Statements and Releases

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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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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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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East Room

10:09 A.M. EST

THE FIRST LADY:  Hello.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.)  Hey, Kate.  Hey, Randi.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Hello!  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Please be seated.  (Applause.)

Well, Joe, that started our day off right, didn’t it?  (Laughter.)

So, welcome to the White House.

Several years ago, a student of mine came running into my classroom and breathlessly said that she had seen me on TV.  (Laughter.)  She had said, “Mom!  Mom!  That’s my English teacher!”  And her mother said, “That’s not your English teacher.  That’s the second lady.”

So, when Joe was elected as vice president, people assumed that I would stop teaching.  But, you know, I just couldn’t give it up.  I am first, foremost, and forever a teacher.  (Applause.)  So, I — I did both: Wh- — the White House and teaching.

In the morning, I’d stand in front of my community college students for th- — (applause) — (laughs) — for — for their 8:00 a.m. English comp class.  Actually, I’m still doing it.  (Laughter.)  And by — and by the evening, I was at a White House state dinner or boarding Air Force Two.  

Then, one day in 2010, some White House advisers were trying to figure to — out and determine, you know, who could highlight the role of community colleges in our economy.  Then someone had this revelation — you know, so- — (laugher) — “Wait, doesn’t the second lady work at a community college?”  (Laughter.)

So, this might be surprising, but I think I had gotten so good at stitching t- — the two worlds together, and sort of hiding the seams, that I never considered using my experience to become an advocate.  But I said yes. 

And at the time, I called community colleges America’s best-kept secret.  And I knew that they deserved to be seen and celebrated and championed at every level of government. 

And Joe knows this too.  So, when he became president, Joe put community colleges front and center in his workforce strategy.  (Applause.) 

And from day one as first lady, I knew that community colleges would be a priority for me.  So, part of that means pushing to make them tuition free.  And — (applause).   

So, I’ve been so proud to work alongside dedicated leaders like my friend Martha Kanter — (applause) — where’s Martha? —  Walter Bumphus, and Jee Hāng Lee, who have put — who have been dedicated partners in this work.

So, today, less than a decade after we launched the effort to make cuni- — community college free, 34 states — plus Washington, D.C. — and counting offer tuition-free community college and job training programs.  (Applause.) 

We came close to making community college free for everyone across the country, but a few senators — I’m not going to name them — (laughter) — blocked our way.  But that wasn’t the end.  This movement continues to gain momentum.  We must keep fighting for free community college.  (Applause.) 

As first lady, I’ve also focused on strengthening the pathways between classrooms and careers.  Nearly — and you probably all know this — but nearly 60 percent of graduating high school students don’t go directly to a four-year degree.  We know that — 6 out of every 10 students.  Some will start working.  Some will go to community college or technical colleges.  Some won’t even know what they want to do next. 

So, we continue to keep transforming education to bridge the gap between what students learn and the careers that they can enter. 

We’ve had amazing partners in high schools across the country and in advocates like Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten.  (Applause.)

Together, we’re making sure that high school graduation isn’t a s- — y- — a sudden halt in a student’s education but rather like the seamless step forward, whether that’s on a college campus, a registered apprenticeship, or another career opportunity.  And we’ve partnered with the leaders of unions and businesses and school districts, colleges, and universities and — to match what — local employers and the workers that they need. 

And that’s what we’ve ab- — been able to do with our Investing in America Workforce Hubs.  And it’s a model that communities across the country can replicate.

Community colleges are no longer America’s best-kept secret.  Thanks to the progress of Joe’s administration and what they’ve created, we’re on our way to making them America’s best-kept promise.  Thank you.  (Applause.) 

But there’s more ground to cover, and it will take all of us to get there.  If we work together, we can build a future where more high school students will graduate with credits and skills that they can apply to their future careers, where community college is free for every student in every state of America, and where all students have a clear pathway to jobs that pay well right in the communities where they grew up.

This semester is coming to a close.  My students are starting to write their last assignments, and they’re signing up for new classes, or some are going to graduate. 

Joe and I are also preparing for what’s coming next.  (Laughter.) 

(The president makes the sign of the cross.)  (Laughter and applause.) 

It has been the honor of our lives to serve in the White House and to work alongside, really, all of you in this room.  So, as you keep pushing forward to make our country shine with opportunity, know that you will always have a partner in us. 

And now, I’d like to introduce a longtime champion of our nation’s students.  Not only has Joe always supported my career as an educator, but as president, he wakes up every day with a mission to lift up all Americans through the endless possibility of education. 

Please welcome your president, my husband and hero, Joe Biden.  (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank all of you.  (Applause.)  Please. 

I’m Joe Biden.  I’m Jill Biden’s husband.  (Laughter.)  And you can see she doesn’t have any strong notions or ideas.  (Laughter.)

You know, teaching is not what Jill does; it’s who she is — and I mean that — like many of you teachers.  It’s — it’s just built in her DNA.  She was surprised when we got elected vice president, and she said she wanted to keep teaching.  I said, “Of course.”  She looked at me like, “Really?  You’re going to do that?”  And we did it. 

But the point is that this is a passion.  It’s a passion for Jill.  And the way I look at it is it’s a simple proposition: How can we be the greatest nation in the world and not have the best education system in the world?  (Applause.)  No, I mean it.  Think about it.  It’s pretty straightforward.

So, I’m honored to host this White House Classroom of [to] Career Summit.  

Look, 15 years ago, when Jill hosted the first one during our vice presidency, to state the obvious, as I said, what Jill is — for Jill, being an educator is just what she is.  Period.  And I believe the work she’s done to connect students and good-paying jobs will prove one of the most important efforts of our presidency, and I mean it.

Look, that’s why we’re all here today.  And I want to thank Congressman Norcross of New Jersey.  I keep reminding — my Jersey guys, we do really well in Jersey.  Jill is a Jersey girl, born and raised.  (Laughter.)  And I tell him, though, there was actually a case a long time ago.  Delaware is the second smallest state in the nation, and we own the Delaware River up to the high-water mark in New Jersey.  (Laughter.)  It was a Supreme Court decision, for real.  And so, I’m — I just want you to know.  That’s why we’re so close.  (Laughter.)  You just step off of — (laughs) — anyway.  (Laughter.)  You’re a good man, pal.  You really are.

And to members of my Cabinet who are here, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you — and leaders of business, education, unions, philanthropy, nonprofits, and more, you know, for being here and for your leadership.  And I mean it sincerely.

You know, when we came into office, the pandemic was raging and the economy was reeling.  And from day one, I was determined not only to vaccinate the nation, to deliver immediate economic relief for the folks who needed it the most, but I also determined to transform the way our economy works for everyone, to write a new economic playbook — and I mean it sincerely — a new economic playbook from — build the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not from the top down. 

My dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, “You know, Joey, when you talk about trickle-down economics, not a whole hell of a lot trickles down on our kitchen table.”

Well, when we do that, the poor have a ladder up and the middle class do well, and the wealthy still will be able to do very well.  And we all do well.

It’s a playbook based on a value set that my dad taught me.  He used to say — and I mean this sincerely — “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about your place in the community.  It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it — and mean it.”  It matters. 

Well, not everyone has felt the progress, because it takes time.  We’ve emerged from a crisis.  We have the strongest economy in the world.  More to — much more to do.  Working families and the middle class are — are the center of a strong, equitable, and sustainable recovery. 

And the big reason why is that I call the Investing in American agenda.  You know, it’s a page from our economic playbook that invests in all of America and all Americans, creating pathways for millions of good-paying jobs being created in our economy. 

You know, the key pieces of the Investing in America include historic laws that I’ve signed, historic investments in modernizing our roads and bridges, our ports, airports, public transit. 

We’re — we’re replacing poisonous lead pipes.  We’re delivering clean water to every American.  It’s taking time — it’s going to, but it’s t- — beginning.  It’s real.  It’s there. 

We’re delivering affordable, high-speed Internet and so much more. 

Roosevelt talked about the need to electrify America during that (inaudible).  Well, how can — how can you have access to being able to participate in everything — in fact, you don’t have access to affordable Internet?  You don’t have access to — anyway.  Don’t get me going.  (Laughter.) 

But — but, look, we’re also making sure that the supply chain — I don’t think Americans heard much about supply chains before we came to office — (applause) — but the supply chain st- — starts in America.  We can no longer — for the longest time — for the longest time, corporate America decided to export the jobs because of cheaper labor and import the product.  Well, not us.  We’ve changed that dynamic. 

For example, semiconductors — those little computer chips, smaller than the tip of my little finger, you know, they power everything from our smartphones to automobiles to weapon systems.  America invented those chips.  We, in the United States, invented them.  We modernized them.  We did all the work on it, but we stopped making them.  We used to have over 40 percent of the market, and we got down to virtually none of it. 

But not anymore.  Today, we’re making once-in-a-generation investments in American science and innovation that are building chip factories all across America, and they’re going to be creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs — and that’s not hyperbole.  But it takes time to build them. 

The one thing we — you know, I was all excited about how much we’ve invested and how much is g- — coming, but it’s taken time.  You have to build those so-called fabs.  These, quote, “fabs” — these factories to build these things are as long — as big as football fields.  And guess what?  They pay about an average of $105,000 a year, and you don’t need a college degree to get there.  And that doesn’t even count the tens of billions of dollars being spent to build these facilities and attract other businesses. 

And I signed the most significant climate law ever in American history but — in the history of the world.  (Applause.)

The congressman will tell you, we were told we couldn’t get it done, but we got it done.  We got it done. 

And, you know, it’s leading us into a clean energy future with even more good-paying clean energy jobs and American workers.

As a result of these laws and other things we’ve done — I won’t take all your time, but the key actions — the end result is: We’ve created, in the four years we’ve been — almost four years we’ve been here, we’ve created 16 million new jobs — brand-new jobs — since I took office — (applause) — and in — the most in any single U.S. presidential term.

Inflation is at 2.6 percent — close to the pre-pandemic rate. 

Unemployment is down to 4.1 percent — longest stretch for a long, long time, that low.

Despite the critics saying we had to lower ambitions to get the economy going, we’ve attracted off the sidelines from private enterprise over $1 trillion — $1 trillion in private investment in clean energy and manufacturing that are creating good-paying jobs and building factories here in America, where they belong.

Now, all this historic investment is happening in every part of the country.  You know, you may re- — recall saying, “I’m a president for all Americans no matter who they voted for.”  Well, keeping that commitment, the majority of the investments are actually in red states, not blue states, because they got hurt the most by the policies early on — all those factories shutting down. 

How many times did you come from places where you’d have, “Mom and my grandpop and grandmom worked in that factory, and my mom and dad worked there, my — but I got to move, Mom, because there’s no job.  The factory is gone”?  They got hurt very badly.  It takes away the soul of the — of community.

And we’re making sure these Americans have access to good-paying jobs that are being created. 

“Buy America” has been the law of the land since the ‘30s, which hardly anybody knew, hardly anybody paid attention to. 

When Franklin Roosevelt was trying to make it fair for i- — for unions to be able to organize so the business couldn’t just crush them because they started, there was a provision in the law in the early ‘30s that said when a president is authorized by Congress to spend money on a project, he has to do it — two things: He has to use that money to hire American workers, and he has to use American products.  Well, this administration — past administrations failed to do that.  Like I said, so much was exported overseas.  Well, not — not on my watch. 

My administration buys American.  We’re making sure the federal projects we’re building — roads, bridges, highways, and more — are getting made with American products, built by American workers, and creating good-paying American jobs — jobs that don’t require a four-year college degree, jobs you can raise a family on.  In fact, my administration is requiring many of these kinds of projects to pay what — a union wage called a Davis-Bacon prevailing wage. 

We’re expanding registered apprenticeships, resulting in hiring more than 1 million apprentices since we’ve come into office.  Remember, business came along and said, “We’ll do the apprenticeships.”  (Laughs.)  Yeah, right.  (Laughter.)  Well, guess what?  They’re not.

A lot of folks don’t realize that an apprenticeship is like earning a college degree.  You know, you spend up to four, five years training — wh- — you get paid while you’re doing it — to learn a trade to lead you to a good-paying job, like going to school before you can be registered in that particular expertise.  They’re among the best workers in the world. 

Today, I’m proud to announce that for the first time ever, the number of women in apprenticeships has reached 100,000 — (applause) — 100,000 — three times the number from a decade ago. 

When I took office, not a single state had a registered apprenticeship program for teachers.  Today, 46 states, plus Puerto Rico and D.C., have launched registered apprenticeship programs for teachers.  (Applause.)

Some will say I did that because I feared for my life, but — (laughter) — but not true.  I wanted to do it anyway.  (Laughter.)

I’m also proud to announce that we’ve committed more than $80 billion — $80 billion — toward strengthening and expanding our workforce. 

As Jill just described, that includes supporting free community college programs so students and workers can train for good jobs without the burden of student debt. 

It also described what we launched — the Workforce Hubs, where we collaborate with local leaders, community colleges, unions, local businesses to train and connect Americans to good-paying jobs.  And it’s good for students and workers.  It grows the economy for everyone. 

I know I’m listed as the most pro-union president in American history.  I’m very proud of that.  But guess what?  (Applause.)  Guess what, folks?  Business is now acknowledging tha- — it helps them too.

I had Treasury Department do a study: What’s the effect of focusing on unions?  Everybody — everybody’s standard of living is raised — everybody’s. 

We’ve also — really proud to have launched the American Climate Corps, you know, patterned after the Peace Corps and the AmericaCorps [AmeriCorps], to put tens of thousands of young people on a path to good-paying clean energy apprenticeships and jobs.  That’s the future.  

And with the support of the private sector, we’re also bringing business into the high schools so younger students can learn about and train for good-paying jobs, including those that that don’t require a four-year degree, as Jill pointed out. 

There’s so much more that you’ll learn about at today’s summit.  And you — many of you will bring more information as well.  But, look, it really matters. 

Let me close with this.  You heard Jill speak about incredible students.  Well, joining us today is another American worker who embodies the incredible character that we see all over the country: Maurice Bogard, Jr. — Maurice, I’m going to ask you to come up here in a second — a father of two young children, one of whom I work for.  (Laughter.) 

He — he’s going to actually come up?  (Applause.)

(Mr. Bogard and two children join the president on stage.)  (Applause.)

Now, look, Maurice is from Cleveland, Ohio.  From the day his children were born, he had a survival mindset to do whatever he could to improve the positive cir- — circumstances for his family: 12-to-16-hour days at multiple jobs, even working out of town for months at a time just to get by, just — it meant fewer hours with his children, as well, and his family. 

Last year, his sister, who is also with him today — sis, stand up — (applause) — every man like me needs a strong sister — (laughter) — I have one — sent him to a link to a — about a pre-apprentice program where you can learn a trade, funded by my American Re- — by the American Rescue Plan that I signed into law as soon as I came to office.  Well, Maurice signed up.  Within hours, he had an appointment.  He soon started a four-week training program to connect him with his local IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

Today, he’s on his way to becoming a journeyman electrician, working — (applause) — working at the stadium of his hometown baseball team, the Cleveland Guardians.  (Laughter).

MR. BOGARD:  Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT:  A good-paying job with good hours, good benefits, and a lifelong career and a sense of dignity and pride to be the father he always wanted to be.

MR. BOGARD:  Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT:  And it’s not just him.  Millions of workers and families have more opportunity today than they did four years ago in an economy — economy that’s growing from the middle out and bottom up. 

(Addressing Mr. Bogard.)  You — he can — put him down.  He can do whatever he wants.  (Laughter.)

(Addressing child.)  All you got to do — look, you can do anything you want, pal.  (Laughter.)  Okay?  You want to make a speech later, you can.  All right?  (Laughter.)  All right. 

An economy where everyone has a fair shot, we leave nobody behind, and invest in America and all Americans — that’s what we’ve done together by reminding ourselves who we are. 

For Lord’s sake, we’re the United States of America.  There is nothing — I mean this from the bottom of my heart — there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.  And there’s no b- — group I’d rather be doing it with than all of you.

So, God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

10:33 A.M. EST

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In July, the United States, Canada, and Finland announced a groundbreaking new partnership that advances our national security by spurring the production of polar icebreakers and other capabilities. This partnership will ensure that the polar and Arctic regions remain peaceful and cooperative. 

Today, just months after we kicked off this partnership, we are taking a significant step forward to enhance collaboration on the production of these vessels through the exchange of knowledge, information, and resources among our countries. This transformative partnership will enhance our ability to uphold international rules and maintain security in the polar and Arctic regions, while at the same time laying the foundation for a resilient and competitive shipbuilding industry that is capable of meeting both national and global demand for these critical assets.

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Today’s report shows CPI inflation was 2.6% in October, close to its pre-pandemic rate. This has been a hard-fought recovery, but we are making progress for working families, with gas prices down to $3.08 per gallon, insulin prices down from as much as $400 to $35 per month for seniors, and household incomes up by $4,000 more than prices during this Administration. We will keep fighting to lower costs for families on key items like housing and health care, and against policies that would undermine our progress on bringing inflation down.

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Today, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will welcome approximately 200 education and workforce leaders to the White House for the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Classroom to Career” Summit. The Administration’s Investing in America agenda is creating millions of good-paying jobs—many of which do not require a four-year college degree—and its investments will continue to drive job creation for years to come. The Summit will highlight record progress to expand career pathways to these good-paying jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and more.

The Summit will bring together Cabinet members and other senior Administration officials, state and local elected officials, community college presidents, K-12 leaders, unions, workforce development leaders from the nine White House Workforce Hubs and other communities across the country, business leaders, representatives of philanthropic organizations, and students.

At the Summit, President Biden will announce that more than $80 billion from his American Rescue Plan has now been committed to strengthening and expanding the American workforce, helping to meet the promise of these historic investments—from supporting high-quality free community college programs in high-demand fields, to expanding Registered Apprenticeships, to attracting and retaining a skilled, diverse workforce in critical industries. These efforts are helping students and workers—including those without four-year degrees—access good-paying opportunities spurred by the Investing in America agenda.

The Summit will take place nearly fifteen years after Dr. Biden, a lifelong educator and community-college champion, led the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges as Second Lady, where she set the path forward for community colleges to be a critical part of America’s economic vision for the future.

Senior Administration officials, federal agencies, and key external stakeholders will announce new actions and recent achievements during the Summit, including:

Expanding quality career and technical education (CTE) and community college training

During today’s Summit, Administration officials will highlight efforts to expand access to evidence-based, high-quality CTE programs and affordable community college pathways:

• First Lady Jill Biden will announce that 34 states and Washington, DC now have a free community college program. In total, over 400 colleges, cities, and states now offer tuition-free college and job training—up from about 50 programs when she, President Obama, and then-Vice President Biden launched the America’s College Promise Initiative in 2015. Several of the newest free community college plans were launched with support from American Rescue Plan funds. As First Lady, Dr. Biden has championed community colleges and workforce training programs, traveling the country to highlight evidence-based models and promising practices that connect high school and community college students to good-paying jobs.

• The Department of Education (ED) will publish new analysis of ED data on postsecondary programs that provide pathways to jobs created or fueled by the Investing in America agenda. The Department will also release a mapping tool to help the public find those programs and a public-use data set that will allow researchers and policymakers to further explore these connections. This analysis comes on the heels of a years-long effort to better connect both high schools and postsecondary programs to career pathways through the Unlocking Career Success Initiative, which invested $31 million in building model career-connected programs in high schools that will provide up to 120,000 students with pathways to high-wage, high-demand careers. 

• The Department of Commerce (DOC) will announce that over one-quarter of states and territories have proactively allocated more than $300 million in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding towards workforce development initiatives. These states are building the skilled construction workforce needed to connect every American to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet by investing in community college job training programs, Registered Apprenticeships, and sectoral partnership training models.

• DOC will also announce that more than 80 community colleges across 22 states have created or expanded programming to train semiconductor workers for advanced manufacturing jobs spurred by the President’s CHIPS and Science Act. In addition, ten states have announced new dedicated state funding for workforce development investments to support CHIPS facilities.

Additional new announcements:

• Scholarship America, ECMC Foundation, GoFundMe.org, Trellis Foundation, Ascendium Education Group, and the Crimsonbridge Foundation will launch a new national emergency aid program to assist students, including students who are single mothers, in 2025. Nearly 10 percent of undergraduates—1.7 million students—are single mothers, and while single moms earn higher GPAs than their non-parenting peers, they experience greater rates of financial distress. Research shows emergency grants are effective at keeping financially distressed students on track to complete their degrees.

• Invest in Our Future will support expansion of YouthBuild’s new solar panel training and certification pilot program to 16 new locations in 2025. YouthBuild’s solar program, which launched its first three locations in October, partners with industry to prepare youth ages 16 to 24 for good clean energy jobs spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.

• The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), with support from Ascendium, will launch an initiative to help community colleges design processes to build capacity to create new Registered Apprenticeship programs in occupational sectors that have not traditionally used apprenticeship as a training pathway. ACCT will engage 20 community colleges from across the country in designing and implementing new Registered Apprenticeship programs, demonstrating the potential for community colleges to serve as apprenticeship intermediaries in addition to instructional providers.

Growing Registered Apprenticeships and other high-quality workforce programs

The Administration has made record high-quality workforce development models, including Registered Apprenticeships—the gold-standard earn-and-learn pathway—as well as industry-led sector partnerships that bring together employers, unions, community colleges, and other partners to develop high-quality training programs.

• The Department of Labor (DOL) will announce that more than one million Americans have started a Registered Apprenticeship since President Biden took office—and this month, the number of women in apprenticeships will surpass 100,000for the first time ever.

• DOL will also announce that 46 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico now have K-12 teacher Registered Apprenticeship programs. Not a single state had a teacher Registered Apprenticeship program when the Administration took office.

• DOC will announce that 12,000 participants have been successfully trained and placed into good jobs in the first wave of the Good Jobs Challenge, a flagship sector strategies program funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

• The Department of Transportation (DOT) will announce that it has invested $93 million to support the rail workforce since the start of the Administration through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. These funds, which include $54 million awarded in October, invest in the hardworking Americans who will help maintain and operate the nation’s rail networks into the future by creating new apprenticeship programs, expanding training opportunities, establishing partnerships with universities, and advancing innovative research.

• DOT will also announce it has awarded a total of $137 million in workforce funding to transit agencies in over 100 communities since the Administration took office through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emission grant program. This program gives transit agencies the option to set aside up to 5 percent of grant funds to train workers on new electric vehicle fleets.

• DOT will also publish new case studies on three states—California, Maryland, and Oregon—that are developing skilled, diverse infrastructure workforces by investing their flexible federal highway funds. Michigan and Pennsylvania have also announced workforce development initiatives that will lead to significant workforce investments from their state departments of transportation. This comes six months after the Administration called on states to invest at least 0.5 percent of eligible highway formula funds in high-quality workforce development approaches such as Registered Apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and supportive services like child care and transportation for workers.

• DOT will highlight how hundreds of projects are now using local (geographic) and economic hiring preferences—an order of magnitude more than a decade ago. Local and economic hiring preferences are an important tool to expand hiring of underrepresented populations into good construction jobs, by establishing hiring goals for workers from disadvantaged circumstances or distressed neighborhoods. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) made local and economic hiring preferences newly allowable, and DOT has strongly encouraged these preferences through its discretionary grant process, technical assistance, and place-based initiatives. Prior to BIL, only 16 pilot projects had preferences, all of them in highway and transit. Today, the Federal Highway Administration alone has approved 74 projects with project labor agreements and local hiring preferences—totaling nearly $4.6 billion—and preferences also cover rail, port, and airport projects.

Additional new announcements:

• The Families and Workers Fund (FWF) will announce it has surpassed $45 million in aligned funding commitments—matched by nearly $60 million from peer funders—to expand pathways to good jobs and build an inclusive, competitive workforce. These resources support initiatives like PowerCorpsPHL’s Climate Corps in Philadelphia, which collaborates with employers to offer paid workforce training and supportive services—such as transportation and mental health resources—to connect out-of-school and out-of-work young people with good-paying jobs in climate resilience and clean energy. The program transitions 92 percent of its graduates to quality career paths and substantially reduces recidivism among justice-involved young people. With support from FWF, PowerCorpsPHL will scale Climate Corps models to ten additional cities, serving an additional 1,300 young people.

• The State of Maryland will soon issue a call for applications under its new $24 million, six-year workforce investments using federal highway funds. The state will seek applications to provide high-quality workforce approaches to help fill good-paying transportation infrastructure jobs—including those created through the Baltimore Workforce Hub—such as Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, integrated education and training, and supportive services such as child care and transportation assistance.

• The Washington Education Association (WEA) launched the first educator-led, union-run teacher Registered Apprenticeship program in the nation in 2022–and last month, WEA successfully transitioned its innovative teacher residency program to an apprenticeship model. The WEA Apprenticeship Residency in Teaching (WEA-ART), which addresses acute special education teacher shortages in the state, was developed with a grant from U.S. DOL. The 18-month program trains future teachers in ten school districts across Washington using a school-based, clinical preparation model, with resident apprentices earning at least $40,000 with benefits during their full-year co-teaching placement.  

• Safal Partners will announce commitments from its partners to provide cybersecurity Registered Apprenticeship opportunities for 2,000 Americans by the end of 2025. This follows the nearly 3,000 cybersecurity apprentices Safal has already served, 82 percent of whom came from underserved and underrepresented communities.

• OpenClassrooms will train up to 300 Registered Apprentices in cybersecurity and other technical career paths by 2026, in partnership with Wright Resource Group and other affiliates.

Spreading skills-based and skills-first hiring

Millions of Americans already possess the skills and capabilities to succeed at family-sustaining jobs but are held back because they lack a four-year college degree. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Federal government is leading the way in implementing skills-based practices, opening up pathways to good-paying jobs for more Americans by valuing their skills and abilities—regardless how they acquired those skills. At the Summit, Administration officials will urge employers in all sectors—public, private, and nonprofit—to remove unnecessary degree requirements, and to recognize the value of and provide high-quality alternative pathways such as registered apprenticeship and community college programs.

• The General Services Administration (GSA) will announce it intends to apply a skills-based hiring approach to an estimated $100 billion of federal agency task orders, by eliminating unnecessary degree and experience requirements for IT cybersecurity jobs at the Master Contract level in its planned Polaris and Alliant 3 Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts.

• The Department of Energy (DOE) will modify its multi-billion-dollar, enterprise-wide IT contract to remove degree requirements for cyber and IT jobs—impacting over 1,000 full-time-equivalent positions by December 2024.

• The Department of Defense (DOD) will apply a skill-based approach to more than 75 jobs created through its $40 million Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) contract, recognizing education, training, certifications, or years of experience—including experience gained through on-the-job training.

• DOL and DOC will publish The Skills-First Hiring Starter Kit—a plain-language, practical guide to help talent-hungry employers broaden candidate pools, boost retention, and improve worker engagement. The guide, which can be read in less than 15 minutes, is a user-friendly resource on hiring and promoting workers based on the skills they have instead of unnecessary education, degree, or other requirements. The guide was developed in consultation with a diverse group of 15 organizations, including the Business Roundtable, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), LinkedIn, AFL-CIO, Opportunity@Work, Indeed, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and SHRM Foundation.  

Additional new announcements:

• Leidos launched the Leidos Skills Taxonomy, which the company will apply to its full workforce of 48,000 employees as part of its comprehensive skills strategy. Leidos is also pledging to share best practices and outcomes from its skills strategy across the industry, and to hire 15,000 Veterans and military spouses by 2030.

• Palo Alto Networks has successfully mapped the capabilities and skills of over 8,500 employees and developed targeted learning programs to enhance these workers’ skills. Since March 2024, the company has used this skills-first approach to onboard 400 new hires. The company now commits to mapping capabilities and skills of an additional 4,000 employees by the end of 2025, and will expand upskilling opportunities to over 5,000 existing employees, focusing initially on sales and technical solutions roles.     

• Opportunity@Work will publish a new analysis of skills-first practices implemented by state governments in 2022 and 2023. The analysis finds that in 15 states that took action to remove unnecessary four-year degree requirements from job postings, 7% more middle- and high-wage state jobs—or 3,000 additional job postings—became open to workers without four-year degrees.

Leading the way in the White House Workforce Hubs

In May 2023, First Lady Jill Biden announced five White House Workforce Hubs in regions where the Administration’s Investing in America agenda is catalyzing historic public- and private-sector investments— Augusta, Baltimore, Columbus,  Pittsburgh, and Phoenix. Since then, President Biden designated four additional Workforce Hubs in Milwaukee, Upstate New York, Philadelphia, and the state of Michigan. In these Workforce Hubs, the Administration has partnered with state and local officials, employers, unions, community colleges, K-12 schools, and other stakeholders to ensure a diverse and skilled workforce can meet the demand for labor driven by these investments. The President, First Lady, and other senior Administration officials have traveled to the Workforce Hubs, convened Hub partners, and celebrated progress to expand career pathways and high-quality workforce approaches.

The White House Workforce Hubs have continued to lead the way on equitable workforce development between convenings, taking actions such as:

• In Columbus, anchor institution Columbus State Community College, and partners Intel and the Ohio Semiconductor Collaboration Network, completed the July 2023 commitment to develop a new certificate program for good semiconductor technician jobs. In January, the partners launched the Semiconductor Fundamentals Certificate program, a stackable credential that builds to an Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology AAS degree, which has already enrolled 100 students.

• In Baltimore, Amtrak has put a memorandum of understanding in place with the Maryland Philanthropy Network and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development to provide $5 million over four years for pre-apprenticeship training and supportive services for apprentices, helping Amtrak to meet its Hub commitment to ensure at least 50 percent of apprentice hours for Baltimore City residents in the ZIP codes immediately impacted by the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Project.

• In Augusta, Hub anchor institutions Augusta Technical College and Aiken Technical College deepened their partnerships with local building and construction trades unions to expand inclusive access to local trades apprenticeship programs. Augusta Technical College is newly partnering with the UA Local 150 Plumbers and Steamfitters to co-deliver Registered Apprenticeship, opening a co-branded training facility to deliver a plumbing and steamfitting apprenticeship program, and expanding the co-delivered Registered Apprenticeship program with the IBEW Local 1579 to serve an additional 200 apprentices. Aiken Technical College, in partnership with the local building and construction trades, launched a pre-apprenticeship program with preferential entry to apprenticeship programs across 17 trades, with the first cohort starting in October 2024.

• In Pittsburgh, Hub partners cut the ribbon on the first-in-the-nation EV Automotive Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program in October, fulfilling a commitment made at the Hub’s November 2023 convening with First Lady Jill Biden and expanding training opportunities for good clean energy jobs. The program is a true public-private partnership—hosted at a new EV lab at the Community College of Allegheny County, with support for technical instruction provided by a $3.75 million DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grant to anchor institution Partner4Work; employer contributions in the form of apprentices’ wages and benefits; and equipment purchased with support from the Hillman Family Foundations. The program will include outreach and recruitment of apprentices from underserved communities. The first cohort will begin in spring 2025.

• Today, the City of Philadelphia will announce three upcoming projects that will be covered by the new Geographic and Economic Hiring Preferences Pilot Program. These include two federally funded transportation projects identified by the Streets Department and one lead service line project from the Philadelphia Water Department, with collective costs greater than $87 million. Today’s announcement marks the first phase in Philadelphia-wide adoption of these hiring preferences—a commitment made at the Hub’s convening in July 2024—which will expand opportunities for Philadelphia residents by requiring that at least half apprentices on publicly funded projects come from disadvantaged ZIP codes in the City.

• Building on efforts launched in the Upstate New York Hub, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Micron will scale their innovative partnership on AFT’s Advanced Technology Framework to the Michigan Hub and Minnesota, with support from a new $1.7 million grant from Natcast, established by the CHIPS and Science Act. AFT’s Framework provides industry-based career exploration to prepare high school students for technical careers in the semiconductor supply chain. The Framework is already being implemented across 10 school districts in New York.

• Today, in Milwaukee, BuildUS announced it will commit $250,000 to the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) | BIG STEP, given its proven track record in connecting people across Wisconsin, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, into family-sustaining, union jobs. BuildUS funding will support increased capacity for clean water infrastructure and lead service line coordination, outreach, program development, and operation, as well as support instruction and additional services for students.

• In Phoenix, TSMC successfully launched the state of Arizona’s first semiconductor technician Registered Apprenticeship program in April with support from the City of Phoenix and the Arizona State Apprenticeship Office, following its commitment to establish the program at the Hub’s January convening. TSMC anticipates expanding the program to hundreds of apprentices in 2025.

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Today, President Biden welcomed President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia to the White House. The two leaders commemorated 75 years of diplomatic relations built on shared values of democracy, pluralism, and a common commitment to the rules-based international order. As the world’s second- and third-largest democracies, the United States and Indonesia share a commitment to addressing evolving challenges and capitalizing on emerging opportunities based on mutual benefit and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Over the last 75 years, our countries have continued to deepen our partnership, most recently elevating the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023.  

Since 2002, the United States has provided over $6.8 billion in development, economic, health, and security assistance to support Indonesian development efforts, which includes more than $2.2 billion to jointly advance education and health outcomes and over $1.4 billion to promote economic growth, democratic governance, and human rights, including support to civil society. To continue expanding this cooperation, President Biden and President Subianto announced new initiatives to deliver a better future for our citizens and a free, open, prosperous, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific. 

PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE, RESILIENT ECONOMIC GROWTH

The United States and Indonesia have long been partners in advancing prosperity for our citizens and those across the Indo-Pacific, including through the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. The United States will continue to partner with Indonesia on activities to promote sustainable urban development, including the deployment of innovative smart city solutions, quality infrastructure, and international best practices to improve the quality of life for city residents in Indonesia. Ongoing technical assistance, pilot projects, and training programs supported by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Commerce are designed to mobilize capital, deploy innovative and secure technologies, and foster new public-private partnerships to advance Indonesia’s sustainable development goals. As part of the two leaders’ commitment to implement our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, President Biden has announced the following programs to promote sustainable economic prosperity. 

• Trade and Investment Framework Agreement: The United States and Indonesia are committed to future engagement and cooperation on trade, including agricultural trade, and will explore holding a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement meeting in 2025. The United States looks forward to expanding our robust relationship in agricultural trade that accounted for $7 billion in two-way annual trade in 2023.        
• Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF): The United States, Indonesia, and 12 other IPEF partners have broken new ground with this framework that will deliver economic benefits and serve as a regional platform for long-term economic cooperation. The IPEF partners have negotiated three economic cooperation agreements aimed at promoting competitive supply chains, accelerating the transition to cleaner economies, and creating a more predictable playing field for workers and businesses.
• Millennium Challenge Corp (MCC) Indonesia Infrastructure and Finance Compact:  The U.S. MCC and the Government of Indonesia launched the $649 million Indonesia Infrastructure and Finance Compact—a five-year grant focused on improving the quantity and quality of infrastructure investments and increasing access to finance for small and medium enterprises, especially those owned by women.
• Promoting Labor Rights: The U.S. Department of State and DOL have provided more than $2 million for programs in Indonesia to foster labor rights and workplace democracy, as well as ensuring occupational health for workers in high-risk industries.
• Digital Infrastructure Smart City Pilot Project: USTDA partnered with Autodesk, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, ESRI, Honeywell, IBM, and Motorola to launch a $7.6 million project. This project will implement innovative smart city technologies to enhance urban management, streamline emergency response, and support sustainable infrastructure.

The Biden-Harris Administration has reiterated its commitment to partnering with Indonesia on tackling the climate crisis and ensuring the United States and Indonesia are at the forefront of harnessing the clean energy transition, as well as reducing deforestation. As co-leads with Japan of the International Partners Group (IPG), the United States has been working with Indonesia to help implement its goals in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).  We are helping to catalyze $21.6 billion in public ($11.6 billion) and private ($10 billion) sector financing.  To date, we have 32 ongoing technical assistance programs funded by the countries in the IPG that total $202.7 million with an additional $831.42 million approved in seven loan and equity investments. 

• Supporting Clean Energy Transition Planning: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting a JETP Captive Coal study for site-specific decarbonization of the steel, cement, paper, and aluminum industries, which could lead to $2 billion in investment for clean energy deployments. Furthermore, USAID has assisted Indonesia to accelerate its net zero emission target in the power sector and define policy reforms to achieve its JETP goals.
• Mobilized Finance for Clean Energy: USAID and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation assisted one geothermal and two small hydropower plants obtain $239.5 million in private investment to support Indonesia’s commitment to reach net zero emissions in the energy sector by 2060 or earlier.
• Just Energy Workforce Transition: The United States is partnering with Indonesia to develop a jobs data collection methodology to address Indonesian workforce clean energy transition.
• Mobilizing Renewable Energy Mini Grids: USTDA, in a public-private partnership with the DOE’s national labs under the Net Zero World Initiative, is supporting mobilization of $6 to $10 million at five sites and will mobilize up to $2 billion in investments to convert 500 MW of diesel to renewable energy hybrid mini grids. 
• Exploring Clean Energy Alternatives for Industrial Growth: The United States and Indonesia are partnering on a “Battery2EV” supply chain roadmap that identifies clean energy alternatives to captive coal-powered industrial growth. 
• Expanding Access to Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation: USAID is expanding Indonesian access to climate-resilient water and sanitation in 38 cities and districts.  Technical assistance integrates upstream water resource management with downstream urban service delivery.
• Signed Marine Conservation Debt-For-Nature Swap Agreement: In 2024, Indonesia and the United States signed the largest bilateral debt-for-nature swap agreement as part of the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act. The roughly $34 million agreement provides funding to conserve coral reefs across much of Central and Eastern Indonesia.
• Emergency Management Memorandum of Understanding: The United States and Indonesia disaster response agencies signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding that will serve as a framework for future cooperation in disaster preparedness.

The United States is investing in Indonesia’s healthy workforce. Access to quality health services in Indonesia, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable people, remains a challenge. Through USAID, the United States has invested more than $1.1 billion to help Indonesia strengthen its health systems—including $58.9 million last year. These investments include the following:

• Bolstering Health Security: The United States supports Indonesia’s effort to prevent and respond to infectious and zoonotic disease outbreaks. USAID helped expand Indonesia’s early warning alert and response system in the animal and human health sectors for emerging infectious diseases from two to 38 provinces.
• Tuberculosis Detection: In over 250 hospitals, USAID-supported screening efforts reached more than four million people, resulting in the identification and treatment of 40,000 TB patients. Additionally, USAID supported the establishment of 12 drug-resistant tuberculosis clinics, delivering life-saving treatments to 321 patients.
• Expanding Use of National Electronic Health Platform: USAID helped connect more than 23,500 healthcare facilities in 38 provinces to a national electronic health information platform, improving data access and enhancing health services for patients.

INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE

President Biden and President Subianto celebrated the health and strength of our people-to-people ties. Over the past year, around 100 Indonesian leaders have traveled to the United States to participate in U.S. Department of State professional exchanges on journalism, economic development, financial systems, civil aviation, and cybersecurity, among other topics. This year, we celebrated 10 years of academic exchange through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). In 2024 alone the United States hosted 165 young leaders from Indonesia through YSEALI and other youth exchange programs. Building on this decades-long partnership and recognizing this new era of cooperation under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, President Biden announced the following new programs to further strengthen these ties:

• Cultural Heritage Preservation: A $275,000 grant will assist several Indonesian museums to develop and digitize a cataloging system enhancing their emergency preparedness capacity. Another $299,800 grant assists with documenting and preserving Indonesian local languages through community engagement and open-source digital platforms.   
• Interfaith Dialogue: The United States and Indonesia engaged in interfaith dialogues, including the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy Conference to strengthen tolerance, promote inclusivity, and encourage interfaith collaboration.
• Increased Access to Higher Education: In 2023, USAID trained over 700 staff members and over 6,000 students from more than 55 Indonesian universities in soft skills development, applied STEM learning. USAID improved access for Indonesian students to U.S. education through a  new Indonesia government-funded scholarship program that sent, worth a value of approximately $9.56 million.  
• Educational Exchange: Indonesia and the United States plan to expand the Fulbright program to welcome American Fulbright scholars and English Teaching Assistants into educational institutions run by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The EducationUSA Fall Fair showcased 92 registered U.S. universities and expanded its capacity to provide free information about U.S. higher education to Indonesian students by 25 percent in 2024
• Improving Digital Literacy: USAID’s Saring Daring U-Challenge activity, in partnership with Meta and Love Frankie, has improved the ability of 288 university students to create and disseminate content on digital literacy issues, and increased engagement among 120,000 students and enhanced digital literacy awareness among an additional 240,000 students. USAID is also partnering with AWS to train 50,000 university students in market-driven cloud computing skills.
• Partnering on Resilient Semiconductor: Purdue University has formed a strategic partnership with Indonesia’s National Semiconductor Ecosystem Development Task Force to enhance Indonesia’s supply chain resilience in critical and emerging semiconductor technologies, leveraging Purdue University’s expertise as a leading research university.
• Promoting Democratic Governance and Human Rights: The Biden-Harris Administration has invested over $50 million through Department of State and USAID in initiatives that strengthen democratic governance, promote respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, and bolster the role of civil society in Indonesia. The United States and Indonesia have also reaffirmed their steadfast support for the Open Government Partnership as a way to enhance transparency, accountability and public participation, deliver for the public, and advance anti-corruption priorities.

DEEPENING REGIONAL AND GLOBAL COOPERATION

The United States and Indonesia are united by a shared commitment to ASEAN centrality and the common principles articulated in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo Pacific (AOIP) and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy.  In 2022, Presidents Biden and Jokowi upgraded ASEAN-U.S. relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in recognition of the breadth and depth of U.S. cooperation with ASEAN across a wide range of important issues in ASEAN’s political-security, economic, and socio-cultural community pillars. In 2023, Indonesia as ASEAN chair spearheaded the ASEAN-U.S. Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP to affirm the fundamental principles shared between the AOIP and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and enhance ASEAN-U.S. coordinated action across the AOIP’s four areas of cooperation.  The Biden-Harris Administration advanced our collective security through: 

• Expansion of Super Garuda Shield: Super Garuda Shield has expanded from being the cornerstone for the U.S.-Indonesia military relationship to include troops from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and this year included a cyber exercise for the first time. It involves more than 4,000 service members from 23 nations observing — or training side-by-side — in one of the largest multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Expanding Military-to-Military Relationship: The United States and Indonesian militaries conduct over 200 different types of military engagement each year. Additionally, the International Military Education and Training program with Indonesia represents the largest U.S. training education program in the USINDOPACOM area.

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is honored to welcome Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to Washington, D.C. As we commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations, we reflect on our shared experiences, from which we have emerged as the world’s second- and third-largest democracies.
As part of this growing relationship, one year ago, Indonesia and the United States elevated bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and institutionalized efforts to expand cooperation amidst global and emerging challenges.

As we deepen our diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation, we pay tribute to our predecessors for their wisdom, courage, and vision. Building on this shared history, the two leaders reaffirmed our commitment to democracy, pluralism, human rights, and a stable and open international system. The leaders committed to continue advancing our vision for an open, transparent, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific regional architecture, with ASEAN at the center, that upholds international law. Building on their CSP, the leaders pledged to work to ensure a strong, resilient, and prosperous Indonesia and underlined their countries’ shared commitment to promote peace and stability in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

Fostering a Long-Term Partnership

The leaders applauded the progress in our partnership, reflecting deepening ties and a mutual desire to foster greater understanding between the United States and Indonesia. To sustain and further elevate this momentum, both leaders underscored their commitment to regularly convene the Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue between Indonesia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of State. Both leaders committed to deepen relations further by introducing new cooperation in areas such as climate, energy, human and labor rights, foreign policy, and national security policy. The two leaders also welcomed the revival of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Indonesia Caucus by U.S. Representatives Strickland and Miller, and look forward to sustained legislative cooperation to enhance dialogue and mutual understanding on U.S.-Indonesia relations.

Looking to the future, the two countries will build on the CSP to increase dialogue on domestic, regional, and global security issues as we learn from each other’s experiences, ensuring that our shared history and democratic values remain central to our efforts.  Both countries are committed to continuing the annual consular and management dialogue to ensure each can shape better policy and adequately manage consular and diplomatic facilities to support this elevated relationship, in accordance with international conventions, bilateral agreements, and the respective laws of both countries.

Encouraging Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Economic Growth

The United States government stands ready to assist the Indonesian government as it strives to improve food security through sustainable agriculture. To advance these efforts, the leaders highlighted their commitment to promote research collaboration at the nexus of artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable farming practices, including through the 2nd Indonesia – U.S. Digital Technology Dialogue on Agriculture. The two sides also committed to strengthen Indonesia’s food resilience through promotion of sustainable management practices for fisheries and aquaculture, and enhancing the effectiveness of Indonesia’s marine protected areas management, in line with respective national laws.

The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of innovation-driven, inclusive and sustainable economic growth to deliver better livelihoods for the American and Indonesian peoples. Both sides affirmed their membership to the Open Government Partnership to enhance transparency, accountability and public participation and advance anti-corruption priorities. Both sides are committed to deepening engagement and cooperation on economic policy based on business best practices, labor rights, and human rights and fair trade, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in all pillars and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. We recognize the importance of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in fostering trade, supporting industry and promoting sustainable development for both countries. As part of this effort, we will explore holding a strategic economic dialogue and a U.S.-Indonesia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting.

President Biden expressed his support for Indonesia’s efforts towards an expedited accession bid to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which provides a pathway to faster and higher quality economic growth through stronger and more accountable policy. As the process gets under way, the United States looks forward to working with the Indonesian government to ensure it is successful in aligning with OECD standards and best practices, including by supporting Indonesia as it undertakes all necessary economic, governance, trade, and labor reforms. The two leaders also expressed their commitment to a rules-based international trading system and recognized the importance of multilateral institutions and norms which promote free and fair trade. Both leaders pledged to advance dialogue and consultations in settling WTO disputes.

President Subianto and President Biden acknowledged the essential role of diverse and resilient critical mineral supply chains to bolster the manufacturing sector and economic growth in both nations, as well as support the global clean energy transition. They affirmed their commitment to develop a critical minerals supply chain in both countries through a mutually beneficial partnership that promotes principles of sustainable development, including strong environmental and labor standards. To achieve this, they pledged to expedite ongoing discussions on critical minerals.

Reaffirming that the climate crisis poses an existential threat, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes submitting 2035 nationally determined contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement that are aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius and in the spirit of responding positively to the first Global Stocktake. We are committed to more ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories that are aligned with achieving our respective net-zero targets. 

They further resolve to expand collaboration on clean and renewable energy generation and to accelerate their clean energy transitions. Indonesia and the United States are continuing to closely and concretely collaborate, including with other partners, on the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) by implementing the Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan. JETP, in parallel with domestic policy reform, will continue to mobilize investments in Indonesia’s domestic renewable energy production to reduce emissions, strengthen and expand the grid, advance energy security, create jobs, and grow the clean energy economy in Indonesia. 

President Biden and President Subianto discussed carbon capture and storage (CCS) and methane abatement as key opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Both leaders expressed their commitment to supporting methane reduction capacity building. The two leaders seek to develop affordable and cost-effective CCS solutions and deploy methane abatement strategies that contribute to Indonesia’s net-zero targets and global climate goals. President Biden congratulated Indonesia on its recent success in reducing emissions from deforestation and offered continued U.S. support for Indonesia to reach its forestry and land sector net sink target by 2030.

As one way to mobilize private finance for emissions reductions from forests and other sectors, President Biden expressed his support for Indonesia’s efforts to develop a high-integrity carbon market and offered U.S. support for accessing international demand for carbon credits. The leaders pledged to deepen bilateral discussions under the U.S.-Indonesia Climate Change Working Group and through technical cooperation.

Promoting Innovation through Digital and Technology Cooperation

Both Indonesia and the United States concurred that AI and other digital technologies should be optimized to enable sustainable development and bridge the digital divide. President Biden and President Subianto underscored the pressing need to enhance capacity building to ensure equitable access to secure and resilient AI and related digital innovations. The leaders also welcomed the opportunity to expand radio access network (Open RAN) projects in Indonesia, acknowledging the importance of improving Indonesia’s cellular network performance, creating a secure, resilient, and fostering a competitive ecosystem for advanced technology, and providing broader connectivity.

The two leaders acknowledged the need to continuously explore initiatives to secure cyberspace and welcomed the intention to elevate their cooperation, particularly through the exchange of best practices, capacity building, and research cooperation in the near future. This enhanced collaboration should be rooted in their shared desire to promote a peaceful, secure, and resilient cyberspace that serves as an enabler of economic progress and betterment of living standards for all. The leaders also celebrated the U.S. State Department’s partnership with the Government of Indonesia through the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund under the CHIPS Act of 2022.

The leaders expressed their intention to enhance Indonesia’s human resource capacity in the semiconductor industry, as well as human resources development, through collaborations with American universities and optimizing U.S. government support through the ITSI Fund. The United States is committed to support Indonesia in developing its small modular reactor (SMR) technology, including by expediting ongoing feasibility studies and exploring potential collaboration to build Indonesian expertise through nuclear assessor research certification programs.

Investing in People, Education, and Health

We also use this opportunity to commemorate the 20th anniversary of a massive tsunami that devastated coastal communities across the Indian Ocean region, including Aceh Province in Indonesia. In response, the United States mobilized over $400 million in emergency aid to support Indonesia’s response, assisting over 580,000 people. President Biden and President Subianto recognize the resourcefulness and perseverance of the tsunami’s survivors and applaud the bravery of humanitarian responders. We have built on this experience, and expanded our cooperation to include a Memorandum of Understanding between our disaster management agencies. Our leaders reaffirmed our commitment to boost disaster risk reduction and to work together on humanitarian aid and disaster relief to other vulnerable locations. 

Building on our strong people-to-people ties, President Biden and President Subianto underscored their plan to deepen cooperation in education, research, and development. The leaders announced the opening of a new American Corner in Makassar in 2025. The two leaders also welcomed further cooperation to promote science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) fields, language education, and entrepreneurship collaboration, with a focus on women, youth, and persons with disabilities. As part of these efforts, both leaders emphasized the importance of expanding vocational and skills training, technical education and certification with a focus on technology, manufacturing, health, hospitality, construction, and creative industries.

Both countries are also committed to furthering health cooperation to advance clinical research, public health goals, and health systems to address emerging and chronic health conditions, as well as infectious diseases, including tuberculosis. The two leaders also welcomed a future signing of an elevated Memorandum of Understanding on health between Indonesia and the United States. This effort underscores both nation’s unwavering commitment to collaborate to realize Indonesia’s health transformation goals. President Biden also expressed support for Indonesia’s national program to provide nutritious and healthy meals for school children and expecting mothers.

Both leaders emphasized the significance of recognizing and honoring their respective cultural heritage, which serve as invaluable bridges in fostering stronger people-to-people connections. President Subianto further commended the United States for its support of Indonesia’s safeguarding of its cultural heritage from the growing threat of illicit trafficking, including the continued repatriation of Indonesian artifacts held within the United States. The leaders also applauded the new U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation project to assist Indonesian museums to build new documentation systems and enhance emergency preparedness.

Deepening United States – Indonesia Defense and Security Cooperation

President Biden and President Subianto committed to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation, reaffirming their shared commitment to regional security and stability, and emphasizing the significance of the Defense Cooperation Arrangement concluded in 2023. Both leaders pledged to cooperate on strengthening maritime security capabilities and to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as fishing associated with transnational organized crime. The two leaders also welcome continued cooperation on defense and military modernization in a manner consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.   

President Biden praised Indonesia for successfully hosting the 2024 Super Garuda Shield exercise and the potential expansion of the multilateral exercise which recently engaged eight other partner nations, twelve observer countries, and over 6,000 personnel, aimed at enhancing collective security capabilities to better prepare for the challenges of an increasingly complex global landscape.

The two leaders reaffirmed their intention to hold the 2nd U.S.-Indonesia Senior Officials’ Foreign Policy and Defense Dialogue, the 21st U.S.-Indonesia Security Dialogue (IUSSD), and the U.S. and Indonesia Bilateral Defense Discussion (USIBDD), before the end of the first quarter of 2025. In the field of maritime cooperation, both leaders welcomed the establishment of the U.S.-funded BAKAMLA ‘Anambas’ Maritime Training Center in Batam this year. Our leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to holding a maritime dialogue and intended to explore new areas of discussion, including cooperation on a sustainable maritime economy and advancing marine science and technology. The leaders also pledged to explore the establishment of a defense alumni network to strengthen defense cooperation ties.

The two leaders condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and committed to work together to prevent and counter terrorism. The leaders applauded our longstanding, successful cooperation to counter terrorism and welcomed the renewal of the U.S.-Indonesia Memorandum of Understanding on counterterrorism until 2027 as part of this effort.

Deepening Regional and Global Cooperation

Both leaders acknowledged the importance of enhancing global peace, security, and stability to further the progress in their CSP. President Subianto welcomed sustained U.S. support for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and acknowledged the value of regional and sub-regional mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions working with ASEAN on specific areas of common interests. Both leaders committed to work together to uphold an open, inclusive, rules-based, and ASEAN-centered regional architecture that upholds international law.

Both leaders underscored their unwavering support for upholding freedom of navigation and overflight as well as respect for sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal states over their exclusive economic zones in accordance with international law of the sea, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The United States and Indonesia also recognized the importance of the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and expressed support for ASEAN efforts to develop an effective, and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that adheres to international law, in particular UNCLOS, and respect the rights and interests of third parties. The leaders note the ruling of the 2016 arbitral tribunal, constituted pursuant to UNCLOS.

President Biden expressed support for ASEAN’s efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. Our leaders reiterated full support for ASEAN’s central role and the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, and expressed appreciation for the work of the ASEAN and UN Special Envoys on Myanmar. The two leaders denounced and called for the immediate cessation of the continued acts of violence against civilians. They urged all parties to exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection of civilians, and create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. President Biden and President Subianto also called on the Myanmar regime to create the conditions for national dialogue that re-establishes Myanmar’s path to inclusive democracy.  

The United States and Indonesia reaffirm support for the establishment of a durable peace on, and the complete denuclearization of, the Korean Peninsula. The leaders urged all parties to fully implement their international obligations and commitments, including halting actions that violate UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) that threaten peace and stability in the region. Both leaders called on the concerned parties to comply fully with all relevant UNSCRs and to engage in peaceful dialogue.

President Biden and President Subianto reiterated the urgent call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza through the release of hostages, an exchange of prisoners, the free flow of humanitarian assistance, and an end to the conflict. The two leaders expressed grave concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, and condemned all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. The leaders underscored that the future recovery and reconstruction of Gaza will rely on sustained engagement from the international community. Both leaders remain committed to a viable and independent Palestinian state and Israel’s security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enable both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including expansion of Israeli settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. The leaders underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spreading further into the region. The two leaders reaffirmed that it is imperative to reach a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon. 

Building off of our successful cooperation on Indonesia’s airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza in April, President Biden and President Subianto also committed to expand cooperation on addressing the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The leaders pledged to work together to facilitate the medical evacuation of Palestinian children in order to receive critical care, and committed to support humanitarian and early recovery activities on the ground in Gaza. President Biden conveyed his appreciation for Indonesia’s role in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping mission and joined Indonesia in calling for all to respect the inviolability of UN premises, as well as calling for the protection of and to avoid military activity that might risk harming UNIFIL personnel.

The leaders discussed the war against Ukraine and reaffirmed our respect for sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and the UN Charter. Both leaders underlined the importance of serious engagement in a genuine dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. They also called for the facilitation of rapid and safe access to humanitarian assistance for those in need in Ukraine, and for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel, and persons in vulnerable situations. 

President Biden welcomed Indonesia’s leadership in the G20 on issues of concern to the developing world, including on evolving the multilateral development banks and strengthening the global health architecture. The two leaders pledged to cooperate on providing a pathway to growth for developing countries by unlocking space for countries with mounting debt burdens to invest in their futures.

Both countries also stressed the importance of continuing the discussions towards the UN Security Council reform. A transparent, democratic, efficient, effective and inclusive UN Security Council is crucial in efforts to maintain international peace and security.

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FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Leverages Historic U.S. Climate Leadership at Home and Abroad to Urge Countries to Accelerate Global Climate Action at the 29th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29)

Since Day One, President Biden has treated climate change as not only one of the greatest challenges of our time, but also as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unleash a new era of economic growth, good-paying union jobs, historic investment, and energy security. The United States heads into the 29th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan with a four-year record of spearheading the most significant climate action in history at home and leading efforts to tackle the climate crisis abroad.  At COP29, the Biden-Harris Administration will highlight global economic opportunities afforded by accelerating climate action in this decisive decade and will announce new initiatives to galvanize global efforts to keep a resilient, 1.5°C future within reach.

At home, actions like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – the largest ever investment by any country in clean energy and climate action – and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) have unleashed an unprecedented wave of investment and ignited a clean manufacturing boom.  These actions have stimulated over $450 billion in announced private investment in clean energy manufacturing and deployment since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration and created over 330,000 clean energy jobs in just over two years, with an additional 1.5 million jobs projected to be created over the next decade.  Hard-hit communities are reaping the biggest economic benefits – since the IRA passed, 75% of private clean energy investments have occurred in counties with lower than median household incomes, and clean energy investment in energy communities has doubled. This government-enabled, private-sector led approach, complemented by increased action from state and local governments, has set the United States on a path to achieve our 1.5°C-aligned emissions target under the Paris Agreement.  And historic investments in climate and disaster resilience are making communities across the country safer and stronger in the face of extreme weather events, which we know are getting more frequent and more dangerous because of climate change.

The investments the United States is making at home are catalyzing progress abroad, lowering the cost of clean energy for everyone and saving hundreds of billions of dollars globally.  The IRA is projected to produce more than $5 trillion in global economic benefits from reduced climate pollution between now and 2050.  Over the next seven years, according to analysis from the Department of Energy (DOE), twice as much U.S. wind, solar, and battery deployment is expected than would have been without the IRA.  This progress complements U.S. efforts to rally other countries to accelerate the clean energy transition and enhance their climate ambition.

At COP29, the U.S. delegation will promote U.S. efforts to seize the economic opportunities of the clean energy transition, address the risks climate change poses to our national security, and accelerate climate action in this decisive decade.  Key announcements include:

• Powering Forward with Ambitious Domestic Climate Action – by announcing the finalization of a new rule to reduce economically wasteful methane emissions; establishing new, bold targets for expanding U.S. nuclear energy capacity and releasing a framework to achieve them; and highlighting new actions to unlock potential for a new source of clean baseload power: enhanced geothermal.
  
  
• Accelerating Global Climate Action to Keep the 1.5°C Goal Within Reach – by driving progress on reducing methane and other high-impact non-carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (“super pollutants”) at a COP29 Summit on Methane and Non-CO2 GHGs alongside China and Azerbaijan and announcing new efforts to implement the over $1 billion in grant funding unveiled at COP28 as part of the Methane Finance Sprint; by announcing new members of the Carbon Management Challenge that President Biden launched in 2023; and by announcing new investments and initiatives to help partners transition away from unabated coal, deploy renewables, and reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.

• Mobilizing Finance at Scale – including by scaling up U.S. international climate finance for developing countries from $1.5 billion in FY21 to $9.5 billion in FY23, a more than sixfold increase that was enabled by record-high levels of investment across the USG, including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).  This increase puts the United States on track to meet President Biden’s pledge to work with Congress to scale up our support to over $11 billion per year by 2024.  The United States is also announcing a new $1 billion guarantee for the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP), which will unlock over $4.5 billion in investment, and supporting the launch of the Climate Investment Funds Capital Markets Mechanism, which is projected to raise $5 billion or more over 10 years.

• Bolstering Global Climate Resilience – by scaling up U.S. support for vulnerable developing countries to over $3 billion in FY23 to implement the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), achieving President Biden’s pledge to do so by 2024 one year early; by expanding access to cutting-edge climate information, data, and early-warning systems in over 80 countries; and by marshalling over $3 billion in additional resources since 2022 from 40 U.S. and global companies and partners in response to the PREPARE Private Sector Call to Action.

• Advancing Women’s and Girls’ Leadership in Tackling the Climate Crisis – by announcing new investments to support the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative, a public-private partnership launched by Vice President Harris in 2023 through which the United States has galvanized over $2 billion in commitments by governments, private sector companies, foundations, and civil society to bolster women’s economic participation in sectors such as clean energy, fisheries, recycling, forest management, and environmental conservation.

POWERING FORWARD WITH AMBITIOUS DOMESTIC CLIMATE ACTION

• Reducing Wasteful Methane Emissions – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, following the directive from Congress in the IRA to collect a Waste Emissions Charge to better ensure valuable natural gas reaches the market rather than polluting the air.  Today’s final rule delivers on this directive and incentivizes companies to take near-term action to conserve valuable energy resources and reduce methane emissions – a potent GHG that is responsible for approximately one-third of the global warming we are now experiencing. EPA estimates that this rule alone will result in cumulative emissions reductions of 34 million metric tons CO2-equivalent by 2035, with cumulative climate benefits of up to $2 billion. Today’s final rule is just one of more than 100 actions that U.S. Federal agencies have taken in 2024 alone to sharply reduce methane emissions under the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, helping to deliver on the Global Methane Pledge. U.S. actions this year have included plugging leaks and regulating emissions in the oil and gas sector, remediating pollution from abandoned coal mines, curbing food waste and emissions from agriculture practices, investing in cleaner industrial processes and buildings, and building a new, integrated system of satellite, aerial, and on-the-ground detections to stop major methane emissions events.

• Establishing Bold Targets for Expanding Domestic Nuclear Energy and Announcing  a Framework for Action to Achieve Them – acknowledging the crucial role that nuclear power will play to support energy security and clean economic growth, the United States is establishing a national goal to build 200 GW of new nuclear power generation capacity by 2050, as our Nation’s contribution to the global “Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy” from 2020 levels endorsed by 25 countries at COP28.  The United States is also establishing nearer-term targets to jumpstart the expansion of nuclear energy deployment with 35 GW of new domestic nuclear energy capacity built or under construction by 2035 and ramping-up to a sustained pace of producing 15 GW per year by 2040.  These targets are part of “Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy to Tackle the Climate Crisis and Invest in America: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action” that establishes a set of guiding principles for successfully scaling up nuclear energy in the United States in a manner that advances core values and commitments—including ensuring public health and safety protecting the environment, ensuring energy affordability, meaningfully engaging with communities and delivering local community benefits, honoring Tribal sovereignty, advancing environmental justice, and promoting national security.  The Framework also and identifies more than 30 key actions the U.S. government can take, along with the U.S. nuclear energy industry, power customers, and civil society, to meet this moment.  To help inform implementation of this Framework, the Administration is launching Tribal consultation and will issue a Request for Information to ensure that governmental, public and community engagement inform implementation of this Framework.

• Doubling the Number of Scalable Clean Baseload Power Sources by Rapidly Commercializing Geothermal Energy – The Administration’s recent actions are enabling enhanced geothermal to become a key source of clean baseload power and heat in the United States. Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved in record time the development of the world’s largest next-generation geothermal project, which has the potential to generate up to 2 GW, proposed a new environmental review tool to facilitate confirmation of geothermal resources on federal lands, and hosted the largest lease sale of federal lands for geothermal electricity projects in more than 15 years. This year, the Department of Energy (DOE) also made the first federal investment of $60 million under BIL to support novel demonstration projects for next-generation geothermal technologies. As a result of these efforts, within one year of the first 3.5 MW enhanced geothermal project’s delivery of power in November 2023, over 600 MW of power purchase agreements have been signed for geothermal power using this pioneering technology—presenting new pathways to leverage oil and gas industry expertise and workforces to support a robust, resilient, and secure energy grid with good jobs.

• Leading by Example by Reducing U.S. Government Emissions – by announcing a new suite of actions to reduce the U.S. government’s indirect (“Scope 3”) emissions and engage other governments and suppliers.  This includes launching a new target to reduce the Federal Government’s Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030 – the equivalent of 40 million metric tons of CO2 annually – and releasing the first comprehensive measurement of the federal Scope 3 footprint. The United States is also launching the Government Scope 3 Alliance, a coalition of national and state governments whose members commit to set Scope 3 targets for government operations and report annually on progress.

• Releasing a National Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Research Strategy – Today, the White House is releasing a new national strategy to advance research on the benefits, risks, and tradeoffs associated with marine carbon dioxide removal, a set of innovative technologies that could help address the climate crisis in concert with substantial cuts to carbon emissions.  Marine CO2 removal uses ocean processes to increase the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide the ocean removes from the atmosphere, but it requires additional research to determine if it is a safe and effective climate tool.  The strategy, which responds to a key objective of the Ocean Climate Action Plan, provides recommendations to guide accountable research, ensure community engagement, and clarify the regulatory process for scientific researchers.

ACCELERATING GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION

President Biden has rallied world leaders to accelerate action in key areas that the latest science has identified as critical to keeping the goal of limiting average warming to 1.5°C within reach.  At COP29, the United States announced progress in each of these key areas, including:

• Reducing Methane and Other Non-CO2 GHG Super Pollutants:

• Hosting a COP29 Summit on Methane and Non-CO2 GHGs – The Summit, co-hosted with China and Azerbaijan, showcased new actions to cut emissions of these climate super-pollutants that account for over half of warming, including national commitments to cover all GHGs in national climate targets, new policy and regulatory actions, and new scientific progress.  As the two largest emitters in the world, responsible for roughly 10% and 30% of global GHG emissions, respectively, the United States and China have helped catalyze global attention on non-CO2 GHGs. These efforts include the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), which more than 155 countries have now endorsed and are taking steps to meet the goal to cut global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. At COP29, with announcements from new countries, there are now nearly 100 methane action plans completed or underway, including China’s national action plan on methane and the United States’s Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan update. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which serves as GMP Secretariat, is funding implementation projects in 65 countries. 

• Mobilizing billions to tackle super pollutants – At the COP29 Non-CO2 Summit, partners announced implementation steps for over $1 billion in grant funding previously announced at COP28 as part of the Methane Finance Sprint. This grant funding is already mobilizing billions more in methane-related project investment by the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and regional multilateral development banks, among others.

• Leveraging new action and science to cut nitrous oxide (N2O) and Tropospheric Ozone – The United States and partners announced new global action and science on cutting super pollutants like N2O and tropospheric ozone, which account for roughly one-fifth of today’s warming, with significant impacts on public health and agricultural productivity. New steps include the release of aGlobal N2O Assessment, the United Nations  Environment Program’s new commitment to advance science on reducing climate impacts of tropospheric ozone, and private sector steps to tackle N2O and tropospheric ozone precursors.

• Leading Global Efforts to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Deployment:

• Implementing and expanding the effort to triple nuclear energy –by co-leading a coalition of countries working to advance the global goal of tripling nuclear energy capacity from 2020 levels by 2050, including by setting an example that shows how the United States will do its part, by establishing 2050 and nearer-term domestic nuclear energy deployment targets and outlining a Framework for Action.  Thirty countries from four continents now endorse the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, after an additional five countries joined the effort at COP29.  Endorsers also highlighted recent stakeholder support for the effort, including from 14 major global financial institutions that announced support for the tripling goal during New York Climate Week in September 2024.

• Supporting Ukraine’s leadership in safe and secure nuclear energy –by announcing $30 million in funding from the U.S. Department of State for cooperation with Ukraine under the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology (FIRST) program to develop: (1) a Clean Fuels from SMRs Pilot Plant, which will demonstrate the production of clean hydrogen and ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizers, in Ukraine using simulated SMR technology; (2) Project Phoenix, to facilitate the conversion of Ukraine’s coal plants to SMRs by developing a comprehensive strategy, conducting feasibility studies, and providing advisory services; and (3) the Clean Steel from SMR Roadmap, which will help rebuild, modernize, and decarbonize Ukraine’s steel industry using clean electricity, process heat, and hydrogen from SMRs for steel manufacturing.

• U.S. – Romania Partnership to Create Over 1.5 GW of Clean Energy –Sargent & Lundy (U.S.), AtkinsRealis (Canada), and Ansaldo (Italy) reached a new milestone in the Cernavoda nuclear power plant project, and finalized a contract for an international consortium to complete two new reactors at Romania’s Cernavoda site, which, once completed, will generate over 1.5 GW of clean power for the region. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Romania Ministry of Energy facilitated the agreement and catalyzed the project by signing an intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and Romania.

• Decarbonizing the Energy Sector by Scaling Technologies Critical to Achieving the 1.5°C Goal:

• Advancing the goal to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency –including by co-leading the effort to establish international goals at COP29 to increase energy storage and expand and modernize grids, two key ingredients needed to scale up renewable energy in line with keeping the 1.5°Cgoal within reach.  Endorsers of the Energy Storage and Grids Pledge will set global goals to achieve 1500 GW of energy storage and 25 million km of built or refurbished grids by 2030, with an additional 65 million km by 2040.  The United States also provided over $4.5 billion in support for international clean energy projects in FY23, which will significantly advance efforts to triple renewable energy and double efficiency by 2030.

• Zero Emissions and Resilient Buildings Accelerator (ZERB Accelerator) – which brings together a cohort of leading cities, states, and regions committed to ambitious climate mitigation and resilience goals in the buildings sector, including the collective reduction of annual emissions by at least 50 million metric tons below 2020 levels, by 2030.  Incubated by the Subnational Climate Action Leaders’ Exchange (SCALE) partnership, the initiative will strengthen multilevel collaboration between these subnational jurisdictions and their national governments and will mobilize a broad coalition of organizations offering support in the areas of policy and technical assistance, financing, and measuring, reporting, and verification capacity to move the building sector to zero emissions and resiliency.

• Advancing the Carbon Management Challenge – Since President Biden announced the Carbon Management Challenge (CMC) last year at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, 22 countries and the European Commission have joined the initiative.  This includes 5 new members since COP28: Bahrain, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal.  In the past year, the CMC established a Secretariat to advance carbon management at the billion-ton scale by delivering outcomes on (1) developing country finance; (2) project deployment and tracking; and (3) strategic communications and engagement.

• Launching the U.S-India Low Carbon Comfort Cooling Collective – a new initiative aimed at harnessing the power of the public and private sectors to mobilize large-scale private investment towards a 50% reduction in cooling-related emissions in India by 2030.  At COP29, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $1 million to support this new partnership.  In the face of intensifying extreme heat, the activity aims to reduce carbon emissions from cooling, decrease stress on electricity networks, and lower the cost of efficient cooling and alternative cooling solutions.

• Mobilizing Investment for Early Retirement of Indonesia Coal-fired Power Plant –USAID is assisting a consortium in Indonesia, led by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, to establish an approximately $255 million equity investment in the first coal power, early phase-out transaction under the Indonesia Just Energy Transition Partnership.  USAID will support an agreement between Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund and public infrastructure company, PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur, and private investors to finalize the early retirement of the 660 MW Cirebon coal-fired power plant.

• Accelerating clean energy deployment and decarbonization in the power and industrial sectors – through the Power Sector Program and Energy and Mineral Governance Program, the Department of State is committing $10.6 million to strengthen grid infrastructure to improve reliability and resiliency, deploy clean energy technologies to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors,expand cross border power trade, and create opportunities for private sector investment. The Energy and Mineral Governance Program is committing a further $5 million to expand technical support to enable emissions reductions in the oil and gas sector through methane abatement and decarbonization technologies, in support of the Global Methane Pledge.

• Advancing the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) –At COP29, AIM for Climate will announce $2.9 billion in new investments, innovation sprints, and partners.  Launched by President Biden at COP26, AIM for Climate is a 5-year initiative co-led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  In just 4 years, AIM for Climate partners have mobilized $29.2 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation, over a 2020 baseline, including over $4.3 billion by the United States.  On the margins of COP29, the United States and the UAE will host the 3rd AIM for Climate Ministerial, a strategic opportunity to highlight the institutional legacy of AIM for Climate, including the recent  AIM for Climate Report.

MOBILIZING FINANCE AT SCALE

From Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to boosting international climate finance.  This includes scaling-up our own bilateral finance, fully leveraging multilateral financial institutions, and mobilizing private investment.  These efforts are also in direct support of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.  As a result of these efforts over the last three years, the United States significantly scaled up our climate finance – from $1.5 billion in FY21 to over $9.5 billion in FY23, a more than sixfold increase.  These actions build on domestic efforts to catalyze investments in game-changing climate mitigation and climate resilience innovations.  At COP29, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new efforts to mobilize investment at the speed and scale the climate crisis requires, including:

• Announcing a $1 billion guarantee for ADB’s Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP) – a $2.5 billion climate finance platform for Asia and the Pacific, making the United States the Facility’s largest donor.  The U.S. guarantee will enable $4.5 billion in new lending from ADB, which will start this month.

• Supporting the Launch of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Capital Markets Mechanism –an innovative new mechanism that will allow the CIF to raise funds directly in the capital markets, where it estimates it could raise $5 billion or more over 10 years.

• Achieving Record-Levels of Climate Investments through DFC and EXIM –with DFC reaching$3.71 billion in FY24 and mobilizing significant private investment to support over 1 GW of new clean energy capacity, improving U.S. partners’ energy security and access.  In line with its congressional mandate, EXIM has more than doubled its investments in clean energy and other environmentally beneficial exports – from $1.1 billion in FY23 to a record $1.6 billion in FY24.  These new investments, which represent over one-fourth of EXIM’s transactions this year, supported $1.7 billion in clean energy and other environmentally beneficial exports, EXIM’s highest-ever levels.

• Pioneering Innovative Approaches to Mobilize Private Investment –working with Congress, USAID is investing $41.1 million to drive private finance into hard-to-reach geographies and sectors.  This includes a $7.25 million investment through the Enterprises for Development, Growth, and Empowerment (EDGE) Fund to incentivize private investment in impact funds and mobilize investment in natural climate solutions which includes $2.75 million in grants to enable two new investment fund managers under the PREPARE Adaptation Finance Window that aim to catalyze additional public partners to co-invest.  USAID will also commit $27.7 million for the Colombia Invest for Climate activity, which aims to transform markets and financial systems and direct public and private funds into climate-smart businesses.  Finally, USAID is committing $6.1 million to the Partnerships for Green Investment initiative announced at COP28 last year to mobilize at least $200 million to achieve 50 million tons of emissions reductions, climate resilience, biodiversity protection, and benefit sharing across Southeast Asia.    

• Supporting the Development of the Cambodia Climate Financing Facility (CCFF) –USAID provided technical assistance to support the development of the CCFF, a $100 million green bank that will fill a critical funding gap for climate projects in Cambodia.  Once operationalized, the facility will provide concessions to local banks and businesses to stimulate investment in climate adaptation and mitigation projects, assisting Cambodia in meeting its Nationally Determined Contribution.

• Investing in Clean Energy and Critical Minerals Value Chains in Africa –as part of collaboration with Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, the United States, working with Congress, will make an initial commitment of $10 million over two years into the Investment Mobilization Collaboration Alliance’s third funding window through Power Africa, supporting clean energy and critical mineral investments in Africa.  This investment will improve critical minerals value chains and increase access to and use of energy to advance industrialization.  In joining this impactful, innovative international partnership, Power Africa will leverage partner funds and support proposals to advance clean energy across the continent.

BOLSTERING GLOBAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE

The Administration is announcing new efforts to accelerate the implementation of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), which aims to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change this decade.  Through these efforts, the United States has provided over $3 billion in adaptation finance in FY23, achieving President Biden’s pledge to work with Congress to increase U.S. international public adaptation finance to $3 billion by FY24 to help implement PREPARE one year early.  This includes the following additional efforts across PREPARE:

• Scaling-Up DFC’s Adaptation Investments to Record-High Levels –DFC invested $1.3 billion in adaptation in FY24, including projects that will strengthen food and water security and sustainable practices to adapt to and increase resilience to the threat of climate change.  
• The $458 million Zambia Farm-to-Market Compact –MCC’s $458 million Zambia Farm-to-Market Compact, signed in October 2024, aims to improve Zambia’s agriculture and agro-processing sectors. The compact will focus on rural road infrastructure, increasing access to finance for irrigation, electricity, storage and processing facilities, and supporting agricultural policy reform initiatives. The Improving Roads Activity will improve road conditions, quality, access, and climate resilience for selected segments within the identified agricultural corridors through the design, construction, expansion, rehabilitation, upgrades, and strengthening in key agricultural corridors It also focuses on integrated planning, climate-resilient road infrastructure, building a local green/climate finance market, and improving agricultural productivity through better management of soils, irrigation, and watersheds.

• Expanding Access to Cutting-Edge Climate Information and Early Warnings through PREPARE –The United States has invested billions to develop world-leading weather and climate-related information and service capabilities – from launching leading-edge satellites, amassing relevant observational data from a global network of sensors, and developing advanced modelling technology.  The United States is using these capabilities to support vulnerable developing countries to better understand, anticipate, and prepare for climate impacts.  At COP29 the United States is announcing several new efforts, including working with Congress to announce a new the SERVIR Central America Hub that will launch in December and will bolster the resilience of over 50 million people to reduce vulnerability to climate impacts and environmental degradation. NOAA is announcing $4.7 million to bolster multi-hazard early warning capabilities in Pacific Islands, including through capacity building, data sharing, and expansion of sea-level rise monitoring stations to help with coastal inundation. The United States is also launching the Global Sea Level Explorer– anew earth.gov platform that will provide foundational information about global sea level and flooding to help inform decision-making, resource management, and emergency operations for each coastal country across the globe.

• Climate Smart and Disaster Ready –as part of its Climate Smart and Disaster Ready initiative, USAID announced $11.8 million in new awards to strengthen localized climate adaptation for communities at the greatest risk of climate-related disasters in current and foreseeable humanitarian contexts, bringing the total investment under this initiative to date to $16.2 million.  Under this program, USAID has funded five multi-year initiatives in West Africa, Central America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands, including the previously announced $4.4 million to support young people in the Pacific Islands to advance disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation efforts in their own communities.

• Climate Finance for Agriculture in Africa –USAID will invest $9.3 million to accelerate climate finance for climate-resilient and low emissions development investments in agriculture and food systems across Africa, working with Congress.  In Zambia, USAID is supporting the country’s first climate-focused investment fund, aiming to mobilize $70 million for climate adaptation in critical sectors, including agriculture. In Ghana, USAID created a $2.6 million co-investment program to incentivize private sector investment in climate adaptation and mitigation in agriculture, complementing cooperation with the government on national carbon market development. Finally, through the Africa Trade and Investment activity, USAID is supporting a pan-Africa Fund to finance African microfinance institutions and agricultural entities, aiming to leverage an additional $5 million in commercial investments for climate-smart agriculture, with a total investment leverage ratio of 6:1. 

• Expanding Technical Support for SIDS through the Local2030 Islands Network – the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of State will invest nearly $500K to expand technical support to the Local2030 Islands Network for peer-to-peer learning, engagement and training to bolster the use of adaptive solutions and scientific data and planning.  This announcement builds on a prior investment of approximately $12 million into the Local2030 Islands Network, a global island-led network committed to net zero emissions and strengthening island resilience to climate change, with an emphasis on advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

• $144 million in new partnership agreements in Mozambique –MCC’s $144 million in new partnership agreements in Mozambique with local non-governmental partners Biofund and ProAzul for MCC’s Coastal Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project will leverage nature-based low carbon infrastructure to restore coastal ecosystems and their functions.

• Bolstering the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure: Enhancing Grid Resilience in Africa – The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a feasibility study grant to Côte d’Ivoire Energies to help develop a smart grid control system that will increase stability of the national grid and reduce potential blackouts in the face of extreme weather events or climate disruptions.  USTDA is also supporting a grid resilience and efficiency event series, which will connect officials from public and private entities in sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector to the latest U.S. technologies services, and equipment for improved electricity transmission and distribution systems.

ADVANCING WOMEN AND GIRLS’ LEADERSHIP IN CLIMATE ACTION

Recognizing that no economy can get ahead if half of its population is left behind, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to preparing women for leadership roles in the industries of the future, including through efforts that advance the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative—an over $2 billion public-private partnership that aims to close gender gaps in access to training, jobs, leadership roles, and finance in green and blue sectors.  At COP29, the Administration announced:

• Advancing Women’s Leadership in the Clean Energy Economy –At COP29, USAID is announcing $10.8 million to champion women as decision-makers, stakeholders, educators, and experts in responding to the climate crisis.  USAID is investing in programs that support women’s equitable access to land; integrate gender-based violence prevention in fisheries conservation; and promote women’s participation and economic empowerment in green industries and clean energy sectors. 

• Accelerating Women’s Leadership in Climate Action – One year after the release of the U.S. Strategy to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Women, the State Department is releasing a progress report outlining initiatives and programs worth $10.7 million to empower women and girls as climate leaders while addressing the disproportionate impacts they face from the climate crisis.  These initiatives include efforts to train and connect women leading the clean energy transition, building climate-smart agricultural systems, and promoting Indigenous management of natural resources.

• Women In Agriculture Gain Economic Security (WAGES) –This program supports women in agricultural cooperatives across Tunisia to address the impacts of climate change, increase profitability, and improve food security.  The project focuses on optimizing natural resource use and enhancing the business operations of women-led cooperatives.  The $2.1 million project tackles women’s limited access to training and resources by forming partnerships with regional stakeholders and adapting approaches to address the needs of local women leaders. 

• Supporting Women Environmental Defenders –The Department of State is expanding support for women environmental defenders through the EMPOWER and WE-Defend programs, enabling their safe and meaningful participation in environmental governance and policy making. The EMPOWER program, now totaling $1.7 million, supports defenders globally, while WE-Defend, with a total investment of $1.2 million, focuses on empowering Filipina environmental defenders in decision-making processes related to environmental policies.

• Advancing Women in Clean Energy and Minerals (AWCEM) Program – The Department of State announced $1.25 million to increase women’s leadership in the clean energy and critical mineral mining sectors in Latin America, empowering women to become leaders and agents for change to support decarbonization and the clean energy transition.

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Administration announces record-low number of veterans experiencing homelessness nationwide, expands eligibility for disability benefits and sets record for care and benefits delivered to veterans through President Biden’s Unity Agenda

President Biden believes we have a sacred obligation to care our nation’s veterans and their families. Simply put, we owe them a debt we can never fully repay. Supporting those who wear the uniform is a commitment that unites all Americans and it’s why the President has made supporting our veterans a core pillar in his Unity Agenda for the nation. Since taking office, President Biden has signed into law over 34 bipartisan bills that address some of the most important issues facing veterans today, including the PACT Act, which is most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. The Biden Harris Administration and Congress have worked together to expand access to health care, address veteran homelessness, improve access to child and long-term care, and support education and workforce opportunity for veterans and their families.

To mark this Veterans Day, President Biden will announce that his Administration has delivered more benefits and health care, more quickly, to more veterans than ever before. In 2024 alone, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivered $187 billion in earned benefits to 6.7 million veterans and survivors, and processed a record 2.51 million disability claims. VA delivered more than 131 million health care appointments, over 6 million dental procedures, and provided services and assistance to more than 88,095 family caregivers. Veterans’ trust in VA also reached an all-time high in 2024.  

The Administration is building on this historic progress and announcing new actions to address toxic exposures for veterans, including by expanding the types of cancers considered presumptive for VA disability benefits. Today, new data were also released showing that veteran homelessness has reached its lowest point on record, marking a 7.5% reduction in veteran homelessness in the last year alone and 55.6% percent reduction since 2010. Additionally, the Department of Education is announcing $9 million in funding to support student veterans.

Expanding benefits for toxic exposed veterans. For far too long it has taken too much time for the government to acknowledge and address the harms associated with military related toxic exposures. In part due to the PACT Act, VA now has the ability to act more swiftly and in the interest of veterans. Last week, VA announced it would proceed with an accelerated review to support rulemaking that would create a presumption for Gulf War deployed veterans, including those who deployed to Karshi-Khanabad (K2) in Uzbekistan, a location described as a “toxic soup of exposures,” and are diagnosed with rare conditions that could be related to the many contaminants of concerns found at K2. Rulemaking would commence this year. VA also announced it will be moving forward with rulemaking to add four cancers, including bladder cancer, ureter cancer, multiple myeloma, and leukemias, to the list of conditions presumed to be related to burn pit exposure for all veterans deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations, including for K2 veterans.

Ending veteran homelessness. Thanks to the efforts of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and VA, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has reached a record low since measurement began in 2009. This reflects a 7.5% reduction in veterans experiencing homelessness since 2023, an 11.7% decrease since 2020, and a 55.6% reduction since 2010.  In 2024 alone, VA has permanently housed nearly 48,000 veterans and awarded over $800 million in grants to help veterans experiencing homelessness. VA also expanded access to legal assistance for homeless veterans and helped more than 158,000 veterans and their families retain their homes or otherwise avoid foreclosure. Additionally, so far in 2024, nearly 90,000 veterans were under lease with vouchers through the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) – the most veterans served at any point in the program’s history. President Biden has also called on Congress to triple the number of veterans who receive housing vouchers – a critical tool to help prevent veteran homelessness in the first place.

Supporting student veterans. It has been 80 years since the enactment of the Montgomery GI Bill. This law and the post-9/11 GI bill, allow veterans and eligible family members to receive educational benefits to help them obtain higher education and job training. Today, to support students returning to college, the Department of Education announced $9 million in awards to 13 grantees across 10 states under the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) program which funds model programs to support veteran student success in postsecondary education by coordinating comprehensive and targeted services to address the academic, financial, physical and mental health, and social needs of veteran students. Funds are being used for a variety of activities, including to enhance data systems to identify and track services and impact, including program completion, hire dedicated veteran success coaches, mentors, and coordinators, increase outreach, communication, and continuity of services, and provide professional development to faculty and staff on supporting veteran students.

These new announcements build on Administration-wide actions to support veterans and their families, including: 

Lowering health care costs and expanding health care eligibility for veterans. President Biden believes access to health care is a right not a privilege. Today, millions of veterans are eligible for VA health care, thanks to the efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration. Since passage of the PACT Act, over 796,000 veterans have newly enrolled in VA health care. And, beginning last March, VA made all veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving our country—at home or abroad—eligible for VA health care without any need to first apply for VA benefits. This includes all veterans who served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat zone after 9/11. In addition to expanding care, veterans trust in VA reached 80.4% this year, an all-time record and an increase of 25% since 2016. Survey data also found that veteran trust in VA outpatient care increased to 91.8%, an all-time high. And, today, VA announced it plans to eliminate copayments for all telehealth care visits, building upon its September announcement which made tele-emergency care available nationwide, making it easier for veteran to receive timely access to virtual care when needed. These actions make it faster and easier for millions of veterans to access quality health care that they’ve earned and deserve.

Providing benefits to address toxic exposures. The bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act represents the most significant expansion in benefits and services for veterans in over thirty years. At President Biden’s direction, VA expedited health care and benefits eligibility under the PACT Act by several years, ensuring that they did not need to wait any longer for the care and benefits they deserved. VA has also conducted the largest outreach campaign in the history of the department, driving all-time record benefits applications and a sharp increase in health care enrollments. Since enactment, VA has received over 2 million PACT Act related claims and has granted toxic exposure benefits to more than 1.1 million veterans and over 11,000 survivors. Additionally, nearly 360,000 veterans eligible under the PACT Act have newly enrolled in VA health care and more than 5.82 million veterans have been screened for toxic exposure.  More than 60,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care thanks to the expediting of the PACT Act, and more than 350,000 Veterans have granted PACT claims due to the elimination of the phase in approach.

Understanding the harms of toxic exposures. VA has ongoing efforts to research and understand the health conditions that veterans experience so that VA can provide them with all of the benefits and care they deserve. Last month, VA announced a new scientific assessment to determine if there is a relationship between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure during military service and kidney cancer among veterans. This review helps advance the President’s Unity Agenda and Biden Cancer Moonshot goals to understand and address environmental and toxic exposures and end cancer as we know it.

Reducing veteran suicide. Since releasing a comprehensive public health strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to improve suicide prevention efforts. As of October 2024, VA has provided no-cost life-saving care to more than 82,000 veterans at risk of suicide since the program began. VA awarded over $150 million in grants for community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members. In September, VA announced more than $4.3 million in cooperative agreements to states and territories to help fund and provide technical assistance to better inform veteran suicide prevention suicide. Because economic and financial uncertainty can increase the risk of suicide, VA launched the National Veterans Financial Resource Center earlier this year to provide veterans and their families with a one-stop website to locate tools and resources to improve financial wellbeing.

Improving access to child and long-term care options. Last year, President Biden signed an historic Executive Order calling for more than 50 administrative actions that would improve access to and quality of child care and long-term care for Americans, including for our nation’s heroes. Thanks to these actions, each VA medical center offers veterans and their families with self-directed care options through the Veteran Directed Care (VDC) program. More than 700 Veterans are now receiving VDC services through the new programs.

Protecting veterans and their families from predatory actors and scams. In 2023, veterans, military personnel, and their families reported $477 million in losses to fraud. Last November, the President announced the new Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion (VSAFE) Task Force to better protect veterans and their families against these scams. In 2024, VSAFE released several resources to cut down on any confusion, and get veterans, Service members, and their family members routed to the best support as effectively and efficiently as possible. A centralized website, VSAFE.gov, is a fraud prevention, response, and reporting information hub. Information from across federal agencies can be accessed in one place, making it easy for veterans, Service members, and their families to find out more about different kinds of fraud, to get assistance, and to report. A single shared call line, 833-38V-SAFE, will connect veterans, Service members, and their families with the best agency to handle their report and get help.

Improving Equity. Women are the fastest growing group of veterans who use VA services and the Administration is committed to addressing and providing resources for their specialized health care needs. In October 2023, to improve health outcomes for mothers and their newborn children, VA expanded access to its maternity care coordination from 8 weeks to 12 months post-partum. In total, VA is now serving more women than ever before, with nearly 750,000 receiving disability compensation benefits from VA in 2024. To ensure that all LGBTQ+ veterans can access the benefits they have earned, the Department of Defense announced it would proactively review and consider discharge upgrades for veterans who were discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and VA expanded access to care and benefits for those with other than honorable discharges. Additionally, VA released its 2024 Agency Equity Action Plan to help ensure that VA delivers on its promise to provide world-class care and benefits to all veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors ― regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or geographic location.

Advancing economic security for military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors. Since Day One of the Biden-Harris Administration, First Lady Jill Biden, through her Joining Forces initiative, has worked to eliminate barriers to employment and increase economic opportunity for military-connected families. In June 2023, the President, alongside the First Lady, signed an Executive Order that included nearly 20 new actions to enhance career stability, expand employment resources, and improve transition assistance support for military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors. In February 2024, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a government-wide plan to tackle employment barriers and expand opportunities for military-connected spouses, caregivers, and survivors. And, in April 2024, the Administration announced a permanent memorandum of agreement between the Department of Defense and State Department to strengthen the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program for military spouses who work for the federal government. These actions represent the Biden-Harris Administration’s holistic commitment to ensuring that the Federal government is a leader among employers, modeling approaches to recruit, hire, and retain military spouse talent.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will host President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia for a bilateral meeting at the White House on November 12, 2024.  During the visit, President Biden will celebrate the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesian relations and pay tribute to those affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.  The two leaders will also explore ways to strengthen U.S.-Indonesian cooperation as part of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.  The leaders will coordinate on sustainable approaches to food security, the clean energy transition, democracy and pluralism, regional peace and stability, and people-to-people ties, as well as advancing our cooperation on humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

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At President Biden’s invitation, President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday at 11:00 am. Additional details to follow. 

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to Lima, Peru from November 14-16 to meet with President Dina Boluarte to reinforce the strong U.S.-Peru bilateral relationship and participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he will highlight U.S. economic leadership and engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Biden will then travel to Manaus and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from November 17-19. While in Manaus, President Biden will visit the Amazon rainforest to engage with local, indigenous, and other leaders working to preserve and protect this critical ecosystem, the first such visit of a sitting U.S. President. In Rio de Janeiro, President Biden will meet with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil on the margins of the G20 and reinforce U.S. leadership on workers’ rights and clean economic growth. During the G20, President Biden will demonstrate the strong value proposition of the United States to developing countries and lead the G20 to work together to address shared global challenges like hunger and poverty, climate change, health threats, and developing country debt burdens.

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President Joe Biden spoke today with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil to discuss preparations for the upcoming G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.  President Biden congratulated President Lula on Brazil’s successful G20 presidency and highlighted the progress made on advancing workers’ rights and combatting hunger and poverty.  President Biden also wished President Lula a full recovery from his recent injury.  The two leaders agreed to stay in close contact on regional and global issues and expressed their commitment to meet at the G20.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Duma Gideon Boko on November 8, 2024, in Gaborone, Botswana. 

The Honorable Howard A. Van Vranken, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana, will lead the delegation.

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What America saw today was the Kamala Harris I know and deeply admire.

She’s been a tremendous partner and public servant full of integrity, courage, and character.

Under extraordinary circumstances, she stepped up and led a historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans.

As I’ve said before, selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became the nominee for president in 2020. It was the best decision I made. Her story represents the best of America’s story. And as she made clear today, I have no doubt that she’ll continue writing that story.

She will continue the fight with purpose, determination, and joy. She will continue to be a champion for all Americans. Above all, she will continue to be a leader our children will look up to for generations to come as she puts her stamp on America’s future. 

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Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and ordered Federal aid to supplement the Tribal Nation’s efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Milton beginning on October 5, 2024, and continuing.

The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

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 to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Milton.  For a period of 90 days of the Tribal Nation’s choosing within the first 120 days from the start of the incident period, assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program is authorized at 100 percent of the total eligible costs.

Lastly, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Ms. Leda M. Khoury 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, or 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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