, and I encourage all Americans to continue their environmental efforts by recycling throughout the year.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                        JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Aboard Air Force One En Route Lima, Peru

3:40 P.M. EST

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Hey, guys.  Oh, it smells like crab cake back here.

Q    Yes.  (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I have a quick thing at the top, and then I’ll hand it over to Jake. 

So, earlier today, the president announced that Americans have filed more than 20 million new business applications since he and the vice president took office.

Under their leadership, we have had the first-, second-, and third-strongest years of new business applications on — on record and are on track for a fourth.

Business ownership has doubled among Black households and hit a 30-year high for Hispanic households.  New business creation rates hit a 30-year high for Asian Americans.  And the share of women businesses owners is on the rise.

As the president has said, every new small business is an act of hope, and these new business applications represent 20 million acts of hope by the American people.

The Biden-Harris administration will continue to use every tool available to support the small businesses and entrepreneurs that are powering our economic recovery and his nationwide small-business boom.

With that, as you can see, we have the national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, joining us for the gaggle.

MR. SULLIVAN:  Thank you, Karine. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yep.

MR. SULLIVAN:  And thanks for joining us here on Air Force One en route to Lima, Peru, for the APEC Summit. 

I’m sure you all studied very carefully my comments yesterday at the podium, so I’m not going to repeat in great detail all the various pieces of business that we intend to get done here over the next few days at both APEC and the G20, with a stop in the Amazon in between.

I’ll just make a few quick points and then open it up for your questions.

First, President Biden enters this APEC Summit with the U.S. in a very strong strategic position in the Asia-Pacific — strong alliances; a strong competitive economic and technological edge; new initiatives in terms of investment, supply chains, trade that are already bearing fruit; the Quad, AUKUS, the Camp David Trilateral, as points on the board that he has put over the course of the past four years.

And so, we’re very much looking forward to the opportunity to engage with leaders from across the region as President Biden wraps up his tenure.

Tomorrow, he’ll have the opportunity to engage with all of the APEC leaders in a larger plenary session, and then he’ll do a trilateral meeting with the president of Korea and the prime minister of Japan.  That trilateral will mark the progress that we’ve made since the Camp David summit, including in the security, technology, supply chain, and other realms.

And also, critically, we’ll focus on making sure that we’ve institutionalized the trilateral so that it will be an enduring feature of American policy in the Indo-Pacific going forward.  And given the bipartisan support for it, we fully expect that it would continue under the next administration — though, of course, they’ll make their own decisions.

Tomorrow, the president will also have the chance to have a brief meeting with Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan — a bilateral meeting — because the two of them, of course, have not had the chance to meet in person since he became prime minister.

And he will have a meeting with President Boluarte of Peru.  And at that meeting, we’ll have deliverables in terms of counternarcotics, rail, and space, as well as, you know, the opportunity to mark nearly 200 years of strong bilateral ties between our two countries.

Then we’ll roll into the next day: the meeting with President Xi, further meetings at a plenary level with the other APEC leaders.  And we’ll have more to share on that on the ground when we do further gaggles with you all and with the traveling press corps. 

Obviously, that meeting with Xi Jinping will be his final meeting with President Xi as president.  It’s an important opportunity to mark the progress that we’ve made in the relationship and also to manage it through this delicate period of transition where we want to maintain a degree of stability, even as we continue to compete vigorously with the PRC.  We need to manage that competition so it doesn’t veer into conflict.

So, with that, let me open it up for your questions.

Q    Just — thanks, Jake — zero in a little bit more on the trilateral tomorrow.  Obviously, (inaudible) as you talked about, you’re trying to institutionalize this trilateral, but it’s also a very tense time with North Korea’s ballistic missile testing and also Kursk. 

How are you guys look — going into looking at this moment?  And is this also now maybe a period, hopefully, of a little bit of quiet with North Korea going past the election?  Or — or is the administration still feeling a bit on edge of where we’re at?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I do not think we can count on a period of quiet with the DPRK.  Obviously, they’ve continued their ballistic missile testing just in recent days and weeks.  The possibility of a seventh nuclear test remains ever present.  It’s something we’re vigilant for. 

Transitions have historically been time periods when the DPRK has taken provocative actions, both before and after the transition from one president to a new president.  So, that’s something we are watching very carefully and will be watching every day between now and January 20th.

And obviously, it’s a real opportunity for us to consult at the leaders’ level both to be prepared for any provocation that may come, whether it be with respect to missile testing or a nuclear test or other provocations.  It also will be an opportunity for the three to get a coordinated response to the introduction of DPRK soldiers onto the — or into western Russia. 

And obviously, we’ve consulted at multiple levels of government.  I’ve spoken with my counterpart; Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin have spoken with theirs.  The ROK and Japan have both expressed grave concern about this, just as we have and our European partners have. 

But in terms of the tangible coordination and the policy steps that we can take, this will be an opportunity for the three leaders to talk, make sure we’re on the same page, and that we’re moving out in a coordinated way. 

This is a significant development, and we’re going to treat it with the seriousness with which it deserves to be treated. 

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Can I just — can I just hone in — sorry.  Can I just hone in on — on that trilat?  So, what is the deliverables in terms of actual statements or agreements that will come out of this?  Is there anything that involves nuclear deterrence in the region?

MR. SULLIVAN:  We obviously have bilateral extended deterrence dialogues with both Japan and Korea, and they have both been elevated to new levels under President Biden, and I would say they’re at as robust and intense a level as we’ve seen in recent decades.  So, extended deterrence remains a strong feature of our bilateral relationship. 

There will not be any specific announcement on extended deterrence at a trilateral level, but this will be an opportunity for us to ensure that each of these two bilateral dialogues are working to reinforce one another and that there aren’t gaps and seams between them.  So, it will be part of the agenda tomorrow.

In terms of the deliverables, one of the main things that will come out of tomorrow is the establishment of the secretariat for the trilateral on a going-forward basis so that there is an institutional framework and this isn’t just a series of leaders’ meetings.  It is, in fact, something that has a home in all three governments, and the three governments can cooperate at every level on trilateral collaboration. 

So, for example, on trilateral exercises, we’ve had our first significant trilateral exercise — Freedom’s Edge — and now, at this meeting, they’ll talk about how to step up trilateral exercises. 

We’ve made progress on technology protection, on supply chain diversification, on missile warning and the sharing of data with respect to missile warning.  In all of those areas, we expect to take further steps tomorrow.

Q    Jake, can —

Q    On the introduction of DPRK troops into Russia.  How quickly should we expect to see a response, if you’re using tomorrow to coordinate once again?  And then, I assume also broaden this to other allies who also have expressed concern? 

MR. SULLIVAN:  I think it’s important to see this not in terms of a single action or day where you would be able to point to it and say, “Aha, that is the response.”  This is a significant development.  It is going to require us to work with our allies and partners to deal with it on an ongoing basis.  There will be multiple elements to how we deal with it that will unfold over time. 

So, I wouldn’t expect to wake up one day and say, “Okay, now we’ve seen it.  We’ve seen what they’re ‘doing’ — quote, unquote — in response to that.” 

I think, rather, there will be a coordinated set of policy decisions that we take — diplomatic, in terms of the material provided to Ukraine, and otherwise — that we will work with our allies and partners on.  That includes our allies and partners in Europe, and it includes Japan and ROK.

Q    And on the — sorry — on the China meeting.  Yesterday, you talked about how the new administration, regardless of what they do, obviously, have to manage this relationship.  What do you see as the biggest China risk for the incoming administration that they face in 2025?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, I’ve talked multiple times about how the most significant risk for the United States and for the world is somehow peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is disturbed and we end up in conflict there.  That would be catastrophic for everyone involved: for Taiwan, for Beijing, for us, for the world. 

I wouldn’t necessarily say, given how we have managed cross-strait relations, that that should be something that is at, you know, heightened risk in 2025.  But because of the size of the risk, even if it’s not that likely, it’s something that has to be at the top of the agenda. 

There are more immediate issues that — where the stakes are high but not quite as high as that.  For example, China’s continued aggressive activity and behavior in the South China Sea, its coercion and pressure on countries like the Philippines — the incoming administration is going to have to focus on that right out of the gate, just as we’ve had to focus on that all along. 

And then, of course, there’s the continuing economic and technology relationship, where the United States is going to have to take steps on an ongoing basis to maintain our competitive edge.  Of course, we in the Biden administration have taken a number of those steps, and we’re — you know, there are more things that we can do before we leave, but also the new administration is going to have to carry that agenda forward. 

Q    So, Jake, can I just ask — you’ve talked a little bit about institutionalizing things, making sure that — at the levels below the two leaders, that things are — are going to continue or you hope they will continue.  That’s what is normally done in administration — from one administration to the next. 

You’ve got an incoming administration where people like, you know, Elon Musk say they want to cut $2 trillion.  You have Pete Hegseth at DOD.  You have Matt Gaetz at FBI, saying he’s — just want to get rid of the FBI and the ATF. 

Like, what — forget about the, you know, presidential level.  Do you have any confidence that even, you know, deep down in the bureaucracy, that some of these things that you’re putting into place are actually going to continue?  Or do you — do you feel like even those things that you’re trying to institutionalize are at risk?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Let me try to answer that question with an example.  My example is the Quad, which was first conceived of in the Bush — the George W. Bush administration.  It was then taken forward modestly in the Obama administration, taken forward a bit more in the Trump administration, and then elevated to leaders’ level and institutionalized in the Biden administration.  So, Obama to Trump to Biden, you see continuity and then acceleration of a critical institutional initiative in the Indo-Pacific. 

I use that example because I would put the Camp David Trilateral in a similar category.  It’s the kind of thing that has strong bipartisan support, that has obvious benefits to the United States, that doesn’t involve some massive incremental resource commitment. 

So, I do have some measure of confidence that that kind of initiative, properly institutionalized, can endure and be sustained through the next administration and the one beyond that and the one beyond that.

With respect to the wider suite of policy questions that your — your question raised, I can’t speak to that.  All I can do is look at areas where we believe that we are passing off a strong hand for the United States with our allies and partners and where we want to do everything possible to set them up for success should they choose to carry it forward.

The choice to carry it forward will ultimately be theirs to make.

Q    My question was — was really a kind of tricky way to get you to comment on the president — the next president’s nominees. 

MR. SULLIVAN:  Oh.

Q    Don’t — you don’t want to do that?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I do not want to do that.  No.  No, I do not want to do that.  

Q    Can I ask a — can I ask a China question, Jake?  So, Xi Jinping in Peru will also be inaugurating this $1.3 billion megaport that’s kind of like a hub for trade connectivity to South America. 

We know that, three years ago, President Biden tried to offer his counter to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.  And since then, it has been scaled down — or maybe you would call it “refocused” — to the two corridors: Luzon and Lobito. 

My question is: In these past years, what has the administration learned in terms of what it can and cannot do in terms of competing with China and offering a viable and more healthy development financing?

MR. SULLIVAN:  First of all, I think it’s just totally wrong to say that the Partnership for Global Infrastructure — PGI — has been scaled down to two corridors.  I don’t know where you got that from.  It’s just not–

Q    Well, you would say “as a refocus.”  But, I mean, in terms of actual —

MR. SULLIVAN:  Oh, no, no.  Or — or refocused.  I mean, we’ve mobilized more than $60 billion, just the U.S.  And that’s a part of the larger G7.  And that’s not just been for two corridors.  That’s been for investments across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

So, I — I couldn’t more emphatically reject the notion that PGI is now just focused on two corridors.  I — I’m not sure why you’re proceeding from that premise.

In fact, a lot of that investment is in Latin America, and we will be making announcements when we go to Brazil connected to PGI.  And in Peru alone, you mentioned a $1.3 billion port project that China is inaugurating.  We’ve got more than $6 billion in American foreign direct investment in Peru.

So, I think there’s an interesting dynamic where every time we fly to South America or Africa, the press writes the story: “China is doing a lot; America is doing a little.” 

And then you look at the numbers behind it — the total stock of American investment in Latin America and the Caribbean — and you compare that to what China is doing.  We are, across our private sector and now backed up by tools like the Development Finance Corporation, investing in a wide range of technology, infrastructure, energy, health, and other projects and are an incredibly important player.

And the free trade agreement between the U.S. and Peru has been a significant job creator in the U.S. and a significant job creator in Peru and will — that will continue to be the case as we go forward.

Q    Jake, any progress on Ukraine or Middle East, particularly at the G20, since you’ve got so many allies and also adversaries there?  Or is basically everything on hold until January the 20th with those?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I think you’ll see continued activity on both of those accounts.  Nothing is on hold between now and January 20th. 

For example, we’re continuing to work on diplomacy relative to Lebanon.  We’re continuing to seek a hostage deal, even if it’s, you know, the first step in a hostage deal.  And the president just met with the hostage families yesterday.

You know, obviously, we’re continuing to coordinate closely with Israel with respect to the threat posed by Iran and potential response by Iran to Israel’s actions from a few weeks ago.

So, on the Middle East, every single day is going to bring continued action, diplomacy, and work on our part right up until the last minute that President Biden is president. 

I don’t anticipate the G20 is going to be a particularly fruitful venue for that kind of work, at least not at the plenary level.  But obviously, in the side conversations with European counterparts, Middle Eastern counterparts, and others, we’ll continue to try to drive diplomacy forward.

Similarly, on Ukraine, he will have the chance to see his European colleagues, and he will be talking about next steps on Ukraine, including what we’re trying to do to surge military equipment, to allocate all of the resources that Congress has given us, and also to find other ways to strengthen Ukraine so that we hand that account off in the best possible shape to the next administration.

Q    Would that include Eur- —

Q    (Inaudible.)

Q    Would that include Europe doing more for Ukraine?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, we have watched, over the course of the past two and a half years, Europe stepping up to the plate and sharing the burden in relatively unprecedented ways in modern times, in terms of the amount of resources allocated and the types of contributions — military assistance contributions that they have made.

So, we’re going to argue that should continue and that should intensify, because the goal should be to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that they have the most possible leverage going into negotiations.

Q    The hostage families were at the White House yesterday.  Is the overall message to those families that there will be a deal that gets done in the next 60 days, or is it better for them to pivot to working with the Trump administration to getting their loved ones home?

MR. SULLIVAN:  What they asked of us and then what they asked publicly is that we start work now with the incoming administration on a coordinated approach so we make maximum use of these 60-plus days so we don’t just wait it out or so that we don’t work at cross purposes.  We’ve indicated we’re prepared to do that.

Q    And then —

Q    Jake —

Q    Sorry, just real quick.  The — there’s a lot of new leaders that are going to be at APEC, at G20.  Biden is an outgoing president.  I mean, what do- — how does he plan to really speak with those leaders that he’s — he could be meeting for the first time?

MR. SULLIVAN:  So, in some cases, it will be an opportunity to make sure that he’s taking stock of the health of the relationship. 

So, Prime Minister Ishiba is a good example of this.  They’ve spoken on the phone.  They haven’t met in person.  They’ll meet for the first time.  President Biden will be able to review with Prime Minister Ishiba, really, the historic heights that the U.S.-Japan alliance has reached and then basically say, “This is what I plan to hand off to my successor when he comes in.”

With others, you know, it will obviously be an opportunity for him to convey long-standing American positions that don’t change much from administration to administration, that didn’t change much from the last Trump administration to this one. 

And then, in some cases, he’ll say, “I don’t speak for the incoming administration, so I’m not sure what they’re going to do.  I can only tell you what I believe in.”  So, it’ll be different kinds of conversations with different folks. 

There are a lot of people, though, that he has worked closely with over the last four years at both of these summits, and it will be an opportunity for him to say thank you for great partnership and work together. 

And in cases like President Xi Jinping, it will be an opportunity for him to have a capstone on a relationship dating back more than a decade.

Q    Jake, response to the explosions in Brazil.  Any reaction to that, and has that changed the plans at all for — for this trip?

MR. SULLIVAN:  It hasn’t changed our plans.  Obviously, we are — have expressed our concern and condemnation for any kind of violence.  And we’ve been in touch with Brazilian authorities.  They’re dealing with the situation.  And we look forward to our visit. 

Q    Jake —

Q    Jake — one more, Jake.  Human rights — sorry.

Q    On — on the hostages and the appointment yesterday — or the nomination — announcement of the nomination of Governor Huckabee, who has said some pretty controversial things about Palestinian people.  Does that help the case for you guys to be able to work together with the Trump administration?  And does it just generally help the case for releasing hostages when someone like that is being put forward as the next ambassador to Israel?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I didn’t see the exact comments that you’re referring to, so I can’t quite comment on it.

But what I will say is we’ve expressed our willingness to try to come up with a coordinated approach.  I would hope that President Trump is committed to getting the hostages out.  President Biden certainly is.  And so, we ought to be able to work together on it. 

But I can’t speak to Senator — Governor Huckabee’s comments.

Q    If I could stay on the Middle East, Jake.  So, Human Rights Watch just released a report saying that Israeli officials who have repeatedly displaced and relocated civilians are — and I quote — “committing the war crime of forcible transfer.”  What is the administration’s position on this, considering Israel is well documented to be displacing people over and over again?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I have not seen that report, so I can’t comment on it.

Q    Jake, but what —

Q    Do you have any concerns, from a national security perspective, that Elon Musk is joining President-elect Trump’s foreign leader calls and is weighing in on foreign policy on behalf of leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I don’t have any comment about that.  I’ve just seen the reports.  But they’ll make their own decisions about how they want to engage with foreign leaders.

Q    But can I just come back —

Q    Do you have any concerns about —

Q    Can I just come back on that issue, Jake, about — about forcible transfer, about displacement of Palestinians over and over?  What is just the broad administration’s view on that?

MR. SULLIVAN:  The secretary of state and secretary of defense sent a letter to the Israeli government requesting a series of steps to alleviate the dramatic and terrible human suffering that is unfolding in Gaza as the war continues.  They have now received a response from the Israeli government, and they’re working back and forth together on that. 

The State Department has spoken at some length on the question you just posed, and I’d refer you to them.

Q    It was just about Tulsi Gabbard, if I may.  Do you have any concerns about intelligence sharing with the int- — incoming administration, given her history of comments about Putin and about Syria?  And also, do you think it might — that might be a problem for Five Eyes allies who may be planning to share intelligence and may have concerns about her positions on those things?

MR. SULLIVAN:  As far as I’m concerned, our transition is going to unfold on regular order — the regular process of people moving through the nomination process, people moving through the security clearance process.  Our intelligence community is doing the briefings. 

I am not going to get engaged in that or play a role in that because that is properly the work of the relevant intelligence agencies to do their work.  And so, I don’t — I don’t really have any comment about President’s Trump — President Trump’s nominees or — or public comments and how they relate to the — you know, to this — this issue of intelligence.

Q    Can I just — one more on China.  Part of why you guys manage the relationship the way you have is because you have a channel with your counterpart in China.  Would you — and that’s worked well, I guess you would say.  Would you advise your successor, Mike Waltz, to keep that channel going?  Or what’s sort of your unsolicited advice to the next guy?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I hope to have the opportunity, as we go through the handoff, to speak with my successor about the full range of issues on our plate, including how we went about managing the U.S.-China relationship.  He’ll have his own ideas.  The administration will have their own ideas.  I’ll share my advice, but I’ll share it with him privately rather than publicly. 

Q    Jake, there’s a — the Biden administration put a freeze on LNG exports.  That’s important to a lot of allies that — that the president is going to meet.  Will there be any update on that freeze or — or when — when those export licenses might go out (inaudible)?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I — that’s one you’re — you’ll have to go to the Department of Energy on because they are working through a process with the study.  It was a pause in order to understand fully the implications of continued granting of permits.  They’ve been working through that process, and they will make the determination about how — what the next step is with respect to that study.

Q    You mentioned — Jake, you mentioned work together with Peru on anti-trafficking — drug trafficking.  Can you confirm that the U.S. will be sending nine Black Hawk helicopters for this effort?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I can’t confirm that in this gaggle on this plane, but I will have more to report to you tomorrow in and around the bilat. 

Okay?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  All right.

MR. SULLIVAN:  Thank you, guys.

Q    Thanks, Jake.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thank you, Jake.  Thank you.  Okay. 

Q    Can I start?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I feel like — I feel like he did — he did everything.  I don’t need to do much. 

Q    Oh, there’s more.  There’s more.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  There’s more.  Okay.  Go ahead. 

Q    Thank — thank you.  On the Matt Gaetz nomination.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Does the White House just have any general response?  And is the president at all concerned, considering some of the things that the congressman has said in the past?  Is there a concern that he would weaponize the Justice Department in general but also to go after members of this administration or even members of his family?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, a couple of things.  We’re going to certainly continue to respect the process, the transition, the handoff.  We’re going to continue to not — we’re not going to comment on every personnel choice or decision that is made by the president-elect and his transition team.

I will say this — and I think you saw by example from this administration the importance of the Department of Justice being independent and especially as it relates to investigations. 

And I will also add: The only loyalty we believe — and it should be believed — that the Department of Justice should have is to the Constitution and to the rule of law.  There should not be loyalty to any political party.  That is not how the Department of Justice should be run. 

And so, that is something we’ve been very, very clear about — very — and I think, also, you can see by this president leading by example and — and continuing to say the Department of Justice should be independent, especially as we talk about investigations.  Again, any personnel decision or choice, we’re just not going to — to comment on, but we can speak, obviously, as I just did, more broadly.

Q    Can I — can I ask you, then, more broadly?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Sure.  Yeah.

Q    The — the president spent so much of the last four years talking about Donald Trump being an existential threat to the — to democracy, to this country, and to everything that the — that — that he and — that he thinks the country believes in. 

Yet, since the election, we essentially haven’t heard anything from him on that subject.  And I wonder, does — is — is he — I guess, should we — should we take from that that he’s going to be comfortable leaving the White House not having expressed any thoughts about what he now fears for the country, because — because he wants to respect a — a clean transition and so, therefore —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I’m — I mean —

Q    — that’s it? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look — and he — when he spoke in the Rose Garden two days after the election —

Q    Right.  He didn’t talk at all about that. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Oh, I — I know.  

Q    Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Let me — let me —

Q    Okay.  Sorry.  Sorry, sorry, sorry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Give — give me a second.  Give me a second. 

One of the things that he said, aside from, you know, your — your part about a peaceful transition of power, but which actually connects it, is that the will of the people.  The American people decided.  They made a decision on who they wanted the next president to — to be.  And we have to respect that.  The president understands that we need to respect the will of the people. 

And so, this is the time of — any time post-election — right? — especially on the presidential level, like this moment, until the transition, actually, the a- — the official part of where the — where the president — obviously, the president-elect becomes inaugurated on — on January 20th, we have to respect that process.  We do.

Q    So, just to —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, we do, right?  It — it is — it is — this is what the American people deserve.  They deserve to have a peaceful transfer of power, an orderly transfer of power, and that is what the president is focused on and that’s what he zeroed in on.  And — and that’s what you’re seeing.

It — it is actually — it’s — it’s quite simple.  You know, it is —

Q    (Inaudible) from —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — quite direct. 

Q    — all of those people —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah?

Q    — millions, tens of millions of people who believed, who were supporters of the pres- — of President Biden’s —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — and believed him when he said that he thought this would be an existential — that — that America might not continue if Donald Trump was elected —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — they now should believe that, you know, it’s whatever, he doesn’t really need to say anything about it because —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — because it’s more important to respect —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — it — I —

Q    — the process?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Wait.  Hold on a second.  I —

Q    Or does he plan —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  First of all —

Q    — to talk about it —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Whoa, whoa, whoa.  No, no, no —

Q    — after he leaves office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, no, here’s the thing — here’s the thing: What the president said, and I’ve said this many times at the podium, he always believes and feels that the American people are obligated to honesty and the truth.  So, everything that he has shared during the last, you know, almost four years about his thoughts about democracy, democracy being a [under] threat still stands.  That hasn’t changed.  So, I just want to be really clear about that. 

Q    Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  What has changed — what has changed is there was an election.  There was.

And here’s the thing: A transition — an orderly transition of power is part of our democratic principle.  It is actually part of continuing —

Q    So — so, him talking would make it — him talking about what he believes this means would make it an unorderly or a disorderly transition?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — you know, I — I’m not going to go that — I’m not going to go that far. 

Q    Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  What I’m going to say is that we are in a — po- — a — a position or a — a transition or a — a part of the next — I guess the next part of — you know, after an election where the president has been very clear that the American people — the American people deserve a transition of power that is orderly, that is peaceful, and something, obviously, that was not afforded to him four years ago.  He wants to lead by example, and that is part of our democratic process.  It is.  It truly, truly is. 

Q    Can I ask it —

Q    Karine, was the president reassured by the meeting?

(Cross-talk.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Whoa.  Whoa.  Okay, guys.  Okay.  (Laughs.) 

Q    Can I ask it in a different way?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    So, if he still believes it, but right now, he is putting the country over —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Country first.

Q    Yes.  Does that mean right now he’s holding fire until the next president is inaugurated, and then we should expect to hear that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I —

Q    — from President Biden again?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Look, I’m — I’m not going to get into hypotheticals about post-January.  I — I’m not — I’m — I don’t, like — right?  I — I’m just —

Q    I’m just trying, like, make logic —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I’m not even sure what next week is going to look like.

Q    — work with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But, Jenny, I —

Q    — why he thinks that is —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Je- —

Q    –but is holding fire —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, here’s the thing.

Q    — because right now he’s —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I don’t even — we — you know how this is.  I don’t even know what next week is going to look like.  It’s — we — I’m not going to get into post-January 20th.

What we’re focused on and zero — zero in on and laser focused on is making sure that we are coordinated with the transition — the Trump transition, make sure that they have what they need so we can pass over what we’ve been able to do and give advice to — to an — an incoming administration.  That’s our focus. 

I’m not going to get into what the president is going to do when he’s no longer president.  He’s president right now.

I mean, the American people deserve this.  They deserve to make sure that we do this the right way.  And you’re seeing from this president leadership, and he’s leading by actually executing.

Q    Was he reassured at all by the meeting yesterday?

Q    What was the question?

Q    Was he reassured at all?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Was — was he reassured by the meeting. 

Look, I — I’m not going to go into any more details than I shared yesterday.  It — as you know, it was almost — it was almost two hours.  It was gracious.  The — the president-elect was gracious.  He — it was a cordial conversation.  He came with a set of questions that I mentioned yesterday that the pr- — that he and the president went back and forth on.  Some were national security pieces, and some were domestic policy pieces.

I’m not going to go beyond that.  I think the president-elect spoke for himself on this yesterday, and so — and I think he pretty much echoed what I shared with all of you in the briefing room.  And so, I’m just going to leave it there.  I don’t have any more details to share. 

Q    Karine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    The president will come to this summit meeting world leaders who’s looking at this on the — you know, the American people electing Donald Trump and then Joe Biden and then Donald Trump again — like some pretty extreme swings of ideology and priorities. 

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping is coming in, and he’s projecting this image of stability — right? — and his vision of China’s role in the global world order.  What would the president say to — to those leaders who are saying that, “Well, we just can’t hold U.S. commitment”?

MS.  JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, I think Jake was asked this question multiple times yesterday and — and ha- — did a pretty good laydown, as the national security advisor, about how the president — about where we are and how the president engages with world leaders. 

And I think it’s just going to be a continuation of that: focusing on the moment, focusing on the — whatever 60-odd days that we have, continuing the progress that we’ve made in almost four years, continuing to talk about how we’re going to strengthen those alliances with partners and also continued shared interest. 

And so, there’s going to be a lot on the agenda.  We’ll have a lot more to share.  I know there’s going to be more gaggles at — when we’re on the ground in both countries, as we move forward with this trip.  And so, we’ll have more to share and more of a readout from different conversations, and — and certainly, you know, what came out of the — the meetings when we get there. 

I don’t want to get ahead of that.  But the president truly believes it’s important to have these leader-to-leader engagements.  You see how effective that has been over the past almost four years.  And so, he’s going to give that encouragement, give that assurance. 

And we really can’t speak to what the next administration is going to do.  We can’t.  You know, what we can do is — and Jake talked about this — is have the conversation, have the dialogue, engage with them, give our opinions and thoughts, and we’ll see what happens. 

Q    And if I can ask for an explanation.  A couple of days ago, the president was asked whether he is confident that he could reach a ceasefire before the end of his term, and he gave a somewhat flippant answer.  If you can explain what he meant by that — why did he respond the way he did?  Was he offended by the question?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I think — I think the president — if you — if you know this president and followed this president, obviously, as many of you have — if not for the past couple of years, certainly throughout his career — you know, he’s taken this issue very seriously.  And when we say that we’ve worked on getting a ceasefire, we’ve worked on wanting to not escalate what’s happened in the Middle East, you know, having those diplomatic conversations, for example, with what’s going on in Lebanon.  He takes this all very seriously.  And —

Q    So, was he offended by the question?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — look, I — I — honestly, I can’t even speak to that — how he felt about the question — because I haven’t talked to him, so I can’t make a judgment on that. 

What I can say is this is a president who takes — it doesn’t matter if it’s diplo- — domestic issues or foreign policy issues, he takes this very seriously.  And when it comes to a ceasefire, making sure that we get the hostages home.  Remember, we have American hostages as well who are there.  We want to make sure we get them home. 

Q    So, why does — why does —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We’re working on this 24/7.

Q    — taking it seriously lead to a joke about somebody being hit in the head by a — 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I mean, honestly —

Q    — camera?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — I mean, Michael, I just kind of answered this.  I — I didn’t talk to him about it.  So, I can’t — I — I —

Q    But, Karine, you —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I don’t have eno- — I can’t speak to what the president meant about it.  What I can tell you is he is deeply committed to making sure that we get the hostages home, to making sure that we get to a ceasefire, to making sure that the Palestinian people, who are suffering in Gaza, get the ho- — get the — get the humanitarian aid that they need. 

And so, I can’t — I have not spoken to him, so I can’t speak to it directly.

Q    I know you haven’t spoken to him. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    But, I mean, you know the president —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I do.

Q    — and you know his mood.  So —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I do, but I —

Q    — was he frustrated by the lack of progress?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  You’re — it doesn’t matter how many times you ask me this question, I’m going to give you the same answer.  The president is committed to getting a ceasefire deal, and he takes this very personally as well and takes this, obviously, very seriously.  And I’m just going to leave it there.

Q    What did —

Q    Go ahead.  Go ahead, (inaudible).

Q    Earlier you mentioned — I didn’t hear Patsy’s question; hard to hear from this corner — the — Biden wants to engage with leaders.  He is not choosing to engage with the press.  There is no press conference on either leg of this trip.  I- — he has a matter of days left.  I mean, what — what was the issue with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, not days.  What — 60 — 60-some-odd days. 

Q    Sure.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  But you make it sound like we’re out of here next week.  (Laughs.)

Q    Less than a hundred.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Less — okay, that’s better.  Less than a hundred days. 

Look, the president is very much looking forward to his — this historic trip.  He often — regularly takes questions from all of you, and he is going to continue to engage with the press. 

And so, what I would say is stay tuned.  He will continue to do that.  And I just don’t have anything beyond that.

Q    (Inaudible) these press conferences — post-election press conferences in most administrations has been sort of a set piece.  Does that say something about where his head is at, that he’s not in a pl- — in a place —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, as — as your colleague said —

Q    — where he can engage with us?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — we have less than a hundred days left.  So —

Q    Right, right, right.  But we — we typically have these —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We have — we have time. 

Q    There is — I — I understand that calendar, but we — it’s now — what? — 10 days now we’re past the election?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  Hold on a second.

Q    Typically — typically presidents do engage

with the press —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  It — it didn’t happen with the —

Q    With Trump. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  With Trump.  And I don’t believe it —

Q    But when — when —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I don’t —

Q    Obama did within days with George Bush.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  He — he held a — he held a — a — well, okay.  I’m not going to go back and forth on that.  But he continued — he will continue to engage with the press.  He respects and understands the — obviously, the importance of the work that you all do, especially as it relates to communicating and — and communicating directly with the American people. 

I just don’t have anything more to share.  And he’ll continue — he will continue to engage with the press.  I don’t have anything beyond that.

Q    But can you commit that he will speak to us during — during —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.  I — I — (laughs).

Q    I mean, Karine — Karine, this is a long and expensive trip for our outlets.  We would —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I understand that.  I get that.  I’m just saying that he is going to continue to engage with the press.  I don’t have anything beyond that to say.  He will continue to engage with you.  He respects and understands the important role that you all have, and we will continue to do that. 

You’re trying to lock me into something.  I’m just not going to lock — get locked into anything.  I’m just going to tell you to — continue to say he will engage with the press, and he enjoys doing that. 

All right.

Q    Can I — did the Trump meeting accelerate some of the formal parts of the transition process?  I understand their — the MOU hasn’t been signed yet.  Has that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Has that accelerated some of the technical parts?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Well, we believe that it’s going to happen.  And I’ve said this many times before.  The co-chairs of the Trump transition said that they’re going to sign the MOUs.  I would refer you to the — to the Trump transition about that. 

We want to get this going.  We — we are — I mean, it doesn’t stop.  I know we — we’ve talked about the MOUs.  You all have asked me about that.  And obviously, that’s important to get that done.  But it doesn’t stop what has been happening.

Yesterday, a conversation between the — the two presidents.  Our teams are continuing to talk and have had, I — I think, important conversations on — as it relates to transition. 

And I would relate y- — refer you, pardon me, to — to the Trump — Trump team about the MOUs.

Q    Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — on the Amazon part of the trip.  Obviously, in many areas, you can say you don’t know what the next administration will do, but on climate, they have been kind of clear.  They do- — you know, they want to dismantle basically everything you’ve done on climate.  So, how does that cloud the president’s trip down there and any deliverables that will come out of it that could literally be ripped up in 60, 70 days again?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, I don’t think it clouds his trip.  He’s very much looking forward to going to the Amazon.  It’s a historic trip, obviously, for a president to make. 

We certainly will have more on the deliverables and what that’s going to look like.  I think we put out a fact sheet this morning on — on that, specifically. 

Look, we are going to do everything that we can to make this transition work in a way that it should on behalf of the American people. 

The Trump administration, when they come in on January 20th, they’re going to do what they believe is — what they believe is — is the way forward. 

And what w- — we can speak to is what we’re going to continue to do right now, in this moment, as the president is president, on behalf of the American people.  That’s our commitment.  That’s what we’re going to be focused on. 

And outside of that, I just don’t have anything else to share. 

Q    Well, you kind of know that it’s not lasting, whatever will be announced right now.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I — I’m not going to get ahead of what — what the Trump administration is going to do or not do.  I’m just not going to get ahead of that.

Q    Can you speak to the president’s mood at all?  G- — sorry. 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, it’s okay.  It’s okay, Danny.  Go ahead.

Q    Can you speak to the president’s mood at all going into this meeting? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    You know, I mean, it’s — he was — would have hoped to go — be going down there with a, you know, Kamala Harris election victory under his belt.  Now he’s not.  A sense of sadness, regret?  What —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  I mean, look, we have not hid this.  Right?  We’ve been very clear.  Like, we did not get the results that we wanted.  I mean, that is just an honest answer. 

And — and I know that it’s very disappointing for many people out there, and it is disappointing.  But we also are going to respect the will of the people.  I mean, that is not just a line that I’m throwing out there.  That is something that we’re actively trying to do and respect that.  That is certainly part of the democratic process — is what we’re trying to do here in this transition. 

And he’s very much looking forward — he’s very much looking forward to this trip.  It’ll be his last G20 he’s g- — obviously, in — in Brazil — and get to see some of the world leaders that he has worked with not just for the last almost four years, but some of them he has known for some time.  And there’ll be, obviously, the APEC in Peru.  And he’s going to do this historic stop — as I was going back and forth with Jenny on — in the Amazon. 

And so, I think this is going to be a — a important trip, a good trip for the president.  He and — and you guys will get to — to see him engage, as he normally does when he does these trips.  And I think it’s — I think — you know, I think there’ll be some — I think we’ll have more to share.  I’ll s- — I’ll leave it there.  We’ll have more to share on what comes out of it.

Q    Can I ask on one of the initiatives that Brazil —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  No, you cannot ask any more questions, Patsy.  (Laughs.)

Q    Karine — Karine, it’s the same — it’s

the same line of questioning that Jenny asked —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Okay.

Q    — in terms of commitment.  Right? 

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    Like, one of the things that — that the president will attend is this global alliance for —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — to fight hunger and poverty —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yeah.

Q    — by Brazil, which is a key, important G20 initiative.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Yes, it is.

Q    So, what can the U.S. commit that will, you know, have durability?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  We’ll have more to share on that.  You’re right, it is a key initiative and is important.  It’s so- — it’s a initiative that we certainly have lead on on the global stage, and we’ll have more to share.  We’ll have more to share —

Q    Thank you, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  — what comes out of that. 

Thanks, guys. 

Q    Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thanks, everybody.

4:25 P.M. EST

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NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

     Carol Kellermann, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a term expiring January 31, 2030, vice Kathy K. Im, term expired.

     Adam Jeffrey White, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a term expiring January 31, 2030, vice Janice Miriam Hellreich, term expired.

     Devin S. Anderson, of Utah, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute for a term expiring September 17, 2025, vice Marsha J. Rabiteau, term expired.

     Loida Nicolas Lewis, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation for a term of three years, vice Alexander Crenshaw, term expired.


WITHDRAWALS SENT TO THE SENATE:

     Carl Whitney Bentzel, of Maryland, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner for a term expiring June 30, 2029.  (Reappointment), which was sent to the Senate on July 11, 2024.

     Jennifer D. Gavito, of Colorado, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the State of Libya, which was sent to the Senate on January 8, 2024.

     Deva A. Kyle, of Virginia, to be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for a term of five years, vice Gordon Hartogensis, term expired, which was sent to the Senate on July 11, 2024.

     Martin Joseph Walsh, of Massachusetts, to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service for a term expiring December 8, 2029, vice Donald Lee Moak, term expired, which was sent to the Senate on February 29, 2024.

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:

• Carol Kellermann, Nominee to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• Loida Lewis, Nominee to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

Additionally, President Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as Republican members of boards and commissions that are required, by statute or longstanding practice, to include bipartisan membership:

• Adam White, Nominee to be a Member (Republican) of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• Devin Anderson, Nominee to be a Member (Republican) of the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute

Carol Kellermann, Nominee to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

An expert in launching, managing and turning around nonprofits, Carol Kellermann has guided large and small organizations through periods of significant growth and transformation. With deep experience in Washington, D.C. and New York, Kellermann has also advised leading elected officials and led the half-billion-dollar assistance program for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Most recently, Kellermann was President of the Citizens Budget Commission, the respected independent watchdog that recommends changes and improvements in the New York City and New York State government budgets and services. Following the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, she served as the CEO of The September 11 Fund, a $500 million fund created by charities and foundations to help victims of those attacks. Over two million donors contributed to the Fund. Earlier in her career, Kellermann was Chief of Staff to then-Congressman, now Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. She held several positions in New York City government including as Deputy Commissioner of Finance and Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development.  

Kellermann also led several nonprofits, including: Learning Leaders, the oldest school volunteer program in the country; The Leonard Stern Foundation, to help homeless families in New York City; and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, which recognizes artistically-talented teenagers. 

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she practiced law early in her career for the New York Legal Aid Society and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. She lives in New York City.  

Loida Lewis, Nominee to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

Loida Lewis is Chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice, LLC, a family investment firm. A lawyer by profession, admitted to practice in the Philippines and New York, Lewis was the first Filipino woman to pass the New York bar without attending law school in the United States. When she won her discrimination case against the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, she integrated the agency and worked as General Attorney in the New York Federal office from 1978 to 1988.

Lewis also served as Chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice International, a $2 billion multinational food company with operations across Europe, from 1994-2007. She assumed its leadership after the death of her husband, attorney and Wall Street financier Reginald F. Lewis, who in 1987 engineered a leveraged buyout for $985 million of Beatrice International Foods, thus becoming the first African American to acquire a billion-dollar company.

Lewis is Chair of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, which is a benefactor of Harvard Law School, the Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Virginia State University, and the Lewis College in Sorsogon, her hometown in the Philippines. Lewis is co-founder of several advocacy organizations: Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, National Federation of Filipino American Associations and U.S. Filipinos for Good Governance.

Lewis has two daughters and five grandchildren.

Adam White, Nominee to be a Member (Republican) of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Adam White is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he holds the inaugural Laurence Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance. He is part of AEI’s “America at 250” initiative, a multi-year program bringing scholars together to write and speak on the American founding. He also directs the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

In 2021, President Biden appointed him to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States; he also is a Senior Fellow at the Administrative Conference of the United States, a federal advisory body. He has served on the boards of directors of various nonprofits focused on conservation, free speech, and the rule of law. Previously he practiced law at Baker Botts LLP and at Boyden Gray & Associates; he clerked for Judge David Sentelle on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and he was a Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Born in Dubuque, Iowa, he graduated from Wahlert High School, the University of Iowa, and Harvard Law School. He and his wife Liz are raising their family in Loudoun County, VA.

Devin Anderson, Nominee to be a Member (Republican) of the State Justice Institute

Devin Anderson is a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he works on trial and appellate litigation, with an emphasis on cybersecurity and class actions.

Raised in Mesa, Arizona, Anderson attended Mesa High School. Anderson served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. He then graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, with a double major in Economics and Russian. He became interested in the law and attended The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with highest honors. Following graduation, Anderson clerked for Judge G. Murray Snow on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona, and then for Judge Sandra Ikuta on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California. He then began practicing with Kirkland & Ellis, first in Kirkland’s Washington, D.C. office, and then Anderson helped to open Kirkland’s Salt Lake City office in late 2021.

Anderson resides in the Salt Lake area with his wife Marian, who is a speech-language pathologist, and his three children: Claire, Caleb, and Emma.

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Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. They strengthen the middle class by creating jobs and advancing opportunity. That is why President Biden and I have spent every day of our Administration fighting to invest in America’s small businesses, their owners and entrepreneurs, and the workers who power them.

Today, I am proud to celebrate that a record 20 million new small business applications have been filed since we took office. This milestone comes as our Administration is investing billions of dollars in community lenders that provide capital and financial support to small business owners and entrepreneurs in overlooked and underserved communities. Our efforts are working with record small business creation from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in entrepreneurship.

President Biden and I will continue to invest in small business owners and entrepreneurs in communities across our nation, ensuring they have the resources to not only survive but thrive. 

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The Biden-Harris Administration has powered a small business boom, overseeing record growth and support for small businesses across the country

Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, American entrepreneurs have filed over 20 million new business applications, the most in any single Presidential term in history. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have had the first, second, and third strongest years of new business applications on record, and are on track for a fourth. This is happening in communities across the country—with the most new business applications in a single Presidential term in every state. Each new business is an act of hope and confidence in the economy, and each of these applications marks the first step in that journey. Over the last four years, entrepreneurs have filed an average of over 440,000 applications every month, a rate over 90% faster than pre-pandemic averages.

The Biden-Harris Administration has powered a small business boom across the country. Business ownership has doubled among Black households and hit a 30-year high for Hispanic households; new business creation rates hit a 30-year high for Asian Americans; and women own a higher share of businesses than before the pandemic. While the Biden-Harris Administration has invested in small businesses that lift communities in every corner of the country—rural, urban, and everywhere in between— Congressional Republicans have repeatedly tried to cut SBA’s funding by nearly a third and want to raise taxes and costs for small businesses.

Today’s announcement builds on significant actions taken by the Biden Administration to support small businesses, including:

• Record levels of capital through the Small Business Administration. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, the SBA backed an historic $56 billion in capital to small businesses and disaster impacted communities, providing over 100,000 financings in the forms of loans, investments, and surety bond guarantees to small businesses. Compared to FY20, the SBA tripled its lending to Black-owned business, doubled lending to Latino-owned and women-owned small businesses, and significantly increased lending to businesses owned by Native, Veteran, and rural entrepreneurs. The SBA also prioritized increasing access to small dollar loans, doubling the number of loans under $150,000.

• Lowering costs for small businesses through the Investing in America agenda. The Inflation Reduction Act included a number of provisions that have saved small business owners money. These laws created a tax credit to cover 30% of the cost of switching to solar power, allowed small businesses to deduct up to $1.00 per square foot of their business for making high energy efficiency upgrades, and lowered health care costs that saddle small business owner’s budgets by capping out-of-pocket prescription drugs costs for seniors at $2,000, capping the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month, and preserving the American Rescue Plan’s premium tax credit supports for the Affordable Care Act—saving millions of small business owners and self-employed workers an average of $700 per year on their health insurance premiums.

• Expanding access to capital across the country through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Through SSBCI, the American Rescue Plan is providing nearly $10 billion to support small business loan and venture capital programs implemented by states, territories, and Tribal governments across the country. Through 2023, SSBCI funds had already catalyzed $3.1 billion in public and private financing for small businesses. Further, SSBCI funds have already supported $1.2 billion in venture capital financing and it is expected that jurisdictions may support as many as 200 investment funds over the course of the SSBCI program. In addition, SSBCI support targets underserved and very small businesses. Through December 2023, 75% of transactions supported underserved businesses and 78% supported business with fewer than 10 employees.

• Awarding record federal contracts to small businesses. The federal government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, giving it an important role in creating opportunities for entrepreneurs. In FY23, federal agencies awarded a record $178.6 billion in federal contracts to small businesses—representing 28.4% of all eligible federal contracting dollars. These federal contract awards enable small business growth, supporting more than one million jobs in manufacturing, construction, defense, and other core industries. Federal agencies also awarded a record $76.2 billion to small disadvantaged businesses.

• Supporting entrepreneurs through hands-on assistance and services to help them successfully access capital and grow and scale their businesses. In addition to providing access to capital and contracting opportunities, federal agencies also provided significant hands-on services and assistance to ensure that small businesses had the support they needed to capitalize on federal supports and access the broader market. Building on longstanding SBA assistance programs provided through their Regional Field Offices, Small Business Development Centers, Veteran’s Business Outreach Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE small business mentoring, the American Rescue Plan included the largest-ever dedicated federal investment in navigator services for small businesses through the Small Business Community Navigators Pilot Program, delivering training to over 350,000 entrepreneurs and 1:1 counseling services to over 33,000 small business owners. It also included the largest-ever direct Federal investment in small business incubators and accelerators through the Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program. And through Treasury’s SSBCI technical assistance grants and Small Business Opportunity Program awards, the Federal government is leveraging local and non-profit partners to ensure entrepreneurs can get the support they need regardless of where they live.

• Catalyzing small business growth and investments in industries of the future. The-Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in clean energy, infrastructure, innovation, and manufacturing have also boosted small businesses. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will continue to provide support for and lower costs for small businesses by reducing shipping delays caused by aging infrastructure, increasing access to customers by expanding high-speed internet coverage, and leveraging small business contractors to complete critical projects for the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The CHIPS and Science Act also provides $54 million in funding to small business to help them explore and participate in the commercial microelectronics marketplace. The Inflation Reduction Act builds on these direct investments, providing tax credits and incentives to support small business involvement in the green energy transition, including by making it cheaper for small businesses to use and supply clean fuels, solar panels, commercial clean vehicles, and other green products.

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I’ve always said that every new small business is an act of hope. As of today, Americans have filed more than 20 million new business applications since Vice President Harris and I took office. That’s 20 million acts of hope by the American people.

Under our Administration, we have had the three strongest years of new business applications on record—and we are on track for a fourth. That’s the best single Presidential term for new business applications in history. Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs have been leaders of this small business boom, with Black business ownership doubling and Hispanic business ownership up by 40% since before the pandemic. The share of women business owners is also on the rise.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs are powering our economic recovery and contributing to stronger productivity growth—helping make us the strongest economy in the world.

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Yesterday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Alaska and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by landslides on August 25, 2024.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the landslides in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Mr. Lance E. Davis of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will meet with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Lima, Peru on November 16.  This will be the third meeting between the two leaders, building on the November 2023 Woodside Summit in California and their November 2022 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. President Biden and President Xi will discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues. 

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Investments come ahead of President Biden’s trip to the Amazon, where he will highlight global climate action and ongoing work to preserve and protect this critical ecosystem

When President Biden took office, he pledged to restore America’s climate leadership at home and abroad. Every day since, the Biden-Harris Administration has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate, conservation, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda in history. These efforts, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, include securing the largest ever investment in climate and clean energy in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – and unleashing a clean energy manufacturing and deployment boom that has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment; created hundreds of thousands of new clean energy jobs; and lowered energy costs for families while delivering cleaner air and water for communities across the country.

As part of this historic Investing in America agenda, today the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new climate investments that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in clean energy manufacturing, and lower home energy costs for families and businesses.

These domestic climate announcements come ahead of President Biden’s historic trip to the Amazon to engage with local and Indigenous leaders and other stakeholders working to preserve and protect this critical ecosystem. He will also travel to Lima, Peru, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will continue to highlight the economic opportunities afforded by accelerating climate action at home and abroad.

These investments come on the heels of the 29th U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the Administration continued to rally other countries to accelerate their climate ambition in this decisive decade and announced new initiatives to galvanize global efforts to keep a resilient, 1.5°C future within reach.

Today’s investments in climate and clean energy include:

Funding to improve energy efficiency, reduce climate pollution, and lower overall energy use. Today, the U.S. Department of Energy is announcing nearly $18 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 61 local and territorial governments to fund a wide range of energy efficiency and decarbonization projects. Through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, communities across the country are investing in projects and programs that save energy, reduce climate pollution, and advance local energy goals. This is the tenth tranche of formula awards granted to EECBG Program eligible entities. Grantees will develop net-zero building roadmaps, bolster recycling programs, launch residential energy efficiency rebate programs in disadvantaged communities, expand bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, update street and building lighting with LED technology, purchase electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure for municipal fleets, and more. Since the first awards were announced in October 2023, 294 communities have benefited from the program.

Investments in clean energy for American farms and rural small businesses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture today is announcing more than $256 million from the Inflation Reduction Act that will support more than 1,100 clean energy projects in 40 states. These projects – funding through the Rural Energy for America Program – will lower costs, expand access to clean energy and strengthen American farms and small businesses. This funding will enable agricultural producers and rural small business owners to expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses and address climate change while lowering energy costs for American families. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested more than $2.7 billion through REAP in 9,901 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. Almost 7,000 of these projects were funded by over $1 billion provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Funding to help states utilize cleaner construction materials for transportation projects. The U.S. Department of Transportation today is announcing $1.2 billion to states under the Low Carbon Transportation Materials Discretionary Grant Program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The program will help lower carbon emissions by empowering states, Tribes, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and other agencies to use construction materials that create less pollution, including asphalt, glass, steel, and concrete, for infrastructure projects. By supporting demand for these cleaner, made-in-America construction materials to be incorporated into infrastructure projects, the program will be a vehicle to move our nation to more sustainable construction practices. The program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative and is consistent with Executive Order 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.

These investments build on an expansive climate and conservation record led by President Biden and Vice President Harris that has reduced emissions, created jobs, and expanded manufacturing in every sector across the country. Since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, the Administration has awarded more than $98.5 billion in grants for projects across the country, and the private sector has responded to the laws’ historic incentives with nearly $300 billion in announced investments in clean energy and battery manufacturing and clean power generation during that period. From replacing toxic lead pipes and modernizing our electric grid to reducing air pollution and conserving our nation’s lands and waters, President Biden and Vice President Harris have positioned America to lead the global effort against climate change and protect the health, safety, and economic vitality of our communities and our environment for generations to come. Additional actions the Administration has taken to deploy clean energy, bolster climate resilience, cut energy costs, revitalize American manufacturing, advance environmental justice, and conserve our lands and waters can be found here.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Wyoming and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires from August 21 to August 31, 2024.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the wildfires in the counties of Campbell and Johnson.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Mr. Dolph A. Diemont of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

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President Joe Biden met this afternoon with families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas. The President provided an update on U.S. efforts to secure the release of all hostages, and reaffirmed the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to getting the hostages home to their loved ones and families. The Administration has worked tirelessly to get a deal done as soon as possible to bring the hostages home, and the President also assured the families those efforts will continue. 

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thank you, Governor—Ed. You always have Pennsylvania in your heart. Joe and I are so grateful to have seen that heart—and to have had the opportunity to show you ours, to be able to call you a friend.

You’re a true leader—putting people first, always thinking about how you can do the most good, how you can bring in more voices and perspectives. It’s been an honor to walk by your side all these decades, to see how your smile, your wit, and advocacy change every room you’re in. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this special event.

It’s always great to be home, especially during football season—go Birds!

And I’m glad to be joined by so many members of the Philadelphia City Council.

Growing up here, you learn a lot about our history—even without trying. On any corner, you can find the footprints of our past. And that’s before you look up and see the tour guides dressed as Benjamin Franklin.

Like every kid from this city, I remember school trips to the Betsy Ross Museum and Independence Hall. Those historic halls shaped how I see the world—and I carry those memories with me everywhere I go.

But sometimes it can be hard to see how that history connects to us, right now—how those pieces of the past can be a part of our present and our future.

That’s why this project is so important.

The work Philadelphia 250, Danielle, and everyone in this room is doing reminds us to keep reaching for those promises on which our nation was founded: That we are all created equal. That our rights can never be taken from us. That happiness is ours to pursue.

You’re also showing the nation that Philly is more than a backdrop—it’s a place of inspiration, of freedom, and of people working to live up to those founding ideals.

Our city isn’t just an echo of days past. It also holds our future.

You know, at times, people have told me that Philadelphians are tough. That we’re outspoken—loud. And that’s putting it nicely.

But what they’re talking about is the same grit that made this country.

Yes, we are tough. We’re fierce. When we get knocked down, we get back up. And we never stop fighting for the things we care about—the people we care about.

What you’re doing today is part of that great tradition. And that’s who Philly taught me to be. It made me.

I hold this city in my heart every day. And it’s been the honor of this Philly girl’s lifetime to serve as your First Lady.

Our democracy was born here.

A moment that changed the world.

And today, down every side street and great boulevard, at every Wawa and corner store, in city hall and union halls, are the conversations that will shape this city’s next 250 years.

Just as Philly has done again and again, we will keep standing up for what we believe in—putting forward our best ideas by the people, and for all the people, and loving each other and this city we call home, always.

Thank you.

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