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Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Reviews Actions to Combat Human Trafficking

Statements and Releases - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:58

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to eradicating human trafficking, often referred to in U.S. law as “trafficking in persons,” in all its forms. Human trafficking, a crime of exploiting a person for compelled labor, services, or commercial sex act(s), has no place in a society that values freedom and the rule of law. Nonetheless, it exists in every region of the United States and around the world. Human trafficking poses a grave danger to individual well-being, public health, public safety, national security, economic development, and prosperity.

In order to combat this threat, in December 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced an updated version of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The National Action Plan focused on the foundational pillars of the U.S. and global anti-trafficking efforts—prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership—and committed agencies to implement various measures designed in furtherance of the same. Three years of concerted and coordinated efforts have produced significant results across the federal government, some of which are highlighted here. This Fact Sheet highlights some of the major accomplishments by agencies over the last three years. For more information on National Action Plan implementation efforts, please see the prior White House Fact Sheets from 2022, 2023, and 2024. There is still much work to do to stem the tide of this threat, and the federal government and its departments and agencies must remain vigilant to protect the most vulnerable, bring perpetrators to justice, empower survivors, and address the systemic inequities exacerbating the threat of human trafficking.

PREVENTION

Departments and agencies committed to educating government personnel, the public, and vulnerable communities on recognizing and reporting human trafficking, with the goal of raising awareness to prevent targeting of the most vulnerable among us.

  • In 2024, the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the bilingual Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign to educate and empower travelers and employees across all modes of transportation to recognize and report suspected instances of human trafficking. The campaign’s “Combating Human Trafficking in the Transportation Sector Awareness Training” underscored the intersection of human trafficking and transportation, provided indicators of human trafficking, and included reporting guidance. DOT provided signage for vulnerable populations and mode-specific posters, pocket cards, visor cards, and graphics tailored for use in airplanes and airports, buses and bus stations, trains and rail stations, rest areas and travel centers, and ports. DOT also compiled a compendium of human trafficking awareness laws, intended to guide transportation organizations in their implementation of awareness campaigns. In a parallel effort, in 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed a human trafficking awareness tutorial with Lyft, Inc., for more than one million ride-share drivers.
  • Over the past three years, departments and agencies focused on creating educational resources about this threat, to include:
  • The Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG), consisting of senior officials from across U.S. government agencies, Public Awareness & Outreach Committee published several resources, including (1) the Guide for Introductory-Level Human Trafficking Awareness Training, a resource for federal law enforcement and service provider agencies developing workforce human trafficking training; and (2) the inventory of Federal Anti-Trafficking Resources, which includes awareness campaigns, toolkits, and programs, and evaluations on its effectiveness.
  • In 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the National Human Trafficking Framework, describing eight strategies on the best available evidence to prevent human trafficking, which was viewed by more than 10,000 individuals. HHS launched new funding for local education agencies, which provided human trafficking prevention education to 81,500 students and 22,600 school staff across more than 1,700 schools; reached more than 30 million people through the HHS Look Beneath the Surface public awareness campaign; educated nearly 288,000 health and human service providers through the SOAR to Health and Wellness trainings on human trafficking; and developed a suite of new resources to enhance the child welfare response to human trafficking.
  • In 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) added a human trafficking section to its Youth@Work Webpage, to help young workers, employers, educators, and parents identify signs of human trafficking and understand human trafficking laws. New content included tips for staying safe in the workplace, examples of human trafficking lawsuits, and victim resource links.
  • In 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Office released a Student Guide to Preventing Human Trafficking for military-connected students to learn more about human trafficking. The Guide and a companion Parent Guide were published on the CTIP Website.
  • Departments and agencies also worked on procurement and supply chain efforts, to include:
  • The SPOG’s Procurement & Supply Chains Committee established annual public outreach sessions to engage contracting companies, NGOs, international partners, and others on the anti-trafficking requirements for federal procurement.
  • In 2024, the Office of Management and Budget required that federal acquisition personnel complete a Combating Trafficking in Persons course. Over 82,000 federal acquisition employees were trained on human trafficking issues. 
  • In 2024, the Department of State’s (State) Trafficking in Person’s Office (TIP Office) conducted a major revamp of the Responsible Sourcing Tool. The Tool provides risk management resources specific to various industries to understand, detect, and address forced labor in global supply chains.
  • The Department of Labor (DOL) produced and maintained a List of Goods Produced with Child Labor or Forced Labor. The September 2024 list includes a record 72 new items across numerous sectors and countries. DOL also funded two $4 million projects to increase tracing of goods made by child and forced labor.
  • The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) deployed two training courses to help employees and industry partners identify and prevent forced labor in supply chains, including “Human Trafficking: Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains” which educates on the laws, regulations, and red flags related to goods made with forced labor entering the United States. 
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) led efforts on human trafficking in maritime supply chains, including: (a) In 2022, NOAA launched Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood (CALM-CS), which included more than 120 experts from across the supply chain, agencies, NGOs, and researchers. CALM-CS collaborated to identify priorities for addressing forced labor in the global seafood supply chain, developed due diligence guidance for retailers, conducted outreach campaigns targeting fishers at risk for forced labor, and promoted tools to support ethical recruitment of crew; (b) In its 2023 congressional report on countries and entities engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, NOAA identified  the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan as reliant on forced labor and oppressive child labor; and (c) In 2024, NOAA led the U.S. delegation to the Joint Working Group (JWG) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization, and the International Maritime Organization on IUU Fishing and related matters. The JWG recommended development of labor-related guidelines.
  • The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) worked with trading partners to eliminate forced labor in supply chains globally, including: (a) In 2024, USTR, DOL and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilitated three trilateral sessions of the United States, Mexico, and Canada to enforce the countries’ forced labor import bans; (b) USTR encouraged trading partners to adopt forced labor import bans, including Taiwan and Kenya; and (c) USTR and DHS shared information on enforcement of forced labor imports with trading partners, including Kenya, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • DHS chaired the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) consisting of multiple government agencies. FLETF expanded the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA) Entity List (of entities producing goods in violation of UFLPA), to prohibit more than 100 entities’ goods from entering the United States. FLETF also identified new high priority sectors for enforcement—aluminum, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and seafood—for the first time since 2022.

PROTECTION

Departments and agencies increased use of victim-centered and trauma-informed strategies and training in order to increase victim identification and referral to services, and to encourage and increase, where appropriate, participation in law enforcement investigations and prosecutions.  

  • Between 2021-2024, HHS responded to more than 43,000 potential trafficking situations reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and supported more than 20,000 survivors of trafficking with benefits and comprehensive case management services. Between 2021-2023, Federally Qualified Health Centers served more than 5,750 patients with concerns of human trafficking across 10,700 clinical visits.
  • DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) made over 450 distinct awards totaling over $350 million to fund direct services (e.g., housing, health care, legal aid) for trafficking survivors. Such funding also supported multidisciplinary task forces; training and technical assistance; capacity-building for organizations in underserved communities; and states’ child and youth trafficking coordination and prevention efforts. In 2023-2024, OVC encouraged its grantees to expand specialized services for labor trafficking victims.
  • In 2023-2024, DOL published two rules aimed to protect migrant and seasonal workers, including the Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing final rule, which strengthened outreach services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and the Farmworker Protection final rule, which strengthened protections for agricultural workers and enhanced DOL’s capabilities to monitor program compliance and take enforcement actions.[1]  
  • Departments and agencies enhanced training for investigators, focused on trauma-informed and victim-centered approaches, to include:
  • DOL’s inspectors: (a) received comprehensive training on the prevention of labor exploitation and human trafficking, on trauma-informed interviewing, and on referrals, retaliation, and the certification of visas for victims; (b) increased their engagement with local human trafficking task forces; (c) increased referrals of labor trafficking cases for further investigations; and (d) provided expertise on labor exploitation and child labor prosecutions, as part of the Forced Labor Initiative.
  • DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review conducted mandatory training for all personnel on identifying trafficking indicators and avoiding adverse immigration consequences for trafficking victims.
  • DOJ’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit delivered trainings to conferences of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement on strategies for preventing inappropriate arrest and punishment of trafficking victims.
  • Since October 2022, the Department of the Interior (DOI) partnered with DOJ to develop a training curriculum for law enforcement first responders (primarily National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Tribal law enforcement officers) on responding to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse crimes.  The partnership has trained over 170 federal and tribal officers.
  • DOL’s National Monitor Advocate and National Farmworker Jobs Program provided training on processing complaints regarding suspected trafficking of agricultural workers and met with stakeholders about improving employment and training services for trafficking victims and survivors.
  • Departments and agencies strengthened their victim outreach capacities, to include:
  • DOI, with support from DOJ, expanded NPS’s Victim Assistance Program, adding four Victim Specialists, and the United States Park Police created a national Victim Assistance Program Coordinator.
  • DHS expanded its Victim Assistance Program, increasing the number of Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program Specialists and Forensic Interview Specialists, and enhancing efforts to identify victims of human trafficking and to connect them to social services and medical care. 
  • In 2024, DHS launched Continued Presence – a temporary immigration designation provided to individuals identified as trafficking victims who may be potential witnesses. In addition to expanding federal law enforcement access, this modernization streamlined the application process and ensured eligible victims receive temporary immigration protection and access to federal benefits and services more quickly.

PROSECUTION

Departments and agencies worked to hold accountable individuals and entities engaged in human trafficking and to dismantle human trafficking networks, employing a broad range of non-criminal enforcement tools and strengthening criminal enforcement capabilities.

  • DOJ led the Interagency Forced Labor Initiative Steering Group, established in 2022, intensifying its focus on prosecutions involving forced child labor, including forced labor of unaccompanied minors. Among other significant prosecutions, in 2024, DOJ secured a landmark life sentence and $80,000 in restitution in a forced child labor case.
  • Through adding human trafficking as a core agency mission and establishing new partnerships, DHS improved investigations of perpetrators of this crime. In 2024, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 2,545 arrests human trafficking-related offenses and assisted 818 human trafficking victims. HSI supported 914 human trafficking-related indictments with federal and state partners, leading to 405 convictions.
  • Over the past three years, DOL’s Investigator General has opened approximately 100 criminal matters involving DOL’s Foreign Labor Certification program, and over 125 criminal matters relating to human and labor trafficking allegations. DOL’s efforts in these cases have resulted in dozens of convictions and more than $6 million in monetary results.
  • In 2021, DOI created a new Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU) within the BIA, to pursue justice for missing/murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU collaborated with agencies, enhancing DOJ’s National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and working in strategic partnerships with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Units, the FBI Forensic Laboratory, the U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten, which together with DOI surged resources for Tribal communities.
  • Since December 2022, the Department of Treasury (Treasury) has used its sanctioning authorities to hold traffickers accountable and to disrupt human trafficking activities. Treasury has designated 33 persons for conduct related to human trafficking, including for serious human rights abuse aboard PRC-flagged fishing vessels, and for systemic and pervasive sex trafficking activity. In 2024, Treasury announced sanctions against a Cambodian official and five corporate entities for human rights abuses amounting to forced labor—a form of human trafficking—in online scam operations at casinos and hotels.  This action marked the culmination of years of interagency coordination, including extensive reporting and research led by State’s TIP Office, and is a model for preparing future sanctions packages against human traffickers.
  • DOT issued a final rule requiring states to permanently ban drivers convicted of human trafficking from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), which requires a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit.
  • In 2024, DOJ’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force announced its National Human Trafficking Strategic Initiative to mobilize federal, state, and local law enforcement of transnational organized and gang-related human trafficking threats.
  • In 2024, DOJ launched coordinated efforts to combat human trafficking and related crimes associated with the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua (TdA). The FBI-led National Gang Intelligence Center, a collaboration among interagency enforcement partners, has been developing a centralized platform from investigations and prosecutions across multiple agencies and jurisdictions against TdA-related human trafficking threats.
  • DOI and DOJ have made efforts to improve investigations and prosecutions related to missing/murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  • In 2021, DOI and DOJ established the Not Invisible Act Commission (NIAC) comprised of law enforcement, Tribal leaders and organizations, judges, federal officials, family members, and survivors. In 2023, the NAIC held public hearings across the country, gathering over 200+ public comments about the crisis of missing/murdered Indigenous persons and human trafficking, which shaped NIAC’s final recommendations. In November 2023, the NIAC submitted its report, “Not One More: Findings & Recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission,” to DOI, DOJ, and Congress, recommending specific concerns and areas for improvement. In March 2024, the DOI and DOJ issued a response to the Report, addressing the areas of concern, including law enforcement and investigative resources; recruitment and retention of law enforcement; data collection and reporting; cross jurisdictional coordination; family and survivor resources; improving public safety resources; and Alaska-specific issues.
  • At the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, the BIA and the FBI announced an agreement to provide for the effective and efficient administration of criminal investigations in Indian Country.
  • In September 2024, DOI and DOJ convened a virtual roundtable meeting with Tribal and federal representatives, advocates, media, and survivors to discuss improving media coverage of missing/murdered Indigenous peoples.

PARTNERSHIP

Departments and agencies worked across the government and with external partners, including to coordinate efforts domestically and with foreign partners, and to integrate survivor input into the work of these partners.

  • In 2023, HHS launched the Joint Forced Labor Working Group, a public-private collaboration to strengthen public health supply chains through training and guidance for procurement professionals and suppliers. HHS hosted a series of listening sessions and provided resources on technology-facilitated trafficking and related forms of exploitation.
  • Treasury has enhanced integration of financial intelligence in law enforcement investigations related to human trafficking, including: (a) In 2024, the agency published the National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, which stated that human trafficking networks are a major illicit financing threat; (b) Treasuryconducted 22 trainings for investigators on proactively identifying sex trafficking and forced labor cases utilizing Bank Secrecy Act data and other financial data; (c) Treasury published a Financial Trend Analysis on the use of virtual currency for suspected online child sexual exploitation and human trafficking; and (d) Treasury, through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, joined and collaborated with two human trafficking-focused public-private partnerships hosted by Canada: Project Shadow and Project Protect.
  • Departments and agencies worked with survivors and other stakeholders to inform and align federal efforts with survivor expertise, to include:
  • State engaged with the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and State’s Human Trafficking Expert Consultant Network (the Network) to launch new trainings, designed with survivors and other trauma experts, including: “Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Approaches,” which provides tips for engaging with potential victims and survivors of trafficking. In 2024, State partnered with consultants from the Network to assist with drafting State’s 2024 TIP Report and with updating the Wilberforce “Know Your Rights” pamphlet.
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) 2021 Counter-Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Policy incorporated survivor input and prioritized survivor-centered approaches in CTIP programs through reintegration support such as livelihood training and psychosocial assistance to minimize re-traumatization.
  • In 2024, State’s TIP Office launched a survivor leadership training and technical assistance award, which will provide technical assistance focused on establishing survivor leadership and survivor partnership structures and processes abroad.
  • USAID engaged with multiple jurisdictions to enhance and support human trafficking awareness and investigations around the world.
  • USAID supported the Government of Bangladesh in developing and updating its national action plan to combat human trafficking, empowered communities with enforcement tools, and strengthened court capacity.  In Central Asia, USAID has promoted safe migration and strengthened the accountability of government institutions by implementing laws, policies, and regulations on combating trafficking in persons and safe migration.  USAID has also worked in Guatemala to support survivors of trafficking by providing temporary housing, food, medical care, psychosocial support, education and job training, and legal support.
  • In 2023, USAID’s Regional Development Mission in Asia convened the Evidence2Action Summit to discuss survivor inclusion in countering trafficking.
  • DOT led the development of (a) counter-trafficking guidelines covering all modes of transportation for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s 21 member economies, and (b) aviation-specific guidelines for the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization’s 193 member countries. Key components of both guidelines include leadership, policies, reporting protocols, partnerships, training, public awareness, data collection, information-sharing, and victim and survivor support.

###

[1] The Farmworker Protection final rule is currently subject to legal challenges. Several court orders—including one with nationwide effect—have prohibited DOL from implementing some or all of the rule.

The post Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Reviews Actions to Combat Human Trafficking appeared first on The White House.

Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Reviews Actions to Combat Human Trafficking

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:58

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to eradicating human trafficking, often referred to in U.S. law as “trafficking in persons,” in all its forms. Human trafficking, a crime of exploiting a person for compelled labor, services, or commercial sex act(s), has no place in a society that values freedom and the rule of law. Nonetheless, it exists in every region of the United States and around the world. Human trafficking poses a grave danger to individual well-being, public health, public safety, national security, economic development, and prosperity.

In order to combat this threat, in December 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced an updated version of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The National Action Plan focused on the foundational pillars of the U.S. and global anti-trafficking efforts—prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership—and committed agencies to implement various measures designed in furtherance of the same. Three years of concerted and coordinated efforts have produced significant results across the federal government, some of which are highlighted here. This Fact Sheet highlights some of the major accomplishments by agencies over the last three years. For more information on National Action Plan implementation efforts, please see the prior White House Fact Sheets from 2022, 2023, and 2024. There is still much work to do to stem the tide of this threat, and the federal government and its departments and agencies must remain vigilant to protect the most vulnerable, bring perpetrators to justice, empower survivors, and address the systemic inequities exacerbating the threat of human trafficking.

PREVENTION

Departments and agencies committed to educating government personnel, the public, and vulnerable communities on recognizing and reporting human trafficking, with the goal of raising awareness to prevent targeting of the most vulnerable among us.

  • In 2024, the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the bilingual Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign to educate and empower travelers and employees across all modes of transportation to recognize and report suspected instances of human trafficking. The campaign’s “Combating Human Trafficking in the Transportation Sector Awareness Training” underscored the intersection of human trafficking and transportation, provided indicators of human trafficking, and included reporting guidance. DOT provided signage for vulnerable populations and mode-specific posters, pocket cards, visor cards, and graphics tailored for use in airplanes and airports, buses and bus stations, trains and rail stations, rest areas and travel centers, and ports. DOT also compiled a compendium of human trafficking awareness laws, intended to guide transportation organizations in their implementation of awareness campaigns. In a parallel effort, in 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed a human trafficking awareness tutorial with Lyft, Inc., for more than one million ride-share drivers.
  • Over the past three years, departments and agencies focused on creating educational resources about this threat, to include:
  • The Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG), consisting of senior officials from across U.S. government agencies, Public Awareness & Outreach Committee published several resources, including (1) the Guide for Introductory-Level Human Trafficking Awareness Training, a resource for federal law enforcement and service provider agencies developing workforce human trafficking training; and (2) the inventory of Federal Anti-Trafficking Resources, which includes awareness campaigns, toolkits, and programs, and evaluations on its effectiveness.
  • In 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the National Human Trafficking Framework, describing eight strategies on the best available evidence to prevent human trafficking, which was viewed by more than 10,000 individuals. HHS launched new funding for local education agencies, which provided human trafficking prevention education to 81,500 students and 22,600 school staff across more than 1,700 schools; reached more than 30 million people through the HHS Look Beneath the Surface public awareness campaign; educated nearly 288,000 health and human service providers through the SOAR to Health and Wellness trainings on human trafficking; and developed a suite of new resources to enhance the child welfare response to human trafficking.
  • In 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) added a human trafficking section to its Youth@Work Webpage, to help young workers, employers, educators, and parents identify signs of human trafficking and understand human trafficking laws. New content included tips for staying safe in the workplace, examples of human trafficking lawsuits, and victim resource links.
  • In 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Office released a Student Guide to Preventing Human Trafficking for military-connected students to learn more about human trafficking. The Guide and a companion Parent Guide were published on the CTIP Website.
  • Departments and agencies also worked on procurement and supply chain efforts, to include:
  • The SPOG’s Procurement & Supply Chains Committee established annual public outreach sessions to engage contracting companies, NGOs, international partners, and others on the anti-trafficking requirements for federal procurement.
  • In 2024, the Office of Management and Budget required that federal acquisition personnel complete a Combating Trafficking in Persons course. Over 82,000 federal acquisition employees were trained on human trafficking issues. 
  • In 2024, the Department of State’s (State) Trafficking in Person’s Office (TIP Office) conducted a major revamp of the Responsible Sourcing Tool. The Tool provides risk management resources specific to various industries to understand, detect, and address forced labor in global supply chains.
  • The Department of Labor (DOL) produced and maintained a List of Goods Produced with Child Labor or Forced Labor. The September 2024 list includes a record 72 new items across numerous sectors and countries. DOL also funded two $4 million projects to increase tracing of goods made by child and forced labor.
  • The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) deployed two training courses to help employees and industry partners identify and prevent forced labor in supply chains, including “Human Trafficking: Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains” which educates on the laws, regulations, and red flags related to goods made with forced labor entering the United States. 
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) led efforts on human trafficking in maritime supply chains, including: (a) In 2022, NOAA launched Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood (CALM-CS), which included more than 120 experts from across the supply chain, agencies, NGOs, and researchers. CALM-CS collaborated to identify priorities for addressing forced labor in the global seafood supply chain, developed due diligence guidance for retailers, conducted outreach campaigns targeting fishers at risk for forced labor, and promoted tools to support ethical recruitment of crew; (b) In its 2023 congressional report on countries and entities engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, NOAA identified  the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan as reliant on forced labor and oppressive child labor; and (c) In 2024, NOAA led the U.S. delegation to the Joint Working Group (JWG) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization, and the International Maritime Organization on IUU Fishing and related matters. The JWG recommended development of labor-related guidelines.
  • The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) worked with trading partners to eliminate forced labor in supply chains globally, including: (a) In 2024, USTR, DOL and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilitated three trilateral sessions of the United States, Mexico, and Canada to enforce the countries’ forced labor import bans; (b) USTR encouraged trading partners to adopt forced labor import bans, including Taiwan and Kenya; and (c) USTR and DHS shared information on enforcement of forced labor imports with trading partners, including Kenya, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • DHS chaired the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) consisting of multiple government agencies. FLETF expanded the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA) Entity List (of entities producing goods in violation of UFLPA), to prohibit more than 100 entities’ goods from entering the United States. FLETF also identified new high priority sectors for enforcement—aluminum, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and seafood—for the first time since 2022.

PROTECTION

Departments and agencies increased use of victim-centered and trauma-informed strategies and training in order to increase victim identification and referral to services, and to encourage and increase, where appropriate, participation in law enforcement investigations and prosecutions.  

  • Between 2021-2024, HHS responded to more than 43,000 potential trafficking situations reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and supported more than 20,000 survivors of trafficking with benefits and comprehensive case management services. Between 2021-2023, Federally Qualified Health Centers served more than 5,750 patients with concerns of human trafficking across 10,700 clinical visits.
  • DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) made over 450 distinct awards totaling over $350 million to fund direct services (e.g., housing, health care, legal aid) for trafficking survivors. Such funding also supported multidisciplinary task forces; training and technical assistance; capacity-building for organizations in underserved communities; and states’ child and youth trafficking coordination and prevention efforts. In 2023-2024, OVC encouraged its grantees to expand specialized services for labor trafficking victims.
  • In 2023-2024, DOL published two rules aimed to protect migrant and seasonal workers, including the Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing final rule, which strengthened outreach services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and the Farmworker Protection final rule, which strengthened protections for agricultural workers and enhanced DOL’s capabilities to monitor program compliance and take enforcement actions.[1]  
  • Departments and agencies enhanced training for investigators, focused on trauma-informed and victim-centered approaches, to include:
  • DOL’s inspectors: (a) received comprehensive training on the prevention of labor exploitation and human trafficking, on trauma-informed interviewing, and on referrals, retaliation, and the certification of visas for victims; (b) increased their engagement with local human trafficking task forces; (c) increased referrals of labor trafficking cases for further investigations; and (d) provided expertise on labor exploitation and child labor prosecutions, as part of the Forced Labor Initiative.
  • DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review conducted mandatory training for all personnel on identifying trafficking indicators and avoiding adverse immigration consequences for trafficking victims.
  • DOJ’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit delivered trainings to conferences of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement on strategies for preventing inappropriate arrest and punishment of trafficking victims.
  • Since October 2022, the Department of the Interior (DOI) partnered with DOJ to develop a training curriculum for law enforcement first responders (primarily National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Tribal law enforcement officers) on responding to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse crimes.  The partnership has trained over 170 federal and tribal officers.
  • DOL’s National Monitor Advocate and National Farmworker Jobs Program provided training on processing complaints regarding suspected trafficking of agricultural workers and met with stakeholders about improving employment and training services for trafficking victims and survivors.
  • Departments and agencies strengthened their victim outreach capacities, to include:
  • DOI, with support from DOJ, expanded NPS’s Victim Assistance Program, adding four Victim Specialists, and the United States Park Police created a national Victim Assistance Program Coordinator.
  • DHS expanded its Victim Assistance Program, increasing the number of Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program Specialists and Forensic Interview Specialists, and enhancing efforts to identify victims of human trafficking and to connect them to social services and medical care. 
  • In 2024, DHS launched Continued Presence – a temporary immigration designation provided to individuals identified as trafficking victims who may be potential witnesses. In addition to expanding federal law enforcement access, this modernization streamlined the application process and ensured eligible victims receive temporary immigration protection and access to federal benefits and services more quickly.

PROSECUTION

Departments and agencies worked to hold accountable individuals and entities engaged in human trafficking and to dismantle human trafficking networks, employing a broad range of non-criminal enforcement tools and strengthening criminal enforcement capabilities.

  • DOJ led the Interagency Forced Labor Initiative Steering Group, established in 2022, intensifying its focus on prosecutions involving forced child labor, including forced labor of unaccompanied minors. Among other significant prosecutions, in 2024, DOJ secured a landmark life sentence and $80,000 in restitution in a forced child labor case.
  • Through adding human trafficking as a core agency mission and establishing new partnerships, DHS improved investigations of perpetrators of this crime. In 2024, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 2,545 arrests human trafficking-related offenses and assisted 818 human trafficking victims. HSI supported 914 human trafficking-related indictments with federal and state partners, leading to 405 convictions.
  • Over the past three years, DOL’s Investigator General has opened approximately 100 criminal matters involving DOL’s Foreign Labor Certification program, and over 125 criminal matters relating to human and labor trafficking allegations. DOL’s efforts in these cases have resulted in dozens of convictions and more than $6 million in monetary results.
  • In 2021, DOI created a new Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU) within the BIA, to pursue justice for missing/murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU collaborated with agencies, enhancing DOJ’s National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and working in strategic partnerships with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Units, the FBI Forensic Laboratory, the U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten, which together with DOI surged resources for Tribal communities.
  • Since December 2022, the Department of Treasury (Treasury) has used its sanctioning authorities to hold traffickers accountable and to disrupt human trafficking activities. Treasury has designated 33 persons for conduct related to human trafficking, including for serious human rights abuse aboard PRC-flagged fishing vessels, and for systemic and pervasive sex trafficking activity. In 2024, Treasury announced sanctions against a Cambodian official and five corporate entities for human rights abuses amounting to forced labor—a form of human trafficking—in online scam operations at casinos and hotels.  This action marked the culmination of years of interagency coordination, including extensive reporting and research led by State’s TIP Office, and is a model for preparing future sanctions packages against human traffickers.
  • DOT issued a final rule requiring states to permanently ban drivers convicted of human trafficking from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), which requires a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit.
  • In 2024, DOJ’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force announced its National Human Trafficking Strategic Initiative to mobilize federal, state, and local law enforcement of transnational organized and gang-related human trafficking threats.
  • In 2024, DOJ launched coordinated efforts to combat human trafficking and related crimes associated with the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua (TdA). The FBI-led National Gang Intelligence Center, a collaboration among interagency enforcement partners, has been developing a centralized platform from investigations and prosecutions across multiple agencies and jurisdictions against TdA-related human trafficking threats.
  • DOI and DOJ have made efforts to improve investigations and prosecutions related to missing/murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  • In 2021, DOI and DOJ established the Not Invisible Act Commission (NIAC) comprised of law enforcement, Tribal leaders and organizations, judges, federal officials, family members, and survivors. In 2023, the NAIC held public hearings across the country, gathering over 200+ public comments about the crisis of missing/murdered Indigenous persons and human trafficking, which shaped NIAC’s final recommendations. In November 2023, the NIAC submitted its report, “Not One More: Findings & Recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission,” to DOI, DOJ, and Congress, recommending specific concerns and areas for improvement. In March 2024, the DOI and DOJ issued a response to the Report, addressing the areas of concern, including law enforcement and investigative resources; recruitment and retention of law enforcement; data collection and reporting; cross jurisdictional coordination; family and survivor resources; improving public safety resources; and Alaska-specific issues.
  • At the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, the BIA and the FBI announced an agreement to provide for the effective and efficient administration of criminal investigations in Indian Country.
  • In September 2024, DOI and DOJ convened a virtual roundtable meeting with Tribal and federal representatives, advocates, media, and survivors to discuss improving media coverage of missing/murdered Indigenous peoples.

PARTNERSHIP

Departments and agencies worked across the government and with external partners, including to coordinate efforts domestically and with foreign partners, and to integrate survivor input into the work of these partners.

  • In 2023, HHS launched the Joint Forced Labor Working Group, a public-private collaboration to strengthen public health supply chains through training and guidance for procurement professionals and suppliers. HHS hosted a series of listening sessions and provided resources on technology-facilitated trafficking and related forms of exploitation.
  • Treasury has enhanced integration of financial intelligence in law enforcement investigations related to human trafficking, including: (a) In 2024, the agency published the National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, which stated that human trafficking networks are a major illicit financing threat; (b) Treasuryconducted 22 trainings for investigators on proactively identifying sex trafficking and forced labor cases utilizing Bank Secrecy Act data and other financial data; (c) Treasury published a Financial Trend Analysis on the use of virtual currency for suspected online child sexual exploitation and human trafficking; and (d) Treasury, through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, joined and collaborated with two human trafficking-focused public-private partnerships hosted by Canada: Project Shadow and Project Protect.
  • Departments and agencies worked with survivors and other stakeholders to inform and align federal efforts with survivor expertise, to include:
  • State engaged with the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and State’s Human Trafficking Expert Consultant Network (the Network) to launch new trainings, designed with survivors and other trauma experts, including: “Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Approaches,” which provides tips for engaging with potential victims and survivors of trafficking. In 2024, State partnered with consultants from the Network to assist with drafting State’s 2024 TIP Report and with updating the Wilberforce “Know Your Rights” pamphlet.
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) 2021 Counter-Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Policy incorporated survivor input and prioritized survivor-centered approaches in CTIP programs through reintegration support such as livelihood training and psychosocial assistance to minimize re-traumatization.
  • In 2024, State’s TIP Office launched a survivor leadership training and technical assistance award, which will provide technical assistance focused on establishing survivor leadership and survivor partnership structures and processes abroad.
  • USAID engaged with multiple jurisdictions to enhance and support human trafficking awareness and investigations around the world.
  • USAID supported the Government of Bangladesh in developing and updating its national action plan to combat human trafficking, empowered communities with enforcement tools, and strengthened court capacity.  In Central Asia, USAID has promoted safe migration and strengthened the accountability of government institutions by implementing laws, policies, and regulations on combating trafficking in persons and safe migration.  USAID has also worked in Guatemala to support survivors of trafficking by providing temporary housing, food, medical care, psychosocial support, education and job training, and legal support.
  • In 2023, USAID’s Regional Development Mission in Asia convened the Evidence2Action Summit to discuss survivor inclusion in countering trafficking.
  • DOT led the development of (a) counter-trafficking guidelines covering all modes of transportation for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s 21 member economies, and (b) aviation-specific guidelines for the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization’s 193 member countries. Key components of both guidelines include leadership, policies, reporting protocols, partnerships, training, public awareness, data collection, information-sharing, and victim and survivor support.

###

[1] The Farmworker Protection final rule is currently subject to legal challenges. Several court orders—including one with nationwide effect—have prohibited DOL from implementing some or all of the rule.

The post Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Reviews Actions to Combat Human Trafficking appeared first on The White House.

Remarks by President Biden at Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony | Fort Myer, VA

Speeches and Remarks - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:36

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
Fort Myer, Virginia

3:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Every time I’m here, it’s made me so damn proud to be an American. And it must all of you as well.

One percent of you are defending ninety-nine percent of us. We owe you. We owe you big.

Just over 240 years ago, George Washington gave his farewell address to the Continental Army. Still astonished by their victory and by their unity, Washington asked, and I quote, “Who that was not a witness could imagine that men who came from different parts of the continent would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers?”

That’s what you are: one patriotic band of brothers.

Vice President Harris, Jill, Doug, Secretary Austin, Secretary [Chairman] Brown — two of the best decisions I ever made in my career, I might add — service secretaries — (applause) — members of the Congress, and, most importantly, this patriotic band of service members before me: Serving as your commander in chief has been the greatest honor of my life.

And while I’m deeply grateful for your thanks and affection, I’m here to thank you — thank you for your service to our nation and for allowing me to bear witness to your courage, your commitment, your character.

As I listened to the choir sing, I thought about it. You all represent what America is: character, honesty, integrity, commitment.

Like Washington, you’ve left me astonished. And I mean it.

Over the years, I’ve frequently seen you in action in war zones in Bosnia, Baghdad, Fallujah, Kabul, K- — I — I wasn’t going to bore the hell out of you, but — (laughter) — Helmand, Kandahar, and other places.

I remember one trip to Afghanistan as vice president. I was at a forward operating base, Wardak province, which is in eastern Afghanistan.

I was asked by a commanding officer to pin a Bronze Star on a soldier for his heroism. The soldier’s teammate was hit while driving in a Humvee. And this soldier did everything possible to rescue his colleague from the burning flames.

But when I went to pin the medal on him, the soldier looked at me and said, “I don’t want it. I don’t want it. He died. I don’t want it.”

And in that moment, all I could think about was the encourage and — incredible courage and humility and moral compass that this soldier had, that all of you have.

You’re the — this is not hyperbole. You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world — in the history of the world. (Applause.) That’s a fact. That’s not hyberbole. That’s a fact.

And there’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things, so many places all at the same time. And I want to be clear: You have done all — all these missions with strength and maybe even, importantly, with integrity.

When I asked you to end our nation’s longest war, you rose to the occasion, evacuating Americans, allies, and our Afghan partners; accomplishing the largest airlift in military history; and ending a war with the same courage that defined American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years.

I believe history will reflect that it was the right thing to do, but I know — I know it was hard. After decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including the withdrawal, the pain was still real.

And it was for me as well. Every day I still carry — every single day — (the president holds up a piece of paper) — it’s my schedule. On the back of the schedule, every single day at the top since I’ve been here, it says, “U.S.” — “Daily U.S. troops in Afghanistan” — “U.S. troops that have died in Afghanistan: 2,465.” Not “over 2,000” — “2,465.” “Troops wounded: 20,769.”

And every day we’ll honor their sacrifice for con- — continuing a mission for which they gave their lives: fighting terrorism, defending our homeland, and protecting the American people.

Six months after that war ended, when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. You didn’t hesitate. You kept Ukraine in the fight; trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops; bolstered NATO’s eastern flank; and, above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends. America stands strong with our allies. We never bend down. We bend down to no one, certainly not Putin.

And now, nearly three years later, Putin has failed to take Kyiv, failed to make large territorial gains, and failed to break NATO.

As a matter of a fact, when I spoke to him on the phone, I talked — he talked about — he wanted us to be the Finland of Europe. And I pointed out to him at the time, for real, that you’ll not only get the Finland of Europe, you’re going to get the Finlandization — not of Europe — you’re going to see Europe joining NATO — Finland joining NATO, Sweden joining NATO.

On America’s watch, dictators do not get to do whatever the hell they want.

Then, following Hamas’s terrorism on October the 7th, I asked you to de- — excuse my back, by the way. (Laughter.) My mother would be very upset. (Laughter.)

I asked you to deploy to the Middle East. Again, you stepped up, pulling long nights and long deployments to weaken Hamas, to defend Isa- — Israel against unprecedented attacks on [from] Iran.

Imagine had we not.

If we don’t lead the world, who will lead the world? Who?

And twice, you stood up to the attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Last year, I spoke with the women and men aboard the destroyer that took down the first Houthi attacks. It was the USS Carney. And I want you — to tell you all what I told them: We owe you. We owe you.

And back in May — yesterday I announced — proud to announce the ceasefire, the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The road to that deal was not easy. It was eight months ago I laid down the elements of that deal, in May — embraced by countries around the world, because they know we say what we mean; endorsed overwhelmingly by the U.N. Security Council.

It’s taken eight months of nonstop, relentless effort by my administration to get it done, but because of you — all of you standing behind me — because of you, because of so many diplomats and defense professionals, we kept the pressure on Hamas and we got it done. We got it done.

And finally, when I asked you to strengthen America’s position in the Indo-Pacific, in the middle of all the other conflicts and crises, you said, “No problem.” You kept China in check.

Remember when we take of- — took office, China was over — going to overcome the United States economically and politically by 2030. Everybody wrote that, except here in this building.

The skies open. The seas free. And our allies close.

You established our first trilateral defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom; our first trilateral partnership that some — we said couldn’t get done — with Japan and the Philippines; and our first trilateral partnership between Japan and South Korea.

Remember that? Camp David. They said we couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t me. It was America. We did it. That’s what America does — people know America is acting out of character. Our nation is so much and so many others as — did — our nation has asked so much of so many others as well.

Doctors and nurses helping service members to learn to walk again, eat again, speak again. The National Guard members who dropped everything to help their fellow Americans during the fires and hurricanes. The Marines guarding embassies around the world. The scientists making sure we have an edge over adversaries. Interpreters who make our missions possible.

And perhaps most importantly, your families. They sacrifice so much.

And I might add, the doctors and nurses — excuse a point of personal privilege, as they used to say in the Senate — came home one — I commuted every day — every single day, over two million one hundred thousand miles on Amtrak because I lost my family when I first got here.

My oldest son — one day, I went home — he was the attorney general — he said, “Dad, what are you doing Friday?” I said, “What do you want me to do?” He said, “I want you to pin my bars on.” I said, “What?” I said, “You’re married with two children.” He said, “I know, Dad, but someone has got to go.”

He spent a year in Iraq, won the Bronze Star, conspicuous service medal. But like many others, he was exposed to those burn pits, which are within about a half a mile of where he was — where he bunked. He had stage 4 glioblastoma, like so many other of our folks.

And I watched the nurses and the doctors who took care of him for so long.

And, by the way, I want to take a moment to speak to all military spouses, kids, and parents here today. Most Americans never see the sacrifices that you make every single day. They’ll never see all those holidays and birthdays with an empty seat at the dinner table because mom or dad was deployed. They’ll never see all the moves you had to make to new states, to new schools, to new jobs. But I see it, and Jill saw it.

She made it her life’s work. She’s — she’s done everything big and small, from helping military spouses find childcare and build their own careers, by hanging photos of deployed moms and dads outside classrooms of those National Guard folks, because then, ev- — every holiday, every time there’s — something is going on, their moms or dads weren’t there but then — but no one ever mentioned it. She started getting into every classroom in America to put a picture of an deployed mom or dad outside the classroom.

Even this morning, she held an event for — with Joining Forces, an historic White House initiative to support military and veterans’ families, because, as the poet John Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

So, for the last time as commander in chief, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the families. We owe you.

I’ve long said, as a nation, we have many obligations. But I said we only have one truly sacred obligation, and that’s to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don’t.

Over the last four years, Kamala and I have worked to make good that obligation. We passed more than 40 bipartisan laws to support you, including something I felt so strongly about: the passage of the PACT Act. I drafted that law, and we passed it. Now it’s already helped over 1 million service members and their survivors, their children have access to everything from college to health care.

These people were exposed to toxins — in my generation, to Agent Orange; my son’s generation, to burn pits. But we had to prove that what you had — what’s your disease, all the brain damage, all the brain cancers — were a direct consequence of those toxins or Agent Orange.

But we changed that. And I want to publicly thank the 9/11 Commission. All those folks, all those firefighters were so badly, badly damaged because of the fumes and the toxins associated with the — 9/11.

And those of you who are the Vietnam generation — finally, all you had to prove is that stuff dropped on you and it didn’t cause — they didn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt it caused your disease. Just state the fact and you’re covered.

We’ve invested over a trillion dollars in our defense industry base. In real dollars, that’s more than America did in any four-year period during the Cold War.

We also invested record resources to fight the scourge of military suicide. No more calling and saying, “My husband needs help. He needs help.” You get an answer.

We fought (inaudible) — we brought veterans’ homelessness to record lows, made historic changes in the military justice system, which has reduced the rates of sexual assault for the first time in nearly a decade.

We ended the ban on transgender service.

We took landmark steps to create more economic opportunities for military spouses.

We expanded opportunities for women in combat roles. And I’m proud to have appointed the first woman as a service chief in the history of this country. Clap for that, folks, because she deserves it. (Applause.)

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but the women in my st- — family are a hell of a lot smarter than the men in my family. (Laughter.)

Look, if there’s one thing I hope to take away from today, it’s this — this is not hyperbole: You’re truly the finest fighting force in the history of the world. That’s not hyperbole. That’s true.

Everything I and others have asked of you, you’ve done — you’ve done with honor, commitment, grit, and guts.

Let me close with a final request. I say it not as your president or commander in chief; I say it as a man who spent 50 years of his life serving his country in a different way: Remember your oath.

My son, Major Beau Biden, used to call it “home base.” That’s a set of principles, of values that give you light in darkness, that guide you.

It’s true that the military has the best weapons, the best training in the world. We have the most cutting-edge ships, planes, and subs. We have the smartest and most well-trained force on Earth.

That’s all critical, but that alone is not what makes us strong. This is not what brought Washington’s “band of brothers” together all those years ago. It’s our values. I mean this sincerely. It’s our values — American values. Our commitment to honor, to integrity, to unity, to protecting and — and defending not a person or a party or a place, but an idea, literally, unlike — as a student of history, I can say unlike any other in human history.

And that idea is: The United States of America is unique in the world. Virtually every other nation in the world is based on geography, ethnicity, re- — ethnicity, or religion, or some defining feature. But we’re the only nation in the world — only nation in history built on an idea — an idea — an idea that we’re all created equal.

We know the words by heart. We’re endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. That’s the idea that generations of service members have fought for, an idea you have sworn an oath to defend.

As a nation, we’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never, ever, ever walked away from it. And our country is counting on you to ensure that that will always be true.

As I said when I began, 1 percent of you defend 99 percent of the people across this nation. That’s why you all deserve a special place in our hearts and in God’s heart.

May God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
3:21 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony | Fort Myer, VA appeared first on The White House.

Remarks by President Biden at Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony | Fort Myer, VA

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:36

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
Fort Myer, Virginia

3:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Every time I’m here, it’s made me so damn proud to be an American. And it must all of you as well.

One percent of you are defending ninety-nine percent of us. We owe you. We owe you big.

Just over 240 years ago, George Washington gave his farewell address to the Continental Army. Still astonished by their victory and by their unity, Washington asked, and I quote, “Who that was not a witness could imagine that men who came from different parts of the continent would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers?”

That’s what you are: one patriotic band of brothers.

Vice President Harris, Jill, Doug, Secretary Austin, Secretary [Chairman] Brown — two of the best decisions I ever made in my career, I might add — service secretaries — (applause) — members of the Congress, and, most importantly, this patriotic band of service members before me: Serving as your commander in chief has been the greatest honor of my life.

And while I’m deeply grateful for your thanks and affection, I’m here to thank you — thank you for your service to our nation and for allowing me to bear witness to your courage, your commitment, your character.

As I listened to the choir sing, I thought about it. You all represent what America is: character, honesty, integrity, commitment.

Like Washington, you’ve left me astonished. And I mean it.

Over the years, I’ve frequently seen you in action in war zones in Bosnia, Baghdad, Fallujah, Kabul, K- — I — I wasn’t going to bore the hell out of you, but — (laughter) — Helmand, Kandahar, and other places.

I remember one trip to Afghanistan as vice president. I was at a forward operating base, Wardak province, which is in eastern Afghanistan.

I was asked by a commanding officer to pin a Bronze Star on a soldier for his heroism. The soldier’s teammate was hit while driving in a Humvee. And this soldier did everything possible to rescue his colleague from the burning flames.

But when I went to pin the medal on him, the soldier looked at me and said, “I don’t want it. I don’t want it. He died. I don’t want it.”

And in that moment, all I could think about was the encourage and — incredible courage and humility and moral compass that this soldier had, that all of you have.

You’re the — this is not hyperbole. You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world — in the history of the world. (Applause.) That’s a fact. That’s not hyberbole. That’s a fact.

And there’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things, so many places all at the same time. And I want to be clear: You have done all — all these missions with strength and maybe even, importantly, with integrity.

When I asked you to end our nation’s longest war, you rose to the occasion, evacuating Americans, allies, and our Afghan partners; accomplishing the largest airlift in military history; and ending a war with the same courage that defined American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years.

I believe history will reflect that it was the right thing to do, but I know — I know it was hard. After decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including the withdrawal, the pain was still real.

And it was for me as well. Every day I still carry — every single day — (the president holds up a piece of paper) — it’s my schedule. On the back of the schedule, every single day at the top since I’ve been here, it says, “U.S.” — “Daily U.S. troops in Afghanistan” — “U.S. troops that have died in Afghanistan: 2,465.” Not “over 2,000” — “2,465.” “Troops wounded: 20,769.”

And every day we’ll honor their sacrifice for con- — continuing a mission for which they gave their lives: fighting terrorism, defending our homeland, and protecting the American people.

Six months after that war ended, when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. You didn’t hesitate. You kept Ukraine in the fight; trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops; bolstered NATO’s eastern flank; and, above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends. America stands strong with our allies. We never bend down. We bend down to no one, certainly not Putin.

And now, nearly three years later, Putin has failed to take Kyiv, failed to make large territorial gains, and failed to break NATO.

As a matter of a fact, when I spoke to him on the phone, I talked — he talked about — he wanted us to be the Finland of Europe. And I pointed out to him at the time, for real, that you’ll not only get the Finland of Europe, you’re going to get the Finlandization — not of Europe — you’re going to see Europe joining NATO — Finland joining NATO, Sweden joining NATO.

On America’s watch, dictators do not get to do whatever the hell they want.

Then, following Hamas’s terrorism on October the 7th, I asked you to de- — excuse my back, by the way. (Laughter.) My mother would be very upset. (Laughter.)

I asked you to deploy to the Middle East. Again, you stepped up, pulling long nights and long deployments to weaken Hamas, to defend Isa- — Israel against unprecedented attacks on [from] Iran.

Imagine had we not.

If we don’t lead the world, who will lead the world? Who?

And twice, you stood up to the attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Last year, I spoke with the women and men aboard the destroyer that took down the first Houthi attacks. It was the USS Carney. And I want you — to tell you all what I told them: We owe you. We owe you.

And back in May — yesterday I announced — proud to announce the ceasefire, the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The road to that deal was not easy. It was eight months ago I laid down the elements of that deal, in May — embraced by countries around the world, because they know we say what we mean; endorsed overwhelmingly by the U.N. Security Council.

It’s taken eight months of nonstop, relentless effort by my administration to get it done, but because of you — all of you standing behind me — because of you, because of so many diplomats and defense professionals, we kept the pressure on Hamas and we got it done. We got it done.

And finally, when I asked you to strengthen America’s position in the Indo-Pacific, in the middle of all the other conflicts and crises, you said, “No problem.” You kept China in check.

Remember when we take of- — took office, China was over — going to overcome the United States economically and politically by 2030. Everybody wrote that, except here in this building.

The skies open. The seas free. And our allies close.

You established our first trilateral defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom; our first trilateral partnership that some — we said couldn’t get done — with Japan and the Philippines; and our first trilateral partnership between Japan and South Korea.

Remember that? Camp David. They said we couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t me. It was America. We did it. That’s what America does — people know America is acting out of character. Our nation is so much and so many others as — did — our nation has asked so much of so many others as well.

Doctors and nurses helping service members to learn to walk again, eat again, speak again. The National Guard members who dropped everything to help their fellow Americans during the fires and hurricanes. The Marines guarding embassies around the world. The scientists making sure we have an edge over adversaries. Interpreters who make our missions possible.

And perhaps most importantly, your families. They sacrifice so much.

And I might add, the doctors and nurses — excuse a point of personal privilege, as they used to say in the Senate — came home one — I commuted every day — every single day, over two million one hundred thousand miles on Amtrak because I lost my family when I first got here.

My oldest son — one day, I went home — he was the attorney general — he said, “Dad, what are you doing Friday?” I said, “What do you want me to do?” He said, “I want you to pin my bars on.” I said, “What?” I said, “You’re married with two children.” He said, “I know, Dad, but someone has got to go.”

He spent a year in Iraq, won the Bronze Star, conspicuous service medal. But like many others, he was exposed to those burn pits, which are within about a half a mile of where he was — where he bunked. He had stage 4 glioblastoma, like so many other of our folks.

And I watched the nurses and the doctors who took care of him for so long.

And, by the way, I want to take a moment to speak to all military spouses, kids, and parents here today. Most Americans never see the sacrifices that you make every single day. They’ll never see all those holidays and birthdays with an empty seat at the dinner table because mom or dad was deployed. They’ll never see all the moves you had to make to new states, to new schools, to new jobs. But I see it, and Jill saw it.

She made it her life’s work. She’s — she’s done everything big and small, from helping military spouses find childcare and build their own careers, by hanging photos of deployed moms and dads outside classrooms of those National Guard folks, because then, ev- — every holiday, every time there’s — something is going on, their moms or dads weren’t there but then — but no one ever mentioned it. She started getting into every classroom in America to put a picture of an deployed mom or dad outside the classroom.

Even this morning, she held an event for — with Joining Forces, an historic White House initiative to support military and veterans’ families, because, as the poet John Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

So, for the last time as commander in chief, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the families. We owe you.

I’ve long said, as a nation, we have many obligations. But I said we only have one truly sacred obligation, and that’s to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don’t.

Over the last four years, Kamala and I have worked to make good that obligation. We passed more than 40 bipartisan laws to support you, including something I felt so strongly about: the passage of the PACT Act. I drafted that law, and we passed it. Now it’s already helped over 1 million service members and their survivors, their children have access to everything from college to health care.

These people were exposed to toxins — in my generation, to Agent Orange; my son’s generation, to burn pits. But we had to prove that what you had — what’s your disease, all the brain damage, all the brain cancers — were a direct consequence of those toxins or Agent Orange.

But we changed that. And I want to publicly thank the 9/11 Commission. All those folks, all those firefighters were so badly, badly damaged because of the fumes and the toxins associated with the — 9/11.

And those of you who are the Vietnam generation — finally, all you had to prove is that stuff dropped on you and it didn’t cause — they didn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt it caused your disease. Just state the fact and you’re covered.

We’ve invested over a trillion dollars in our defense industry base. In real dollars, that’s more than America did in any four-year period during the Cold War.

We also invested record resources to fight the scourge of military suicide. No more calling and saying, “My husband needs help. He needs help.” You get an answer.

We fought (inaudible) — we brought veterans’ homelessness to record lows, made historic changes in the military justice system, which has reduced the rates of sexual assault for the first time in nearly a decade.

We ended the ban on transgender service.

We took landmark steps to create more economic opportunities for military spouses.

We expanded opportunities for women in combat roles. And I’m proud to have appointed the first woman as a service chief in the history of this country. Clap for that, folks, because she deserves it. (Applause.)

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but the women in my st- — family are a hell of a lot smarter than the men in my family. (Laughter.)

Look, if there’s one thing I hope to take away from today, it’s this — this is not hyperbole: You’re truly the finest fighting force in the history of the world. That’s not hyperbole. That’s true.

Everything I and others have asked of you, you’ve done — you’ve done with honor, commitment, grit, and guts.

Let me close with a final request. I say it not as your president or commander in chief; I say it as a man who spent 50 years of his life serving his country in a different way: Remember your oath.

My son, Major Beau Biden, used to call it “home base.” That’s a set of principles, of values that give you light in darkness, that guide you.

It’s true that the military has the best weapons, the best training in the world. We have the most cutting-edge ships, planes, and subs. We have the smartest and most well-trained force on Earth.

That’s all critical, but that alone is not what makes us strong. This is not what brought Washington’s “band of brothers” together all those years ago. It’s our values. I mean this sincerely. It’s our values — American values. Our commitment to honor, to integrity, to unity, to protecting and — and defending not a person or a party or a place, but an idea, literally, unlike — as a student of history, I can say unlike any other in human history.

And that idea is: The United States of America is unique in the world. Virtually every other nation in the world is based on geography, ethnicity, re- — ethnicity, or religion, or some defining feature. But we’re the only nation in the world — only nation in history built on an idea — an idea — an idea that we’re all created equal.

We know the words by heart. We’re endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. That’s the idea that generations of service members have fought for, an idea you have sworn an oath to defend.

As a nation, we’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never, ever, ever walked away from it. And our country is counting on you to ensure that that will always be true.

As I said when I began, 1 percent of you defend 99 percent of the people across this nation. That’s why you all deserve a special place in our hearts and in God’s heart.

May God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
3:21 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony | Fort Myer, VA appeared first on The White House.

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Equal Rights Amendment

Statements and Releases - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:00

I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all. 

On January 27, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.

It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex. 

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Statement from President Joe Biden on the Equal Rights Amendment

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:00

I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all. 

On January 27, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.

It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex. 

###

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FACT SHEET: 2025 Global Fragility Act Biennial Progress Report to Congress

Statements and Releases - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 09:00

Congress passed the bipartisan Global Fragility Act (GFA) in 2019 to improve the ways in which the U.S. government advances conflict prevention and stabilization around the world.  Through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, the United States is delivering on the vision of the GFA through expanded partnerships and more integrated, adaptive, and effective U.S. government efforts.  Together, the United States and our partners are elevating shared approaches to forge a more prosperous and resilient future.  By prioritizing prevention, our efforts will potentially save countless lives and significant U.S. taxpayer dollars in the years to come.

In its report to Congress, the Departments of State and Defense, USAID, and other elements of the U.S. government documented early progress under the plans with our partners in Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, and the Coastal West African countries of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo.  Through this initiative, we are helping to foster more resilient and self-reliant U.S economic and security partners over the long term. 

  • In Coastal West Africa, we collaborate regionally to prevent the spread of violent extremism from the Sahel.  U.S. engagement and programs in vulnerable border areas help strengthen social cohesion and expand equitable access to livelihoods, improve government responsiveness and service delivery, and bolster security force capacity and accountability.  Early evidence shows a reduction of conflict in border areas and an increase in trust between local communities and government authorities and the security forces who serve them.  Our partner governments are also taking important steps to address the longstanding marginalization of certain ethnic communities and engaging more with youth and women in at-risk communities.
  • In Haiti, we respond and adapt to a multi-pronged crisis.  In the near term, we are addressing increased volatility amid complex political and security crises.  Through deepened U.S. diplomatic engagement, we mobilized international support and funding for the Multinational Security Support mission and continue to support a Haitian-led transitional political process.  At the same time, we are advancing a foundation for more durable stability in Haiti through a phased approach that supports inclusive governance, citizen security, and Haitian-driven political processes.  The U.S. government continues to engage with a wide range of Haitian stakeholders, including civil society, the diaspora, faith-based organizations, and multilateral organizations, to inform adaptations as conditions evolve.
  • In Libya, we engage countrywide in new ways, with a focus on southern communities, to reduce divisions and lay a foundation for stability.  U.S. diplomatic efforts and development programming spur incremental but meaningful progress on reconciliation, citizen engagement, economic empowerment, and local governance in the south and at the national level.  The U.S. government now plays a more active role in fostering security and economic integration and dispute resolution—working with historically marginalized communities and generating positive momentum among governing bodies, international stakeholders, and donors to support broader stabilization and development.
  • In Mozambique, we enhance social cohesion and community resilience among displaced and resident populations.  These efforts help improve governance in conflict-affected areas crucial to transforming the country’s long-term economic and foreign investment landscape.  The U.S. government launched a range of new peacebuilding, resilience, and stabilization programs in northern Mozambique that are yielding early results.  Through deepened diplomatic engagement, the United States has pressed for progress on government stabilization and reconstruction plans for the north and developed more cohesive approaches with Mozambique’s international partners to promote their support and collaboration.  The U.S. government will leverage and adapt PSF-funded programs and partnerships to address the current post-election crisis and promote stabilization, democratic governance, and inclusive dialogue.
  • In Papua New Guinea (PNG), we advance a stable partnership by strengthening the local capacity to prevent violence and improving economic opportunity, justice systems, and security forces.  These efforts help catalyze local action in target provinces to advance gender equality, support women’s political and economic participation, and bolster youth civic awareness in this critical Pacific Island country.

Across these efforts, the U.S. government solidified wider international partnerships.  We pursued more structured engagement with international donor partners and invested in collaborative programming and funding mechanisms.  These include the joint U.S.-German Coastal States Stability Mechanism in Coastal West Africa and the Reconstruction Fund for Murzuq in southern Libya.  We grew international partner contributions to global mechanisms like the new Complex Risk Analytics Fund that fills critical data gaps on conflict and prevention.  The United States advanced conflict prevention and fragility priorities in our engagement with multilateral development banks through the MDB Evolution initiative as well as through the recent International Development Association 21 replenishment negotiations and pursued improved collaboration with the private sector to advance locally driven economic development.

As the U.S. government continues implementation of the bipartisan GFA, we expect its focus, resources, and approaches to continue to improve how the United States partners to address conflict and foster stability.  We are still in the early phases of this long-term endeavor.  Progress in fragile contexts will require an enhanced focus on learning and adaptation.  As we adapt and improve our efforts with partners, we work to not only prevent conflict and alleviate suffering, but also to create conditions in which our partners are better placed to address the drivers of fragility that can threaten U.S. national security.

For more information on the GFA and the Strategy, please visit this dedicated website.

FOR REFERENCE:

2024 factsheet marking one year of the 10-year plan implementation: FACT SHEET: Partnering for Peace through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability | The White House

2023 factsheet marking 10-year plan submission: FACT SHEET: President Biden Submits to Congress 10-Year Plans to Implement the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability | The White House

###

The post FACT SHEET: 2025 Global Fragility Act Biennial Progress Report to Congress appeared first on The White House.

FACT SHEET: 2025 Global Fragility Act Biennial Progress Report to Congress

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 09:00

Congress passed the bipartisan Global Fragility Act (GFA) in 2019 to improve the ways in which the U.S. government advances conflict prevention and stabilization around the world.  Through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, the United States is delivering on the vision of the GFA through expanded partnerships and more integrated, adaptive, and effective U.S. government efforts.  Together, the United States and our partners are elevating shared approaches to forge a more prosperous and resilient future.  By prioritizing prevention, our efforts will potentially save countless lives and significant U.S. taxpayer dollars in the years to come.

In its report to Congress, the Departments of State and Defense, USAID, and other elements of the U.S. government documented early progress under the plans with our partners in Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, and the Coastal West African countries of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo.  Through this initiative, we are helping to foster more resilient and self-reliant U.S economic and security partners over the long term. 

  • In Coastal West Africa, we collaborate regionally to prevent the spread of violent extremism from the Sahel.  U.S. engagement and programs in vulnerable border areas help strengthen social cohesion and expand equitable access to livelihoods, improve government responsiveness and service delivery, and bolster security force capacity and accountability.  Early evidence shows a reduction of conflict in border areas and an increase in trust between local communities and government authorities and the security forces who serve them.  Our partner governments are also taking important steps to address the longstanding marginalization of certain ethnic communities and engaging more with youth and women in at-risk communities.
  • In Haiti, we respond and adapt to a multi-pronged crisis.  In the near term, we are addressing increased volatility amid complex political and security crises.  Through deepened U.S. diplomatic engagement, we mobilized international support and funding for the Multinational Security Support mission and continue to support a Haitian-led transitional political process.  At the same time, we are advancing a foundation for more durable stability in Haiti through a phased approach that supports inclusive governance, citizen security, and Haitian-driven political processes.  The U.S. government continues to engage with a wide range of Haitian stakeholders, including civil society, the diaspora, faith-based organizations, and multilateral organizations, to inform adaptations as conditions evolve.
  • In Libya, we engage countrywide in new ways, with a focus on southern communities, to reduce divisions and lay a foundation for stability.  U.S. diplomatic efforts and development programming spur incremental but meaningful progress on reconciliation, citizen engagement, economic empowerment, and local governance in the south and at the national level.  The U.S. government now plays a more active role in fostering security and economic integration and dispute resolution—working with historically marginalized communities and generating positive momentum among governing bodies, international stakeholders, and donors to support broader stabilization and development.
  • In Mozambique, we enhance social cohesion and community resilience among displaced and resident populations.  These efforts help improve governance in conflict-affected areas crucial to transforming the country’s long-term economic and foreign investment landscape.  The U.S. government launched a range of new peacebuilding, resilience, and stabilization programs in northern Mozambique that are yielding early results.  Through deepened diplomatic engagement, the United States has pressed for progress on government stabilization and reconstruction plans for the north and developed more cohesive approaches with Mozambique’s international partners to promote their support and collaboration.  The U.S. government will leverage and adapt PSF-funded programs and partnerships to address the current post-election crisis and promote stabilization, democratic governance, and inclusive dialogue.
  • In Papua New Guinea (PNG), we advance a stable partnership by strengthening the local capacity to prevent violence and improving economic opportunity, justice systems, and security forces.  These efforts help catalyze local action in target provinces to advance gender equality, support women’s political and economic participation, and bolster youth civic awareness in this critical Pacific Island country.

Across these efforts, the U.S. government solidified wider international partnerships.  We pursued more structured engagement with international donor partners and invested in collaborative programming and funding mechanisms.  These include the joint U.S.-German Coastal States Stability Mechanism in Coastal West Africa and the Reconstruction Fund for Murzuq in southern Libya.  We grew international partner contributions to global mechanisms like the new Complex Risk Analytics Fund that fills critical data gaps on conflict and prevention.  The United States advanced conflict prevention and fragility priorities in our engagement with multilateral development banks through the MDB Evolution initiative as well as through the recent International Development Association 21 replenishment negotiations and pursued improved collaboration with the private sector to advance locally driven economic development.

As the U.S. government continues implementation of the bipartisan GFA, we expect its focus, resources, and approaches to continue to improve how the United States partners to address conflict and foster stability.  We are still in the early phases of this long-term endeavor.  Progress in fragile contexts will require an enhanced focus on learning and adaptation.  As we adapt and improve our efforts with partners, we work to not only prevent conflict and alleviate suffering, but also to create conditions in which our partners are better placed to address the drivers of fragility that can threaten U.S. national security.

For more information on the GFA and the Strategy, please visit this dedicated website.

FOR REFERENCE:

2024 factsheet marking one year of the 10-year plan implementation: FACT SHEET: Partnering for Peace through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability | The White House

2023 factsheet marking 10-year plan submission: FACT SHEET: President Biden Submits to Congress 10-Year Plans to Implement the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability | The White House

###

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Statement from President Joe Biden on the Next Fifteen Drugs Selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

Statements and Releases - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 08:00

Today, I’m proud to announce that my Administration has selected the next 15 drugs for Medicare drug price negotiation.  The drugs treat conditions such as diabetes and cancer, and seniors across the country rely on them.  These 15 drugs, together with the 10 drugs that Medicare already negotiated, represent about a third of Medicare Part D spending on prescription drugs, which means the lower prices my Inflation Reduction Act is delivering will put money back in seniors’ pockets across the country.

My Administration completed the first round of price negotiation last year and delivered dramatic savings, slashing the price of some of the most commonly used drugs in Medicare by about 40 to 80 percent.  The Inflation Reduction Act put the country on a path to lower drug prices.  I’m proud of my Administration’s implementation of this law to deliver lower prices for America’s seniors.   

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Statement from President Joe Biden on the Next Fifteen Drugs Selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 08:00

Today, I’m proud to announce that my Administration has selected the next 15 drugs for Medicare drug price negotiation.  The drugs treat conditions such as diabetes and cancer, and seniors across the country rely on them.  These 15 drugs, together with the 10 drugs that Medicare already negotiated, represent about a third of Medicare Part D spending on prescription drugs, which means the lower prices my Inflation Reduction Act is delivering will put money back in seniors’ pockets across the country.

My Administration completed the first round of price negotiation last year and delivered dramatic savings, slashing the price of some of the most commonly used drugs in Medicare by about 40 to 80 percent.  The Inflation Reduction Act put the country on a path to lower drug prices.  I’m proud of my Administration’s implementation of this law to deliver lower prices for America’s seniors.   

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Statement from President Joe Biden on Additional Clemency Actions

Statements and Releases - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 05:00

Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice. With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.

Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes. As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities. This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars. I am proud of my record on clemency and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons.

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The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Additional Clemency Actions appeared first on The White House.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Additional Clemency Actions

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Fri, 01/17/2025 - 05:00

Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice. With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.

Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes. As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities. This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars. I am proud of my record on clemency and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons.

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Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Adding Her Signature to the Desk Drawer in Her Ceremonial Office

Speeches and Remarks - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 23:45

Vice President’s Ceremonial Office
Eisenhower Executive Office Building


 4:24 P.M. EST
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  (Applause.)  Hi.  Oh, my goodness.  We’ve got alum from years and years ago and days ago here.  (Laughter.)
 
     And — oh, I — I — you know, I saw so many of everyone who was here during the holiday parties, but I just have to say again: I am so proud of our team.  And this is a team that spans many years of doing extraordinary work on behalf of the people.
 
     And as you all have heard me say many times, I am fully aware that I am the public face of a lot of our work.  And so, I have the benefit of running into people all over our country who thank me.  And I will tell you, I am fully aware that when they are thanking me, they are thanking our team for the extraordinary commitment that you each have and as a team have to lifting up the American people — lifting up their condition, lifting up their hopes and dreams, and understanding, through it all, the nobility of public service.
 
     We have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in the service of others and doing it in a way that is fueled, yes, with ambition; yes, with a sense of almost stubbornness about not hearing no; and knowing we can make a difference.
 
     And I’m not going to go through the laundry list of all of our accomplishments.  We know what they are.  But I will tell you that everyone here has so much to be proud of, and our work is not done.
 
     And as you all know me, because we have spent long hours, long days, and months and years together, it is not my nature to go quietly into the night.  (Laughter.)  So, don’t worry about that.
 
     But the ceremony of signing this desk is something that is especially important, so I hope everyone will get a chance to see the desk.
 
     But I have actually, I think with the exception of Truman and Eisenhower, met every person who has signed this desk, every vice president — former vice president.  And, you know, we don’t all — yeah, all of them.  In fact, I talked to Mondale — Vice President Mondale just days before he passed. 
 
And I will say that although many of us might have disagreed — me and some of the previous vice presidents — on — on certain matters, policy matters, I think we all probably have shared a very common experience that is a through line, as evidenced by the fact that we have this tradition of signing this dec- — desk since the — 1940, I believe. 
 
And it is the work of caring about our country.  It is the work of understanding we hold these offices in the public trust with the duty and the responsibility to uphold the oath we take to respect, to defend the Constitution of the United States, to do our work on behalf of the people of the United States.
 
And so, I stand in a long tradition, as the 49th vice president of the United States — in a long tradition of vice presidents who have signed this desk, and I do so with great honor and with the knowledge that our work here has mattered.  It has meaning.  It has impacted people we may never meet, people who may never know our name, but who are ever, forever grateful for the work that you each and we all together have done.  So, I thank you all.
 
And with that, I’m going to pull out the Sharpie.  (Applause.) 
 
(The vice president signs the Theodore Roosevelt desk drawer.)
 
All right.  It’s done.  (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE:  MVP!  MVP!  MVP!
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  All right.  Doug is going to take a selfie.

     Okay.  Okay.

     THE SECOND GENTLEMAN:  I’m taking pictures now.
(Cross-talk.)

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s — we’ll get the press —

     Q    Madam Vice President, what’s next?
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Just — we’re going to continue getting work done until Monday, and then I’ll keep you posted.  (Laughter.) 

     Thanks, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
                        END                4:29 P.M. EST
 
 

# # #

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Adding Her Signature to the Desk Drawer in Her Ceremonial Office appeared first on The White House.

Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Adding Her Signature to the Desk Drawer in Her Ceremonial Office

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 23:45

Vice President’s Ceremonial Office
Eisenhower Executive Office Building


 4:24 P.M. EST
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  (Applause.)  Hi.  Oh, my goodness.  We’ve got alum from years and years ago and days ago here.  (Laughter.)
 
     And — oh, I — I — you know, I saw so many of everyone who was here during the holiday parties, but I just have to say again: I am so proud of our team.  And this is a team that spans many years of doing extraordinary work on behalf of the people.
 
     And as you all have heard me say many times, I am fully aware that I am the public face of a lot of our work.  And so, I have the benefit of running into people all over our country who thank me.  And I will tell you, I am fully aware that when they are thanking me, they are thanking our team for the extraordinary commitment that you each have and as a team have to lifting up the American people — lifting up their condition, lifting up their hopes and dreams, and understanding, through it all, the nobility of public service.
 
     We have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in the service of others and doing it in a way that is fueled, yes, with ambition; yes, with a sense of almost stubbornness about not hearing no; and knowing we can make a difference.
 
     And I’m not going to go through the laundry list of all of our accomplishments.  We know what they are.  But I will tell you that everyone here has so much to be proud of, and our work is not done.
 
     And as you all know me, because we have spent long hours, long days, and months and years together, it is not my nature to go quietly into the night.  (Laughter.)  So, don’t worry about that.
 
     But the ceremony of signing this desk is something that is especially important, so I hope everyone will get a chance to see the desk.
 
     But I have actually, I think with the exception of Truman and Eisenhower, met every person who has signed this desk, every vice president — former vice president.  And, you know, we don’t all — yeah, all of them.  In fact, I talked to Mondale — Vice President Mondale just days before he passed. 
 
And I will say that although many of us might have disagreed — me and some of the previous vice presidents — on — on certain matters, policy matters, I think we all probably have shared a very common experience that is a through line, as evidenced by the fact that we have this tradition of signing this dec- — desk since the — 1940, I believe. 
 
And it is the work of caring about our country.  It is the work of understanding we hold these offices in the public trust with the duty and the responsibility to uphold the oath we take to respect, to defend the Constitution of the United States, to do our work on behalf of the people of the United States.
 
And so, I stand in a long tradition, as the 49th vice president of the United States — in a long tradition of vice presidents who have signed this desk, and I do so with great honor and with the knowledge that our work here has mattered.  It has meaning.  It has impacted people we may never meet, people who may never know our name, but who are ever, forever grateful for the work that you each and we all together have done.  So, I thank you all.
 
And with that, I’m going to pull out the Sharpie.  (Applause.) 
 
(The vice president signs the Theodore Roosevelt desk drawer.)
 
All right.  It’s done.  (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE:  MVP!  MVP!  MVP!
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  All right.  Doug is going to take a selfie.

     Okay.  Okay.

     THE SECOND GENTLEMAN:  I’m taking pictures now.
(Cross-talk.)

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s — we’ll get the press —

     Q    Madam Vice President, what’s next?
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Just — we’re going to continue getting work done until Monday, and then I’ll keep you posted.  (Laughter.) 

     Thanks, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
                        END                4:29 P.M. EST
 
 

# # #

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FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Accomplishments for Servicemembers and Military Families

Statements and Releases - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 21:30

As Commander in Chief, President Biden made clear that as a nation, we have a truly sacred obligation to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families while they are deployed and when they return home. Throughout his career, he has championed efforts to improve support for our military. And, as President, he made supporting service members, veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, a key pillar of his Unity Agenda for the nation.  The Biden-Harris Administration advanced bold and comprehensive actions to improve the lives of our service members, their families, and their survivors.

  • Strengthening pay and food security for military members and families. The DoD raised base pay for service members almost 14.5% since January 2021, with the help of Congress. Additionally, the DoD published the Strengthening Food Security in the Force: Strategy and Roadmap report outlining more than 50 actions and subsequent progress made across the Department to improve Service members’ access to nutritious, affordable food. This includes creating Dietitian-Approved Fueling Stations that are increasing healthy food options across DOD dining facilities and vending machines and enabling online shopping and curbside pickup service at its commissaries to now accept SNAP payments online. And the Administration enhanced and expanded access to the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA), which helps low-income military households better afford basic needs. DOD increased the eligibility threshold from 130 to 200 percent of federal policy guidelines and excluded federal food assistance programs from Service members’ gross household income calculations making it easier for them to qualify for and receive a higher BNA.
  • Addressing historical inequity. The Biden-Harris Administration took action to right several historic wrongs in the treatment of minorities by exonerating 110 Black Soldiers and 256 Sailors who were wrongly convicted and discharged, paving the way for these former service members to have their military discharges upgraded. It also awarded military medals, including the Medal of Honor, to deserving service members who had previously not received a medal due to racial bias. 
  • Reforming the military justice system to better protect survivors. The President led the most comprehensive transformation of the military justice system since the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) since 1950. Since 2021, President Biden issued three Executive Orders to implement historic, bipartisan reforms passed by Congress in National Defense Authorization Acts from Fiscal Years 2022-2024. Under the President’s leadership, the Administration transferred key decision-making authorities from commanders to specialized, independent military prosecutors in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, murder, and other serious offenses; modernized procedures to better protect victims and promote fairness before, during and after court-martial proceedings; reformed the court-martial sentencing system to promote uniformity and fairness; and criminalized the broadcast or distribution of intimate images. These changes fundamentally shifted how the military justice system responds to sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes, strengthening the military justice system’s response to gender‑based violence. 
  • In addition, DOD made record investments in sexual assault prevention and survivor support, more than doubling annual funding from $500 million to more than $1 billion in 2024 for these lifesaving services. This work made a difference: for the first time in nearly a decade, rates of sexual assault and harassment within the active-duty force declined—with a nearly 19% drop in the number of service members who reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact since 2021.
  • Expanding access to health care for women service members and veterans. The Administration took action to defend access to reproductive health care for service members and veterans and to improve maternal health outcomes. DoD issued new policies to support Service members and their families’ ability to travel for lawful reproductive health care, to bolster Service members’ privacy, and to afford Service members the time and space needed to make personal health care decisions. DoD also expanded walk-in contraceptive care services for active-duty Service members and other Military Health System beneficiaries and eliminated TRICARE copays for certain contraceptive services. VA revised its regulations to provide abortion counseling and, in certain circumstances, abortion care to veterans and VA beneficiaries and eliminated out-of-pocket costs for certain types of contraception through the Civilian Health and Medical Program. DoD and VA also expanded eligibility for in vitro fertilization services for certain Service members and veterans. And VA expanded maternity care for veterans, who now have access to maternity care coordinators through 12 months postpartum, helping connect veterans with care after delivery, follow-up screenings, and mental health support.
  • Addressing the root causes of military and veteran suicide. Since releasing a comprehensive public health strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to improve suicide prevention efforts.  We launched the first ever federal lethal means safety campaign to encourage service members and veterans to securely store their firearms because time and space between a firearm and someone in crisis saves lives. As of October 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has provided no-cost life-saving care to more than 82,000 veterans at risk of suicide since the program began. VA awarded over $150 million in grants for community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members. Because economic and financial uncertainty can increase the risk of suicide, VA launched the National Veterans Financial Resource Center earlier this year to provide veterans and their families with a one-stop website to locate tools and resources to improve financial wellbeing. The DOD also announced several actions to advance the recommendations made by the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee and invested historic resources to prevent military suicide. 
  • Addressing the harmful effects of military toxic exposures. For far too long, service members and veterans have suffered health effects associated with toxic exposures like Agent Orange, radiation, and burn pits. In 2021, VA expanded the respiratory conditions considered service connected for exposure to burn pits. Then, in 2022, President Biden enacted the PACT Act, the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans. Earlier this month, VA announced it added more cancers to the list of those considered presumptive for burn pit exposure, lowering the burden of proof for veterans to get access to benefits. To date, over 1.2 million veterans and 12,000 survivors are getting access to disability benefits.
  • Supporting LGBTQI+ service members and veterans. In his first week in office, the President rescinded the discriminatory ban on transgender service members. In October 2024, DoD announced that it concluded its proactive review of discharge records for former service members who had received a less than honorable discharge due to their sexual orientation under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. As a result of DoD’s new actions, 96% of individuals who were administratively separated on the basis of their sexual orientation and who served for long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of service now have an honorable discharge. In addition, this past spring, VA expanded access to care and benefits for some former Service members who received a less than honorable discharge based on homosexual conduct. Furthermore, in June 2024, President Biden issued a categorical pardon for certain former Service members convicted of crimes based on their sexual orientation.
  • Championing military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. In June 2023, the President, alongside Dr. Biden, signed an Executive Order on Advancing Economic Security for Military and Veteran Spouses, Military Caregivers, and Survivors. This Executive Order is the most comprehensive set of administrative actions any President has directed to support military spouses, and it included nearly 20 new actions aimed at enhancing career stability, expanding employment resources, and improving transition assistance support for military-connected spouses.
  • Federal hiring and retention. In February 2024, the Administration released the first Government-wide Military-Connected Strategic Plan (MCP), for fiscal years 2024 to 2028. The MCP establishes a framework for federal agencies to recruit, hire, and retain military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors by addressing military families’ unique challenges.  Additionally, OPM released The Guide to Recruiting and Hiring Military Spouses, a toolkit published by Joining Forces. Agencies integrated the toolkit into their recruitment efforts, establishing Career Resource Sites to provide targeted job listings, training, and support. 
  • On April 17, 2024, DoD and the Department of State (DoS) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to enhance the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program. The agreement streamlines the approval process, refines safety protocols, and strengthens support for military spouses working remotely from overseas.  Additionally, in November 2024, DoS released official federal guidance for DETO program implementation.
  • On January 1, 2024, DoD fully implemented Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (DCFSAs) for active-duty service members, allowing military families to use pretax funds for childcare and elder care expenses, enhancing economic security.
  • In the fall of 2024 DoD implemented universal Pre-K in 80 DoDEA schools. The remaining 10 schools require facility improvements, five of which will open in fall 2025 and five to open within three years.
  • In April 2023, DoD increased access and affordability of military child care, which was included in the Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, by reducing DoD childcare fees up to 40% and expanding access through the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS (MCCYN-PLUS) program to 14 additional states (beyond where it was initially launched in Maryland and Virginia).
  • In November 2024, VA issued a proposed rule that would expand eligibility for service members and veterans to qualify for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, implementing a key deliverable from the President’s Executive Order. 
  • Protected service members, veterans, and their families from predatory actors. In 2023, veterans, military personnel, and their families reported $477 million in losses to fraud. Last November, the President announced the new Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion (VSAFE) Task Force to better protect veterans and their families against these scams. In 2024, VSAFE released several resources to cut down on any confusion, and get veterans, service members, and their family members routed to the best support as effectively and efficiently as possible. A centralized website, VSAFE.gov, is a fraud prevention, response, and reporting information hub. Information from across federal agencies can be accessed in one place, making it easy for veterans, service members, and their families to find out more about different kinds of fraud, to get assistance, and to report. A single shared call line, 833-38V-SAFE, will connect veterans, service members, and their families with the best agency to handle their report and get help.

###

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FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Accomplishments for Servicemembers and Military Families

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 21:30

As Commander in Chief, President Biden made clear that as a nation, we have a truly sacred obligation to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families while they are deployed and when they return home. Throughout his career, he has championed efforts to improve support for our military. And, as President, he made supporting service members, veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, a key pillar of his Unity Agenda for the nation.  The Biden-Harris Administration advanced bold and comprehensive actions to improve the lives of our service members, their families, and their survivors.

  • Strengthening pay and food security for military members and families. The DoD raised base pay for service members almost 14.5% since January 2021, with the help of Congress. Additionally, the DoD published the Strengthening Food Security in the Force: Strategy and Roadmap report outlining more than 50 actions and subsequent progress made across the Department to improve Service members’ access to nutritious, affordable food. This includes creating Dietitian-Approved Fueling Stations that are increasing healthy food options across DOD dining facilities and vending machines and enabling online shopping and curbside pickup service at its commissaries to now accept SNAP payments online. And the Administration enhanced and expanded access to the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA), which helps low-income military households better afford basic needs. DOD increased the eligibility threshold from 130 to 200 percent of federal policy guidelines and excluded federal food assistance programs from Service members’ gross household income calculations making it easier for them to qualify for and receive a higher BNA.
  • Addressing historical inequity. The Biden-Harris Administration took action to right several historic wrongs in the treatment of minorities by exonerating 110 Black Soldiers and 256 Sailors who were wrongly convicted and discharged, paving the way for these former service members to have their military discharges upgraded. It also awarded military medals, including the Medal of Honor, to deserving service members who had previously not received a medal due to racial bias. 
  • Reforming the military justice system to better protect survivors. The President led the most comprehensive transformation of the military justice system since the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) since 1950. Since 2021, President Biden issued three Executive Orders to implement historic, bipartisan reforms passed by Congress in National Defense Authorization Acts from Fiscal Years 2022-2024. Under the President’s leadership, the Administration transferred key decision-making authorities from commanders to specialized, independent military prosecutors in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, murder, and other serious offenses; modernized procedures to better protect victims and promote fairness before, during and after court-martial proceedings; reformed the court-martial sentencing system to promote uniformity and fairness; and criminalized the broadcast or distribution of intimate images. These changes fundamentally shifted how the military justice system responds to sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes, strengthening the military justice system’s response to gender‑based violence. 
  • In addition, DOD made record investments in sexual assault prevention and survivor support, more than doubling annual funding from $500 million to more than $1 billion in 2024 for these lifesaving services. This work made a difference: for the first time in nearly a decade, rates of sexual assault and harassment within the active-duty force declined—with a nearly 19% drop in the number of service members who reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact since 2021.
  • Expanding access to health care for women service members and veterans. The Administration took action to defend access to reproductive health care for service members and veterans and to improve maternal health outcomes. DoD issued new policies to support Service members and their families’ ability to travel for lawful reproductive health care, to bolster Service members’ privacy, and to afford Service members the time and space needed to make personal health care decisions. DoD also expanded walk-in contraceptive care services for active-duty Service members and other Military Health System beneficiaries and eliminated TRICARE copays for certain contraceptive services. VA revised its regulations to provide abortion counseling and, in certain circumstances, abortion care to veterans and VA beneficiaries and eliminated out-of-pocket costs for certain types of contraception through the Civilian Health and Medical Program. DoD and VA also expanded eligibility for in vitro fertilization services for certain Service members and veterans. And VA expanded maternity care for veterans, who now have access to maternity care coordinators through 12 months postpartum, helping connect veterans with care after delivery, follow-up screenings, and mental health support.
  • Addressing the root causes of military and veteran suicide. Since releasing a comprehensive public health strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to improve suicide prevention efforts.  We launched the first ever federal lethal means safety campaign to encourage service members and veterans to securely store their firearms because time and space between a firearm and someone in crisis saves lives. As of October 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has provided no-cost life-saving care to more than 82,000 veterans at risk of suicide since the program began. VA awarded over $150 million in grants for community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members. Because economic and financial uncertainty can increase the risk of suicide, VA launched the National Veterans Financial Resource Center earlier this year to provide veterans and their families with a one-stop website to locate tools and resources to improve financial wellbeing. The DOD also announced several actions to advance the recommendations made by the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee and invested historic resources to prevent military suicide. 
  • Addressing the harmful effects of military toxic exposures. For far too long, service members and veterans have suffered health effects associated with toxic exposures like Agent Orange, radiation, and burn pits. In 2021, VA expanded the respiratory conditions considered service connected for exposure to burn pits. Then, in 2022, President Biden enacted the PACT Act, the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans. Earlier this month, VA announced it added more cancers to the list of those considered presumptive for burn pit exposure, lowering the burden of proof for veterans to get access to benefits. To date, over 1.2 million veterans and 12,000 survivors are getting access to disability benefits.
  • Supporting LGBTQI+ service members and veterans. In his first week in office, the President rescinded the discriminatory ban on transgender service members. In October 2024, DoD announced that it concluded its proactive review of discharge records for former service members who had received a less than honorable discharge due to their sexual orientation under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. As a result of DoD’s new actions, 96% of individuals who were administratively separated on the basis of their sexual orientation and who served for long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of service now have an honorable discharge. In addition, this past spring, VA expanded access to care and benefits for some former Service members who received a less than honorable discharge based on homosexual conduct. Furthermore, in June 2024, President Biden issued a categorical pardon for certain former Service members convicted of crimes based on their sexual orientation.
  • Championing military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. In June 2023, the President, alongside Dr. Biden, signed an Executive Order on Advancing Economic Security for Military and Veteran Spouses, Military Caregivers, and Survivors. This Executive Order is the most comprehensive set of administrative actions any President has directed to support military spouses, and it included nearly 20 new actions aimed at enhancing career stability, expanding employment resources, and improving transition assistance support for military-connected spouses.
  • Federal hiring and retention. In February 2024, the Administration released the first Government-wide Military-Connected Strategic Plan (MCP), for fiscal years 2024 to 2028. The MCP establishes a framework for federal agencies to recruit, hire, and retain military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors by addressing military families’ unique challenges.  Additionally, OPM released The Guide to Recruiting and Hiring Military Spouses, a toolkit published by Joining Forces. Agencies integrated the toolkit into their recruitment efforts, establishing Career Resource Sites to provide targeted job listings, training, and support. 
  • On April 17, 2024, DoD and the Department of State (DoS) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to enhance the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program. The agreement streamlines the approval process, refines safety protocols, and strengthens support for military spouses working remotely from overseas.  Additionally, in November 2024, DoS released official federal guidance for DETO program implementation.
  • On January 1, 2024, DoD fully implemented Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (DCFSAs) for active-duty service members, allowing military families to use pretax funds for childcare and elder care expenses, enhancing economic security.
  • In the fall of 2024 DoD implemented universal Pre-K in 80 DoDEA schools. The remaining 10 schools require facility improvements, five of which will open in fall 2025 and five to open within three years.
  • In April 2023, DoD increased access and affordability of military child care, which was included in the Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, by reducing DoD childcare fees up to 40% and expanding access through the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS (MCCYN-PLUS) program to 14 additional states (beyond where it was initially launched in Maryland and Virginia).
  • In November 2024, VA issued a proposed rule that would expand eligibility for service members and veterans to qualify for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, implementing a key deliverable from the President’s Executive Order. 
  • Protected service members, veterans, and their families from predatory actors. In 2023, veterans, military personnel, and their families reported $477 million in losses to fraud. Last November, the President announced the new Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion (VSAFE) Task Force to better protect veterans and their families against these scams. In 2024, VSAFE released several resources to cut down on any confusion, and get veterans, service members, and their family members routed to the best support as effectively and efficiently as possible. A centralized website, VSAFE.gov, is a fraud prevention, response, and reporting information hub. Information from across federal agencies can be accessed in one place, making it easy for veterans, service members, and their families to find out more about different kinds of fraud, to get assistance, and to report. A single shared call line, 833-38V-SAFE, will connect veterans, service members, and their families with the best agency to handle their report and get help.

###

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Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics’ Remarks on U.S. Principles of Economic Statecraft

Speeches and Remarks - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 21:25

During this century, major powers have deployed economic sanctions and other restrictive tools of economic statecraft to an unprecedented degree. The number of sanctioned individuals and entities across the world has increased by an order of magnitude since 2000.[1] Tariffs and other trade restrictions have tripled over the past five years.[2] The percentage of OECD countries screening investments in sensitive sectors has risen over the past decade from less than a third to more than 80 percent,[3] while the number of countries with sophisticated export controls has quadrupled since their inception during the Cold War.   

These trends are global, and while precise data are difficult to source in many jurisdictions, the growth of restrictive economic measures is accelerating both from the United States and our strategic rivals. China, despite having issued the lowest cumulative number of explicit sanctions among major economies, increased its designation activity by almost 100 percent last year – the highest rate of growth within this peer group  – on top of its existing array of informal and extralegal barriers such as consumer boycotts, tourism restrictions, phytosanitary standards, and corporate pressure.[4]  Russia, for its part, now applies its own sanctions regime at scale and is  routinely weaponizing its commodity exports – including nickel, tin, titanium, refined uranium, and, of course, oil and gas – to coerce trading partners and adversaries.[5]

Structural Forces & Shocks Underpin the Rise of Restrictive Statecraft

In my judgment the trendlines are set to extend, for three main reasons.

First, sanctions and other restrictive measures are symptomatic of new and durable geopolitical realities.  We’re no longer in the post-Cold War, unipolar order that underpinned the so-called “great moderation” in the global economy.  Instead, we’ve returned to the “old normal” that prevailed for much of modern history, in which divergent forms of national governance and political ideology lead to intense geopolitical competition, less opportunity for cross-border cooperation, and greater risk of cross-border conflict. Since most of today’s “great powers” are also nuclear powers, barring catastrophic miscalculation, the logic of mutually assured destruction suggests that direct competition is likely to continue playing out mostly in the theaters of economics, technology, and energy rather than in kinetic conflict on the battlefield. Set against this backdrop, the range of potential outcomes – the promise and peril for major powers to rise and fall – has widened, ushering in an era of more active use of economic tools to shape the course of events.   

Second, these trends reflect opportunity. Though we’ve left the era of hyper-globalization, the world economy is still nearly as connected as ever – which provides scope for economic powers to break existing linkages (or threaten to do so) in exchange for geopolitical leverage. The ratio of global trade to global GDP has plateaued not far from the peak reached earlier this century.[6] Worldwide foreign direct investment declined sharply after the pandemic but is rebounding and still exceeds the long-term historical average at well above a trillion dollars per year.[7] Technology diffusion across borders remains largely unabated for all but the most sensitive items, in part because U.S. restrictions on technology remain narrow and targeted.[8]

Third, the succession of cross-border shocks this century – most prominently the COVID pandemic, but also financial crises, climate change, mass migration, and acute episodes of energy and food insecurity – has punctuated the sense among policymakers that the singular pursuit of maximal efficiency and minimal cost will leave critical supply chains insufficiently resilient. Here in the United States, the Biden Administration centered its geoeconomic strategy on making long overdue public investments at home and building partnerships abroad to strengthen and scale our productive capacity, but we also imposed targeted tariffs in strategic sectors to level the playing field against competitors playing by a different set of rules. Under the same rationale, many other leading economies have also implemented a similar mix of policies – including tariffs – to “de-risk” their supply chains from disruption and distortion.     

Sanctions (and their ilk) Are Never Costless

Indeed, there is a growing policy reflex across the world to navigate a more uncertain and turbulent world by applying a sanction, tariff, export control, or investment restriction. As President Biden has reminded us, however, these measures are never costless. In each instance, they weaken or sever economic bonds that took decades to build, with immediate and sometimes unintended costs for households and businesses. And though in our Administration we’ve deployed restrictive measures in service of a higher geopolitical objective – not as an end to themselves – their repeated use can invite skepticism about American stewardship of the global economy. 

To the extent that our use of restrictive tools is perceived as arbitrary or illegitimate, the incentive to “hedge” against perceived dependency on the United States will rise.  China and Russia are making every effort to increase their (and others’) capacity to do so in finance, technology, and other domains in which the United States has a dominant position.  

Take, for instance, China’s longstanding effort to build a cross-border payment architecture without any nexus to the U.S. financial system – and therefore outside the reach of U.S. sanctions authorities.[9] Several non-aligned G20 economies have already signed up for this platform, and while the volumes transacted are far from reaching a threshold of macroeconomic significance, they have already surpassed a threshold of geopolitical consequence, with a run rate large enough to intermediate a significant portion of Russia’s procurement of dual-use items from China that are finding their way to the battlefield in Ukraine.  

In addition to strengthening the incentives to hedge against the sources of American economic power, the unconstrained use of restrictive economic statecraft also invites efforts by adversaries to deploy these same tools to target our own and our allies’ vulnerabilities. 

This isn’t conjecture, but rather a description of reality. The PRC is by far the world’s largest supplier of manufactured goods, accounting for almost a third of global manufacturing in value-added terms – equivalent to the combined production capacity of the United States, India, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.[10] From this position of strength, China has already weaponized its economic leverage in its attempts to coax geopolitical concessions from trading partners such as Lithuania, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.[11]  It also has untapped potential to exploit chokepoints in a wide range of supply chains in which it has dominant market share and where the current production capacity of the United States and our allies is limited (for now), including medical equipment, ship-to-shore cranes, solar panels, EV batteries, pharmaceutical ingredients, critical minerals, and lagging-edge semiconductors. Russia restricted its export of enriched uranium last November, creating the risk of disruption to our and allied nuclear power production, and for years has attempted to coerce Europe by modulating its supply of natural gas.  Iran and its proxy forces have repeatedly exploited their control over the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping lanes to pressure the United States and its allies.

The Urgent Need for Limiting Principles

Against this backdrop, we have an urgent need to implement a set of principles that guide and constrain why, when, how, and to what extent we deploy restrictive economic tools.  I believe this effort should have three overarching goals: first, to sustain the credibility and potency of America’s economic statecraft toolkit for when we need it most; second, to prevent an escalatory tit-for-tat in the use of restrictive tools that could make the United States and the world worse off; and third, to update the rules of the international economic order we’ve worked to build and sustain for over 70 years.

I suggest we seek to embed five principles in the practice of restrictive economic statecraft, first in our conduct, and then among allies, non-aligned countries, and eventually our adversaries.  

First, economic and financial sanctions should be used sparingly, and in service of clearly defined and achievable geopolitical objectives.

Sanctions are a tool, and often a force multiplier, but never a standalone strategy. They should be designed and deployed in service of a geopolitical objective that policymakers outline prior to implementation and assess periodically afterwards.

Prior to articulating the objective, policymakers would be well served to analyze and explain – at least internally – how they expect an economic measure to influence the decision-making calculus of the target, how they are expected to reinforce other levers of foreign policy (e.g., military, diplomatic, humanitarian), and the degree to which a multilateral coalition is necessary for their success. 

These objectives could be pursued before an adverse “trigger” event occurs, either to deter a target’s malign behavior, degrade its capabilities, or both. Alternatively, or additionally, these measures can be imposed after a trigger event to impose costs, change the calculus of the target, or create leverage for an eventual settlement.   

In every instance, the objective should be achievable.  Efforts to engineer regime change through maximalist sanctions, for example, predictably fail to persuade the target (often an autocrat) that the benefits of sanctions relief outweigh the costs of giving up power (typically jail, or worse).   

Relatedly, the individuals or entities being sanctioned need to know why and for what behavior they are being penalized, so that the consequences of an action – whether it’s support for a terrorist organization, a serious human rights abuse, or the prosecution of an illegal war – are understood, such that the key actors can ultimately seek the reversal of sanctions through a change in behavior.

Second, the force of restrictive actions should be responsibly calibrated to their expected impact, spillovers, and uncertainties.

As the leading economic and geopolitical force in the world, restrictive measures imposed by the U.S. are capable of imposing great and lasting harm, producing ripple effects that are impossible to identify fully in advance. The force of our restrictive actions must be calibrated in proportion to their expected impact, spillover costs, and the uncertainties involved.

This requires the U.S. government to continue building the analytical muscle to conduct   rigorous, data-driven analyses on historical and imagined scenarios in which restrictive measures could be implemented – whether unilaterally or multilaterally, alone or in tandem with military and diplomatic actions, before or after a trigger event.

Assessments should highlight the degree to which the range of outcomes depends on the breadth of the implementing coalition, the target’s potential to mitigate the impact (e.g., by substituting the good or service with domestic supply or import from third countries), and our own vulnerabilities and potential for risk mitigation in an extended and escalatory conflict.

Third, policymakers must consider explicitly and upfront the efficacy of restrictive measures on the decision-making calculus of the target. 

The design of restrictive measures is typically prepared by those with expertise on how to impose costs on the macroeconomy and financial system of the target while minimizing spillovers to the U.S. and global economy.  While this is a vital and necessary contribution, the ultimate success of restrictive measures depends on how these costs are likely to influence the decisions of key actors in the target country or entity. It also depends on the extent to which these actors are influenced by their economic, political, social, and humanitarian impact on political elites and the civilian population. Meeting the analytical test of sufficiency requires the upfront and explicit integration of economic analysis with political intelligence.

Fourth, restrictive measures should be maximally coordinated, both with domestic stakeholders and international partners.  

Unity with partners multiplies the impact of restrictive measures – due to the higher impact it delivers on the target, the reduced opportunity for evasion, and the perceived legitimacy of the action.  This last point on legitimacy is critical: when we act together, it makes clear that our purpose is not the unilateral exercise of brute economic force, but rather the collective defense of shared principles that underpin peace and security.

It’s also critical that restrictive measures are explained to the range of stakeholders that transmit the force of restrictive policies to the real world – including private sector institutions, the regulatory community, and central banks.  Private sector actors, in particular, often represent the “front lines” of implementing financial sanctions and export controls, and we depend on their cooperation and sense of civic duty to spot and counter circumvention. In exchange, we owe them clarity and coordination.

Finally, restrictive measures must be flexible and adjust to unintended consequences, evolving economic conditions, and the reaction of the target.   

Even after exhaustive analysis and careful design, restrictive measures are blunt tools that are typically implemented under conditions of high uncertainty – often with little or no precedent from which to make confident projections about their likely effects.    

It should surprise no one when the impact delivered, or spillovers caused, are materially different than expected. Humility requires us to admit when we’re mistaken in our judgments and course correct as needed.

Separately, the context in which restrictive measures are applied inevitably evolves over time. The coalition that implements sanctions may grow or decline. Economic and financial conditions may change for the better or worse, both in the target country and within the implementing coalition. Political and power dynamics within the target country may harden or soften, along with the behavior we seek to influence.

All of these are reasons why we must have timely and demonstrated pathways to ratchet higher or lower the scale and scope of restrictive measures, to adjust the channels through which we generate impact, and to stand ready for mitigation of unanticipated risks or costs. 

Towards an Economic Geneva Convention

Under the leadership of President Biden and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, we’ve made important strides in putting these limiting principles into practice – not in a formalistic sense, but in real-time as events unfolded – and often in ways that were never made public. Each of the principles I’ve just described animated the design and execution of the sanctions program against Russia; the intuition of the oil “price cap” coalition; the logic of the “small yard and high fence” for our export controls and investment restrictions; and the targeted nature of the tariffs we deployed against China in strategic sectors. 

I’d like to close my remarks, and my time in government, with three recommendations on how to institutionalize these practices. Of course, it won’t be for those of us in the Biden Administration to decide whether and how these get implemented, but I believe emphatically they each would serve to advance our shared bipartisan interests of safeguarding America’s national security, while enhancing our economic prosperity.

First, much as we restructured our national security apparatus amid rising tensions in the aftermath of Second World War, this is a moment to evaluate whether the U.S. government’s organizational design for conducting economic statecraft is fit for purpose. Too many of our tools and subject matter experts are spread across too many agencies without a unifying set of incentives, objectives, and metrics for strategic success.  Japan pioneered the elevation of economic security to a Cabinet level in 2021, and we would be wise to consider following suit in this new era of geoeconomic competition – particularly to strike a deliberate balance between restrictive tools that impose economic pain and positive tools that offer the prospect of mutual economic gain. 

Second, we must continue to upgrade what I’ve described previously as the “analytical infrastructure” of economic statecraft – the personnel, technology, data, and connectivity to continually assess the efficacy, limitations, and tradeoffs of using our restrictive tools; to “stress test” and wargame their use against historical and simulated scenarios; to anticipate how and where evasion is likely to occur and build readiness for countermeasures in real time; to build surveillance capabilities that provide early warnings on developing threats; and to maintain the capacity to execute at pace, even if multiple conflicts emerge at once. While these and other demands on the practitioners of economic statecraft have grown exponentially, their available resources have increased only at a linear rate, and in some cases much less.[12]

Finally, we should begin a series of conversations that aim to forge a common vision on the rules of engagement on why, when, how, and to what extent restrictive measures are used.  We should start with our allies and then seek to build consensus with non-aligned or multi-aligned countries. Ultimately, in the same spirit of the Geneva Conventions, we must include our adversaries in a good faith effort to avoid creating a fractured economic system that damages lives and livelihoods across the world, and brings us closer to the hot conflicts that economic statecraft seeks to avoid.

[1] 2021 Treasury Sanctions Review and Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data.

[2] IMF data. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/05/07/sp-geopolitics-impact-global-trade-and-dollar-gita-gopinath

[3] BCG analysis of OECD data. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/economic-statecraft-is-back

[4] Castellum.AI data. https://www.castellum.ai/insights/2024-sanctions-year-in-review

[5] Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/global-sanctions-dashboard-sanctioning-soars-across-the-board/

[6] Oxford University analysis of World Bank data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/trade-as-share-of-gdp?tab=chart

[7] According to the Kearny 2024 Investor Confidence Survey, 88 percent of investors globally said that they were planning to increase their FDI in the next three years — 6 percent more than last year. Kearny has tracked FDI optimism since the 1990s through annual survey data. https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/foreign-direct-investment-confidence-index

See UN Trade & Development data for year-over-year global FDI. https://unctad.org/data-visualization/global-foreign-direct-investment-flows-over-last-30-years

[8] See National Security Advisor Sullivan remarks on “small yard, high fence.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/04/27/remarks-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-renewing-american-economic-leadership-at-the-brookings-institution/

According to the International Trade Administration, 95 percent of all items exported from the United States do not require an export license. https://www.trade.gov/us-export-licenses-navigating-issues-and-resources

[9]China has been working on a “one-stop-shop” since 2016 for messaging and settlement of financial payments through its Cross-Border Interbank Payments System, or CIPS, and most recently with its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment, the mBridge Project. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/not-so-fast-the-case-for-a-new-swift/

[10] Center for Economic Policy Research / Vox analysis of OECD data. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/china-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower-line-sketch-rise

[11] Australia Strategic Policy Institute analysis.  https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-02/Countering%20Chinas%20coercive%20diplomacy_1.pdf?VersionId=HZDwezgnFY5eitQqtEMEU7WuFci8S75z

[12] To give one example, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control is using IT systems developed in the 1970s.

The post Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics’ Remarks on U.S. Principles of Economic Statecraft appeared first on The White House.

Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics’ Remarks on U.S. Principles of Economic Statecraft

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 21:25

During this century, major powers have deployed economic sanctions and other restrictive tools of economic statecraft to an unprecedented degree. The number of sanctioned individuals and entities across the world has increased by an order of magnitude since 2000.[1] Tariffs and other trade restrictions have tripled over the past five years.[2] The percentage of OECD countries screening investments in sensitive sectors has risen over the past decade from less than a third to more than 80 percent,[3] while the number of countries with sophisticated export controls has quadrupled since their inception during the Cold War.   

These trends are global, and while precise data are difficult to source in many jurisdictions, the growth of restrictive economic measures is accelerating both from the United States and our strategic rivals. China, despite having issued the lowest cumulative number of explicit sanctions among major economies, increased its designation activity by almost 100 percent last year – the highest rate of growth within this peer group  – on top of its existing array of informal and extralegal barriers such as consumer boycotts, tourism restrictions, phytosanitary standards, and corporate pressure.[4]  Russia, for its part, now applies its own sanctions regime at scale and is  routinely weaponizing its commodity exports – including nickel, tin, titanium, refined uranium, and, of course, oil and gas – to coerce trading partners and adversaries.[5]

Structural Forces & Shocks Underpin the Rise of Restrictive Statecraft

In my judgment the trendlines are set to extend, for three main reasons.

First, sanctions and other restrictive measures are symptomatic of new and durable geopolitical realities.  We’re no longer in the post-Cold War, unipolar order that underpinned the so-called “great moderation” in the global economy.  Instead, we’ve returned to the “old normal” that prevailed for much of modern history, in which divergent forms of national governance and political ideology lead to intense geopolitical competition, less opportunity for cross-border cooperation, and greater risk of cross-border conflict. Since most of today’s “great powers” are also nuclear powers, barring catastrophic miscalculation, the logic of mutually assured destruction suggests that direct competition is likely to continue playing out mostly in the theaters of economics, technology, and energy rather than in kinetic conflict on the battlefield. Set against this backdrop, the range of potential outcomes – the promise and peril for major powers to rise and fall – has widened, ushering in an era of more active use of economic tools to shape the course of events.   

Second, these trends reflect opportunity. Though we’ve left the era of hyper-globalization, the world economy is still nearly as connected as ever – which provides scope for economic powers to break existing linkages (or threaten to do so) in exchange for geopolitical leverage. The ratio of global trade to global GDP has plateaued not far from the peak reached earlier this century.[6] Worldwide foreign direct investment declined sharply after the pandemic but is rebounding and still exceeds the long-term historical average at well above a trillion dollars per year.[7] Technology diffusion across borders remains largely unabated for all but the most sensitive items, in part because U.S. restrictions on technology remain narrow and targeted.[8]

Third, the succession of cross-border shocks this century – most prominently the COVID pandemic, but also financial crises, climate change, mass migration, and acute episodes of energy and food insecurity – has punctuated the sense among policymakers that the singular pursuit of maximal efficiency and minimal cost will leave critical supply chains insufficiently resilient. Here in the United States, the Biden Administration centered its geoeconomic strategy on making long overdue public investments at home and building partnerships abroad to strengthen and scale our productive capacity, but we also imposed targeted tariffs in strategic sectors to level the playing field against competitors playing by a different set of rules. Under the same rationale, many other leading economies have also implemented a similar mix of policies – including tariffs – to “de-risk” their supply chains from disruption and distortion.     

Sanctions (and their ilk) Are Never Costless

Indeed, there is a growing policy reflex across the world to navigate a more uncertain and turbulent world by applying a sanction, tariff, export control, or investment restriction. As President Biden has reminded us, however, these measures are never costless. In each instance, they weaken or sever economic bonds that took decades to build, with immediate and sometimes unintended costs for households and businesses. And though in our Administration we’ve deployed restrictive measures in service of a higher geopolitical objective – not as an end to themselves – their repeated use can invite skepticism about American stewardship of the global economy. 

To the extent that our use of restrictive tools is perceived as arbitrary or illegitimate, the incentive to “hedge” against perceived dependency on the United States will rise.  China and Russia are making every effort to increase their (and others’) capacity to do so in finance, technology, and other domains in which the United States has a dominant position.  

Take, for instance, China’s longstanding effort to build a cross-border payment architecture without any nexus to the U.S. financial system – and therefore outside the reach of U.S. sanctions authorities.[9] Several non-aligned G20 economies have already signed up for this platform, and while the volumes transacted are far from reaching a threshold of macroeconomic significance, they have already surpassed a threshold of geopolitical consequence, with a run rate large enough to intermediate a significant portion of Russia’s procurement of dual-use items from China that are finding their way to the battlefield in Ukraine.  

In addition to strengthening the incentives to hedge against the sources of American economic power, the unconstrained use of restrictive economic statecraft also invites efforts by adversaries to deploy these same tools to target our own and our allies’ vulnerabilities. 

This isn’t conjecture, but rather a description of reality. The PRC is by far the world’s largest supplier of manufactured goods, accounting for almost a third of global manufacturing in value-added terms – equivalent to the combined production capacity of the United States, India, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.[10] From this position of strength, China has already weaponized its economic leverage in its attempts to coax geopolitical concessions from trading partners such as Lithuania, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.[11]  It also has untapped potential to exploit chokepoints in a wide range of supply chains in which it has dominant market share and where the current production capacity of the United States and our allies is limited (for now), including medical equipment, ship-to-shore cranes, solar panels, EV batteries, pharmaceutical ingredients, critical minerals, and lagging-edge semiconductors. Russia restricted its export of enriched uranium last November, creating the risk of disruption to our and allied nuclear power production, and for years has attempted to coerce Europe by modulating its supply of natural gas.  Iran and its proxy forces have repeatedly exploited their control over the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping lanes to pressure the United States and its allies.

The Urgent Need for Limiting Principles

Against this backdrop, we have an urgent need to implement a set of principles that guide and constrain why, when, how, and to what extent we deploy restrictive economic tools.  I believe this effort should have three overarching goals: first, to sustain the credibility and potency of America’s economic statecraft toolkit for when we need it most; second, to prevent an escalatory tit-for-tat in the use of restrictive tools that could make the United States and the world worse off; and third, to update the rules of the international economic order we’ve worked to build and sustain for over 70 years.

I suggest we seek to embed five principles in the practice of restrictive economic statecraft, first in our conduct, and then among allies, non-aligned countries, and eventually our adversaries.  

First, economic and financial sanctions should be used sparingly, and in service of clearly defined and achievable geopolitical objectives.

Sanctions are a tool, and often a force multiplier, but never a standalone strategy. They should be designed and deployed in service of a geopolitical objective that policymakers outline prior to implementation and assess periodically afterwards.

Prior to articulating the objective, policymakers would be well served to analyze and explain – at least internally – how they expect an economic measure to influence the decision-making calculus of the target, how they are expected to reinforce other levers of foreign policy (e.g., military, diplomatic, humanitarian), and the degree to which a multilateral coalition is necessary for their success. 

These objectives could be pursued before an adverse “trigger” event occurs, either to deter a target’s malign behavior, degrade its capabilities, or both. Alternatively, or additionally, these measures can be imposed after a trigger event to impose costs, change the calculus of the target, or create leverage for an eventual settlement.   

In every instance, the objective should be achievable.  Efforts to engineer regime change through maximalist sanctions, for example, predictably fail to persuade the target (often an autocrat) that the benefits of sanctions relief outweigh the costs of giving up power (typically jail, or worse).   

Relatedly, the individuals or entities being sanctioned need to know why and for what behavior they are being penalized, so that the consequences of an action – whether it’s support for a terrorist organization, a serious human rights abuse, or the prosecution of an illegal war – are understood, such that the key actors can ultimately seek the reversal of sanctions through a change in behavior.

Second, the force of restrictive actions should be responsibly calibrated to their expected impact, spillovers, and uncertainties.

As the leading economic and geopolitical force in the world, restrictive measures imposed by the U.S. are capable of imposing great and lasting harm, producing ripple effects that are impossible to identify fully in advance. The force of our restrictive actions must be calibrated in proportion to their expected impact, spillover costs, and the uncertainties involved.

This requires the U.S. government to continue building the analytical muscle to conduct   rigorous, data-driven analyses on historical and imagined scenarios in which restrictive measures could be implemented – whether unilaterally or multilaterally, alone or in tandem with military and diplomatic actions, before or after a trigger event.

Assessments should highlight the degree to which the range of outcomes depends on the breadth of the implementing coalition, the target’s potential to mitigate the impact (e.g., by substituting the good or service with domestic supply or import from third countries), and our own vulnerabilities and potential for risk mitigation in an extended and escalatory conflict.

Third, policymakers must consider explicitly and upfront the efficacy of restrictive measures on the decision-making calculus of the target. 

The design of restrictive measures is typically prepared by those with expertise on how to impose costs on the macroeconomy and financial system of the target while minimizing spillovers to the U.S. and global economy.  While this is a vital and necessary contribution, the ultimate success of restrictive measures depends on how these costs are likely to influence the decisions of key actors in the target country or entity. It also depends on the extent to which these actors are influenced by their economic, political, social, and humanitarian impact on political elites and the civilian population. Meeting the analytical test of sufficiency requires the upfront and explicit integration of economic analysis with political intelligence.

Fourth, restrictive measures should be maximally coordinated, both with domestic stakeholders and international partners.  

Unity with partners multiplies the impact of restrictive measures – due to the higher impact it delivers on the target, the reduced opportunity for evasion, and the perceived legitimacy of the action.  This last point on legitimacy is critical: when we act together, it makes clear that our purpose is not the unilateral exercise of brute economic force, but rather the collective defense of shared principles that underpin peace and security.

It’s also critical that restrictive measures are explained to the range of stakeholders that transmit the force of restrictive policies to the real world – including private sector institutions, the regulatory community, and central banks.  Private sector actors, in particular, often represent the “front lines” of implementing financial sanctions and export controls, and we depend on their cooperation and sense of civic duty to spot and counter circumvention. In exchange, we owe them clarity and coordination.

Finally, restrictive measures must be flexible and adjust to unintended consequences, evolving economic conditions, and the reaction of the target.   

Even after exhaustive analysis and careful design, restrictive measures are blunt tools that are typically implemented under conditions of high uncertainty – often with little or no precedent from which to make confident projections about their likely effects.    

It should surprise no one when the impact delivered, or spillovers caused, are materially different than expected. Humility requires us to admit when we’re mistaken in our judgments and course correct as needed.

Separately, the context in which restrictive measures are applied inevitably evolves over time. The coalition that implements sanctions may grow or decline. Economic and financial conditions may change for the better or worse, both in the target country and within the implementing coalition. Political and power dynamics within the target country may harden or soften, along with the behavior we seek to influence.

All of these are reasons why we must have timely and demonstrated pathways to ratchet higher or lower the scale and scope of restrictive measures, to adjust the channels through which we generate impact, and to stand ready for mitigation of unanticipated risks or costs. 

Towards an Economic Geneva Convention

Under the leadership of President Biden and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, we’ve made important strides in putting these limiting principles into practice – not in a formalistic sense, but in real-time as events unfolded – and often in ways that were never made public. Each of the principles I’ve just described animated the design and execution of the sanctions program against Russia; the intuition of the oil “price cap” coalition; the logic of the “small yard and high fence” for our export controls and investment restrictions; and the targeted nature of the tariffs we deployed against China in strategic sectors. 

I’d like to close my remarks, and my time in government, with three recommendations on how to institutionalize these practices. Of course, it won’t be for those of us in the Biden Administration to decide whether and how these get implemented, but I believe emphatically they each would serve to advance our shared bipartisan interests of safeguarding America’s national security, while enhancing our economic prosperity.

First, much as we restructured our national security apparatus amid rising tensions in the aftermath of Second World War, this is a moment to evaluate whether the U.S. government’s organizational design for conducting economic statecraft is fit for purpose. Too many of our tools and subject matter experts are spread across too many agencies without a unifying set of incentives, objectives, and metrics for strategic success.  Japan pioneered the elevation of economic security to a Cabinet level in 2021, and we would be wise to consider following suit in this new era of geoeconomic competition – particularly to strike a deliberate balance between restrictive tools that impose economic pain and positive tools that offer the prospect of mutual economic gain. 

Second, we must continue to upgrade what I’ve described previously as the “analytical infrastructure” of economic statecraft – the personnel, technology, data, and connectivity to continually assess the efficacy, limitations, and tradeoffs of using our restrictive tools; to “stress test” and wargame their use against historical and simulated scenarios; to anticipate how and where evasion is likely to occur and build readiness for countermeasures in real time; to build surveillance capabilities that provide early warnings on developing threats; and to maintain the capacity to execute at pace, even if multiple conflicts emerge at once. While these and other demands on the practitioners of economic statecraft have grown exponentially, their available resources have increased only at a linear rate, and in some cases much less.[12]

Finally, we should begin a series of conversations that aim to forge a common vision on the rules of engagement on why, when, how, and to what extent restrictive measures are used.  We should start with our allies and then seek to build consensus with non-aligned or multi-aligned countries. Ultimately, in the same spirit of the Geneva Conventions, we must include our adversaries in a good faith effort to avoid creating a fractured economic system that damages lives and livelihoods across the world, and brings us closer to the hot conflicts that economic statecraft seeks to avoid.

[1] 2021 Treasury Sanctions Review and Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data.

[2] IMF data. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/05/07/sp-geopolitics-impact-global-trade-and-dollar-gita-gopinath

[3] BCG analysis of OECD data. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/economic-statecraft-is-back

[4] Castellum.AI data. https://www.castellum.ai/insights/2024-sanctions-year-in-review

[5] Atlantic Council analysis of Castellum.AI data. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/global-sanctions-dashboard-sanctioning-soars-across-the-board/

[6] Oxford University analysis of World Bank data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/trade-as-share-of-gdp?tab=chart

[7] According to the Kearny 2024 Investor Confidence Survey, 88 percent of investors globally said that they were planning to increase their FDI in the next three years — 6 percent more than last year. Kearny has tracked FDI optimism since the 1990s through annual survey data. https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/foreign-direct-investment-confidence-index

See UN Trade & Development data for year-over-year global FDI. https://unctad.org/data-visualization/global-foreign-direct-investment-flows-over-last-30-years

[8] See National Security Advisor Sullivan remarks on “small yard, high fence.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/04/27/remarks-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-renewing-american-economic-leadership-at-the-brookings-institution/

According to the International Trade Administration, 95 percent of all items exported from the United States do not require an export license. https://www.trade.gov/us-export-licenses-navigating-issues-and-resources

[9]China has been working on a “one-stop-shop” since 2016 for messaging and settlement of financial payments through its Cross-Border Interbank Payments System, or CIPS, and most recently with its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment, the mBridge Project. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/not-so-fast-the-case-for-a-new-swift/

[10] Center for Economic Policy Research / Vox analysis of OECD data. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/china-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower-line-sketch-rise

[11] Australia Strategic Policy Institute analysis.  https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-02/Countering%20Chinas%20coercive%20diplomacy_1.pdf?VersionId=HZDwezgnFY5eitQqtEMEU7WuFci8S75z

[12] To give one example, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control is using IT systems developed in the 1970s.

The post Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics’ Remarks on U.S. Principles of Economic Statecraft appeared first on The White House.

President Biden Signs Executive Order to Facilitate Hiring of Alumni of Full-Time AmeriCorps Programs

Presidential Actions - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 18:22

This action will strengthen the federal workforce and streamline the pathway into service for 23,000 trained AmeriCorps alumni annually

Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order allowing agencies to more quickly hire individuals who have completed an AmeriCorps program. This action honors the service of AmeriCorps members who have worked full-time to address the most pressing challenges facing communities across the country. It also strengthens our civil service by enabling streamlined hiring from a pool of skilled and qualified individuals with a proven commitment to national service.

This action follows a recommendation from the congressionally chartered and bipartisan National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. At a time when only 8.7% of the federal workforce is under age 30, this Executive Order will make it easier for agencies to employ qualified and diverse young people with a strong commitment to service. It will also improve recruitment for AmeriCorps and increase the return on the federal government’s existing investment in recruiting and training AmeriCorps members.

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The post President Biden Signs Executive Order to Facilitate Hiring of Alumni of Full-Time AmeriCorps Programs appeared first on The White House.

President Biden Signs Executive Order to Facilitate Hiring of Alumni of Full-Time AmeriCorps Programs

Whitehouse.gov Feed - Thu, 01/16/2025 - 18:22

This action will strengthen the federal workforce and streamline the pathway into service for 23,000 trained AmeriCorps alumni annually

Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order allowing agencies to more quickly hire individuals who have completed an AmeriCorps program. This action honors the service of AmeriCorps members who have worked full-time to address the most pressing challenges facing communities across the country. It also strengthens our civil service by enabling streamlined hiring from a pool of skilled and qualified individuals with a proven commitment to national service.

This action follows a recommendation from the congressionally chartered and bipartisan National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. At a time when only 8.7% of the federal workforce is under age 30, this Executive Order will make it easier for agencies to employ qualified and diverse young people with a strong commitment to service. It will also improve recruitment for AmeriCorps and increase the return on the federal government’s existing investment in recruiting and training AmeriCorps members.

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The post President Biden Signs Executive Order to Facilitate Hiring of Alumni of Full-Time AmeriCorps Programs appeared first on The White House.

POTUS 46    Joe Biden

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