Statements and Releases

Tim Johnson served the people of South Dakota with distinction, and it was an honor to serve alongside him in the United States Senate for over a decade.

He always put South Dakotans first, and he never forgot where he came from. He worked tirelessly to bring clean drinking water to Americans wherever they lived: rural towns, inner cities, and Tribal lands. And he steered critical investments toward Indian Country and to South Dakota’s development and infrastructure.

As a Senator, Tim improved access to health care for millions of Americans by providing a critical vote on the Affordable Care Act, advocating for veterans’ health care funding, and fighting to expand Medicaid in South Dakota.

We also worked together to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to defend the backbone of our economy—hardworking Americans.

Over the years, Jill and I got to know Tim and Barb as true friends. Our hearts are with Barb, his three children, his eight grandchildren, and the people of South Dakota, whose lives Tim touched.

May God bless Tim Johnson.

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Ethel Kennedy was an American icon—a matriarch of optimism and moral courage, an emblem of resilience and service. Devoted to family and country, she had a spine of steel and a heart of gold that inspired millions of Americans, including me and Jill. We were blessed to call her a dear friend.

Growing up in an Irish-Catholic family, I often looked to the Kennedy family for proof of America’s promise. Ethel’s husband, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was one of my heroes, inspiring an entire generation to make real that promise for all Americans. Together, they were guided by values that were the same as those my grandparents and parents taught me around the kitchen table: Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. We each have an obligation to one another, to give hate no safe harbor, and to leave no one behind.

After his shattering death, Ethel showed our whole nation a way forward, turning pain into purpose and continuing his march toward civil rights and social justice, an end to poverty at home, and securing peace abroad—all while raising their 11 children. Four years later, when I lost my own wife and infant daughter, Ethel was always there for me and my sons. She helped us find strength and perseverance. She taught us how to channel grief into the service of a greater good.

When I moved into the Oval Office as President, I placed a bust of Robert Kennedy by the fireplace, as he and Ethel always had a place in my heart. I cherish the cards she would send me and my family. And when Ethel presented me with the RFK Ripple of Hope Award in 2016, it was one of the greatest honors of my life because I received it from a hero in her own right. For over 50 years, Ethel traveled, marched, boycotted, and stood up for human rights around the world with her signature iron will and grace.

Through it all, Ethel’s story was the American story.

Jill and I send our love to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; to her nieces and nephews and the entire Kennedy family; and to the millions of people around the world touched over the decades by her remarkable life of strength and service.

May God bless Ethel Kennedy, a dear friend, and a great American.

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Today’s report shows inflation has fallen back down to 2.4%, the same rate as right before the pandemic. We keep making progress, with inflation returning to pre-pandemic levels, 16 million jobs created, lower interest rates, and low unemployment. Our economy has grown 3.2% per year under the Biden Harris Administration—stronger than during the previous administration. Incomes are up almost $4,000, after adjusting for inflation. We are working around the clock to help the families affected by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene recover and rebuild, supported by our strong and resilient recovery.

President Biden and Vice President Harris will keep fighting to lower costs—by building new homes to lower rents, capping prescription drug costs and reducing health insurance premiums, and lowering taxes for middle-class families—as Congressional Republicans keep pushing trickle-down economics that would raise costs by nearly $4,000 per family while cutting taxes for billionaires and big corporations.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met with Taoiseach Simon Harris of the Republic of Ireland today in the Oval Office to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Ireland.  The President reflected on the deep cultural, people-to-people and economic ties between the two countries, and expressed confidence that the next 100 years will see even deeper cooperation.  The President and Taoiseach Harris affirmed that the United States and Ireland will continue to strengthen our partnership and friendship—founded on our shared history, heritage, and hope—in the years ahead.

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The Biden-Harris Administration continues to both make urgent and life-saving preparations for Hurricane Milton and carry out response and recovery efforts for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris received a briefing from members of their Administration about updates on the latest forecast for Hurricane Milton, expected impacts for the State of Florida, and the robust pre-landfall preparations underway. They also received an update on the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and Appalachia. President Biden will address the Nation tonight regarding Hurricane Milton.

President Biden has spoken to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, and Pinellas County Chairwoman Kathleen Peters to get firsthand reports on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and to discuss preparations for Hurricane Milton. The President told each of the officials to call him directly if they need additional assistance on response and recovery efforts.

More than 8,000 Federal personnel are on the ground across the Southeast, including in Florida, to continue Hurricane Helene recovery efforts and respond to the impacts of Hurricane Milton.

At the direction of President Biden, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Florida tonight to join the personnel on the ground and ensure every Floridian gets the help they need when this storm passes.

Additional updates on our efforts for Hurricanes Milton and Helene include:

Hurricane Milton Pre-Landfall Preparations

Pre-Landfall Outreach and Emergency Declarations

President Biden granted pre-landfall emergency declarations for the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida for Hurricane Milton, enabling FEMA to provide direct assistance to the state, local and Tribal response, preposition supplies and response assets and mobilize hundreds of personnel in the state, many of whom were already in place supporting the Hurricane Helene response.

The White House has been in contact with more than 60 Florida officials from all 51 counties that fall under the pre-landfall Emergency Declaration approved by President Biden. We remain in close communication with officials in the 16 cities and counties that will likely be in the direct path of the storm.

Surging Resources and Personnel to Florida

FEMA has over 1,000 responders on the ground in Florida supporting Hurricane Milton preparations and recovery efforts from previous disasters. There are over 1,400 search and rescue personnel pre-staged to support Hurricane Milton response efforts.

The U.S. Coast Guard has 1,300 personnel stationed in Florida ready to immediately assist with life-saving and life sustaining search and rescue operations throughout the State. The Coast Guard also has personnel ready who will work directly with the U.S. Army Corps of engineers to assess and open the critical lifeline of the Port of Tampa as quickly as possible to ensure necessary supplies and fuel can start to flow into the impacted areas again.

The State of Florida has activated over 6,000 members of the National Guard and expects to bring on an additional 3,000 National Guard members from Florida and other States to support State response activities.

The Federal government has pre-positioned resources to support local and state response efforts ahead of Hurricane Milton. FEMA pre-staged seven FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, eight federal Urban Search & Rescue and swift water rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, 10 HealthCare System Assessment Teams, two U.S Army Corps of Engineers temporary power teams, debris experts, Environmental Protection Agency wastewater experts, over 500 ambulances, 20 helicopters prepared to support media requirements following landfall, and 60 High Water Vehicles with ladders from the Department of Defense.

Additionally, FEMA has five incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water ready to deploy to address ongoing Helene and Milton response efforts with capacity to expand as needed.

The Department of Defense is ready to support air search-and-rescue efforts, support urban search-and-rescue teams, provide helicopters to move personnel and equipment, and provide high water vehicles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is staged across the area of impact and is prepared to support debris management, assessments of infrastructure and water/wastewater facilities, temporary power installations, and flood/water mitigation efforts.

Additional Efforts to Support Pre-Landfall Preparations and Protect Communities

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leveraging state-of-the-art technology to keep communities safe throughout the southeast. NOAA’s fleet of “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft gather vital data to help improve track and intensity forecasts, supporting the 24-7 work of the National Weather Service (NWS). NWS provides the real-time, accurate information that assists local meteorologists and emergency operations leaders protect their communities and combat weather misinformation. Additionally, data from reconnaissance planes and drones used to survey damage following Hurricane Helene’s landfall will help us better prepare for post-Milton recovery operations.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Response Organization remains activated to respond to storm impacts. Via the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council and Oil and Natural Gas Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, the Department has been coordinating continuously with energy sector partners on both the ongoing Hurricane Helene response and potential impacts from Hurricane Milton.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has notified local public housing authorities and owners of its assisted multifamily and heath care properties within the State of Florida to immediately implement all appropriate safety protocols for residents and workers. HUD is committed to ensuring that residents of its assisted homes and properties receive critical information that can save lives during extreme weather events. HUD is also conducting outreach and communications on the programmatic flexibilities and waivers that can be utilized to assist communities and survivors. Additionally, HUD is working with communities, shelter operators and homelessness services providers to prepare and support them—in collaboration with FEMA and disaster assistance organizations such as the Red Cross—as they provide life-saving assistance before and after the storm.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is assessing potential critical supply chain disruptions following Hurricane Helene’s impact on the IV solution supply chain. ASPR is coordinating with B Braun, an IV solution manufacturer with a facility in Daytona Beach, Florida, to move their product out of the path of the storm and facilitate other activities that will mitigate potential impacts on future distribution. ASPR and HHS partners are committed to continue working with public and private partners to support the supply chain as facilities address return to full operational capacity. ASPR is encouraging manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors to evaluate product allocation and healthcare providers to implement product conservation strategies to maximize available supply. ASPR is in communication with stakeholders to reduce disruption and facilitate product allocation.

Protecting Impacts to Power and Travel Infrastructure

The Department of Transportation is deploying a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Field Incident Response team to Florida and pre-staging operations in Jacksonville to support any impacted towers and airports. The team will work with the State and local authorities and the Department of Defense within the established Emergency Operations Center. The Department of Transportation is also deploying the FAA Communication Support Team (CST), which plays a critical role in restoring communications at impacted air traffic management facilities. Specifically, the CST will set up Starlink and Mobile Phone Bonding kits, which increase signal stability and data throughout the region. The FAA Air Traffic Organization Technical Operations Team is on-site and leading the restoration efforts for communications at air traffic facilities. The FAA is placing aircraft on standby to transport personnel from various agencies, mobilize resources, and support damage assessments to infrastructure.

The FAA granted permission to the utility Florida Power & Light to use large Teros drones to assist with damage assessments and power restoration after Milton passes. These 1,800-pound drones can fly in harsh conditions and operate in winds up to 70 mph before crewed aircraft are able to fly.

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and is prepared to rapidly process Emergency Relief (ER) funding requests from FDOT. The ER program helps pay for long-term, permanent repairs, and other immediate emergency repairs, such as protecting remaining facilities and restoring essential traffic. It reimburses State, local, federal, Tribal, and territorial governments for eligible expenses associated with damage from natural disasters or other emergency situations based on their requests.

Hurricane Helene Response and Recovery

The Department of Defense continues to support search-and-rescue operations, route clearance, and commodities distribution across western North Carolina with 1,500 active-duty troops. The Department of Defense is also employing additional capabilities to assist with increasing situational awareness across the remote terrain of Western North Carolina. The Army Corps of Engineers continues missions supporting temporary emergency power installations, infrastructure assessments, and debris management oversight.

Mobilizing Financial Assistance and Surging Additional Personnel and Resources

Over $344 million in assistance has been provided to Hurricane Helene survivors. President Biden approved a 100 percent Federal cost-share for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee to assist in those States’ response efforts. In North Carolina alone, FEMA has approved over $60 million in aid for more than 51,000 households.

FEMA personnel and other Federal partners, including FEMA’s Surge Capacity Force, remain on the ground supporting impacted communities, with over 17.2 million meals and 13.9 million liters of water delivered and ensuring information is accessible, including resources in preferred languages and ASL.

Over the course of the last two weeks, 1,000 Urban Search and Rescue personnel have assisted over 3,200 survivors. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods in all Helene-affected States helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional State, local, Federal and voluntary agency resources.

Supporting Infrastructure Recovery

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced over $130 million in Quick Release Emergency Relief funding to support North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The funding represents a down payment to address the immediate needs to restore vital transportation systems in these states. Additional funding will flow to affected communities from the Emergency Relief program.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked with partners to ensure the national airspace returned to steady state operations and all airports across impacted states reopened. The FAA’s Security and Hazardous Materials Safety Communication Support Team was deployed to restore communications to impacted airports, including delivering satellite communications kits to the Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina and ongoing work at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia. The FAA Air Traffic Organization Technical Operations Team is on-site and leading communications restoration efforts at air traffic facilities. FAA also supported FEMA with two aircrafts to conduct flyover assessments and transport emergency personnel and gear, such as satellite communications kits.

Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued Regional Emergency Declarations for Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This Declaration affords emergency regulatory relief from Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations, including maximum driving time for property- and passenger-carrying vehicles from the date of declaration. This allows truck drivers to get essential supplies to affected areas. The FMCSA Regional Declaration eliminates the need for each individual state to request a 14-day extension and allows FMCSA the ability to manage one declaration that includes all eight states and does not expire until October 27.

NOAA continues to support post-disaster imagery flights following Hurricane Helene, already totaling over 68 flight hours during 20 flights, including over western North Carolina. NOAA is currently repositioning to support Florida and the impacts of Hurricane Milton. NOAA’s aerial imagery captures damage to coastal areas caused by a storm and aids safe navigation. Aerial imagery is a crucial tool to determine the extent of the damage from flooding, and to compare baseline coastal areas to assess the damage to major ports and waterways, coastlines, critical infrastructure, and coastal communities. This imagery not only supports FEMA and the broader response community, but the public at large.

Supporting Students and Student Loan Borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education is lifting up a series of resources for students, families, and borrowers impacted by these hurricanes. These resources include guidance, in person support, technical assistance, and peer-to-peer connections for state and local leaders; resources for recovery needs such as mental health support for students and educators; flexibilities to help institutions of higher education continue to manage the Federal financial aid programs; and automatically enrolling affected borrowers with missed payments into a natural disaster forbearance. Thanks to regulations issued by the Biden-Harris Administration, this forbearance will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and income-driven repayment forgiveness.

Providing Financial Flexibilities to Homeowners and Taxpayers

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as foreclosures of mortgages to Native American borrowers guaranteed under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee program. The moratorium and extension are effective as of the President’s disaster declaration date in each state. When homes are destroyed or damaged to an extent that reconstruction or complete replacement is necessary, HUD’s Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims. Borrowers from participating FHA approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing including closing costs. HUD’s Section 203(k) loan program enables individuals to finance the purchase or refinance of a house, along with its repair, through a single mortgage. Homeowners can also finance the rehabilitation of their existing homes if damaged. FHA is coordinating and collaborating with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture to ensure consistent messaging and policies for single family loans regarding foreclosure moratoriums and repayment/arrearage agreements. Additionally, affected homeowners that have mortgages through Government-Sponsored Enterprises – including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the FHA are eligible to suspend their mortgage payments through a forbearance plan for up to 12 months.

The Internal Revenue Service announced disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Taxpayers in these areas now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service is providing more than 1,000 employees to help with FEMA disaster relief call lines and intake initial information to help disaster victims get federal relief. IRS Criminal Investigation agents are also on the ground in devastated areas to help with search and rescue efforts and other relief work – including assisting with door-to-door search efforts.

Protecting Public Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services activated the Emergency Prescription Assistance Program for North Carolina to aid uninsured residents in replacing prescription medicines or certain medical equipment lost or damaged in Hurricane Helene.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working closely with state and local officials to restore drinking water service in North Carolina and across the Southeast as well as provide assistance in debris and hazardous waste clean-up efforts.

Supporting Workers and Worker Safety

The U.S. Department of Labor announced initial emergency grant funding to Florida to support disaster-relief jobs and training services to help respond to Hurricane Helene. Additional grant funding for North Carolina is forthcoming. The National Dislocated Worker Grant – supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – allows the Florida Department of Commerce to provide people with temporary disaster-relief jobs and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to address immediate, basic needs for those displaced by Hurricane Helene. The funding also enables the state to provide training and services to individuals in the affected communities.

Working alongside the Department of Labor, the States of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all announced that eligible workers can receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance to compensate for income lost directly resulting from Hurricane Helene. And, through the Department of Labor’s innovative partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, displaced workers from North Carolina and South Carolina can now go to the post office in any other state and verify their ID for purposes of getting their benefits quickly.

The Department of Labor is also working alongside on-the-ground personnel providing disaster relief, recovery, and rebuilding to prevent additional workplace disasters. This includes producing a worker safety training resource for resilience workers in Florida who are continuing to clear debris, rebuild infrastructure, and prepare for Hurricane Milton. This also includes activating the Wage and Hours Division Natural Disaster outreach, education and strategic enforcement program to provide employers and workers with the information they need to ensure everyone is paid correctly under the law.

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President Biden spoke this morning with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel.  Vice President Harris joined the call.  The President affirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.  He condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st.  On Lebanon, the President emphasized the need for a diplomatic arrangement to safely return both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.  The President affirmed Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut.  On Gaza, the leaders discussed the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas.  The President also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the imperative to restore access to the north, including by reinvigorating the corridor from Jordan immediately.  They agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams. 

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**Media Preview Opportunity on Friday, October 11 at 8:00 AM**

The White House will continue its fall tradition of opening the White House Gardens and South Grounds to the public. This fall, tours of the White House Gardens will be available to the public from 10:00 a.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13.

There will be an opportunity for a media preview of the White House Gardens tour from 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM ET on Friday, October 11. For interested media, please RSVP HERE by Thursday, October 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET. 

The White House Gardens tours are free and open to members of the public; however, a timed ticket is required for all attendees, regardless of age. The National Park Service (NPS) will distribute free, timed tickets outside the White House Visitor Center, located at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, each day beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Timed tickets will be distributed, one ticket per person, on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Let us all be clear: Americans impacted by a crisis should never be ripped off.

I have seen firsthand the devastating impact of price gouging during an emergency. As Attorney General of California during devastating wildfires that displaced thousands of residents, I took on those attempting to take advantage of the situation by raising hotel prices. As Senator, I worked to stop price gouging during the pandemic.

Those evacuating before Hurricane Milton or recovering from Hurricane Helene should not be subject to illegal price gouging or fraud – at the pump, airport, or hotel counter. Any company or individual that tries to exploit Americans in an emergency should know that the Administration is monitoring for allegations of fraud and price gouging and will hold those taking advantage of the situation accountable.

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The Biden-Harris Administration continues to mobilize a whole-of-government effort to prepare for the impacts of Hurricane Milton, including pre-positioning resources and personnel and expediting debris removal efforts in Florida. These actions supplement the ongoing response and recovery efforts to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and Appalachia.

Today, President Biden was briefed by members of his Administration who are driving preparations for Hurricane Milton and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene. The President directed his team to do everything possible to save lives and help communities before, during, and after these extreme weather events.

The President urges everyone to be aware of the evacuation orders that are in effect in multiple Florida counties. Shelters are open, and evacuation assistance is available. If you are told to evacuate, do so immediately for your safety and that of your loved ones. If you need a safe place to go nearby, text SHELTER & your zip code to 43362 to get a list of open shelters near you.

Yesterday, President Biden had calls with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to get firsthand reports on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and to discuss preparations for Hurricane Milton. The President also spoke with National Weather Service Director Ken Graham, who briefed the President in detail on the forecast and expected impacts of Hurricane Milton for the State of Florida. 

At the direction of President Biden, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was on the ground in Tampa, Florida, yesterday, where she met with local leaders to coordinate preparations ahead of Milton’s landfall.

Yesterday, President Biden quickly approved the Governor of Florida’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct Federal support to states for life-saving activities and other emergency protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue. Earlier today, the President also approved an emergency declaration request from the Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The Administration has been in touch with officials from the State of Florida, as well as more than 60 local officials in cities and counties along the likely path of impact, to ensure needs are met in advance of the storm. The Administration has also been in touch with officials from the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes. The Administration has also reached out to state officials in South Carolina and Georgia and will continue outreach efforts based on Hurricane Milton’s latest trajectory.

FEMA has sufficient funding to both support the response to Hurricane Milton and continue to support the ongoing response to and recovery from Hurricane Helene– including funding to support first responders and provide immediate assistance to disaster survivors.

Additional updates include:

Pre-Staging Personnel and Resources

FEMA is pre-staging a full slate of response capabilities in Florida and the region, including seven FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, eight FEMA Urban Search & Rescue and swift water rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, four Health Care System Assessment Teams, five Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and an Incident Management Team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional pre-staged capabilities include U.S Army Corps of Engineers temporary power teams, debris experts and a roofing team, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency debris removal and wastewater experts, and 300 ambulances. In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense is posturing and staging forces to support FEMA and state partners including helicopters for search-and-rescue operations and to enable movement of personnel, equipment and commodities; and High Water Vehicles.  

FEMA has five incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA currently has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water in the pipeline to deploy as needed to address ongoing Helene and Milton response efforts and can expand as needed.

Protecting Public Health and Health Care Systems

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a Public Health Emergency for Florida to address the health impacts of Hurricane Milton, the second public health emergency declaration for the state to aid in a hurricane response within the past two weeks.

The Department’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) pre-positioned approximately 100 responders in Atlanta along with medical equipment and supplies to support the delivery of health care services in Florida following the landfall of Hurricane Milton. The deployed personnel include ASPR Health Care Situational Assessment Teams who stand ready to work with state officials to assess the storm’s impacts on hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, and other health care facilities and a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) for rapid response following health care assessments. A second DMAT is being pre-positioned in Atlanta to support additional response to either Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton, as needed.

In addition to the assessment teams and disaster medical system personnel, ASPR deployed personnel from an Incident Management Team and Regional Emergency Coordinators who integrate with FEMA, state health authorities, and emergency response officials to anticipate and assist Florida in meeting public health and medical needs in the wake of the storm. Logisticians and security personnel are also pre-positioned to provide support. ASPR is prepared to facilitate Public Health Emergencies for Hurricane Milton upon request. ASPR has also supported the HHS emPOWER program, which is available to identify the number of Medicare beneficiaries in affected zips codes who rely on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain healthcare services, such as dialysis, oxygen tank, or home health, to help anticipate, plan for, and respond to the needs of at-risk citizens in potentially impacted areas.

Preparing for Impacts to Infrastructure

The Department of Transportation is deploying a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Field Incident Response (FIR) team to Florida and pre-staging operations in Jacksonville to prepare support for any impacted towers and airports. The team will work with the state and local authorities and the Department of Defense within the established Emergency Operations Center. The Department of Transportation is also deploying the FAA Communication Support Team (CST), which plays a critical role in supporting communication restoration at impacted airports. Specifically, the CST will set up Starlink and Mobile Phone Bonding kits, which increase signal stability and data throughout the region. The FAA is placing aircraft on standby to transport personnel from various agencies, mobilize resources, and support damage assessments to infrastructure.

In addition, similar to the approach on Hurricane Helene, the FAA will continue to closely coordinate with the Department of Defense, the Armed Services, including Active Duty and National Guard units, and State Emergency Operations Centers to support their use of drones to support response and recovery.  Drones can play a critical role in supporting search and rescue operations and damage assessments by providing real time video, imagery, and sensor capabilities in hard-to-reach places.       The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation and monitoring the situation to be prepared to support.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working closely with Federal, state, local, and Tribal partners to support water systems, prepare for debris management, and ensure facilities, including Superfund sites, maintain critical public health and environmental protections while they recover from Hurricane Helene and prepare for Hurricane Milton. The agency has personnel on the ground in regional and national operations centers who are continuing to respond to Hurricane Helene and are preparing to offer support, guidance, and assistance to the State of Florida and everyone in the new storm’s path.

Additional Pre-Landfall Preparations

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is deploying wave sensors at eight locations in Florida between Naples and Crystal River to measure the coastal waves caused by the storm. USGS Field crews are also installing one rapid-deployment gauge on the Sunshine Skyway bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida. This specialized piece of equipment is a fully-functional streamgage designed to be deployed quickly and temporarily to measure and transmit real-time water level data in emergency situations. This data can be used by decision makers and emergency managers to monitor water levels as they work to save lives and property.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Response Organization remains activated to respond to storm impacts. Via the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council and Oil and Natural Gas Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, the Department of Energy has been coordinating continuously with energy sector partners on both the ongoing Hurricane Helene response and potential impacts from Hurricane Milton.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has notified local public housing authorities and owners of its assisted multifamily and heath care properties within the State of Florida to immediately implement all appropriate safety protocols for residents and workers. HUD is committed to ensuring that residents of its assisted homes and properties receive critical information that can save lives during extreme weather events. HUD is also conducting outreach and communications on the programmatic flexibilities and waivers that can be utilized to assist communities and survivors.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced it is extending measures to assist customers, U.S. exporters, and financial institutions impacted by Hurricane Helene and forecasted to be impacted by Hurricane Milton. EXIM is offering assistance to allow businesses and financial institutions that participate in EXIM’s programs to return to their business concerns when appropriate and without penalty due to missed deadlines or other timeliness issues.

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Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast.

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Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing that over 250 organizations, businesses, and stakeholders across the country have made voluntary commitments to the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose.

The Challenge, launched earlier this year, is a nationwide call-to-action to stakeholders across all sectors to increase training on, and access to, life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications like naloxone. The voluntary commitments highlighted today build on progress made under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s Unity Agenda, which calls on all Americans, in red states, blue states¸ and everywhere in between, to come together and help address the nation’s overdose epidemic.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action and made unprecedented investments to reduce overdose deaths. The Administration removed decades-long barriers to treatment for substance use disorder and expanded access to life-saving overdose reversal medications like naloxone.  The Administration also acted to make naloxone available over-the-counter at groceries and pharmacies for the first time in history. Today, the nation is now seeing the largest decrease in overdose deaths on record.

The White House received commitments to the Challenge from private and public entities, spanning entertainment and hospitality, professional sports leagues, health care providers, trade associations, schools and universities, technology companies, transportation partners, faith groups, private businesses, and more. 
A number of organizations and businesses made new voluntary commitments as part of the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose, including:

• Amazon is equipping its North American operations facilities with naloxone and bolstering its emergency response procedures with comprehensive training for employees on how to recognize signs of an opioid overdose and properly administer naloxone. Amazon is rolling out its naloxone program in two phases, starting with its most densely populated fulfillment centers. By early 2025, the program will expand to all of Amazon’s operations sites in the U.S., covering over 500,000 employees at hundreds of sites nationwide.
  
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) commits to train its members and staff on proper use of opioid overdose reversal medications. They also commit to including opioid overdose medications in all first aid kits.
  
• The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement naloxone on flights, including trainings. They previously worked with the FAA to require that Emergency Medical Kits (EMK) carried by passenger airlines include naloxone.
  
• Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is implementing a district-wide training available to all school staff to recognize and reverse overdose. Currently, 136 APS health and security personnel have completed naloxone training. APS stocks naloxone in every elementary, middle, and high school in the district, serving nearly 50,000 students and 8,000 employees, and has opioid educational posters and brochures to increase school community awareness.
  
• Butler University formed the Butler Overdose Action Team, comprised of faculty, staff, and student leaders, in response to the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. The team is leading campus-wide initiatives to increase awareness, training, and access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication, and collaborating with local health organizations in Indianapolis to promote education on opioid use disorder on campus. Butler also recently placed naloxone in all 58 Emergency Kits across campus, and plans are underway for comprehensive naloxone training for students and employees.
  
• Charleston County School District (CCSD) commits to working with their community and local substance use agencies to provide educational programs on and promote the use of opioid overdose reversal medications (OORM). CCSD’s substance use program commits to educate students, staff, and parents/caregivers about the dangers of illicit fentanyl and how OORM can save lives. In addition, CCSD works closely with district nursing staff on the use and availability of OORM in CCSD’s 83 schools that serve approximately 49,000 students.
  
• The Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department commits to train and equip all of its Police Officers with naloxone. The Department supports a regional transit agency in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, covering six counties and thirteen cities.
  
• Deloitte LLP will equip U.S.-based Deloitte Offices with naloxone by December 2024. Naloxone will be placed in Automated External Defibrillator (AED) cabinets at its offices across the U.S. Further, Deloitte will train select office personnel to recognize and help treat overdose.
  
• Keystone Contractors Association (KCA) is recommending to its members that every construction jobsite and contractor’s office have naloxone available on-site. This builds upon KCA’s work in prior years in launching the Pennsylvania Construction Opioid Awareness Week to get resources and training to construction employers to provide to their workers.
  
• Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) commits to reach its 500,000+ members, their families, and LIUNA affiliates with education on the importance of naloxone on jobsites, training on how to use the medication, and information on where and how to get it. This work is in addition to developing and promoting comprehensive safety and health information on opioid use.
  
• The National Hockey League (NHL) commits to working with its clubs and staff to make life-saving medication readily available across NHL offices and in arenas. NHL is helping clubs make naloxone available at home games with their first aid units, and ensuring on-site personnel are trained to administer it on game nights. NHL is also advising clubs to include naloxone in their travel medical kits, and encouraging its availability in the visiting team’s emergency bags.
  
• San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) now trains every newly hired Code Compliance Inspector (CCI) from the Transit Security and Passenger Safety Department in the recognition of opioid overdose and issues naloxone as required equipment for staff. In 2024, CCIs administered naloxone nearly 200 times, and the SDMTS Bus Division Road Supervisors also started carrying naloxone. SDMTS started training CCIs to carry and administer naloxone in July 2021 in response to the overdose crisis.

Commitments from these entities build upon steps taken in recent years by other organizations that joined the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose to address the overdose epidemic. Examples of these actions from organizations include:

• American Heart Association and Opioid Response Network are partnering on the EmPOWERED to End Opioid Misuse and Stimulant Use Disorder Initiative that aims to address opioid and stimulant usage within Black and Hispanic communities. They have partnered with Black and Hispanic churches to implement community trainings and disseminate educational tools to facilitate open and honest conversations with a wide range of people on the stigmatization of people experiencing opioid and substance use disorders.
  
• International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 35 prioritizes support for and awareness of mental health and substance use, and provides overdose education and training on naloxone to its members and apprentices. IUPAT also distributes naloxone to its members, apprentices, and jobsites. IUPAT is part of a broader effort by the Massachusetts Building Trades Recovery Council, which has distributed more than 11,000 doses of naloxone to 14 building trades unions across Massachusetts for distribution to their membership. The Recovery Council receives naloxone from Massachusetts’ Bureau of Substance Abuse Services’ Community Naloxone Program.
  
• The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in Florida has developed overdose rescue training for operations, safety, and security staff, and implemented a ‘bus marshal’ program, where naloxone-equipped security officers ride strategically-targeted routes. This led to saving the life of a bus passenger who was experiencing overdose. JTA also launched ‘Safety on the Move’, delivering free overdose prevention and rescue training and naloxone kits to at-risk communities in partnership with Drug Free Duval, Community Coalition Alliance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, and North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Overdose Response Strategy.
  
• The North Carolina Council of Churches (NCCC) hosts a Partners in Health and Wholeness initiative that works to bridge the issues of faith, health, and justice. This includes the Overdose Response program that offers opioid workshops to faith communities that seek to learn more about the opioid crisis and how they can help with response, and incorporates naloxone distribution upon request. They also received grant funding to provide local churches with resources for opioid-related initiatives for their members. 
  
• The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) has more than 1,400 businesses in its membership, including restaurants, food and hospitality vendors, and allied businesses that work within the food industry in DC, Northern Virginia, and Suburban Maryland. RAMW began partnering with the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to provide overdose education and naloxone distribution to restaurants in DC, including large trainings for business improvement districts. Restaurants can order a kit to receive by mail from RAMW’s website.
  
• The San Francisco Entertainment Commission is partnering with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to raise awareness about the presence of illicit fentanyl at and around nightlife spaces, and increase the entertainment industry’s access to life-saving naloxone. To date, they have led in-person trainings for staff at 18 nightlife businesses in San Francisco, distributed 300+ doses of naloxone at outreach events, and reached approximately 900 nightlife attendees through on-stage overdose prevention trainings before performances and other events.
  
• This Must Be the Place is a nonprofit providing free naloxone to attendees at music venues and festivals across the country. They committed to passing out over 60,000 free kits of naloxone at places like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Dreamville. Seventy percent of the population they reach are receiving naloxone for the first time.
  
• United Airlines equips each of its enhanced medical kits on every aircraft and station across the network with opioid overdose reversal medications. All of United’s 28,000+ flight attendants are annually trained in the proper use of these life-saving medications. Over the past five years, United has purchased nearly 1,200 units annually, ensuring greater safety for both passengers and crew, including flight attendants and pilots.
  
• The University of Rhode Island (URI), through its Cooperative Extension program, established the Community First Responder Program (CFRP). CFRP provides more than 50,000 kits annually. CFRP offers in-person and online educational trainings for the public at schools and town halls, and to healthcare providers, first responders, police, and more. They also distribute naloxone and safer-use kits at events in partnership with CVS Health and the U.S. Postal Service. CFRP has expanded services to rural regions of five other New England states through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). CFRP is expanding its regional rural overdose education via collaborations with New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Husson University School of Pharmacy (Maine), University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Western New England University College of Pharmacy (Massachusetts), and University of Vermont Cooperative Extension. As naloxone is often inaccessible to New England’s rural regions, CFRP offers to mail no-cost naloxone to participants completing its online interactive module, “Become a Community First Responder.”

Additional voluntary commitments can be found here.

In support of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ whole-of-government approach to address the overdose epidemic, federal agencies are working to help expand access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications like naloxone and save even more lives. These efforts also align with updated Guidelines for Safety Station Programs in Federal Facilitiesreleased in December 2023:

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorized first responders in its Office of Safety, Security and Personnel and throughout the U.S. Forest Service who are equipped and trained in the administration of opioid overdose reversal medications (OORM).  Additionally, USDA’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has provided OORM trainings to over 40 community partners across 15 states as part of its Rural and Farming Communities Mental Health and Suicide Prevention work. USDA remains committed to continuing and expanding the reach of these trainings.
  
• The Department of Commerce‘s Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) is training Special Agents in the use of opioid overdose reversal medications (OORM) in October 2024, allowing OEE Special Agents to safely and effectively deploy them. OEE will have OORM accessible during all preplanned enforcement operations by January 2025. 
  
• The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to opioid safety and prevention of overdose. To strengthen DoD’s emergency response protocols, naloxone is available across installations in the Continental United States and training programs have been expanded, ensuring first responders are equipped and trained. The DoD remains committed to the safety and prevention of overdose by continuing its efforts to provide naloxone access to DoD first responders and investigators and to provide associated trainings beyond DoD first responders.
  
• The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is increasing training on and access to naloxone. The Indian Health Service (IHS) now mandates annual overdose response training for all IHS employees, contractors, students, and volunteers. Further, before 2025, naloxone training and a guide on procuring naloxone (i.e., using state standing orders, city and county public health departments, etc.) will be available to all U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers, and naloxone will be available in safety stations at all HHS regional offices. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in partnership with the Program Support Center (PSC) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH), will equip all AED stations in its headquarters with naloxone, and SAMHSA hosted an annual naloxone training for all staff as part of its International Overdose Awareness Day recognition. Additionally, naloxone training will be added to the HHS Learning Management System available to all HHS personnel, including volunteer Federal Civilian Responders.
  
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued, and recently updated, a policy regarding the Administration of Naloxone by Non-Healthcare Providers. This policy directs DHS agencies and offices to identify their workforce populations at higher risk of exposure and develop a program to equip them with both naloxone and the training to use it.  The DHS Office of Health Security (OHS) developed virtual and in-person training modules that DHS agencies and offices can use to train their non-healthcare providers or as the basis for developing their own workforce-specific training. DHS continues to work to operationalize formal programs that equip non-healthcare providers with Component-procured naloxone.
  
• The Department of the Interior (DOI) has issued guidance on the training, carrying, and use of naloxone by DOI employees who may come into contact with persons suspected of opioid overdose during their normal course of duties. The guidance allows critical first responders – including emergency medical responders and emergency medical technicians (EMR/EMT), firefighter EMTs, and law enforcement officers – to have access to opioid overdose reversal medications at various sites nationwide, including national parks and tribal lands. As DOI components continue to conduct risk assessments to identify high-risk areas and appropriate personnel to be trained, the Department is poised to implement vital resources efficiently to preserve life and protect the public.
  
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) has enacted policies so employees most likely to encounter overdose victims have access to opioid overdose reversal medications (OORM) and the training to safely and effectively deploy them. Pursuant to these policies, its law enforcement agencies – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Marshals Service – will have OORM accessible during all preplanned enforcement operations; all Federal Bureau of Prisons staff at all sites will have access to OORM 24 hours a day; and all DOJ public-facing facilities and law enforcement facilities will have safety stations equipped with OORM.
  
• The United States Postal Service (USPS) has trained 59,000 employees in 1,318 facilities in U.S. counties facing high numbers of overdose deaths in response to the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. Also, USPS has procured and distributed naloxone to first aid kits in these facilities. As the USPS continues it communication activities on overdose prevention, it expects to reach over 500,000 employees, many of whom have public-facing roles as part of the Postal Service’s ubiquitous footprint across the United States. 
  
• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working to make training available to all employees by December 2024 and will develop and issue a policy statement to support naloxone implementation by March 2025. VA also pledges to ensure opioid overdose reversal medications are available in all high-risk Veterans Health Administration health care areas, including at VA Medical Centers and outpatient clinics, and in all Vet Centers by the end of 2025.

Read more on the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose HERE.

Read more on the Biden-Harris Administration actions to address the overdose epidemic HERE.

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Today, President Biden announced new actions from his Investing in America agenda to connect Milwaukee, Wisconsin residents to good-paying jobs, including replacing lead pipes and upgrading infrastructure through the Milwaukee Workforce Hub. The city’s Hub is one of nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs launched by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure all Americans —including women, people of color, veterans, and other that have been historically left behind–have access to job opportunities, and the training needed to fill them. This announcement comes during President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee, where he announced EPA’s final rule to replace lead pipes within a decade and announced $2.6 billion in new funding to deliver clean drinking water nationwide.
 
Thanks to funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, infrastructure projects totaling nearly $100 million are in the works across the City of Milwaukee. As part of these investments, the city has begun replacing 100 percent of its lead service lines, reducing the timeline for replacement from 60 years to 10 years in alignment with the President’s goal. The Biden-Harris Administration will create thousands of jobs for Milwaukee residents through these investments, and will continue to collaborate with local organizations, ensuring the city is training the skilled workers needed to accomplish these projects. The City of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District are leading the charge in creating workforce opportunities for the community.
 
Today, collaborators in the Milwaukee Workforce Hub are announcing commitments that will expand pathways into these good-paying jobs to meet the President’s goal.
 
Scaling Up and Expanding Apprenticeships
 
Registered apprenticeships are the gold-standard model for training a new generation of workers in the skilled trades and provide pathways to high-quality jobs for women and other historically underrepresented groups. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has invested more than $730 million to expand Registered Apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships nationwide, leading to the hiring of more than 1 million apprentices.
 
In Milwaukee, local organizations are taking steps to use more apprentices on public projects and prioritize graduates of local pre-apprenticeship programs which serve underrepresented populations. These steps build on the city’s existing program, which puts residents on a path to a journey-level position in a skilled trade.   
 
In total, these actions will create opportunities for hundreds of new apprentices and help to grow certified pre-apprenticeship programs serving underrepresented populations, including high school students from Milwaukee Public Schools. These opportunities include:

The City of Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works and Milwaukee Water Works will run a pilot from 2025 to 2027 and require that 10 percent of all labor hours within each craft go to apprentices—half of whom must come from certified pre-apprenticeship programs that serve residents of Milwaukee who are currently underrepresented in apprenticeships. The new requirement would apply to multiple major road construction bids totaling $102 million, including a $36 million Reconnecting Communities project to reconnect communities divided by a road that prioritizes vehicle traffic over bikers and pedestrians, and a $24.3 million RAISE project to make complete streets improvements along one and a half miles of Villard Ave, including raised bike lanes, signal improvements, and curb extensions. The pilot will apply to all contracts replacing at least 300 lead service lines, creating 175 apprentice jobs and covering an estimated $82 million of lead service line replacement funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) will also change their procurement policies to require apprenticeships for all crafts working on all their projects, helping to bring new workers into specialized crafts like pipefitting and operating engineers. For 2025, this policy would apply to construction bids totaling approximately $90 million for the reclamation facilities, the conveyance system, and flood management projects. This policy is estimated to create at least 80 apprentice jobs, 40 percent of whom will be required to come from certified pre-apprentice programs serving traditionally-underrepresented residents of Milwaukee.  
  
• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) continues its efforts to develop a local workforce to build state highways. Currently, WisDOT has implemented a Federal Highway Administration pilot on a $65 million freeway project which sets incentives for local residency workforce and apprentice requirements as part of federally funded highway projects. The department will consider the use of the special provisions in future projects to grow this effort in the Milwaukee area.

• Milwaukee area unions and postsecondary providers have committed to increase their apprenticeship classes as demand for apprentices on public contracts increases—projecting to increase classes by at least 200 apprentices. Specific union level increases include 50 new apprentices from the Laborers’ International Union of North America, 70 from the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, 75 from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and 20 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
  
• The City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office will also implement a Community Benefits Agreement as it builds a new public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network in the city through a nearly $15 million federal grant from US Department of Transportation. This Community Benefits Agreement will require electrician apprentices on each EV charging installation and include local hire requirements consistent with the City of Milwaukee’s Resident Preference Program.  At least 40 percent of the chargers will be put in historically disadvantaged communities.

Expanding Pipelines into Apprenticeship

These expanded registered apprenticeship slots will create new opportunities for hundreds of workers in the Milwaukee area. The Milwaukee Workforce Hub will work to ensure every resident has access to these opportunities, by investing in pre-apprenticeship programs that offer disadvantaged communities a chance to develop the skills and work experience needed to succeed in these apprenticeships. As a result of the Milwaukee Workforce Hub, dedicated funding for pre-apprenticeships in the area will grow by at least $650,000.

The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/Building Industry Group & Skilled Trades Employment Program (WRTP | BIG STEP) currently serves 1,000 individuals every year and has been a leader in the Milwaukee construction sector for decades. In the coming months and years, WRTP | BIG STEP will lead the workforce hub’s construction sector coordination and job training, convening industry partners to develop workforce programs that provide Milwaukee residents access to good-paying and union job in the skilled trades. New investments include:

• MMSD will invest $350,000 in WRTP | BIG STEP for certified pre-apprenticeship programs, including transportation assistance, stipends while participants are in training, and on-going placement and retention for first-year apprentices.
  
• Employ Milwaukee and philanthropic organizations will invest up to $400,000 in additional funding for WRTP | BIG STEP, including capacity building to increase participation in apprenticeship-readiness initiatives. Employ Milwaukee, the workforce board for Milwaukee, will use formula funds from the U.S. Department of Labor to support innovative customized training cohorts in to meet the needs of the local construction industry with a goal of training 60-80 workers.
  
• Unions in the Milwaukee region will expand their investment in WRTP | BIG STEP. Unions have been investing about $625,000 per year in this pre-apprenticeship program, which trained over 1,000 people in 2023. Over the next two years, regional trades are striving to increase their investments in WRTP | BIG STEP to at least 3 cents per hour of member work on regional mega projects, including a $3.3 billion data center being built by Microsoft in Southeast Wisconsin. Unions will also partner with Milwaukee Public Schools to prepare students for pre-apprenticeship programs.

Providing Supportive Services

The Milwaukee Workforce Hub will also support residents as they begin working in these growing fields, by helping residents with supportive services, including career navigation services and stipends. These investments will help ensure that workers have the resources and skills they need for continued success in the industry.

• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will invest $507,000 in workforce development through the Highway Construction Skills Training (HCST) program. WRTP | BIG STEP receives $143,800 in funding from WisDOT to run HCST. This year, WisDOT used grant funding from US DOT to lead a pilot to expand stipends and supportive services for job training participants in HCST. Lessons learned from the pilot, will be used to look at where stipends and higher supportive services help increase graduates in the program. 
  
• MMSD is partnering with Employ Milwaukee and Milwaukee Community Services Corps to provide career navigation services and paid work experience for 64 participants in water sector careers with $1 million from the U.S. Department of Labor. The funding also supports the development of water industry career pathways and competency maps in partnership with the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning.

Additional Federal Support for Workforce Development

In addition to commitments from partners, the Biden-Harris Administration is making millions in direct investments in Milwaukee to support job training and upskilling to meet the need for these historic investments.

• EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will incorporate key workforce development and labor best practices into the estimated $320 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other funding to clean up the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. EPA will, for the first time, incorporate Project Labor Agreements into contract task orders with an estimated $275 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. This initiative will support local and regional jobs cleaning up contaminated sediments in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. In addition, EPA is collaborating with local organizations to support local workforce development as part of the estimated $45 million in activities to restore important habitats across Milwaukee.
  
• The City of Milwaukee Water Works is partnering with Employ Milwaukee to upskill at least 60 city of Milwaukee workers in occupations to support the replacement of lead service lines. Employ Milwaukee is using $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor Community Project Funding to fund this partnership.
  
• Employ Milwaukee also received a $5 million Building Pathways to Infrastructure Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will prepare more than 480 unemployed and underemployed individuals for high-demand infrastructure jobs, including advanced manufacturing, information technology, and professional, scientific, and technical service occupations that support the growing sectors of renewable energy, transportation, and broadband infrastructure. Over $900,000 from this grant is going to the Milwaukee Area Technical College to assist underrepresented populations in accessing academic and non-academic support to enter civil engineering and drafting occupations that will support transportation and water investments from the Biden-Harris Administration. Other partners in the grant include Waukesha Area Technical College, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards, WOW Workforce Board, MKE Tech Hub, City of Milwaukee, and a variety of employers.
  
• The City of Milwaukee is investing more than $25 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to remediate lead paint. To help meet that demand, the City provided $3 million for Employ Milwaukee’s Healthy Homes Construction Careers Program, which is designed to connect trained workers with lead abatement certifications to contractors who are paid by the City of Milwaukee Health Department to remediate high lead risk homes. The training is free to the student, including the cost of training, certification, exam fees, stipends, incentives, and wages during work experience. To date, 344 workers had been enrolled in training so far.
  
• The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub received nearly $50 million through President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act to establish the region as a leader in personalized medicine. Biden-Harris Administration funding for the Wisconsin Tech Hub will create inclusive talent pipelines that can help develop and deploy cutting edge medical technologies; addressing workforce challenges that often face new industries.

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Since President Biden Took Office, Over 367,000 Lead Pipes Have Been Replaced Nationwide, Benefitting 918,000 People

President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to ensure a future where every community has access to clean, safe water. Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to ensure that every American can turn on their tap and drink clean water without fear of lead and other toxic chemicals. As part of this historic commitment to clean water and environmental justice, President Biden committed to replace every lead pipe in the country within 10 years, issuing a comprehensive Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan to achieve that goal.

Today, to deliver on this promise, President Biden is traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to announce that the Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a final rule that will require drinking water systems nationwide to replace lead service lines within 10 years. EPA is also investing an additional $2.6 billion for drinking water upgrades and lead pipe replacements, funded by President Biden’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  This announcement comes as part of the President’s commitment to spend his remaining months in office “sprinting to the finish” and delivering on his historic Investing in America agenda, which is improving the lives of Americans and planting the seeds for a better, more prosperous future for decades to come.

In its first year, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it would develop this new rule, known as the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, to establish the first-ever national requirement to replace all lead service lines. Since then, President Biden secured a historic $15 billion in dedicated funding for lead pipe replacement, and hundreds of thousands of Americans have already had their lead pipes replaced. Because of the President’s actions today, millions more will benefit from lead-free infrastructure in the years to come.

Lead poisoning can cause serious health effects, especially in children. It can cause irreversible damage to cognitive development, damage the kidneys, slow learning, and cause cardiovascular disease. Lead exposure can also impact pregnancies, increasing the risk of low birthweights or even miscarriage. No level of lead exposure is safe. Yet, due to decades of inequitable infrastructure development and underinvestment, lead poisoning disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color.

Today’s announcement will help protect Americans in communities across the country from these harms – the EPA estimates that every year, this final rule will prevent up to 900,000 infants from being born with low birthweight, stop up to 200,000 IQ points lost in children, and reduce up to 1,500 cases of premature death from heart disease.

To build on these commitments, today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is investing over $416 million in new grants, prioritizing lead hazard reduction to protect children, alongside efforts to improve home health, energy efficiency, and community safety. HUD will provide funding to address lead-based paints in homes, develop training and partnerships to identify and control lead-based paint hazards, coordinate home inspections and more.

Replacing Lead Pipes in Milwaukee

Lead pipe replacement is actively underway in Milwaukee through a $30 million investment provided by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has accelerated Milwaukee’s lead replacement timeline from 60 years down to 10 years. Milwaukee is replacing lead pipes using union labor and prioritizing replacements in disadvantaged communities with the most need. The city is now a leader in the region, partnering with cities like Detroit in the Great Lakes Lead Pipes Partnership to accelerate lead pipe replacement across the Midwest.

Progress Replacing Lead Pipes Across America

Beyond Milwaukee, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to accelerate lead pipe replacement nationwide. President Biden secured a historic $15 billion in dedicated funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for lead pipe replacement, and an additional $11.7 billion that can be used for both drinking water projects and lead pipe replacement. Nearly half of this funding is required to flow to disadvantaged communities, including in neighborhoods and communities that shoulder most of the burden of lead poisoning. In addition to providing clean drinking water for millions, this effort is also creating good-paying jobs, many of them union jobs, in replacing lead pipes and delivering clean water to households. This effort also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

These actions from the Administration have already put cities across the country on track to meet the President’s goal of replacing every lead pipe within a decade:

• Detroit, Michigan, has received $90 million from this Administration for lead pipe replacement, which has allowed the city to accelerate from replacing 700 lead pipes per year to replacing over 8,000 this year. Detroit is now on track to replace all 80,000 lead pipes within 10 years.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has received $98 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan to replace lead pipes, and is on track to replace every lead pipe by 2026. The city is already over halfway done with this work.
• St. Paul, Minnesota, received $16 million from the American Rescue Plan to enable the city’s Lead-Free St. Paul program to target the replacement of all lead pipes by 2032.
• Denver, Colorado has accelerated its efforts through $76 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allowing the city to be on track to replace all lead pipes within a decade.
• Akron, Ohio is now on track to replace all lead service lines by 2027 thanks to $9 million in funding through the American Rescue Plan.
• And some communities have already finished replacing lead pipes. Following a lead-in-water crisis, Benton Harbor, Michigan, successfully replaced all its lead pipes within just two years, fueled by $18 million in funding from the President’s American Rescue Plan. And Edgerton, WI has replaced 100% of its known lead pipes after receiving funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Delivering Clean Water

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes more than $50 billion to help ensure every community has access to clean water – the largest investment in clean water in American history. Combined with new protections against toxic chemicals and over 42 million acres of lands and waters protected under President Biden, the Biden-Harris Administration has embarked on the most ambitious conservation and clean water agenda in the nation’s history, making historic progress to secure clean water for all. Highlights of this ambitious agenda include:

• Combatting toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water and wastewater. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $10 billion to address harmful PFAS pollution in drinking water and wastewater. The EPA has also finalized the first-ever national standard to address these “forever chemicals” in drinking water, which will protect 100 million Americans from PFAS exposure, safeguarding public health and advancing environmental justice.
• Protecting freshwater at the source. Our rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands are the sources of clean drinking water that flows into our homes and economic drivers for many communities. Through the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, the Administration has launched a nationwide initiative to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of our nation’s rivers and streams by 2030. Over 200 states, Tribes, local governments, and businesses have joined the effort to meet these goals.
• Investing in clean water for Tribes. The Biden-Harris Administration has announced historic Tribal water infrastructure investments totaling over $5 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding will help bring clean water to Tribal Nations, where half of Tribal households lack access to basic clean drinking water or adequate sanitation. The Administration has launched 900 Tribal clean water infrastructure projects to date through these investments.

Investing in Wisconsin

Today’s announcement builds on a record of investment in the state of Wisconsin over the course of the President’s term in office. In addition to the President delivering on lead pipe replacement, the President’s Investing in America agenda has deployed $7.2 billion in public sector clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure investments, which have catalyzed an additional $8 billion from the private sector.

These investments include:

• $1.7 billion in funding to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet to everyone in Wisconsin, with 72,000 homes and small businesses already connected.
• $4.1 billion for transportation – to rebuild our roads and bridges, expand our transit and rail, modernize our ports and airports, and more. This includes $1 billion in funding that the Biden-Harris Administration announced earlier this year to replace the Blatnik Bridge, an important route for people and freight in the Twin Ports area.
• 1.3 million seniors and Medicare beneficiaries who can receive free vaccines, $35 insulin, and, starting in January, a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs.
• $3.3 billion from Microsoft to bring a new data center that will create over 4,000 jobs to Racine, Wisconsin on the site of a proposed investment from Foxconn in the prior Administration that never materialized.

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Hurricane Milton is forecasted to impact the Western coast of the Florida peninsula this week. As communities across the Southeast – including in Florida – continue their road to recovery and rebuilding after Hurricane Helene, the Biden-Harris Administration is mobilizing additional resources and personnel to prepare for the impacts of this new major storm.

The Federal government is preparing to support affected communities wherever and whenever needed. Preparedness efforts are underway in conjunction with state and local partners. Together we stand ready to respond to any potential impacts on communities.

FEMA has sufficient funding to both support the response to Hurricane Milton and continue to support the response to Hurricane Helene– including funding to support first responders and provide immediate assistance to disaster survivors.

Today, President Biden quickly approved the Governor of Florida’s request for an emergency declaration. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct Federal support to states for life-saving activities and other emergency protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue.

President Biden was first briefed yesterday on Hurricane Milton’s potential impacts to the Florida Gulf Coast and the work FEMA is doing to preposition life-saving resources in advance of the storm. He is also receiving another briefing today from Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall.

The Administration has been in touch with officials from the State of Florida, as well as more than 15 local officials in cities and counties along the likely path of impact, to ensure needs are met in advance of the storm. FEMA has been coordinating closely with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s team ahead of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell’s visit to Tampa today. The Administration has also reached out to state officials in South Carolina and Georgia and will continue outreach efforts based on Hurricane Milton’s latest trajectory.

Florida residents are urged to stay alert, listen to local officials, and make additional preparations as needed.

Pre-landfall actions taken thus far include:

Pre-Positioning Resources and Personnel

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is flying Hurricane Hunters into the current storm to gather data to models and help hone prediction of the storm’s track and timing.

FEMA has pre-staged personnel and resources in Florida and the region, including six FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, five FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, four HealthCare System Assessment Teams, two U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) temporary power teams, USACE debris experts, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and wastewater experts, 300 ambulances and 30 High Water Vehicles with ladders from the Department of Defense.

Additionally, FEMA has two incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA currently has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water in the pipeline to deploy as needed used to address ongoing Helene and Milton response efforts with capacity to expand as needed.

Currently, a total of nearly 900 staff are already supporting recovery efforts based out of the Joint Field Office in Tallahassee and operating across the designated counties for hurricanes Helene, Debby and Idalia. This includes over 440 supporting Hurricane Helene recovery, over 300 supporting Hurricane Debby recovery, and over 100 supporting Hurricane Idalia recovery.

Expediting Debris Removal in Florida

Debris remaining from the impacts of Hurricane Helene poses additional threats to lives and livelihoods if another storm occurs. FEMA is supporting the State of Florida to expedite the removal of debris from Hurricane Helene in the Tampa region in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.

FEMA is providing all flexibility available for reimbursement for debris removal activities, to help the State take whatever action is required to speed debris removal before Milton’s landfall. To that end, FEMA is supporting Florida in surging additional resources to the Tampa area to get as much debris picked up as possible. State-run debris management sites are open 24 hours a day, and contracted trucks can deliver debris to those sites around the clock.   
The Governor of Florida has additionally activated 4,000 State active-duty National Guard, many of whom will help with debris removal.

Pre-Landfall Preparations Supplement Ongoing Helene Response

The Administration continues to mobilize a whole-of-government response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Yesterday, President Biden ordered another 500 active-duty troops with advanced technological assets to move into Western North Carolina and assist with the response and recovery efforts. With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guards and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – the Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding.

The Administration has already helped thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors jumpstart their recoveries with more than $210 million in Federal assistance – and there is more to come. Over the last several days, the Administration has contacted nearly 450 state, city, and county officials in impacted States to ensure they have the support and resources they need. To date, FEMA has shipped over 15.6 million meals, more than 13.9 million liters of water, more than 505,000 tarps to the region, and installed 157 generators at critical facilities such as hospitals and water treatment plants.

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The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to preventing, detecting and responding to health emergencies globally. On September 27, Rwanda’s Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) and the Biden-Harris Administration is working closely with the Government of Rwanda to end the MVD outbreak as quickly as possible. As we have all experienced in recent years, health emergencies are a global issue we must address together. CDC assesses that the risk of infection with this virus in the United States is low, and there are currently no confirmed MVD cases outside of Rwanda.

Since learning of this outbreak, the United States has committed to making nearly $11 million available to address urgent health needs in Rwanda and surrounding countries, including support for surveillance and contact tracing, infection prevention and control guidance, and exit screening at Rwanda’s airport and neighboring border crossings. And within days of learning of the MVD outbreak, CDC deployed three senior scientists to Rwanda to support its response. Although there are currently no FDA-approved vaccines or drugs against MVD, the United States contributed hundreds of investigational vaccine doses and a small number of investigational therapeutics doses, which arrived in Rwanda this weekend. The United States has also contributed more than 500 MVD tests and 500 units of personal protective equipment, which have arrived in Rwanda to support response efforts and protect health workers.

In times of crisis, we must work together to quickly save lives. The Government of Rwanda has taken action to contain this outbreak and protect the health and wellbeing of the Rwandan people, and the United States will continue supporting those efforts. We must also continue to build preparedness between crises, which is why the United States has supported global health security work for more than two decades to help build capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats across the world.

Even as we respond to crises abroad, the top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration is protecting the American people. To keep Americans safe, we are implementing additional precautions for a small, select group of travelers arriving in the United States from Rwanda, including additional public health entry screenings. To facilitate these precautions, the United States will finalize plans in the coming week to redirect passengers who were recently in Rwanda to certain U.S. airports for public health entry screening and follow up measures. These measures will advance ongoing efforts to protect public health and reduce the risk of MVD coming into the United States.

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This morning President Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the solemn occasion of the one-year anniversary of the horrific Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks. 

President Biden expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Israel and to the families of the 1,200 innocent people – including 46 Americans – massacred by the terrorist group Hamas on a day of unspeakable brutality. He stressed that the United States will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.

President Biden conveyed his commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist, and reaffirmed his support for Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Iran and all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.

The President also expressed deep sadness for the loss of innocent life in Gaza and the ongoing suffering of Palestinian civilians as a result of the war that Hamas unleashed. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, secures Israel, alleviates the suffering of Palestinian civilians, and paves the way for a lasting peace with Hamas never again able to control Gaza or reconstitute its military capabilities. 

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I will never forget the horror of October 7, 2023.  1,200 innocent people, including 46 Americans, were massacred by Hamas terrorists. Women raped on the side of the road. 250 people kidnapped. It was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. What Hamas did that day was pure evil – it was brutal and sickening. And it has rekindled a deep fear among the Jewish people not just in Israel, but in the United States and around the world.
 
The long, extraordinary arc of Jewish history is full of pogroms and prejudice, slaughter and separation. And now, in our own generation, there is another moment that the world must never forget.
 
I am devastated by the loss and pain of the Israeli people as a result of the heinous October 7 attack. Doug and I pray for the families of the victims and hope they find solace in remembering the lives their loved ones lived.
 
We also pray for the safety of Jewish people all around the world. We all must ensure nothing like the horrors of October 7 ever happen again. I will do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas. I will never stop fighting for the release of all the hostages, including the seven American citizens, living and deceased, still held: Omer, Edan, Sagui, Keith, Judy, Gad, and Itay. I will never stop fighting for justice for those who murdered Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other Americans. And I will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists like Hamas. My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering.
 
Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7 launched a war in Gaza. I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year—tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine. It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.
 
Today, as we mourn the lives lost on October 7, I know many Jews will be reciting and reflecting on the Jewish prayer for mourning – the Kaddish. The words of the Kaddish, however, are not about death. The prayer is about still believing in God and still having faith. I know that is difficult amidst so much trauma and pain. But it is with that spirit that I commemorate this solemn day. We will not forget, and we will not lose faith. And in honor of all those souls we lost on October 7, we must never lose sight of the dream of peace, dignity, and security for all.
 

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On this day last year, the sun rose on what was supposed to be a joyous Jewish holiday. By sunset, October 7 had become the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Today marks one year of mourning for the more than 1,200 innocent people of all ages, including 46 Americans, massacred in southern Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. One year since Hamas committed horrific acts of sexual violence.  One year since more than 250 innocents were taken hostage, including 12 Americans. One year for the survivors carrying wounds, seen and unseen, who will never be the same. And one year of a devastating war. On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day.  

The October 7th attack brought to the surface painful memories left by millennia of hatred and violence against the Jewish people. That is why, soon after the attack, I became the first American President to visit Israel in a time of war. I made clear then to the people of Israel: you are not alone. One year later, Vice President Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist. We support Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran. Last week, at my direction, the United States military once again actively assisted in the successful defense of Israel, helping to defeat an Iranian ballistic missile attack.   

Today and every day, I think of the hostages and their families.  I have met the families of the hostages and grieved with them. They have been through hell. My Administration has negotiated for the safe release of more than 100 hostages, including Americans. We will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.  

I also strongly condemn the vicious surge in antisemitism in America and around the world. It is unacceptable. All of us must stand united against antisemitism and against hate in all its forms.  

I believe that history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day. Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict — and tens of thousands have been killed, a human toll made far worse by terrorists hiding and  operating among innocent people. We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes. 

On this day of remembrance, which also falls during the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, we honor the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people and mourn the victims of October 7th. May their memory be a blessing.

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President Biden ordered 500 additional active-duty troops to support on-the-ground efforts; 1,500 troops now mobilized to assist National Guard and Federal personnel

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s direction, the Administration continues to mobilize a robust, intensive, and whole-of-government response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. As life-saving response efforts continue in heavily impacted areas, the Administration is also working to ensure communities across the Southeast have prompt access to Federal resources that will enable them to both purchase essential items and begin their road to recovery and rebuilding.

Today, in response to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s request for additional support, President Biden ordered that another 500 active-duty troops move into Western North Carolina. With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – the Biden-Harris Administration is mobilizing all relevant resources to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding.

The Administration has already helped thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors jumpstart their recoveries with more than $137 million in Federal assistance – with more to come. Over the last several days, the Administration has contacted nearly 450 state, city, and county officials in impacted states to ensure they have the support and resources they need. 

The Administration is committed to ensuring that all communities receive accurate information that is essential to their recovery. The Administration, including FEMA, has been tracking and combatting the significant amount of false information circulating online related to the Federal response – which can discourage people from seeking critical and life-saving assistance. The Administration is actively working to identify and combat this misinformation and disinformation and support survivors in every possible way. 

President Biden and Vice President Harris have traveled throughout the Southeast this week to meet with impacted communities and, during their travels, have reaffirmed that the Administration will be with impacted communities every step of the way, no matter how long it takes, to ensure they have the support and resources they need to recover and rebuild. While there is a long way to go on the road to full recovery and rebuilding, Republican and Democratic leaders from across the country have praised the Administration’s well-coordinated response and surge of resources in the aftermath of Helene’s landfall – including South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer.

Additionally, the Federal government is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Milton in the Gulf of Mexico, which has the potential to have significant impacts along the West coast of the Florida Peninsula by mid-next week. Residents in Florida should remain alert, listen to local officials, and make additional preparations as needed.

Additional updates on the Federal response include: 

Active-Duty Service Members Delivering Life-Saving Supplies to North Carolinians

In response to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s request for additional support, today President Biden directed another 500 troops move into Western North Carolina. These troops have advanced technological assets to provide greater situational awareness on the ground and will assist with future resource planning across the region. These additional 500 troops supplement the nearly 1,000 soldiers from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who have already been mobilized through the Department of Defense and in coordination with FEMA to support the residents and affected counties in Western North Carolina.

In support of the state and North Carolina National Guard, these active-duty troops are focusing their efforts on moving valuable commodities—like food and water—to distribution sites, getting those commodities to survivors in areas that are hard to reach. They are also working on road stabilization and route clearance activities. 

In addition, the Department of Defense is providing rotary wing assets from the Army and Navy for personnel movement and commodity distribution across the affected region. Fixed and rotary wing assets from the Air Force are conducting search and rescue activities.  

The US Army Corps of Engineers has established 12 Emergency Operations Centers across the southeast, with three in North Carolina. The Army Corps of Engineers also has emergency power teams conducting assessments in North Carolina and Georgia as well as water/wastewater assessments, bridge and road inspections, and debris removal efforts in North Carolina and Florida.

Over 6,000 National Guard personnel from 18 States are spearheading the response effort across the impacted region, providing critical life-saving and life-sustaining support to the victims of this unprecedented natural disaster.  

Supporting On-The-Ground Response Efforts

The Biden-Harris Administration is actively working alongside state, local and Tribal partners to assess damage and support those affected by the disaster. 

The Federal government has already helped thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors jumpstart their recoveries with more than $137 million in federal assistance. More than 7,000 personnel from across the Federal workforce are deployed, including U.S. Forest Service Saw Teams to help clear debris in remote areas. To date, FEMA has shipped over 14.9 million meals, more than 13.9 million liters of water, more than 505,000 tarps to the region, and installed 157 generators at critical facilities such as hospitals and water treatment plants.

President Biden has approved 100 percent Federal cost share for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. This means that the Federal government will cover 100 percent of the costs associated with things like debris removal, first responders, search and rescue, shelters, and mass feeding.

Disaster survivors in certain areas of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia can begin their recovery process by applying for federal assistance through FEMA. People with damage to their homes or personal property who live in the designated areas should apply for assistance, which may include upfront funds to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay. Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for Hurricane Helene.   

Repairing Roads and Re-Establishing Critical Routes 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced the immediate availability of $100 million in Emergency Relief funds for the North Carolina Department of Transportation to help pay for the costs of immediate emergency work resulting from Hurricane Helene flood damage. The Department also announced $32 million for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. This is in addition to the $2 million announced for use by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

These funds will allow the states to act more quickly to fund eligible repairs to their damaged facilities. FHWA’s Emergency Relief program provides funding to states, territories, Tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These Emergency Relief funds, provided through the “quick release” process, are an initial installment of funds toward restoring this essential transportation link. Additional funds needed to repair damage will be supported by the Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations.

Restoring Power and Critical Communications 

As of this morning, approximately 384,000 customers are without power, down more than 91 percent from the region-wide peak of 4.6 million on September 27. At least 50,000 personnel from 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada are responding to power outages in the Southeast and Appalachia.

Additionally, FirstNet, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has been instrumental in providing critical communication support during Hurricane Helene. The FirstNet Response Operations Group deployed 19 SatCOLTs (light trucks with mounted cellular towers) and numerous portable cellular sites to the hardest-hit areas, including North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. So far, FirstNet has provided cell service and internet access to over 75,000 first responders and survivors affected by the storm, while power and connectivity is being restored.

Calling on Congress to Provide More Disaster Assistance to Communities 

President Biden wrote a letter to Congressional leaders calling on them to provide more funding for disaster relief efforts. President Biden warned that most urgently, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program will run out of funding in a matter of weeks and well before the Congress is planning to reconvene. Small businesses and individuals in affected areas depend on disaster loans as a critical lifeline during difficult times. In fact, for individual disaster survivors, SBA loans are often the largest source of Federal disaster recovery funds. Renters and homeowners use these loans to repair and rebuild their homes as well as replace or repair damaged property including their personal vehicles, while businesses use them to cover basic operating expenses. President Biden urged the Congress to restore this funding immediately. SBA is already receiving over 3,000 loan applications a day from people affected by Hurricane Helene.

The President also warned that, while FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has the resources it requires right now to meet immediate needs, the fund does face a shortfall at the end of the year. Without additional funding, FEMA would be required to forego longer-term recovery activities in favor of meeting urgent needs. He called on the Congress to provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off and to give the communities we serve the certainty of knowing that help will be ongoing, both for the short- and long-term.

Administration’s Ongoing Response Efforts Supplement Significant Pre-Landfall Preparations

The Biden-Harris Administration took significant steps and made extensive preparations prior to Helene making landfall. Two days in advance of Helene making landfall on September 26, the Administration began preparations in coordination with State and local partners. 

On September 24, FEMA stood up their National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) at FEMA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., charged with monitoring the storm’s track and coordinating national-level emergency response teams. FEMA Region V also activated its Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta on September 24, gathering personnel to monitor the storm on the ground close to the anticipated impact and begin planning a response and deployed Incident Management Teams to state Emergency Operations Centers in the storm’s path to coordinate and speed Federal support to response operations.

At the President’s direction, 1,500 Federal personnel were deployed to the region, including 14 Urban Search and Rescue teams (940 personnel) to potentially affected states, including eight teams to Florida; two teams to Georgia; and four teams to North Carolina and FEMA setup up an incident support base in coordination with the 42d Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. 

The Federal government pre-staged in the region:

• More than 2.7 million meals, 1.6 million liters of water, 50,000 tarps, 10,000 cots, and 20,000 blankets to support sheltering needs in impacted communities;
• Tanker trucks with 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 40,000 gallons of gasoline to surge to impacted communities once the storm passed to help alleviate any fuel shortages; and;
• Hundreds of ambulances to assist with the movement of any patients out of impacted hospitals or other facilities.

In advance of landfall, President Biden approved five Governors’ Emergency Declaration requests for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina prior to Helene’s landfall. He also immediately approved Emergency Declaration requests that the Governors of Tennessee and Virginia submitted shortly after landfall. These declarations authorized FEMA to reimburse State and local jurisdictions for costs incurred for pre-storm emergency measures including: evacuating and sheltering residents, search and rescue operations, sandbagging, covering costs associated with Emergency Operation Centers, and first responder activation.

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Since before Hurricane Helene made landfall, my Administration has mobilized an intensive Federal response to ensure impacted communities have the resources and support they need. As part of that ongoing commitment, and in response to Governor Cooper’s request for additional support, today I ordered another 500 active-duty troops with advanced technological assets to move into Western North Carolina and assist with the response and recovery efforts. With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – my Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding.
 
Additionally, I have been briefed on Tropical Storm Milton as it strengthens across the Gulf of Mexico and the work my Administration is doing to preposition life-saving resources in advance of the storm. I urge all residents in Florida to listen to local officials and make preparations as needed.
 
As these communities brace for potentially yet another catastrophic storm, and as part of my Administration’s solemn obligation to stand with impacted communities as they rebuild their lives, we will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders – regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.

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