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Vice President’s Residence
U.S. Naval Observatory
Washington, D.C.

12:58 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, yesterday, we learned that Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired four-star general, confirmed that while Donald Trump was president, he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had.

Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution.  He wants a military that is loyal to him.  He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally, one that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States.

In just the past week, Donald Trump has repeatedly called his fellow Americans the “enemy from within” and even said that he would use the United States military to go after American citizens.

And let’s be clear about who he considers to be the enemy from within.  Anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him would qualify, in his mind, as the enemy within, like judges, like journalists, like nonpartisan election officials.

It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans. 

All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is.  This is a window into who Donald Trump really is from the people who know him best, from the people who worked with him side by side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room.

 And it is clear from John Kelly’s words that Donald Trump is someone who, I quote, “certainly falls into the general definition of “fascist,” who, in fact, vowed to be a dictator on day one and vowed to use the military as his personal militia to carry out his personal and political vendettas.

Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable.  And in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions.  Those who once tried to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses would no longer be there and no longer be there to rein him in.

So, the bottom line is this.  We know what Donald Trump wants.  He wants unchecked power.  The question in 13 days will be: What do the American people want?

     Thank you.

                             END                1:01 P.M. EDT                              

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Vice President’s Residence appeared first on The White House.

This summer, I led an effort to bring the G7 together to commit $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans to Ukraine backed by the profits of immobilized Russian sovereign assets.  After Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the G7 took bold action to immobilize Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions, and committed that these assets will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine—paving the way for Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans.

As part of the G7 package, the United States is announcing today that we will provide $20 billion in loans to Ukraine that will be paid back by the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets. In other words, Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers. These loans will support the people of Ukraine as they defend and rebuild their country. And our efforts make it clear: tyrants will be responsible for the damages they cause.

Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this conflict. The people of Ukraine will prevail. This is another reminder to Vladimir Putin that the world has rallied behind Ukraine—and the United States and our G7 partners will continue to stand with them every step of the way. 

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Historic Decision to Leverage Russian Sovereign Assets to Support Ukraine appeared first on The White House.

This summer, I led an effort to bring the G7 together to commit $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans to Ukraine backed by the profits of immobilized Russian sovereign assets.  After Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the G7 took bold action to immobilize Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions, and committed that these assets will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine—paving the way for Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans.

As part of the G7 package, the United States is announcing today that we will provide $20 billion in loans to Ukraine that will be paid back by the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets. In other words, Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers. These loans will support the people of Ukraine as they defend and rebuild their country. And our efforts make it clear: tyrants will be responsible for the damages they cause.

Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this conflict. The people of Ukraine will prevail. This is another reminder to Vladimir Putin that the world has rallied behind Ukraine—and the United States and our G7 partners will continue to stand with them every step of the way. 

###

The post Statement from President Joe Biden on Historic Decision to Leverage Russian Sovereign Assets to Support Ukraine appeared first on The White House.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Good morning.

It was an ordinary Saturday in an extraordinary life.

I was in my office in the East Wing doing what community college teachers do on weekends—especially on a weekend so late in the semester: I was grading papers.

It was late April last year. Earlier that morning, I’d read in The New York Times that the U.S. loses $1.8 billion in working time every year to the menopause symptoms that upend women’s lives.

It struck me—I’d experienced those kinds of symptoms too, so had many of my friends, but, I thought, that’s the way life is, isn’t it?

And then, that afternoon, Maria Shriver, the former First Lady of California, came in for a meeting. She wanted to talk about women’s health research.

It’s a problem that’s so simple—yet often ignored: women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded. As a result, too many of our medications, treatments, health products, and medical school textbooks are based on men.

That’s why, if you ask any woman in America about her health care, she probably has a story to tell.

You know her.

She’s the woman who gets debilitating migraines, but can’t find treatment options that work for her. She’s the woman whose heart attack isn’t detected because her symptoms don’t look like a man’s, even as heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. She’s the woman going through menopause, who visits her doctor and leaves with more questions than answers, even though half the country will go through menopause at some point in their lives.

It seems like women’s bodies are considered miracles when we’re in our child-bearing years, and mysteries as we age.

I knew this had to change.

My husband, President Joe Biden, has a deep understanding of how government works and how to get things done quickly. So when I told Joe about this research gap, he got to work.

Last November, we launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

From an ordinary Saturday conversation, the Biden Administration has done something extraordinary and fast. All in less than a year, we used the convening power of the White House to bring together government agencies, researchers, medical experts, innovators, and investors. 

Joe signed the most comprehensive Executive Order ever, to expand and improve research and innovation in women’s health.

The NIH is investing millions of dollars in new, interdisciplinary women’s health research, like how menopause affects our hearts, brains, and bones.

The Department of Defense is committing half a billion dollars each year to women’s health research. And what helps women service members helps all women.

And just today, ARPA-H, the agency that Joe created to invest in the most cutting-edge health breakthroughs, announced $110 million for women’s health researchers and startups to bring new treatments and cures to market. 

This is government at its best.

ARPA-H received an unprecedented 1,700 submissions for this funding sprint, which shows the energy and exploration that’s possible in this field. From there, ARPA-H chose to fund 23 recipients with the best “sparks”—meaning the most promising ideas so that researchers can take their work to the next level, and the best “launchpads”—those are the teams that are ready to bring new treatments and health products to market within the next two years.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

One in 10 women suffers from a painful, debilitating condition called endometriosis. It can take as long as a decade for women to get a diagnosis. One of today’s recipients from Washington University is developing a blood test—the first of its kind—to reduce the time it takes to diagnose the disease from years to days. So, women can get the treatments they need more quickly.

We also know that women are more likely to get migraines, but we don’t know why. At UNC-Chapel Hill, a study is being funded to see how migraines are connected to the lymphatic system to help solve that mystery. And the team is working toward personalized treatments for migraines.

ARPA-H is de-risking investments in these big ideas, so that answers can get to the women who need them now.

The potential in this space is too great to ignore. In 2021, the Boston Consulting Group estimated that the size of the women’s health market would grow from $9 billion to $29 billion in just eight years, because of the growing momentum from funders and founders to address the unmet health needs of women. I know you see these opportunities in your day-to-day work.

Here’s what I also want you to know. The women of America are waiting on you.

Any time I get together with my sisters and friends, we have conversations about our health. We ask each other: should I be taking hormone therapy for symptoms related to menopause? How is it possible that my heart attack was almost missed? 

It’s time for investors, researchers, and business leaders to have those conversations too, not as an afterthought but as a first thought. Those kinds of questions belong in your research proposals, in your laboratories, in your pitch decks.

There is incredible momentum behind women’s health right now.

What are you going to do to make sure this energy is unstoppable?

So that we leave doctors’ offices with more answers than questions. And take this moment of opportunity to create something extraordinary.

You can count me in. And I hope women can count on you.

To continue this discussion, it’s my pleasure to introduce Dr. Carolyn Mazure, the chair of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, who leads ARPA-H. Maria Shriver, a tireless advocate for advancing women’s health. And Lucy Pérez, a senior partner with McKinsey & Company.

Please help me welcome them to the stage.

###

The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the 2024 HLTH Conference appeared first on The White House.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Good morning.

It was an ordinary Saturday in an extraordinary life.

I was in my office in the East Wing doing what community college teachers do on weekends—especially on a weekend so late in the semester: I was grading papers.

It was late April last year. Earlier that morning, I’d read in The New York Times that the U.S. loses $1.8 billion in working time every year to the menopause symptoms that upend women’s lives.

It struck me—I’d experienced those kinds of symptoms too, so had many of my friends, but, I thought, that’s the way life is, isn’t it?

And then, that afternoon, Maria Shriver, the former First Lady of California, came in for a meeting. She wanted to talk about women’s health research.

It’s a problem that’s so simple—yet often ignored: women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded. As a result, too many of our medications, treatments, health products, and medical school textbooks are based on men.

That’s why, if you ask any woman in America about her health care, she probably has a story to tell.

You know her.

She’s the woman who gets debilitating migraines, but can’t find treatment options that work for her. She’s the woman whose heart attack isn’t detected because her symptoms don’t look like a man’s, even as heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. She’s the woman going through menopause, who visits her doctor and leaves with more questions than answers, even though half the country will go through menopause at some point in their lives.

It seems like women’s bodies are considered miracles when we’re in our child-bearing years, and mysteries as we age.

I knew this had to change.

My husband, President Joe Biden, has a deep understanding of how government works and how to get things done quickly. So when I told Joe about this research gap, he got to work.

Last November, we launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

From an ordinary Saturday conversation, the Biden Administration has done something extraordinary and fast. All in less than a year, we used the convening power of the White House to bring together government agencies, researchers, medical experts, innovators, and investors. 

Joe signed the most comprehensive Executive Order ever, to expand and improve research and innovation in women’s health.

The NIH is investing millions of dollars in new, interdisciplinary women’s health research, like how menopause affects our hearts, brains, and bones.

The Department of Defense is committing half a billion dollars each year to women’s health research. And what helps women service members helps all women.

And just today, ARPA-H, the agency that Joe created to invest in the most cutting-edge health breakthroughs, announced $110 million for women’s health researchers and startups to bring new treatments and cures to market. 

This is government at its best.

ARPA-H received an unprecedented 1,700 submissions for this funding sprint, which shows the energy and exploration that’s possible in this field. From there, ARPA-H chose to fund 23 recipients with the best “sparks”—meaning the most promising ideas so that researchers can take their work to the next level, and the best “launchpads”—those are the teams that are ready to bring new treatments and health products to market within the next two years.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

One in 10 women suffers from a painful, debilitating condition called endometriosis. It can take as long as a decade for women to get a diagnosis. One of today’s recipients from Washington University is developing a blood test—the first of its kind—to reduce the time it takes to diagnose the disease from years to days. So, women can get the treatments they need more quickly.

We also know that women are more likely to get migraines, but we don’t know why. At UNC-Chapel Hill, a study is being funded to see how migraines are connected to the lymphatic system to help solve that mystery. And the team is working toward personalized treatments for migraines.

ARPA-H is de-risking investments in these big ideas, so that answers can get to the women who need them now.

The potential in this space is too great to ignore. In 2021, the Boston Consulting Group estimated that the size of the women’s health market would grow from $9 billion to $29 billion in just eight years, because of the growing momentum from funders and founders to address the unmet health needs of women. I know you see these opportunities in your day-to-day work.

Here’s what I also want you to know. The women of America are waiting on you.

Any time I get together with my sisters and friends, we have conversations about our health. We ask each other: should I be taking hormone therapy for symptoms related to menopause? How is it possible that my heart attack was almost missed? 

It’s time for investors, researchers, and business leaders to have those conversations too, not as an afterthought but as a first thought. Those kinds of questions belong in your research proposals, in your laboratories, in your pitch decks.

There is incredible momentum behind women’s health right now.

What are you going to do to make sure this energy is unstoppable?

So that we leave doctors’ offices with more answers than questions. And take this moment of opportunity to create something extraordinary.

You can count me in. And I hope women can count on you.

To continue this discussion, it’s my pleasure to introduce Dr. Carolyn Mazure, the chair of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, who leads ARPA-H. Maria Shriver, a tireless advocate for advancing women’s health. And Lucy Pérez, a senior partner with McKinsey & Company.

Please help me welcome them to the stage.

###

The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the 2024 HLTH Conference appeared first on The White House.

     Nearly 80 years ago, our forebearers gathered for the first United Nations General Assembly.  With the horrors of World War II weighing on their hearts and the hopes of humanity resting on their shoulders, they opened the General Assembly by declaring, “The whole world now waits upon our decisions… looking to us to show ourselves capable of mastering our problems.”  Today, we reflect on the history of this storied institution.  And together, we recommit to sustaining and strengthening it to master the challenges of our time.

     Under my Administration, the United States has been a leader at the United Nations — rallying global action to advance democratic values, safeguard human rights, and address the issues our world faces.  That includes standing against Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine and Hamas’ despicable terrorist attack on Israel.  At the United Nations, we have been working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, with the release of hostages, and we have been pushing to expand humanitarian access and assistance.  The United States has also played a key role in helping bring security to the people of Haiti and addressing the conflict and dire humanitarian situation in Sudan, where millions are displaced and facing famine.

     But we know people need more than the absence of war.  They need the chance to live with dignity.  They need to be protected from the ravages of climate change, hunger, and disease.  That is why my Administration has invested over $150 billion to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, including ending poverty, eliminating hunger, promoting health and well-being, and promoting gender equality.  We also forged a historic consensus on the first-ever General Assembly Resolution on Artificial Intelligence to help people everywhere seize the potential — and minimize the risks — of this technology.

     As we look ahead, countries need to work together to continue reforming the United Nations to be more effective.  The United States will keep pushing for a stronger, more inclusive United Nations, including a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council.  And the Security Council, like the United Nations itself, needs to focus on making peace, brokering deals to end wars and suffering, stopping the spread of the most dangerous weapons, and stabilizing troubled regions.

     Finally, the United Nations’ work is carried out by brave and committed United Nations humanitarian workers, development professionals, peacekeepers, and members of special political missions.  And every day, they risk their own lives to save the lives of others, undertaking often dangerous work.  Like nations around the world, the United States honors their sacrifices and those of their families.

     Today and every day, let us remember that the forces holding us together are stronger than those pulling us apart.  Let us continue to work together to unleash the power of humanity and give people the opportunity to live freely, think freely, breathe freely, and love freely.  And in the face of difficult challenges, let us prove that we are capable of building a better world together.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 24, 2024, as United Nations Day.  I urge the governors of the United States and its territories, and the officials of all other areas under the flag of the United States, to observe United Nations Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
 
 
                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post A Proclamation on United Nations Day, 2024 appeared first on The White House.

     Nearly 80 years ago, our forebearers gathered for the first United Nations General Assembly.  With the horrors of World War II weighing on their hearts and the hopes of humanity resting on their shoulders, they opened the General Assembly by declaring, “The whole world now waits upon our decisions… looking to us to show ourselves capable of mastering our problems.”  Today, we reflect on the history of this storied institution.  And together, we recommit to sustaining and strengthening it to master the challenges of our time.

     Under my Administration, the United States has been a leader at the United Nations — rallying global action to advance democratic values, safeguard human rights, and address the issues our world faces.  That includes standing against Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine and Hamas’ despicable terrorist attack on Israel.  At the United Nations, we have been working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, with the release of hostages, and we have been pushing to expand humanitarian access and assistance.  The United States has also played a key role in helping bring security to the people of Haiti and addressing the conflict and dire humanitarian situation in Sudan, where millions are displaced and facing famine.

     But we know people need more than the absence of war.  They need the chance to live with dignity.  They need to be protected from the ravages of climate change, hunger, and disease.  That is why my Administration has invested over $150 billion to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, including ending poverty, eliminating hunger, promoting health and well-being, and promoting gender equality.  We also forged a historic consensus on the first-ever General Assembly Resolution on Artificial Intelligence to help people everywhere seize the potential — and minimize the risks — of this technology.

     As we look ahead, countries need to work together to continue reforming the United Nations to be more effective.  The United States will keep pushing for a stronger, more inclusive United Nations, including a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council.  And the Security Council, like the United Nations itself, needs to focus on making peace, brokering deals to end wars and suffering, stopping the spread of the most dangerous weapons, and stabilizing troubled regions.

     Finally, the United Nations’ work is carried out by brave and committed United Nations humanitarian workers, development professionals, peacekeepers, and members of special political missions.  And every day, they risk their own lives to save the lives of others, undertaking often dangerous work.  Like nations around the world, the United States honors their sacrifices and those of their families.

     Today and every day, let us remember that the forces holding us together are stronger than those pulling us apart.  Let us continue to work together to unleash the power of humanity and give people the opportunity to live freely, think freely, breathe freely, and love freely.  And in the face of difficult challenges, let us prove that we are capable of building a better world together.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 24, 2024, as United Nations Day.  I urge the governors of the United States and its territories, and the officials of all other areas under the flag of the United States, to observe United Nations Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
 
 
                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The post A Proclamation on United Nations Day, 2024 appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

9:09 A.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Good morning, everyone.  Thanks so much for joining today’s call to discuss the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans effort for Ukraine. 

As a reminder, this call is going to be on the record, and it is embargoed until its conclusion. 

The speaker on today’s call is Daleep Singh, who’s the White House Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics.  He’ll have a few words at the top, and then we’ll take some of your questions.

With that, Daleep, I’ll turn it over to you. 

MR. SINGH:  Thanks, Eduardo.  Thanks, everybody, for joining. 

Since Russia’s invasion began over two years ago, the United States has rallied the world to defend Ukraine’s freedom, leading a coalition of allies and partners to surge security, economic, and humanitarian assistance, while spearheading unprecedented efforts to impose costs on Russia for its senseless aggression. 

At the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia this June, the United States proposed an idea to ensure Putin pays for the damage he’s caused in Ukraine by committing we issue $50 billion in loans to Ukraine, backed by the interest earned on the Russian sovereign assets we collectively immobilized just after the invasion began.  We call these Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans. 

Today, we’re announcing that of the $50 billion G7 commitment, the United States plans to provide a loan of $20 billion.  The other $30 billion in loans will come from a combination of our G7 partners, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. 

To be clear, nothing like this has ever been done before.  Never before has a multilateral coalition frozen the assets of an aggressor country and then harnessed the value of those assets to fund the defense of the aggrieved party, all while respecting the rule of law and maintaining solidarity.  And as a result, Ukraine will receive the assistance it needs now without burdening our taxpayers.

As we committed in June, the G7 will begin disbursing assistance for the benefit of Ukraine by the end of this year so that we can meet Ukraine’s urgent needs as we approach the winter, while sending an unmistakable signal: The United States and its G7 partners will not fatigue.  We will continue to use our creativity and collaboration to support Ukraine’s fight for independence and sovereignty.  And tyrants are responsible for the damages they cause, not U.S. taxpayers. 

It’s also a testament to this administration’s belief that multilateralism is a force multiplier.  We couldn’t have done this by ourselves.  The income used to repay these loans will be generated from frozen Russian assets held in the European Union.  This is another example of how Putin’s war of aggression has unified and strengthened the resolve of G7 countries and our partners to defend shared values.  It’s also a model for how we can rally our closest allies towards a shared purpose while ensuring that each country contributes its fair share. 

Let me give you a few more details, and then I’ll be happy to take your questions. 

So, the United States will provide at least $10 billion of our loan via economic support.  The World Bank recently established what’s called a financial intermediary fund for Ukraine, which will be the vehicle through which we will disburse U.S. loan proceeds for economic support to Ukraine. 

The financial intermediary fund, or FIF, will be subject to robust accountability and transparency measures, much like those used for existing U.S. economic assistance to Ukraine. 

The United States also hopes to provide up to $10 billion

of our loan as U.S. military support, but our ability to do that relies on Congress taking action before mid-December on certain legislative changes that allow us to make loans for military support under the contours of this broader G7 initiative. 

To be clear, either way, the U.S. will provide $20 billion in support for Ukraine through this effort, whether it’s split between economic and military support or provided entirely via economic assistance. 

In terms of next steps, the United States will now work with Ukraine to sign loan agreements in order to execute the loan and begin disbursing funds for the benefit of Ukraine before the end of this year.  More details will be available at the conclusion of the G7 finance ministers meeting later this week or early next.

Let me stop there and take your questions.

MODERATOR:  Thanks.  If folks have questions, please use the “raise your hand” function on Zoom and we’ll turn to you. 

First up, we’ll go to Alan Rappeport.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Thanks very much, Daleep.  A couple things.  One, can we expect a G7 statement today saying that this is fully done?  Because I know, yesterday, Secretary Yellen said it was 99 percent done. 

And then, second of all, can you explain how the U.S. has gotten around the need to appropriate any funds to account for the risk associated with the loan?  I know there were concerns about the EU needing to extend its sanctions renewal period, or something like that, to minimize the risk.

MR. SINGH:  (Inaudible.)  (Audio muted) — from partners, if we had sufficiently strong repayment assurances from the immobilized assets.  And since the Leaders’ Summit, we’ve engaged in intensive diplomacy and technical negotiations every day with our partners to secure the strongest possible repayment assurances. 

Let me just mention a few.  Number one, the EU Council released a statement at the end of June, and again in October, from all 27 EU heads of state to keep Russia’s central bank assets immobilized until there’s a just peace with a free and sovereign Ukraine and until Russia pays for the damages it’s caused.  This represents an expansion of the G7 leaders’ commitment to the entire EU, including Hungary.

Number two, equal burden sharing.  So, the EU committed to provide at least $20 billion in loans alongside the United States, which means the Europeans have equal skin in the game and, therefore, fully aligned incentives to keep the assets immobilized until we get fully repaid. 

Number three, we’ve worked with Ukraine on loan agreements under which, at the conclusion of this war, Ukraine would use settlement proceeds it receives from Russia towards repayment of these loans.

Number four, we’ve negotiated loan terms with our partners that further reduces any fiscal risks to the U.S. taxpayer. 

And number five, history.  You know, the EU has had sanctions in place against Russia for almost 10 years now.  Every six months, those sanctions need EU unanimity to get rolled over for another six months.  And, yes, there’s grandstanding and drama, but the EU has built a track record of staying the course, and that adds to our confidence that Russia’s sovereign assets will remain immobilized until Russia ends its war and pays for the damages it’s caused. 

One last point, Alan.  I’m sorry to belabor this, but it’s a really important question.  While we have found a way to move forward without legal changes to the EU sanctions regime, we will keep pushing for those changes to get made.

MODERATOR:  Alan, I think we had a little bit of trouble hearing the first part of your question, if you could ask that again.

Q    Oh, sorry.  Yeah.  I think maybe — or maybe you were muted in the first part of your response.  I was trying to understand if there was going to be a G7 statement today and if this is fully done now.  I know Secretary Yellen said it was 99 percent done yesterday.

MR. SINGH:  Oh, I’m sorry if you didn’t hear me.  You should expect further statements today, both from the United States and from the G7.

MODERATOR:  Next up we’ll go to Victoria.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Thank you.  I just had a couple of questions.  First, I was wondering if you could explain a bit the part you talked in the beginning on the Congress contribution side of things.  What needs to happen from Congress exactly for the $10 billion, the second half, to come through the military aid part?  Is it a matter of using appropriations that have happened already, different appropriations?  If you could just explain that.  And just to clarify that if that doesn’t happen, you could give the other ten through economic support.

And then, just a second question on the timing of things.  I’m just wondering if you could talk us through how frontloaded you expect this load to be, as in, you know, do you think over the next couple of months we’re going to get a big chunk of it over to Ukraine?  Just the timeline of the disbursements.  Thank you.

MR. SINGH:  Sure.  So, on the second part of your question, we expect to disburse at least half of our $20 billion loan to the World Bank Trust Fund this December, and possibly the entire amount. 

And this kind of gets to your first question: We do need authority from Congress to raise the amount of foreign military financing we can provide to Ukraine and also to make certain technical changes that would allow us to split the loan in half between economic assistance and security assistance.  And we’ll be having conversations with Congress between now and December to assess those odds.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Colby Smith.

Q    Hi.  Thank you so much.  I just wanted — a couple questions just to follow up on — in terms of assessing the odds.  Did you have, kind of, an initial assessment as it stands today?  And how do you kind of — do you expect that support to come through?

And then, just more specifically on the economic support side of things, can you just mention a couple of specifics there in terms of how you expect this money to be used?

MR. SINGH:  Sure.  Thanks, Colby.  So, I just want to be clear: The only question we’re talking about here is the split between economic assistance and security assistance.  We’re going to provide $20 billion either way.

But, you know, we’ll work with Congress over the next few months to assess whether we can get sufficient authority through foreign military financing loan guarantee authorities to provide half of our assistance through military support. 

In terms of your question, Colby, on what kinds of projects could the economic assistance support, you know, I would highlight a couple:  Energy assistance.  So, we all know Ukraine is at risk of being plunged into cold and darkness this winter.  Helping to fund the rapid repairs that will be needed to stabilize the grid and also to provide passive protection against drone attacks for substations and transformers.  That’s an urgent priority that we hope this assistance can help meet.

There are a number of other initiatives that relate to Ukraine’s infrastructure that can create the conditions for an eventual economic recovery that we expect this fund can also support through World Bank project support. 

And there are many other projects that we can assess, but those are just a couple of examples.

MODERATOR:  And our last question will go to Daniel.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  How are you doing?  Thank you for taking my question.  I wanted to ask about any potential Russian reprisals.  I know that was a large consideration when you guys were determining the mechanism for these loans.  Are you guys expecting any kind of retaliation?  And do you guys have any preparations for that, whether it be European assets or American?  Thank you very much.

MR. SINGH:  Well, Russia has been expropriating assets, seizing assets, really, from close to the beginning of its invasion.  So, nothing — nothing new would change on that front if they continue to do so.

I would just make clear, though, that the revenues that we are using to repay these loans, under European law, these revenues don’t belong to Russia.  It’s actually contractual law. The interest earned doesn’t belong to Russia but rather the custody in Belgium.  And so, we don’t view this as a seizure of Russia’s assets, per se.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, everyone.  Thanks for joining.  If there are any follow-up questions, do reach out to us, and we’ll get back to you. 

As a reminder, this call was on the record, and the person you heard from was Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics.  The embargo on this call is now lifted.  Thanks again.

9:23 A.M. EDT

The post On-the-Record Press Call on the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans Effort appeared first on The White House.

Via Teleconference

9:09 A.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Good morning, everyone.  Thanks so much for joining today’s call to discuss the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans effort for Ukraine. 

As a reminder, this call is going to be on the record, and it is embargoed until its conclusion. 

The speaker on today’s call is Daleep Singh, who’s the White House Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics.  He’ll have a few words at the top, and then we’ll take some of your questions.

With that, Daleep, I’ll turn it over to you. 

MR. SINGH:  Thanks, Eduardo.  Thanks, everybody, for joining. 

Since Russia’s invasion began over two years ago, the United States has rallied the world to defend Ukraine’s freedom, leading a coalition of allies and partners to surge security, economic, and humanitarian assistance, while spearheading unprecedented efforts to impose costs on Russia for its senseless aggression. 

At the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia this June, the United States proposed an idea to ensure Putin pays for the damage he’s caused in Ukraine by committing we issue $50 billion in loans to Ukraine, backed by the interest earned on the Russian sovereign assets we collectively immobilized just after the invasion began.  We call these Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans. 

Today, we’re announcing that of the $50 billion G7 commitment, the United States plans to provide a loan of $20 billion.  The other $30 billion in loans will come from a combination of our G7 partners, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. 

To be clear, nothing like this has ever been done before.  Never before has a multilateral coalition frozen the assets of an aggressor country and then harnessed the value of those assets to fund the defense of the aggrieved party, all while respecting the rule of law and maintaining solidarity.  And as a result, Ukraine will receive the assistance it needs now without burdening our taxpayers.

As we committed in June, the G7 will begin disbursing assistance for the benefit of Ukraine by the end of this year so that we can meet Ukraine’s urgent needs as we approach the winter, while sending an unmistakable signal: The United States and its G7 partners will not fatigue.  We will continue to use our creativity and collaboration to support Ukraine’s fight for independence and sovereignty.  And tyrants are responsible for the damages they cause, not U.S. taxpayers. 

It’s also a testament to this administration’s belief that multilateralism is a force multiplier.  We couldn’t have done this by ourselves.  The income used to repay these loans will be generated from frozen Russian assets held in the European Union.  This is another example of how Putin’s war of aggression has unified and strengthened the resolve of G7 countries and our partners to defend shared values.  It’s also a model for how we can rally our closest allies towards a shared purpose while ensuring that each country contributes its fair share. 

Let me give you a few more details, and then I’ll be happy to take your questions. 

So, the United States will provide at least $10 billion of our loan via economic support.  The World Bank recently established what’s called a financial intermediary fund for Ukraine, which will be the vehicle through which we will disburse U.S. loan proceeds for economic support to Ukraine. 

The financial intermediary fund, or FIF, will be subject to robust accountability and transparency measures, much like those used for existing U.S. economic assistance to Ukraine. 

The United States also hopes to provide up to $10 billion

of our loan as U.S. military support, but our ability to do that relies on Congress taking action before mid-December on certain legislative changes that allow us to make loans for military support under the contours of this broader G7 initiative. 

To be clear, either way, the U.S. will provide $20 billion in support for Ukraine through this effort, whether it’s split between economic and military support or provided entirely via economic assistance. 

In terms of next steps, the United States will now work with Ukraine to sign loan agreements in order to execute the loan and begin disbursing funds for the benefit of Ukraine before the end of this year.  More details will be available at the conclusion of the G7 finance ministers meeting later this week or early next.

Let me stop there and take your questions.

MODERATOR:  Thanks.  If folks have questions, please use the “raise your hand” function on Zoom and we’ll turn to you. 

First up, we’ll go to Alan Rappeport.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Thanks very much, Daleep.  A couple things.  One, can we expect a G7 statement today saying that this is fully done?  Because I know, yesterday, Secretary Yellen said it was 99 percent done. 

And then, second of all, can you explain how the U.S. has gotten around the need to appropriate any funds to account for the risk associated with the loan?  I know there were concerns about the EU needing to extend its sanctions renewal period, or something like that, to minimize the risk.

MR. SINGH:  (Inaudible.)  (Audio muted) — from partners, if we had sufficiently strong repayment assurances from the immobilized assets.  And since the Leaders’ Summit, we’ve engaged in intensive diplomacy and technical negotiations every day with our partners to secure the strongest possible repayment assurances. 

Let me just mention a few.  Number one, the EU Council released a statement at the end of June, and again in October, from all 27 EU heads of state to keep Russia’s central bank assets immobilized until there’s a just peace with a free and sovereign Ukraine and until Russia pays for the damages it’s caused.  This represents an expansion of the G7 leaders’ commitment to the entire EU, including Hungary.

Number two, equal burden sharing.  So, the EU committed to provide at least $20 billion in loans alongside the United States, which means the Europeans have equal skin in the game and, therefore, fully aligned incentives to keep the assets immobilized until we get fully repaid. 

Number three, we’ve worked with Ukraine on loan agreements under which, at the conclusion of this war, Ukraine would use settlement proceeds it receives from Russia towards repayment of these loans.

Number four, we’ve negotiated loan terms with our partners that further reduces any fiscal risks to the U.S. taxpayer. 

And number five, history.  You know, the EU has had sanctions in place against Russia for almost 10 years now.  Every six months, those sanctions need EU unanimity to get rolled over for another six months.  And, yes, there’s grandstanding and drama, but the EU has built a track record of staying the course, and that adds to our confidence that Russia’s sovereign assets will remain immobilized until Russia ends its war and pays for the damages it’s caused. 

One last point, Alan.  I’m sorry to belabor this, but it’s a really important question.  While we have found a way to move forward without legal changes to the EU sanctions regime, we will keep pushing for those changes to get made.

MODERATOR:  Alan, I think we had a little bit of trouble hearing the first part of your question, if you could ask that again.

Q    Oh, sorry.  Yeah.  I think maybe — or maybe you were muted in the first part of your response.  I was trying to understand if there was going to be a G7 statement today and if this is fully done now.  I know Secretary Yellen said it was 99 percent done yesterday.

MR. SINGH:  Oh, I’m sorry if you didn’t hear me.  You should expect further statements today, both from the United States and from the G7.

MODERATOR:  Next up we’ll go to Victoria.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  Thank you.  I just had a couple of questions.  First, I was wondering if you could explain a bit the part you talked in the beginning on the Congress contribution side of things.  What needs to happen from Congress exactly for the $10 billion, the second half, to come through the military aid part?  Is it a matter of using appropriations that have happened already, different appropriations?  If you could just explain that.  And just to clarify that if that doesn’t happen, you could give the other ten through economic support.

And then, just a second question on the timing of things.  I’m just wondering if you could talk us through how frontloaded you expect this load to be, as in, you know, do you think over the next couple of months we’re going to get a big chunk of it over to Ukraine?  Just the timeline of the disbursements.  Thank you.

MR. SINGH:  Sure.  So, on the second part of your question, we expect to disburse at least half of our $20 billion loan to the World Bank Trust Fund this December, and possibly the entire amount. 

And this kind of gets to your first question: We do need authority from Congress to raise the amount of foreign military financing we can provide to Ukraine and also to make certain technical changes that would allow us to split the loan in half between economic assistance and security assistance.  And we’ll be having conversations with Congress between now and December to assess those odds.

MODERATOR:  Next up, we’ll go to Colby Smith.

Q    Hi.  Thank you so much.  I just wanted — a couple questions just to follow up on — in terms of assessing the odds.  Did you have, kind of, an initial assessment as it stands today?  And how do you kind of — do you expect that support to come through?

And then, just more specifically on the economic support side of things, can you just mention a couple of specifics there in terms of how you expect this money to be used?

MR. SINGH:  Sure.  Thanks, Colby.  So, I just want to be clear: The only question we’re talking about here is the split between economic assistance and security assistance.  We’re going to provide $20 billion either way.

But, you know, we’ll work with Congress over the next few months to assess whether we can get sufficient authority through foreign military financing loan guarantee authorities to provide half of our assistance through military support. 

In terms of your question, Colby, on what kinds of projects could the economic assistance support, you know, I would highlight a couple:  Energy assistance.  So, we all know Ukraine is at risk of being plunged into cold and darkness this winter.  Helping to fund the rapid repairs that will be needed to stabilize the grid and also to provide passive protection against drone attacks for substations and transformers.  That’s an urgent priority that we hope this assistance can help meet.

There are a number of other initiatives that relate to Ukraine’s infrastructure that can create the conditions for an eventual economic recovery that we expect this fund can also support through World Bank project support. 

And there are many other projects that we can assess, but those are just a couple of examples.

MODERATOR:  And our last question will go to Daniel.  You should be able to unmute yourself.

Q    Hi.  How are you doing?  Thank you for taking my question.  I wanted to ask about any potential Russian reprisals.  I know that was a large consideration when you guys were determining the mechanism for these loans.  Are you guys expecting any kind of retaliation?  And do you guys have any preparations for that, whether it be European assets or American?  Thank you very much.

MR. SINGH:  Well, Russia has been expropriating assets, seizing assets, really, from close to the beginning of its invasion.  So, nothing — nothing new would change on that front if they continue to do so.

I would just make clear, though, that the revenues that we are using to repay these loans, under European law, these revenues don’t belong to Russia.  It’s actually contractual law. The interest earned doesn’t belong to Russia but rather the custody in Belgium.  And so, we don’t view this as a seizure of Russia’s assets, per se.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, everyone.  Thanks for joining.  If there are any follow-up questions, do reach out to us, and we’ll get back to you. 

As a reminder, this call was on the record, and the person you heard from was Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics.  The embargo on this call is now lifted.  Thanks again.

9:23 A.M. EDT

The post On-the-Record Press Call on the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans Effort appeared first on The White House.

NHTI Community College
Concord, New Hampshire

4:14 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) 

What’s your name?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, is that right?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, thanks for being here.

Have a seat, everyone.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Well, thank you. 

Look, Lauren, thanks for that introduction and for sharing your story.  Unfortunately, there are too many stories like yours all across America.  Sadly, it’s a familiar one to many Americans. 

People lay in bed at night, literally, staring at the ceiling, wondering what would happen if their spouse became seriously ill or got cancer, if their child gets sick, or if something happens to you.  Do you have enough insurance?  Can you afford the medical bills?  Will you have to sell the house?  Will you have to get a mortgage?  “How in God’s name are we going to pay for those prescriptions?  Prescription drugs are so damn high.”

And you find out a big reason why you’re lying awake at night and asking these questions is because Big Pharma is charging you exorbitant prices for the prescriptions you may badly need — literally, higher prices than anywhere in the world — and that’s not hyperbole; it’s a fact — anywhere in the world. 

I’ve been fighting, like others, Big Pharma since I was a United States senator, back in the days when we were told they couldn’t be touched.  They had an exemption basically.  Unlike other parts of the health care system, Big Pharma got a special cut- — carveout that prevented Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices with them.  They weren’t allowed to do that.   

For years, advocates, like many of you here today, have worked tirelessly to change that and to give Medicare the power to lower prescription drug prices, just like the Department of Veterans Affairs was able to do for veterans.  Same power.  And it matters.  It matters a lot.   

That’s why one of the proudest things I’ve ever done was pass the Inflation Reduction Act that allowed us to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.  Not a single Republican voted for this — not one single Republican in the House or Senate voted.  Not one. 

But thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we finally beat Big Pharma — in no small part because of your delegation.  Not a joke.  (Applause.)

Because of partners like Senator Jeanne Shaheen and — I tell you what, she’s got a special secret weapon, Billy — (laughter) — you want to be in a foxhole, man, you want Billy in that foxhole with you, man — and Maggie Hassan; Representative Annie — Annie Kuster; and especially Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.   

That’s why we’re here today, to talk about a law that Democrats passed and is lowering prescription drug prices and — I might add, and I’ll explain in a moment — saving the taxpayers billions of dollars.  Not just the individual recipients of the — the benefit, the taxpayers. 

Americans pay more for prescription drugs, as has been pointed by Bernie, than any other advanced nation in the world.

I can take you to the airport and put you on Air Force One with me and take you to any pharmacy from Tor- —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I’m in!

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, man.  (Laughter.)  All right. 

I can take you to Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Bel- — I can take you anywhere in the world, literally, and you’ll pay half or less than you’d pay in America for the exact same drug made by the exact same pharmaceutical company.  Same drug.  Same pharta- — same pharmaceutical company. 

But not anymore.  With the help of Democrats in Congress — and Kamala, by the way, pac- — cast the tiebreaking vote to make sure it passed.  (Applause.)  Don’t — don’t tell me one vote doesn’t count. 

He told us it would — I told them what I — when I wrote this bill that I couldn’t get it passed.  We had a one-vote majority, and I mean — that it wouldn’t — never happen, but we stuck together.  We finally got it done, and it was a hell of a fight. 

The pharmaceutical company — as Bernie referenced, in another way — spent nearly $400 million — $400 million to defeat this single bill — $400 million — but we beat the special interests and we delivered for the American people.  

Because of this law, not only could Medicare finally negotiate lower prices but it also capped prescription drug costs for seniors total — this year at $3,500 in 2024 and next — in the next six months —

By the way, in the first six months of this alone — year alone, on out-of-pocket spending, we saved the people enrolled in Medicare nearly $1 billion in six months — $1 billion less out of your pocket, nationwide, in just the first six months.  

That means, as of June, 1.5 million Americans who are enrolled in Medicare hit the cap and do not have to pay a dime more for drugs for the rest of the year, no matter what their costs are. 

And here — (applause) — but this is bill is so extensive people don’t fully understand it. 

And guess what?  Starting this January — this January, the total cap on prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare will be even lower.  It will go down to $2,000.  They don’t have to pay more than $2,000, no matter what the cost of their drugs are — no matter what. 

For example, as some of you unfortunately know, some of the cancer drugs can cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  That’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact.  This change is expected to save 19 million seniors and other people on Medicare — save them — just those ones on Medicare — $7.4 billion in out-of-pocket spending starting in January. 

But here’s the deal.  It’s also going to save the American taxpayers billions of dollars.  I’ll go into this a little more detail, but the fact — the bill we passed — the extent of it is — guess what? — the American taxpayer is going to save $160 billion (inaudible) — (applause)  — $160 billion dollars.  Because they no longer have — and Medicare — have to pay $400 instead of $35 for insulin, for example.

But that’s not all.  Thanks to the law I signed for — seniors are already saving on their prescription drug costs now.  For example, take insulin to treat diabetes.  One in ten Americans — one in ten Americans has diabetes.  I’m not going to ask you if you — if you’re the one, but I bet — how many of you know someone who needs to take insulin for their diabetes?  Raise your hand.  So, a good c- — you know how much it costs to make that insulin?  Ten dollars.  T-E-N.

And you know the guy who invented it, who dis- — who discovered the prescription to do it, he made sure that he didn’t patent it, because he wanted it available for everyone — for everyone.  That’s what he did.  That’s what he did for everyone. 

But guess what?  Now they charge as much as $400 a month. 

Three years ago, I was down in Northern Virginia and doing a town hall.  And I met a 13-year-old boy named Joshua.  He and his dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they needed insulin every day.  I spoke with Joshua’s mom.  Imagine what it’s like to look at your child — and I mean this sincerely.  Think of this in personal terms.  Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin and you’re looking and know you have no idea — no idea how you’re going to pay for it.  Not a joke. 

One woman in that meeting said, “I have two children that need it.  I have to cut their prescription in half.  And some- — sometimes I have to choose which one gets the — gets insulin.”

What does that do to a parent’s dignity, their sense of self-worth, your ability to look your child in the eye — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — look your child in the eye and say, “Honey, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.” 

Or imagine the senior having to cut your pills in half, to skip doses, or forego your prescriptions altogether because you just can’t afford them.

Folks, this is the United States of America.  So, when we had — when we got elected, we were told we’d never get anything done.  We have a one-vote majority and h- — anyway, we’d never get anything big done.  We got a hell of a lot big done.  (Applause.)  No — because of this group right here.

And thanks to one of those laws — (applause) — thanks to one of those laws, the Inflation Reduction Act, seniors with diabetes, as you’ve heard, now pay — and many of you know — $35 a month instead of $400 a month.  Thirty- — that changes someone’s life.

Growing up with the family I grew up in, my dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, “Joey, family is the” — I mean this sincerely, my word as a Biden — “family is the beginning, the middle, and the end.  And everyone — everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity.” 

What’s it do to a parent?  What’s it do to a parent when you can’t provide something you know your child and your spouse badly needs and there’s no way you can pay for it?

But Kamala and I wanted $35 insulin for everyone — not just seniors, for everybody.  (Applause.)  And she’s going to get it done.

Look, folks, they’re still going to make a profit.  They’re still making 350 percent profit.  Costs them 10 bucks to make it.  Think about that.

We’re taking on the cost of more than just insulin.  Medicare, in the same bill, which people are only beginning to find out — understandably, because this bill is a bill that’s passed, but it goes on for years.  Medicare is now able to negotiate lower prices for some of the costliest drugs that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis to cancer.  And here’s what the law has already — we’ve already passed has done.

For the first time ever, every year from this point on — every year, calendar year — Medicare will negotiate the cost of additional prescription drugs.

Earlier this year, I announced that Medicare reached an agreement with drug manufacturers on 10 new drugs that Medicare picked and said, “We’re going to negotiate.”  The most common, most expensive drugs that treat everything from kidney disease to arthritis to blood cancer and more.

These new low prices for all 10 drugs will go into effect in January 2026 and cut the prices on the — those 10 drugs by between 40 and 80 percent. 

Next year — the next year, Medicare will negotiate another price — lower price for 15 additional drugs and every year ther- — thereafter until we get after 20 — and 20 drugs, until every drug is covered that’s on the market — every one.  (Applause.)

It’s already passed.  And, folks, it isn’t just saving seniors money.  As I said, it’s also saving taxpayers billions of dollars because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Pharma. 

Over the next 10 years — just so far — the newer, lower drug prices and other reforms, we’ve cut the federal deficit by $160 billion, while he raised it by $200 billion.  (Applause.)  I’m serious.  Think about it. 

Look, I’m a capitalist.  I was listed for 36 years as the poorest man in Congress, but I’m still a capitalist.  (Laughter.)  You think I’m kidding.  I got a phone call; I was campaigning for a — a colleague who was — no longer around but was up in this neck of the woods, in Vermont — not Bernie but his predecessor.  And I got a phone call from my wife.  She said, “Joe” — well, actually, I called home.  When I’m away, I’d call b- — see how the kids are doing before she goes off to teach. 

I said, “Hey, Jill, how are you?”  “Fine.”  (Laughter.)  You know you’re in trouble when you get that answer.  (Laughter.)  This is — I give you my word as a Biden — this is a true story. 

She said, “Did you read today’s paper?”  I said, “Honey, they don’t have the Wilmington News Journal up here.”  (Laughter.)  She said, “Well, headline: ‘Biden, Poorest Man in Congress.’  Is that true?”  (Laughter.)  I said, “I don’t know,” but I guess I was for 36 years.  (Laughter.)  I never thought — I didn’t have any money, but I had a good salary. 

Look, but I’m a capitalist.  (Laughs.)  And without competition, it’s not capitalism; it’s exploitation.  When Big Pharma doesn’t play by the rules, competitors can’t offer lower-priced drugs and devices that carry those drugs so prices stay artificially high. 

And, look — but we’re taking action.  For example, we called out drug companies, as Bernie mentioned, that make inhalers so the people with asthma, they — and some severe asthma — I have asthma, but it’s not severe — that they need to breathe — for charging Americans — and he was right; this was not an exaggeration — 70 times more than companies in ch- — in — in Europe charge for the same exact prescription.  It’s outrageous.  I think it borders on immoral. 

As a result, three of the largest companies, as I skillfully and very privately and peacefully called their CEOs to tell them — (laughter) — who make these inhalers are saying that instead of charging up to $600 out of pocket for — to cap the cost at $35.  And so, it’s about time. 

But, again, Bernie is a big reason why this is happening.  You don’t want to screw around with Bernie.  (Laughter.)

But we have to do more.  Bernie and I said this summer, it’s time for drug manufacturers to lower the prices on anti-obesity medications that you hear so much about these days.  And, by the way, it’s not just cosmetically.  It saves people’s lives, these obesity medicines.  It saves their lives because of — they’re so overweight and there’s so much problems associated with it. 

You just heard from Bernie about what these drug companies are doing.  The prices of these o- — anti-obesity drugs can be six times higher in America than in other countries, from Canada to Sweden.  This is cr- — where I come from, it’s called price gouging and corporate greed. 

And I know a little about corporations.  There are more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other state in the Union combined.  So, I’m used to dealing with corporations. 

Americans don’t like to be played for suckers.  We don’t like that.  I’m — and we’re tired of it.  And it’s outrageous.  It’s got to stop. 

Look, today’s announcement follows actions we’ve already taken to reduce the health care costs for average Americans.  Because of Bernie’s leadership, we took action to reduce the cost of hearing aids for 1 million Americans by as much as $3,000.  You see them advertise on television.  You go for the prescription drug hearing aid, it’s $3,060 or some- — whatever the number — over 3,000 bucks.  And you get the same hearing aid and you get it for $3,000 less because you don’t have to go for the prescription; you can go right to the drug — you can go to the drug store for the — right to the counter. 

In addition, my administration is banning junk health insurance.  These guys are get- — they’ve been co- — coming and going.  There are plans for health insurance that will look affordable but then stick consumers with big, unexpected charges. 

You know, we ended the — those unfair surprise medical bills.  When I was — years ago, when I was in — in the Senate, and I was a — I had — I had two cranial aneurysms, and I was hospitalized for a long time.  And you have what they call surprise medical bills.  If the insurance you have doesn’t cover a particular provider and not in-network, they charge you significantly more.  And so, you get these surprise hospital bills. 

So, hospitals that are in-network can’t send you a bill for out-of-network doctors who d- — you didn’t choose and are not part of your — you didn’t n- — you never consulted them.  That’s banned.  I did that by executive order.

Kamala and I are also protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act.  Today, there are 21 million Americans — 21 million Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act marketplace.  That’s 9 million more people, individuals, since I’ve been in office that are now covered by the Affordable Care Act. 

More Americans — (applause) — more Americans have health care today than ever in American history — today — than ever.  And it’s in part because I expanded tax credits that save an average of $800 per person per year, reducing health care premiums for millions of working families who have coverage under the Affordable Care Act. 

These enhancements expire next year, though.  And I’m calling on Congress to make the expanded health care tax credits permanent.  (Applause.)

And Trump — Trump and his MAGA Republican friends want to cut the Affordable Care Act out completely.  You know how many times they’ve tried to introdu- — they’ve introduced bills over the last three years to do that?  Fifty-one times.  Fifty-one times.  He wants to replace the Affordable Care Act.  We can’t let that happen.

Look, he calls — he wants to replace it with hi- — I love his — I love this guy.  (Laughter.)  I’m trying to be a very good fella.  (Laughter.)  I’m not letting my Irish get the best of me.  (Laughter.)

But my predecessor, the distinguished former president — (laughter) — he wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with — he calls — this is what he refers to it: a “concept of a plan.”  (Laughter.)  I’ve heard that concept of a plan now for almost eight years.  “A concept of a plan.”  What the hell is a concept of a — he has no concept of anything.  (Applause.)  No plan.

If we don’t elect Kamala and he gets elected, Trump could kick up to 45 million people off their health insurance — 45 million.  Over 100 million people could lose health care coverage because they have a preexisting condition.  The only reason they could get it is because of the Affordable Care Act. 

Trump and MAGA Republicans want to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act, which they’re talking — the “big bill” — which made all these savings possible, raising prescription drug prices again for millions of Americans.  They’re — state it.  They’re not — and he b- — this guy means what he says — means what he says.

Look, during the last administration, my predecessor exploded the national debt more than any previous president in a single term.  This guy raised the national debt by $2 trillion because of a tax cut that overwhelmingly benefitted the very wealthy and the biggest corporations. 

Now, he’s saying, if elected — remember what he said now.  If elected, he wants another $5 trillion tax cut for the very wealthy.  That’s the tax cut he wants. 

He won’t just get rid of the Department of Education, which he wants to do, and the Affordable Care Act.  He’ll gut Social Security and Medicare, which he says he wants to do, h- — hurt hardworking people. 

I’ve got a better idea.  Let’s protect Social Security and Medicare and finally start making the very wealthy pay their fair share to keep these programs (inaudible).  (Applause.)  I mean it.

By the way, you know what the average tax rate is for a billionaire in America?  There are a thousand billionaires since COVID.  8.2 percent.  Anybody who wants to change places with a billionaire’s tax ra- — rate, raise your hand.  (Laughter.)  I’m serious.  Not a joke.  8.2 percent.

I proposed raising it to 25 percent, which isn’t even close to the highest rate.  You know how much that would raise?  Five hundred billion dollars over the next five years — (applause) — just paying 25 percent.

Look, let me repeat what I have said since day one and that Kamala has continued to c- — she’s be- — continued to commit to.  We made a commitment that no one — no one in America earning less than $400,000 a year, which is really high, will pay a single additional penny in federal taxes — not a single penny — $400 million — $400,000.  They haven’t, and they won’t.  If Kamala is president, they will continue not to.

So, th- — I don’t want to hear this stuff about “Biden going after the rich.”  I did that to make sure we understand what the superrich are paying.

And, folks, let me close with this.  Bernie and I are going to — going to — have been doing this work for a long time.  I know we both look like we’re 40, but we’re a little older — (laughter and applause) — at least I am.  I can’t even say it anymore.  Anyway.  (Laughter.)

We know we’ve made historic progress in the last three years: 35 bucks for insulin, 35 bucks for inhalers, $2,000-a-year cap, and things continue to go.

We’re showing how health care should be a right, not a privilege in America.  That’s why I’ve never been more optimistic about our future, and I mean it. 

We’re at one of those inflection points, folks.  The decisions we make in the next election are going to determine what this country looks like for the next four or five decades.  And that’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact. 

And, folks, I’m — I’m taking too much of your time, but let me say it this way.  We just have to remember who in the hell we are.  We’re the United States of America.  We’re the United States.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — not a damn thing beyond our capacity.  (Applause.)

We’re the only nation in history of the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in — every one.  Because when we act together, there’s nothing beyond our capacity. 

The rest of the world is looking to us.  We have the strongest economy in the world, and now we just got to make sure it’s available to every single American. 

So, I leave you by saying I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’re about to do in this election.  (Laughs.)  As — as a friend of mine would say, from my lips to God’s ears on that one.  But, look, you’ve got great candidates.  You got great candidates.  And I really mean — we got to get back to the days where we actually can talk to the other team. 

This is not your father’s Republican Party. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No.

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  I mean — I mean it’s not even close. 

I came up in an era — I got elected when I was 29 years old to the United States Senate.  I had to wait 17 days to be able to be sworn in.  I got there as a young civil rights guy in the — when Strom Thurmond and all those guys were still there.  But at least (inaudible) — be — honest to God — you could talk to him.  And people change. 

After all those years serving with Strom Thurmond, on his deathbed, he — 100 years old, his wife called me from Walter Reed Hospital.  She said, “Joe?”  I said, “Yeah, Nancy.”  And sh- — she said, “Strom asked me to come out.  I’m at the nurse’s station with Doctor” — she named his doctor.  “He asked me if you’d do him a favor.”  And I said, “Sure.”  He said, “Will you do his eulogy?” 

I did Strom Thurmond’s eulogy.  I didn’t lie.  I started off and I said, “Grandpa Finnegan, please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, even by the time he left, he had the most racially diverse staff in America.  He voted for a lot — he voted for the change in all the laws that he had voted for before.  There was headline in 1946 of Thurmond — “Thurmond: Hope of the South” — because he was against separate but equal.  Not the proposition you couldn’t separate the races but the proposition that if you had separate but e- — you had to spend the exact amount of money in a Black school as a white school. 

My generic point is: People change.  But these guys just keep getting worse.  (Laughter.)  No, I really mean it.  They mean what they say.  They mean what they say. 

I’ll conclude by saying that, you know, I — I’ll just say something that’s both revealing and self-defeating.  You know, there is — are only a few advantages of being the oldest guy around.  That is, I have more experience in foreign policy than anybody ever that had this job in American history. 

I’ve known every major world leader personally in the last 40 years.  Every international meeting I attend, including just being in Germany, as we’re walking out — whether at the G20 or the G7, whatever it is — they’ll pull me aside, one leader after another, quietly, and say, “Joe, he can’t win.  My democracy is at stake.  My democracy is at stake.”

If America walks away, who leads the world?  Who?  Name me a country.  And we’re doing it without expending American blood by having Americans at war. 

So, folks, there’s so much at stake.  So, please — I know you’ll all vote, but please call your neighbors, get your friends, get your relatives, get them to vote, because this is — the nation’s democracy, in my view, depends on it. 

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

Thank you.

Oh, there you are.

SENATOR SANDERS:  (Laughs.)

THE PRESIDENT:  We’ve been doing this a long time, pal.

SENATOR SANDERS:  I know.  (Laughs.)

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

4:44 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden on Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs | Concord, NH appeared first on The White House.

NHTI Community College
Concord, New Hampshire

4:14 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) 

What’s your name?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, is that right?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, thanks for being here.

Have a seat, everyone.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Well, thank you. 

Look, Lauren, thanks for that introduction and for sharing your story.  Unfortunately, there are too many stories like yours all across America.  Sadly, it’s a familiar one to many Americans. 

People lay in bed at night, literally, staring at the ceiling, wondering what would happen if their spouse became seriously ill or got cancer, if their child gets sick, or if something happens to you.  Do you have enough insurance?  Can you afford the medical bills?  Will you have to sell the house?  Will you have to get a mortgage?  “How in God’s name are we going to pay for those prescriptions?  Prescription drugs are so damn high.”

And you find out a big reason why you’re lying awake at night and asking these questions is because Big Pharma is charging you exorbitant prices for the prescriptions you may badly need — literally, higher prices than anywhere in the world — and that’s not hyperbole; it’s a fact — anywhere in the world. 

I’ve been fighting, like others, Big Pharma since I was a United States senator, back in the days when we were told they couldn’t be touched.  They had an exemption basically.  Unlike other parts of the health care system, Big Pharma got a special cut- — carveout that prevented Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices with them.  They weren’t allowed to do that.   

For years, advocates, like many of you here today, have worked tirelessly to change that and to give Medicare the power to lower prescription drug prices, just like the Department of Veterans Affairs was able to do for veterans.  Same power.  And it matters.  It matters a lot.   

That’s why one of the proudest things I’ve ever done was pass the Inflation Reduction Act that allowed us to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.  Not a single Republican voted for this — not one single Republican in the House or Senate voted.  Not one. 

But thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we finally beat Big Pharma — in no small part because of your delegation.  Not a joke.  (Applause.)

Because of partners like Senator Jeanne Shaheen and — I tell you what, she’s got a special secret weapon, Billy — (laughter) — you want to be in a foxhole, man, you want Billy in that foxhole with you, man — and Maggie Hassan; Representative Annie — Annie Kuster; and especially Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.   

That’s why we’re here today, to talk about a law that Democrats passed and is lowering prescription drug prices and — I might add, and I’ll explain in a moment — saving the taxpayers billions of dollars.  Not just the individual recipients of the — the benefit, the taxpayers. 

Americans pay more for prescription drugs, as has been pointed by Bernie, than any other advanced nation in the world.

I can take you to the airport and put you on Air Force One with me and take you to any pharmacy from Tor- —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I’m in!

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, man.  (Laughter.)  All right. 

I can take you to Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Bel- — I can take you anywhere in the world, literally, and you’ll pay half or less than you’d pay in America for the exact same drug made by the exact same pharmaceutical company.  Same drug.  Same pharta- — same pharmaceutical company. 

But not anymore.  With the help of Democrats in Congress — and Kamala, by the way, pac- — cast the tiebreaking vote to make sure it passed.  (Applause.)  Don’t — don’t tell me one vote doesn’t count. 

He told us it would — I told them what I — when I wrote this bill that I couldn’t get it passed.  We had a one-vote majority, and I mean — that it wouldn’t — never happen, but we stuck together.  We finally got it done, and it was a hell of a fight. 

The pharmaceutical company — as Bernie referenced, in another way — spent nearly $400 million — $400 million to defeat this single bill — $400 million — but we beat the special interests and we delivered for the American people.  

Because of this law, not only could Medicare finally negotiate lower prices but it also capped prescription drug costs for seniors total — this year at $3,500 in 2024 and next — in the next six months —

By the way, in the first six months of this alone — year alone, on out-of-pocket spending, we saved the people enrolled in Medicare nearly $1 billion in six months — $1 billion less out of your pocket, nationwide, in just the first six months.  

That means, as of June, 1.5 million Americans who are enrolled in Medicare hit the cap and do not have to pay a dime more for drugs for the rest of the year, no matter what their costs are. 

And here — (applause) — but this is bill is so extensive people don’t fully understand it. 

And guess what?  Starting this January — this January, the total cap on prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare will be even lower.  It will go down to $2,000.  They don’t have to pay more than $2,000, no matter what the cost of their drugs are — no matter what. 

For example, as some of you unfortunately know, some of the cancer drugs can cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  That’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact.  This change is expected to save 19 million seniors and other people on Medicare — save them — just those ones on Medicare — $7.4 billion in out-of-pocket spending starting in January. 

But here’s the deal.  It’s also going to save the American taxpayers billions of dollars.  I’ll go into this a little more detail, but the fact — the bill we passed — the extent of it is — guess what? — the American taxpayer is going to save $160 billion (inaudible) — (applause)  — $160 billion dollars.  Because they no longer have — and Medicare — have to pay $400 instead of $35 for insulin, for example.

But that’s not all.  Thanks to the law I signed for — seniors are already saving on their prescription drug costs now.  For example, take insulin to treat diabetes.  One in ten Americans — one in ten Americans has diabetes.  I’m not going to ask you if you — if you’re the one, but I bet — how many of you know someone who needs to take insulin for their diabetes?  Raise your hand.  So, a good c- — you know how much it costs to make that insulin?  Ten dollars.  T-E-N.

And you know the guy who invented it, who dis- — who discovered the prescription to do it, he made sure that he didn’t patent it, because he wanted it available for everyone — for everyone.  That’s what he did.  That’s what he did for everyone. 

But guess what?  Now they charge as much as $400 a month. 

Three years ago, I was down in Northern Virginia and doing a town hall.  And I met a 13-year-old boy named Joshua.  He and his dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they needed insulin every day.  I spoke with Joshua’s mom.  Imagine what it’s like to look at your child — and I mean this sincerely.  Think of this in personal terms.  Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin and you’re looking and know you have no idea — no idea how you’re going to pay for it.  Not a joke. 

One woman in that meeting said, “I have two children that need it.  I have to cut their prescription in half.  And some- — sometimes I have to choose which one gets the — gets insulin.”

What does that do to a parent’s dignity, their sense of self-worth, your ability to look your child in the eye — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — look your child in the eye and say, “Honey, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.” 

Or imagine the senior having to cut your pills in half, to skip doses, or forego your prescriptions altogether because you just can’t afford them.

Folks, this is the United States of America.  So, when we had — when we got elected, we were told we’d never get anything done.  We have a one-vote majority and h- — anyway, we’d never get anything big done.  We got a hell of a lot big done.  (Applause.)  No — because of this group right here.

And thanks to one of those laws — (applause) — thanks to one of those laws, the Inflation Reduction Act, seniors with diabetes, as you’ve heard, now pay — and many of you know — $35 a month instead of $400 a month.  Thirty- — that changes someone’s life.

Growing up with the family I grew up in, my dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, “Joey, family is the” — I mean this sincerely, my word as a Biden — “family is the beginning, the middle, and the end.  And everyone — everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity.” 

What’s it do to a parent?  What’s it do to a parent when you can’t provide something you know your child and your spouse badly needs and there’s no way you can pay for it?

But Kamala and I wanted $35 insulin for everyone — not just seniors, for everybody.  (Applause.)  And she’s going to get it done.

Look, folks, they’re still going to make a profit.  They’re still making 350 percent profit.  Costs them 10 bucks to make it.  Think about that.

We’re taking on the cost of more than just insulin.  Medicare, in the same bill, which people are only beginning to find out — understandably, because this bill is a bill that’s passed, but it goes on for years.  Medicare is now able to negotiate lower prices for some of the costliest drugs that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis to cancer.  And here’s what the law has already — we’ve already passed has done.

For the first time ever, every year from this point on — every year, calendar year — Medicare will negotiate the cost of additional prescription drugs.

Earlier this year, I announced that Medicare reached an agreement with drug manufacturers on 10 new drugs that Medicare picked and said, “We’re going to negotiate.”  The most common, most expensive drugs that treat everything from kidney disease to arthritis to blood cancer and more.

These new low prices for all 10 drugs will go into effect in January 2026 and cut the prices on the — those 10 drugs by between 40 and 80 percent. 

Next year — the next year, Medicare will negotiate another price — lower price for 15 additional drugs and every year ther- — thereafter until we get after 20 — and 20 drugs, until every drug is covered that’s on the market — every one.  (Applause.)

It’s already passed.  And, folks, it isn’t just saving seniors money.  As I said, it’s also saving taxpayers billions of dollars because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Pharma. 

Over the next 10 years — just so far — the newer, lower drug prices and other reforms, we’ve cut the federal deficit by $160 billion, while he raised it by $200 billion.  (Applause.)  I’m serious.  Think about it. 

Look, I’m a capitalist.  I was listed for 36 years as the poorest man in Congress, but I’m still a capitalist.  (Laughter.)  You think I’m kidding.  I got a phone call; I was campaigning for a — a colleague who was — no longer around but was up in this neck of the woods, in Vermont — not Bernie but his predecessor.  And I got a phone call from my wife.  She said, “Joe” — well, actually, I called home.  When I’m away, I’d call b- — see how the kids are doing before she goes off to teach. 

I said, “Hey, Jill, how are you?”  “Fine.”  (Laughter.)  You know you’re in trouble when you get that answer.  (Laughter.)  This is — I give you my word as a Biden — this is a true story. 

She said, “Did you read today’s paper?”  I said, “Honey, they don’t have the Wilmington News Journal up here.”  (Laughter.)  She said, “Well, headline: ‘Biden, Poorest Man in Congress.’  Is that true?”  (Laughter.)  I said, “I don’t know,” but I guess I was for 36 years.  (Laughter.)  I never thought — I didn’t have any money, but I had a good salary. 

Look, but I’m a capitalist.  (Laughs.)  And without competition, it’s not capitalism; it’s exploitation.  When Big Pharma doesn’t play by the rules, competitors can’t offer lower-priced drugs and devices that carry those drugs so prices stay artificially high. 

And, look — but we’re taking action.  For example, we called out drug companies, as Bernie mentioned, that make inhalers so the people with asthma, they — and some severe asthma — I have asthma, but it’s not severe — that they need to breathe — for charging Americans — and he was right; this was not an exaggeration — 70 times more than companies in ch- — in — in Europe charge for the same exact prescription.  It’s outrageous.  I think it borders on immoral. 

As a result, three of the largest companies, as I skillfully and very privately and peacefully called their CEOs to tell them — (laughter) — who make these inhalers are saying that instead of charging up to $600 out of pocket for — to cap the cost at $35.  And so, it’s about time. 

But, again, Bernie is a big reason why this is happening.  You don’t want to screw around with Bernie.  (Laughter.)

But we have to do more.  Bernie and I said this summer, it’s time for drug manufacturers to lower the prices on anti-obesity medications that you hear so much about these days.  And, by the way, it’s not just cosmetically.  It saves people’s lives, these obesity medicines.  It saves their lives because of — they’re so overweight and there’s so much problems associated with it. 

You just heard from Bernie about what these drug companies are doing.  The prices of these o- — anti-obesity drugs can be six times higher in America than in other countries, from Canada to Sweden.  This is cr- — where I come from, it’s called price gouging and corporate greed. 

And I know a little about corporations.  There are more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other state in the Union combined.  So, I’m used to dealing with corporations. 

Americans don’t like to be played for suckers.  We don’t like that.  I’m — and we’re tired of it.  And it’s outrageous.  It’s got to stop. 

Look, today’s announcement follows actions we’ve already taken to reduce the health care costs for average Americans.  Because of Bernie’s leadership, we took action to reduce the cost of hearing aids for 1 million Americans by as much as $3,000.  You see them advertise on television.  You go for the prescription drug hearing aid, it’s $3,060 or some- — whatever the number — over 3,000 bucks.  And you get the same hearing aid and you get it for $3,000 less because you don’t have to go for the prescription; you can go right to the drug — you can go to the drug store for the — right to the counter. 

In addition, my administration is banning junk health insurance.  These guys are get- — they’ve been co- — coming and going.  There are plans for health insurance that will look affordable but then stick consumers with big, unexpected charges. 

You know, we ended the — those unfair surprise medical bills.  When I was — years ago, when I was in — in the Senate, and I was a — I had — I had two cranial aneurysms, and I was hospitalized for a long time.  And you have what they call surprise medical bills.  If the insurance you have doesn’t cover a particular provider and not in-network, they charge you significantly more.  And so, you get these surprise hospital bills. 

So, hospitals that are in-network can’t send you a bill for out-of-network doctors who d- — you didn’t choose and are not part of your — you didn’t n- — you never consulted them.  That’s banned.  I did that by executive order.

Kamala and I are also protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act.  Today, there are 21 million Americans — 21 million Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act marketplace.  That’s 9 million more people, individuals, since I’ve been in office that are now covered by the Affordable Care Act. 

More Americans — (applause) — more Americans have health care today than ever in American history — today — than ever.  And it’s in part because I expanded tax credits that save an average of $800 per person per year, reducing health care premiums for millions of working families who have coverage under the Affordable Care Act. 

These enhancements expire next year, though.  And I’m calling on Congress to make the expanded health care tax credits permanent.  (Applause.)

And Trump — Trump and his MAGA Republican friends want to cut the Affordable Care Act out completely.  You know how many times they’ve tried to introdu- — they’ve introduced bills over the last three years to do that?  Fifty-one times.  Fifty-one times.  He wants to replace the Affordable Care Act.  We can’t let that happen.

Look, he calls — he wants to replace it with hi- — I love his — I love this guy.  (Laughter.)  I’m trying to be a very good fella.  (Laughter.)  I’m not letting my Irish get the best of me.  (Laughter.)

But my predecessor, the distinguished former president — (laughter) — he wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with — he calls — this is what he refers to it: a “concept of a plan.”  (Laughter.)  I’ve heard that concept of a plan now for almost eight years.  “A concept of a plan.”  What the hell is a concept of a — he has no concept of anything.  (Applause.)  No plan.

If we don’t elect Kamala and he gets elected, Trump could kick up to 45 million people off their health insurance — 45 million.  Over 100 million people could lose health care coverage because they have a preexisting condition.  The only reason they could get it is because of the Affordable Care Act. 

Trump and MAGA Republicans want to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act, which they’re talking — the “big bill” — which made all these savings possible, raising prescription drug prices again for millions of Americans.  They’re — state it.  They’re not — and he b- — this guy means what he says — means what he says.

Look, during the last administration, my predecessor exploded the national debt more than any previous president in a single term.  This guy raised the national debt by $2 trillion because of a tax cut that overwhelmingly benefitted the very wealthy and the biggest corporations. 

Now, he’s saying, if elected — remember what he said now.  If elected, he wants another $5 trillion tax cut for the very wealthy.  That’s the tax cut he wants. 

He won’t just get rid of the Department of Education, which he wants to do, and the Affordable Care Act.  He’ll gut Social Security and Medicare, which he says he wants to do, h- — hurt hardworking people. 

I’ve got a better idea.  Let’s protect Social Security and Medicare and finally start making the very wealthy pay their fair share to keep these programs (inaudible).  (Applause.)  I mean it.

By the way, you know what the average tax rate is for a billionaire in America?  There are a thousand billionaires since COVID.  8.2 percent.  Anybody who wants to change places with a billionaire’s tax ra- — rate, raise your hand.  (Laughter.)  I’m serious.  Not a joke.  8.2 percent.

I proposed raising it to 25 percent, which isn’t even close to the highest rate.  You know how much that would raise?  Five hundred billion dollars over the next five years — (applause) — just paying 25 percent.

Look, let me repeat what I have said since day one and that Kamala has continued to c- — she’s be- — continued to commit to.  We made a commitment that no one — no one in America earning less than $400,000 a year, which is really high, will pay a single additional penny in federal taxes — not a single penny — $400 million — $400,000.  They haven’t, and they won’t.  If Kamala is president, they will continue not to.

So, th- — I don’t want to hear this stuff about “Biden going after the rich.”  I did that to make sure we understand what the superrich are paying.

And, folks, let me close with this.  Bernie and I are going to — going to — have been doing this work for a long time.  I know we both look like we’re 40, but we’re a little older — (laughter and applause) — at least I am.  I can’t even say it anymore.  Anyway.  (Laughter.)

We know we’ve made historic progress in the last three years: 35 bucks for insulin, 35 bucks for inhalers, $2,000-a-year cap, and things continue to go.

We’re showing how health care should be a right, not a privilege in America.  That’s why I’ve never been more optimistic about our future, and I mean it. 

We’re at one of those inflection points, folks.  The decisions we make in the next election are going to determine what this country looks like for the next four or five decades.  And that’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact. 

And, folks, I’m — I’m taking too much of your time, but let me say it this way.  We just have to remember who in the hell we are.  We’re the United States of America.  We’re the United States.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — not a damn thing beyond our capacity.  (Applause.)

We’re the only nation in history of the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in — every one.  Because when we act together, there’s nothing beyond our capacity. 

The rest of the world is looking to us.  We have the strongest economy in the world, and now we just got to make sure it’s available to every single American. 

So, I leave you by saying I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’re about to do in this election.  (Laughs.)  As — as a friend of mine would say, from my lips to God’s ears on that one.  But, look, you’ve got great candidates.  You got great candidates.  And I really mean — we got to get back to the days where we actually can talk to the other team. 

This is not your father’s Republican Party. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No.

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  I mean — I mean it’s not even close. 

I came up in an era — I got elected when I was 29 years old to the United States Senate.  I had to wait 17 days to be able to be sworn in.  I got there as a young civil rights guy in the — when Strom Thurmond and all those guys were still there.  But at least (inaudible) — be — honest to God — you could talk to him.  And people change. 

After all those years serving with Strom Thurmond, on his deathbed, he — 100 years old, his wife called me from Walter Reed Hospital.  She said, “Joe?”  I said, “Yeah, Nancy.”  And sh- — she said, “Strom asked me to come out.  I’m at the nurse’s station with Doctor” — she named his doctor.  “He asked me if you’d do him a favor.”  And I said, “Sure.”  He said, “Will you do his eulogy?” 

I did Strom Thurmond’s eulogy.  I didn’t lie.  I started off and I said, “Grandpa Finnegan, please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, even by the time he left, he had the most racially diverse staff in America.  He voted for a lot — he voted for the change in all the laws that he had voted for before.  There was headline in 1946 of Thurmond — “Thurmond: Hope of the South” — because he was against separate but equal.  Not the proposition you couldn’t separate the races but the proposition that if you had separate but e- — you had to spend the exact amount of money in a Black school as a white school. 

My generic point is: People change.  But these guys just keep getting worse.  (Laughter.)  No, I really mean it.  They mean what they say.  They mean what they say. 

I’ll conclude by saying that, you know, I — I’ll just say something that’s both revealing and self-defeating.  You know, there is — are only a few advantages of being the oldest guy around.  That is, I have more experience in foreign policy than anybody ever that had this job in American history. 

I’ve known every major world leader personally in the last 40 years.  Every international meeting I attend, including just being in Germany, as we’re walking out — whether at the G20 or the G7, whatever it is — they’ll pull me aside, one leader after another, quietly, and say, “Joe, he can’t win.  My democracy is at stake.  My democracy is at stake.”

If America walks away, who leads the world?  Who?  Name me a country.  And we’re doing it without expending American blood by having Americans at war. 

So, folks, there’s so much at stake.  So, please — I know you’ll all vote, but please call your neighbors, get your friends, get your relatives, get them to vote, because this is — the nation’s democracy, in my view, depends on it. 

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

Thank you.

Oh, there you are.

SENATOR SANDERS:  (Laughs.)

THE PRESIDENT:  We’ve been doing this a long time, pal.

SENATOR SANDERS:  I know.  (Laughs.)

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

4:44 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden on Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs | Concord, NH appeared first on The White House.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden created the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research to fundamentally change how our nation approaches and funds women’s health research. Despite making up more than half the population, women have historically been understudied and underrepresented in health research. Since its launch in November 2023, the Initiative has made significant investments to close gaps in research on women’s health—from menopause-related conditions to endometriosis to auto-immune conditions to cardiovascular disease—so that we can improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, and differently.

Today in Las Vegas, Nevada, the First Lady will announce $110 million in awards from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate transformative research and development in women’s health. President Biden established ARPA-H, a new research and development funding agency, with bipartisan Congressional support to generate high-impact biomedical and health breakthroughs. In February 2024, the First Lady launched ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Health, the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Over the last 10 months, ARPA-H received an unprecedented response to this call for solutions for women’s health, with over 1,700 submissions across 45 states and D.C. as well as 34 countries.

In less than a year, the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research has galvanized nearly a billion dollars in funding for women’s health research, including the First Lady’s recent announcement of $500 million from the U.S. Department of Defense and $200 million from the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, in his State of the Union address, President Biden called on Congress to make a bold, transformative investment of $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. President Biden also signed a first-of-its-kind Executive Order on Advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation, directing the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to expand and improve research on women’s health. Through the Initiative, federal agencies have committed to taking over 100 actions to prioritize investments in women’s health research and integrate women’s health across the federal research portfolio.

Accelerating Progress in Women’s Health Research

Today’s ARPA-H awardees will spur innovation and advance high-impact, novel approaches to diseases and conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, and differently. Today’s awardees are working across a range of women’s health issues—from pursuing new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cardiovascular conditions, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, neurological diseases, and pain in women to developing next-generation approaches to menopause, migraines, obstetrics, and gynecological care.

One-quarter of today’s awardees are pursuing “launchpad” projects, meaning those projects have the potential for commercialization within two years. The remaining awardees are pursuing “spark” projects that are in the early stage of research. ARPA-H’s support for these projects will help ensure that women and their health care providers can soon benefit from the research investments being made today.

The $110 million in ARPA-H awards announced today across 23 teams fund bold and transformative women’s health solutions, including:

• Aspira Women’s Health Inc. of Shelton, Connecticut will receive $10 million to create a first-of-its-kind definitive, non-invasive blood test to diagnose endometriosis. Endometriosis is a debilitating condition that affects about 1 in 10 women and often takes years and surgery to be diagnosed. Aspira Women’s Health Inc. aims to reduce the time it takes to diagnose endometriosis from years to days while helping health care providers identify the most appropriate treatment option for each woman’s needs.

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts will receive $9.1 million to improve our ability to assess brain disorders in women through a novel non-invasive MRI imaging biomarker. Even though conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and multiple sclerosis disproportionately affect women, there are significant gaps in our knowledge about how to prevent, detect, and treat these conditions in women. By developing a novel and non-invasive MRI technology to measure a specific brain protein, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. will advance our understanding of, and improve treatments for, brain disorders in women.

• Children’s Research Institute of Washington, DC—through its research arm on families—will receive $8.1 million to develop a novel way to assess chronic pain in women. Women experience pain differently than men which can lead health care providers to underestimate and undertreat this pain, resulting in prolonged suffering, delayed diagnosis and treatment, and a reluctance to seek medical care. Despite this need, there is currently no objective, quantitative indicator of chronic pain in women. Children’s Research Institute aims to fill this gap by studying how a woman’s eyes react to external stimulation, which is directly related to how she perceives pain.

• Gravidas Diagnostics, Inc. of Los Angeles, California will receive $3 million to create a first-of-its-kind at-home test to revolutionize our ability to detect early preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. By making it easier to identify preeclampsia quickly, Gravidas Diagnostics Inc.’s new low-cost fingerstick test would help women and their doctors get the information they need sooner to reduce pregnancy-related complications and improve maternal and child health.

• The University of Iowa will receive $10 million to revolutionize the treatment for late-stage and metastatic ovarian cancer by using personalized nanoparticles to boost a woman’s immune system. More than half of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed only after the cancer has metastasized, making it harder to treat and reducing survival rates. Leveraging nanotechnology, the University of Iowa will engineer personalized nanoparticles to use a woman’s own immune system to attack multiple cancers and help more women get the treatment they need to live longer.

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) will receive $3 million to improve our ability to treat migraines in women. Women are more likely than men to suffer from migraines, which can be extremely debilitating. UNC-Chapel Hill will study the lymphatic system to better understand why women are more susceptible to migraines than men—with the goal of treating migraines with new drugs specifically targeting the brain lymphatics and developing personalized treatments to reduce women’s debilitating migraines.

Additional information and a full list of awardees is available here.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $110 Million in Awards from ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Health to Accelerate New Discoveries and Innovation appeared first on The White House.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden created the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research to fundamentally change how our nation approaches and funds women’s health research. Despite making up more than half the population, women have historically been understudied and underrepresented in health research. Since its launch in November 2023, the Initiative has made significant investments to close gaps in research on women’s health—from menopause-related conditions to endometriosis to auto-immune conditions to cardiovascular disease—so that we can improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, and differently.

Today in Las Vegas, Nevada, the First Lady will announce $110 million in awards from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate transformative research and development in women’s health. President Biden established ARPA-H, a new research and development funding agency, with bipartisan Congressional support to generate high-impact biomedical and health breakthroughs. In February 2024, the First Lady launched ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Health, the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Over the last 10 months, ARPA-H received an unprecedented response to this call for solutions for women’s health, with over 1,700 submissions across 45 states and D.C. as well as 34 countries.

In less than a year, the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research has galvanized nearly a billion dollars in funding for women’s health research, including the First Lady’s recent announcement of $500 million from the U.S. Department of Defense and $200 million from the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, in his State of the Union address, President Biden called on Congress to make a bold, transformative investment of $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. President Biden also signed a first-of-its-kind Executive Order on Advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation, directing the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to expand and improve research on women’s health. Through the Initiative, federal agencies have committed to taking over 100 actions to prioritize investments in women’s health research and integrate women’s health across the federal research portfolio.

Accelerating Progress in Women’s Health Research

Today’s ARPA-H awardees will spur innovation and advance high-impact, novel approaches to diseases and conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, and differently. Today’s awardees are working across a range of women’s health issues—from pursuing new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cardiovascular conditions, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, neurological diseases, and pain in women to developing next-generation approaches to menopause, migraines, obstetrics, and gynecological care.

One-quarter of today’s awardees are pursuing “launchpad” projects, meaning those projects have the potential for commercialization within two years. The remaining awardees are pursuing “spark” projects that are in the early stage of research. ARPA-H’s support for these projects will help ensure that women and their health care providers can soon benefit from the research investments being made today.

The $110 million in ARPA-H awards announced today across 23 teams fund bold and transformative women’s health solutions, including:

• Aspira Women’s Health Inc. of Shelton, Connecticut will receive $10 million to create a first-of-its-kind definitive, non-invasive blood test to diagnose endometriosis. Endometriosis is a debilitating condition that affects about 1 in 10 women and often takes years and surgery to be diagnosed. Aspira Women’s Health Inc. aims to reduce the time it takes to diagnose endometriosis from years to days while helping health care providers identify the most appropriate treatment option for each woman’s needs.

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts will receive $9.1 million to improve our ability to assess brain disorders in women through a novel non-invasive MRI imaging biomarker. Even though conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and multiple sclerosis disproportionately affect women, there are significant gaps in our knowledge about how to prevent, detect, and treat these conditions in women. By developing a novel and non-invasive MRI technology to measure a specific brain protein, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. will advance our understanding of, and improve treatments for, brain disorders in women.

• Children’s Research Institute of Washington, DC—through its research arm on families—will receive $8.1 million to develop a novel way to assess chronic pain in women. Women experience pain differently than men which can lead health care providers to underestimate and undertreat this pain, resulting in prolonged suffering, delayed diagnosis and treatment, and a reluctance to seek medical care. Despite this need, there is currently no objective, quantitative indicator of chronic pain in women. Children’s Research Institute aims to fill this gap by studying how a woman’s eyes react to external stimulation, which is directly related to how she perceives pain.

• Gravidas Diagnostics, Inc. of Los Angeles, California will receive $3 million to create a first-of-its-kind at-home test to revolutionize our ability to detect early preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. By making it easier to identify preeclampsia quickly, Gravidas Diagnostics Inc.’s new low-cost fingerstick test would help women and their doctors get the information they need sooner to reduce pregnancy-related complications and improve maternal and child health.

• The University of Iowa will receive $10 million to revolutionize the treatment for late-stage and metastatic ovarian cancer by using personalized nanoparticles to boost a woman’s immune system. More than half of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed only after the cancer has metastasized, making it harder to treat and reducing survival rates. Leveraging nanotechnology, the University of Iowa will engineer personalized nanoparticles to use a woman’s own immune system to attack multiple cancers and help more women get the treatment they need to live longer.

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) will receive $3 million to improve our ability to treat migraines in women. Women are more likely than men to suffer from migraines, which can be extremely debilitating. UNC-Chapel Hill will study the lymphatic system to better understand why women are more susceptible to migraines than men—with the goal of treating migraines with new drugs specifically targeting the brain lymphatics and developing personalized treatments to reduce women’s debilitating migraines.

Additional information and a full list of awardees is available here.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $110 Million in Awards from ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Health to Accelerate New Discoveries and Innovation appeared first on The White House.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Office

5:23 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  This work?  Does this one work, this handheld mic?  Can we make that —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It works. 

THE PRESIDENT:  It works?  It wor- — can you hear me?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, first of all, 14 days.  (Laughter.) 

You know, folks, I know I look like I’m only 40, but — (laughter) — I’ve been doing this a long time.  And it’s not an exaggeration to say this is the most important election any one of you have ever voted in, no matter if it’s your first election or you’ve been doing it for as long as I have.  I really mean it.

You know, I got elected to the Senate when I was 29 years old.  I come from a very modest family.  I had the dubious distinction of being listed as the poorest man in Congress for 36 years.  But I never thought that because I got a good salary as a senator. 

My generic point is this: I got there when I was a kid at 29 and — because of, basically, civil rights issues in my state.  My state was a slave state early on, with three other st- — states that fought on the side of the North.  And my state was — was divided.  Down state, the southern part of the state, talk at you like this — (pronounced in an accent) — like on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  Upstate is more like, you know, suburban Philadelphia areas.

And when I got engaged, things were — we had real differences.  We had a lot of segregationists still left in the Senate.  We had a lot of really conservative people in the Democratic Party.  But even that wasn’t — I was a — like I said, I got deeply involved with civil rights issues, but even that didn’t separate us in a way that we’re separated today.

We were separated very badly, but we — after we would argue like hell, we’d sit down and go to lunch together in the Senate dining room.  And in the process, people changed their minds. 

Before he died, Strom Thurmond had the largest Black staff in Amer- — in the — in the state of — in the United States Senate; voted for the — for the Civil Rights Act.  Things change.

But we’re dealing with a totally different breed of cat now.  That was — the Civil Rights era was terrible, but we got a group now that is just — it is literally — and I’m not one that is prone to hyperbole, but we have a — a group running, the MAGA Republicans, who are — have a antidemocratic attitude toward the way the Constitution functions.  They have virtually no regard for the Constitution.

The first speech I made — you — no reason why you’d remember it, but when I got elected — when I got the nomination, I spoke at Independence Hall, and I said, “Our very democracy is at stake.”  It’s not hyperbole.  Our democracy is at stake.

Think about it.  Think about what happens if Donald Trump were to win this election.  Think about what it means.  He’s made it clear what he wants to do.  He’s not joking about it.  He’s deadly earnest.

He wants to change the way in which the so-called safeguards of the Constitution are honored.  He wants to disregard them. 

You saw what happened when those folks broke through the Capitol, killed police officers.  And he calls them heroes.  He wants to le- — release them from prison terms that they’ve all — they’ve all gotten. 

He won’t even commit that if he loses this election, he’ll go peacefully.  He will not make that commitment.  He talks about there being a “bloodbath” if he loses.  These are words no president has ever used — no president ever used. 

And, by the wo- — you — and if you don’t believe it now, you’re going to learn if he wins.  It’s a serious, serious problem.

So, folks, the first point I want to make to you is we must, we must, we must win.  We must win not only for ourselves but for our children and those children who aren’t even born yet.  It makes a di- — significant difference.

I — the only value of being around a long time, I have more experience than any president in the history of the United States of America.  I’ve gotten to know — literally, not figuratively — that may be good or bad — I’ve gotten to know every major world leader personally over those years because of my involvement in foreign — American foreign policy.  But the rest of the world is scared to death of what’s going to happen if he gets elected.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.

Every one of these international meetings I attend, I get pulled aside.  As we’re walking out, they say, “You got to win.  You got to win.  My democracy is at stake” — meaning their democracy. 

You hear what he talks about in terms of what happens in Europe.  I spent four years putting NATO back together with — Kamala and I.  He wants to get out of NATO.  He’s talking about how he’s good friends with Putin and how he can just talk to him. 

When we — in the middle of the crisis, when we needed all those masks and all those tests for COVID, he was giving those in short supply to Putin — to Putin.

No president has ever been like this guy.  I — I’m afraid I’m — I’ll get going and I’ll really tell you what I think in a minute, but I’m — (laughter).  But I’m serious.  He’s a genuine threat to our democracy, and that’s not hyperbole.  That is the God’s truth.

And, folks, it’s not just him.  It’s the people who are around him.  These MAGA Republicans mean what they say.  They genuinely mean what they say.

For example, Barack and I worked like hell — and Barack deserves all the credit for the — for the Affordable Care Act, making sure people who didn’t have coverage got coverage.  More people have health care today than at any time in American history.  He wants to — (applause) — but it has to be reauthorized.  It must be re- — he wants to end it, wants to take it away.  A hundred million people with preexisting condition would lose health insurance — 100 million. 

One of the things they told me we could never get done, I was able to get — deal with the Affordable Care Act, but not just that.  Look what we did with the drug companies, the — I mean, these guys are ripping — I can put you in Air Force One and take you with me now.  If you have a prescription to fill, I can take you to London, I can take you to Berlin, I can take you to any major city in the world, and I can get you that same prescription filled by the same company for anywhere between 40 and 80 percent less than it costs here.

He wants to do away with the Affordable Care Act — I mean, wi- — excuse me, with — with the whole legislation allowing that to happen.  Not one single Republican voted for it — not one single Republican.

I’m not going to go on, because I could.  But the point is, this guy wants to change it all.  He wants to rip it apart. 

All these press people know the hell what they’re talking about, and they do.  I mean, I — I really mean it.  He believes in the free press like I believe in whether I can climb Mount Everest.  (Laughter.)  But I — but I’m serious. 

They’re going to be straight with you and tell you what they think.  They don’t agree with me.  They’re not all for me, by any stretch of the imagination.  But this guy means what he says.  And I think every one of them know in their heart that this will not be our democracy.

Look, I’ll — I’m going to conclude this.  We’re in a situation where every five or six generations, there — we reach an inflection point in American history where the decisions we make in a very short span of time are going to determine what the rest of the next five, six, seven decades are going to look like.  Not a joke.  The decisions we make this election, in the last election is going to determine what this country looks like for the next five or six decades.  That is not a joke.  That’s a straight fact.

There’s not a single thing we’ve done and we’ve passed — we — you know, they told us we couldn’t get anything passed.  Well, Kamala and I got a hell of a lot passed.  We got more passed than any president has in four years.  (Applause.)

But all of it’s — all of it’s — — all of it’s on a knife’s edge.  It’s on a knife’s edge right now.  And so, this is really, really, really, really an important election.

And, folks, look, think about it.  He is talking about doing away with the entire Department of Education.  He’s talking — he means it.  Not — this is not a joke.

This is a guy also wants to replace every civil servant — every single one; thinks he has a right under the Supreme Court ruling on immunity to be able, if need be — if he — if it was the case — to actually eliminate — physically eliminate — shoot, kill — someone who is — he believes to be a threat to him. 

I mean — so, I know this sounds bizarre.  It sounds like — if I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up.  (Laughter.)  We got to lock him up — (applause) — politically lock him up.  Lock him out, that’s what we have to do.

And so, look, you all know how this works.  Every single vote counts.  And that’s, again, not hyperbole.  Think of the — think how close these elections can be.  And you’ve got one of the best delegations in the United States Senate.  I’m not joking.  (Applause.)  No, no, no.  That’s not a joke.  That’s not a joke.

They’ve got more courage than the 10 best guys I know.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  Think of the courage of the votes they’ve taken.  And you’ve changed New Hampshire.  You’ve changed New Hampshire.

I’ve been coming up to New Hampshire since 1974, as a 31-year-old — 32-year-old senator.  You’ve changed it.  It’s gotten stronger because of — what you’re dealing with here is you’re not dealing with all the actually mindless Republicans.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

Think about — think about what these guys are saying.  Listen to what they say.  They mean it.  They mean it.

And so, thank God you’ve got really quality candidates. 

We were riding up on — the governor is an old friend.  No, he really is an old friend.  He and the doc are close friends for a long, long time, so they rode up with me on Air Force One.  We talked about how much things have changed for the better here — for the better here and how many quality candidates you have.  You’ve never had a group of more qualified candidates running up and down the ticket — up and down the ticket.

And so, look, you know, there’s a — ther- — there’s a poem written by — I’m always quoting Irish poets.  They think I do it because I’m Irish.  I don’t quote — (laughter) — I don’t do that.  I do it because they’re the best poets in the world.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And there’s a poet — his wife I got to know, and I’ve got some of his material.  It says cal- — he wrote a poem called “The Cure at Troy.”  He says, “History teaches us not to hope on this side of the grave, but then, once in a lifetime, that longed-for tidal wave of justice rises up and hope and history rhyme.” 

We have a chance.  We have a chance to begin to make hope and history rhyme.  The changes you’ve made, the changes we’ve made, the changes — look at — have you ever seen a time — even if you’re as old as I am, have you ever seen any time when as many major Republicans have endorsed the Democratic candidate for president?  (Applause.)  No, no, no, I’m serious.  I’m serious.

And you ask them why.  They don’t agree with us on the specific issues, but what they do understand is this guy is a danger to the Republic. 

And so, look, I’m going to get myself in trouble here, but you see this woman here?  (Referring to Ms. Goodlander.)  She worked for me.  She worked with me for a while.  She worked also in the state.  She worked in — this woman here has more courage in her — political — no, I’m — I’m not joking; not a joke — in her little finger than most people have in their whole body — political courage.  I’m serious.  I’m deadly earnest.  And she’s smart as hell. 

She’s going to make a difference for you all.  She’s replacing a really fine congresswoman, but it’s going to make a difference. 

And, look, these two women here, we would — I’m — I’m not joking.  (Referring to Senator Hassan and Senator Shaheen.)  We wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are.  Think of all the things that would not have passed were you not in the Senate, both of you.  The consequential things make a difference to people’s lives.  (Applause.)

And, folks, I wasn’t supposed to take this long, and I apologize.  (Applause.)  But let me say one closing concept.  The biggest mistake the Democratic Party has made, and I’m part of it, is that we spent all our time on the Senate, the House, the presidency.  We didn’t do what the Republicans did.  We didn’t spend our time electing state reps.  State — (laughter) — no, no, no, no, no, not a — I’m not kidding.  State reps — the state senators and governors.  They did.  (Applause.)  They did.  They did. 

You’ve got one right here in a governor.  (Applause.)  I’m serious.  Think about what we can do. 

Look, this woman not only worked for me, she also worked for one of the guys that came to work for me — is one of my best friends: John McCain, a Republican — because he was honorable.  We disagreed like — we’d fight like hell.  When he got out of prison camp, for a long time, he came to work wi- — he came to me — work with me when he was re- — freed.  He worked in the Senate.  And we traveled over 1,200,000 miles together, going around the country. 

Matter of fact, when we were flying off to — I think we were heading to Japan, but we stopped in Hawaii, and John was with me.  And John looked at — he had been separated, divorced from his wife, and he looked at me, and he said, “You see that admiral’s daughter?  She’s beautiful.”  (Laughter.)  I said, “Why don’t you say hi to her?”  He said, “No, no, no, no.”

So, I went up and I said, “My name is Joe Biden.”  (Laughter.)  “I got someone” — (inaudible) I did — I said, “I want someone you’ll meet,” and I took her hand and I walked her over.  I said, “I want you to meet my buddy, John McCain.”  (Laughter.)  He married her.  (Laughter and applause.)

But John and I would — like brothers, we’d argue like hell — I mean shout at each other.  Then we’d sit down and have dinner together.  We disagreed, but John was a patriot. 

There’s a lot of good Republicans out there, but these guys are not that breed of cat.  They’re a different group. 

So, you got to — I wasn’t going to run, as I said, after this — for president again, and I mean that sincerely.  And my son Beau, who was the attorney general of the state of Delaware, and when he — one day I came home — I used to com- — commute home because I couldn’t afford daycare.  I couldn’t afford house care.  But my mom and our whole family was helping take care of my kids after my wife and daughter were killed. 

And so, I commuted for 36 years on the train.  And as I — I got off the train, and I said — my son Beau said to me, “Dad, what are you doing on Friday?”  This was on the previous Sunday.  And I said, “What do you mean?”  “I’d like you to pin my bars on.”  I said, “Pin your bars on?”  “Yeah, Dad.”  He said, “I joined the National Guard.” 

I said, “You’re married.  You got two kids.”  And he said, “Dad, but we have to — somebody has got to do this.”  So, he got p- — he got sent to Iraq for a year.  And you’re either state property or you’re federal property.  So, you either work for the president or you work for the governor.  So, he gave up his attorney general job temporarily when he got deployed to Iraq for a year. 

The problem was he was only about 300 yards from a burn pit, just like those guys who went in 9/11 into — those firefighters.  And he came home with stage four glioblastoma, and no one makes it.  And he died. 

But before he died, and this relates to what — how strongly I feel about this — before he died, he said, “Dad, you got to make me a pro-” — we were going home because my mom — my — my father had died, and my mom had moved in with us.  And my wife and I were coming home from Washington on a Friday.  And so, we lived, as the crow flies, just a mile from where our son Beau was but really two miles in terms of getting there. 

So, we went over to his house for dinner.  After dinner, my wife said, “I’m going home and change.”  It was a Friday afternoon.  It was in, I guess, probably — anyway.  And — and Beau turned to his wife and said, “Would you take the kids?  I want to talk to Dad.” 

And he said, “Dad” — give you my word.  He said, “Dad, look at me.”  We have this thing about Biden (inaudible) — “look at me, I’m” — meaning “I’m really serious.”  And he said, “Dad, I know when I die” — and we know — I said — he said, “We both know I’m going to die, Dad.  I’m going to be okay, though.  I’m okay with it, Dad.”

He said, “You got to make me a promise.  You got to make me a promise.”  I said, “What’s the promise, honey?”  He said, “Promise me you won’t quit.  You’ll want to quit.  You’ll want to get out of politics.”

I said, “Beau” — he said, “Dad, promise me.  Give me your word as a Biden, Dad.  Look at me, Dad.  Look at me.”  And I gave him my word. 

I had no intention of running again until then.  But even then, I didn’t think I’d ever run again.  I’d stay engaged, but I’d run — this is after being vice president. 

And then I saw those folks coming out of the fields in Charlottesville carrying Nazi swastikas and torches, accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan.  And Beau had died, and I looked at it, and I — and I knew.  I knew I had to keep my promise. 

So, that’s the only reason I ran again.  And I ran because — Beau knows, and you know in your heart, every one of you, I’ve asked you — if Trump wins, this nation changes.  There’s only two things we can do: guarantee that he doesn’t or, if he does, make sure we have a strongest Democratic majority we can get to make sure he (inaudible).  (Applause.)

And the thing I can say — and I’ve told this both to — both your senators, and I told you, your former governor, who’s my buddy — if there’s one word to describe you all, you have enormous integrity.  No, no, you have enormous integrity.  It’s the highest compliment, in my family, you can give anyone: integrity. 

So, folks, let’s be the party we — we say we are. 

Last comment I’ll make.  When I was vice president, I had gotten — I think both my colleagues would say when I left the Senate, I was thought to be someone who’d get a lot done in the Senate.  I was able to cross the aisle pretty well.  And after being vice president for six years, seven years, and, as Barack would tell you, I was the only guy who went up to the Senate and the House to deal with the Congress, because of my experience.

And I was asked — so, I decided — things were getting really kind of rough because we were starting to get this — this division was getting personal that was existing in politics.  So, I decided to go up to the Se- — since I was president of the Senate, as the Se- — as the vice president, I went up to the Senate dining room. 

There used to be a dining room.  There was a dining room in the Senate.  There were two of them.  If you could go down and the senators were — were going to take you lunch, they’ll take you to the Senate dining room.  They can take you in to a dining room where they can sit with you and you can have lunch.  There was a waiting room there.

But right across from it, there’s another dining room.  It’s private.  It’s — it had — it’s a room about the size of this one, with an archway that is about where you guys are.  There’s a great, big table that seats — what? — 10, 12, 14 people.  And there is a buffet along the left side.  And then you go through that archway, and there’s another table facing the other direc- — perpendicular.

And the Democrats sit at one table and the Republicans at another.  When there are not that many people there, you sit together.  And you get to know somebody.  You get to know them so you don’t hate them, and you find out that their wife has breast cancer or they have a son who’s — who’s in trouble or they have a daughter that’s hooked on drugs or they have some serious problem.  Even though you totally disagree them, it’s hard to dislike them. 

And then we used to have lunch all together all the time, even after bitter arguments on the floor.  And we got to know one another.  It was hard to hate the people you knew when you knew the personal side of them. 

So, I decided I was going to walk in and try to settle some things that were going on.  And I walked into the Senate dining room and there was no dining room anymore, just lounge chairs.  There’s not a place in the United States Senate where Democrats and Republicans can go and sit down and have lunch together as a group and privately, unless you have it in your office. 

We don’t talk to each other anymore.  We don’t communicate.  We don’t talk about the things that matter.  And people feel isolated, even in — in the politics. 

They don’t have the dining room back, do they?

SENATOR SHAHEEN:  No.

SENATOR HASSEN:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I remember, and we used to — by the way, we used to travel together.  We used to travel, and we’d bring your spouse with you — Democrat and Republican.  You get to know somebody else on a personal level, it changes — it doesn’t change your political view; it changes your attitude. 

Well, Americans are being driven apart, and that’s not who we are. 

I’ll end where I began.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis we’ve faced stronger than we went in.  And it’s up to us, as the Democratic Party, not just to win but to make sure — to make sure. 

I used to teach constitutional law — talk about every generation has an obligation to extend democracy.  Well, it’s real.  I used to — even when I taught it, I thought maybe it’s an exaggeration.  We all have an obligation to strengthen our democracy.  And we’ve got that chance now.

And New Hampshire is a beacon.  Not a joke.  You’re a beacon.  You guys do it, it’ll make a — it’ll send a message that’s profound. 

So, please — please, please, please — reelect your two senators.  We need them badly.  Reelect Mag- — elect Maggie, because you’ll find she’s smarter than you, smarter than me.  (Laughter.)  And reelect the gover- — elect the governor, because we can pull the con- —

Did you ever think you’d have — I’ll end — I know the former vice president pretty well, and his daughter is a congresswoman.  And he’s a tough guy from Wyoming.  We used to argue like hell, but he’s completely, completely honorable.  And so is she.  Did you ever think you would see the congresswoman from Wyoming strongly supporting the Democratic candidate because she knows what the other guy is?

So, folks, please — please, please, please — we count your votes earlier than everybody else.  You know, you’ve got to.  You’ve got hard work to do. 

Remember, every damn vote counts you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  (Applause.)

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  Mr. President.  Mr. President.  Everybody sit down for one minute.

So, Mr. President, we know you love New Hampshire.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Learned to ski here.

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  And New Hampshire loves you.  (Applause.)  So, Kathy Sullivan thought I was going to give you a lottery ticket — (laughter) — which I probably should have done.  But instead — you don’t have to put it on — New Hampshire hat.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I tell you what.  I like hats a lot the more bald I get.  (Laughter.)  Let me get this — come on, Joe.  Give me a second here.  (The president puts on a hat.)  (Applause.)

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  And we have a New Hampshire sweatshirt, “Live free or die.”  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s exactly right, man.  Make sure we all live free, okay?  (Inaudible.)  (Applause.)

Thank you.  (Applause.) 

5:48 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden During Visit to a New Hampshire Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office | Concord, NH appeared first on The White House.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Office

5:23 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  This work?  Does this one work, this handheld mic?  Can we make that —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It works. 

THE PRESIDENT:  It works?  It wor- — can you hear me?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Well, first of all, 14 days.  (Laughter.) 

You know, folks, I know I look like I’m only 40, but — (laughter) — I’ve been doing this a long time.  And it’s not an exaggeration to say this is the most important election any one of you have ever voted in, no matter if it’s your first election or you’ve been doing it for as long as I have.  I really mean it.

You know, I got elected to the Senate when I was 29 years old.  I come from a very modest family.  I had the dubious distinction of being listed as the poorest man in Congress for 36 years.  But I never thought that because I got a good salary as a senator. 

My generic point is this: I got there when I was a kid at 29 and — because of, basically, civil rights issues in my state.  My state was a slave state early on, with three other st- — states that fought on the side of the North.  And my state was — was divided.  Down state, the southern part of the state, talk at you like this — (pronounced in an accent) — like on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  Upstate is more like, you know, suburban Philadelphia areas.

And when I got engaged, things were — we had real differences.  We had a lot of segregationists still left in the Senate.  We had a lot of really conservative people in the Democratic Party.  But even that wasn’t — I was a — like I said, I got deeply involved with civil rights issues, but even that didn’t separate us in a way that we’re separated today.

We were separated very badly, but we — after we would argue like hell, we’d sit down and go to lunch together in the Senate dining room.  And in the process, people changed their minds. 

Before he died, Strom Thurmond had the largest Black staff in Amer- — in the — in the state of — in the United States Senate; voted for the — for the Civil Rights Act.  Things change.

But we’re dealing with a totally different breed of cat now.  That was — the Civil Rights era was terrible, but we got a group now that is just — it is literally — and I’m not one that is prone to hyperbole, but we have a — a group running, the MAGA Republicans, who are — have a antidemocratic attitude toward the way the Constitution functions.  They have virtually no regard for the Constitution.

The first speech I made — you — no reason why you’d remember it, but when I got elected — when I got the nomination, I spoke at Independence Hall, and I said, “Our very democracy is at stake.”  It’s not hyperbole.  Our democracy is at stake.

Think about it.  Think about what happens if Donald Trump were to win this election.  Think about what it means.  He’s made it clear what he wants to do.  He’s not joking about it.  He’s deadly earnest.

He wants to change the way in which the so-called safeguards of the Constitution are honored.  He wants to disregard them. 

You saw what happened when those folks broke through the Capitol, killed police officers.  And he calls them heroes.  He wants to le- — release them from prison terms that they’ve all — they’ve all gotten. 

He won’t even commit that if he loses this election, he’ll go peacefully.  He will not make that commitment.  He talks about there being a “bloodbath” if he loses.  These are words no president has ever used — no president ever used. 

And, by the wo- — you — and if you don’t believe it now, you’re going to learn if he wins.  It’s a serious, serious problem.

So, folks, the first point I want to make to you is we must, we must, we must win.  We must win not only for ourselves but for our children and those children who aren’t even born yet.  It makes a di- — significant difference.

I — the only value of being around a long time, I have more experience than any president in the history of the United States of America.  I’ve gotten to know — literally, not figuratively — that may be good or bad — I’ve gotten to know every major world leader personally over those years because of my involvement in foreign — American foreign policy.  But the rest of the world is scared to death of what’s going to happen if he gets elected.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.

Every one of these international meetings I attend, I get pulled aside.  As we’re walking out, they say, “You got to win.  You got to win.  My democracy is at stake” — meaning their democracy. 

You hear what he talks about in terms of what happens in Europe.  I spent four years putting NATO back together with — Kamala and I.  He wants to get out of NATO.  He’s talking about how he’s good friends with Putin and how he can just talk to him. 

When we — in the middle of the crisis, when we needed all those masks and all those tests for COVID, he was giving those in short supply to Putin — to Putin.

No president has ever been like this guy.  I — I’m afraid I’m — I’ll get going and I’ll really tell you what I think in a minute, but I’m — (laughter).  But I’m serious.  He’s a genuine threat to our democracy, and that’s not hyperbole.  That is the God’s truth.

And, folks, it’s not just him.  It’s the people who are around him.  These MAGA Republicans mean what they say.  They genuinely mean what they say.

For example, Barack and I worked like hell — and Barack deserves all the credit for the — for the Affordable Care Act, making sure people who didn’t have coverage got coverage.  More people have health care today than at any time in American history.  He wants to — (applause) — but it has to be reauthorized.  It must be re- — he wants to end it, wants to take it away.  A hundred million people with preexisting condition would lose health insurance — 100 million. 

One of the things they told me we could never get done, I was able to get — deal with the Affordable Care Act, but not just that.  Look what we did with the drug companies, the — I mean, these guys are ripping — I can put you in Air Force One and take you with me now.  If you have a prescription to fill, I can take you to London, I can take you to Berlin, I can take you to any major city in the world, and I can get you that same prescription filled by the same company for anywhere between 40 and 80 percent less than it costs here.

He wants to do away with the Affordable Care Act — I mean, wi- — excuse me, with — with the whole legislation allowing that to happen.  Not one single Republican voted for it — not one single Republican.

I’m not going to go on, because I could.  But the point is, this guy wants to change it all.  He wants to rip it apart. 

All these press people know the hell what they’re talking about, and they do.  I mean, I — I really mean it.  He believes in the free press like I believe in whether I can climb Mount Everest.  (Laughter.)  But I — but I’m serious. 

They’re going to be straight with you and tell you what they think.  They don’t agree with me.  They’re not all for me, by any stretch of the imagination.  But this guy means what he says.  And I think every one of them know in their heart that this will not be our democracy.

Look, I’ll — I’m going to conclude this.  We’re in a situation where every five or six generations, there — we reach an inflection point in American history where the decisions we make in a very short span of time are going to determine what the rest of the next five, six, seven decades are going to look like.  Not a joke.  The decisions we make this election, in the last election is going to determine what this country looks like for the next five or six decades.  That is not a joke.  That’s a straight fact.

There’s not a single thing we’ve done and we’ve passed — we — you know, they told us we couldn’t get anything passed.  Well, Kamala and I got a hell of a lot passed.  We got more passed than any president has in four years.  (Applause.)

But all of it’s — all of it’s — — all of it’s on a knife’s edge.  It’s on a knife’s edge right now.  And so, this is really, really, really, really an important election.

And, folks, look, think about it.  He is talking about doing away with the entire Department of Education.  He’s talking — he means it.  Not — this is not a joke.

This is a guy also wants to replace every civil servant — every single one; thinks he has a right under the Supreme Court ruling on immunity to be able, if need be — if he — if it was the case — to actually eliminate — physically eliminate — shoot, kill — someone who is — he believes to be a threat to him. 

I mean — so, I know this sounds bizarre.  It sounds like — if I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up.  (Laughter.)  We got to lock him up — (applause) — politically lock him up.  Lock him out, that’s what we have to do.

And so, look, you all know how this works.  Every single vote counts.  And that’s, again, not hyperbole.  Think of the — think how close these elections can be.  And you’ve got one of the best delegations in the United States Senate.  I’m not joking.  (Applause.)  No, no, no.  That’s not a joke.  That’s not a joke.

They’ve got more courage than the 10 best guys I know.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  Think of the courage of the votes they’ve taken.  And you’ve changed New Hampshire.  You’ve changed New Hampshire.

I’ve been coming up to New Hampshire since 1974, as a 31-year-old — 32-year-old senator.  You’ve changed it.  It’s gotten stronger because of — what you’re dealing with here is you’re not dealing with all the actually mindless Republicans.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

Think about — think about what these guys are saying.  Listen to what they say.  They mean it.  They mean it.

And so, thank God you’ve got really quality candidates. 

We were riding up on — the governor is an old friend.  No, he really is an old friend.  He and the doc are close friends for a long, long time, so they rode up with me on Air Force One.  We talked about how much things have changed for the better here — for the better here and how many quality candidates you have.  You’ve never had a group of more qualified candidates running up and down the ticket — up and down the ticket.

And so, look, you know, there’s a — ther- — there’s a poem written by — I’m always quoting Irish poets.  They think I do it because I’m Irish.  I don’t quote — (laughter) — I don’t do that.  I do it because they’re the best poets in the world.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And there’s a poet — his wife I got to know, and I’ve got some of his material.  It says cal- — he wrote a poem called “The Cure at Troy.”  He says, “History teaches us not to hope on this side of the grave, but then, once in a lifetime, that longed-for tidal wave of justice rises up and hope and history rhyme.” 

We have a chance.  We have a chance to begin to make hope and history rhyme.  The changes you’ve made, the changes we’ve made, the changes — look at — have you ever seen a time — even if you’re as old as I am, have you ever seen any time when as many major Republicans have endorsed the Democratic candidate for president?  (Applause.)  No, no, no, I’m serious.  I’m serious.

And you ask them why.  They don’t agree with us on the specific issues, but what they do understand is this guy is a danger to the Republic. 

And so, look, I’m going to get myself in trouble here, but you see this woman here?  (Referring to Ms. Goodlander.)  She worked for me.  She worked with me for a while.  She worked also in the state.  She worked in — this woman here has more courage in her — political — no, I’m — I’m not joking; not a joke — in her little finger than most people have in their whole body — political courage.  I’m serious.  I’m deadly earnest.  And she’s smart as hell. 

She’s going to make a difference for you all.  She’s replacing a really fine congresswoman, but it’s going to make a difference. 

And, look, these two women here, we would — I’m — I’m not joking.  (Referring to Senator Hassan and Senator Shaheen.)  We wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are.  Think of all the things that would not have passed were you not in the Senate, both of you.  The consequential things make a difference to people’s lives.  (Applause.)

And, folks, I wasn’t supposed to take this long, and I apologize.  (Applause.)  But let me say one closing concept.  The biggest mistake the Democratic Party has made, and I’m part of it, is that we spent all our time on the Senate, the House, the presidency.  We didn’t do what the Republicans did.  We didn’t spend our time electing state reps.  State — (laughter) — no, no, no, no, no, not a — I’m not kidding.  State reps — the state senators and governors.  They did.  (Applause.)  They did.  They did. 

You’ve got one right here in a governor.  (Applause.)  I’m serious.  Think about what we can do. 

Look, this woman not only worked for me, she also worked for one of the guys that came to work for me — is one of my best friends: John McCain, a Republican — because he was honorable.  We disagreed like — we’d fight like hell.  When he got out of prison camp, for a long time, he came to work wi- — he came to me — work with me when he was re- — freed.  He worked in the Senate.  And we traveled over 1,200,000 miles together, going around the country. 

Matter of fact, when we were flying off to — I think we were heading to Japan, but we stopped in Hawaii, and John was with me.  And John looked at — he had been separated, divorced from his wife, and he looked at me, and he said, “You see that admiral’s daughter?  She’s beautiful.”  (Laughter.)  I said, “Why don’t you say hi to her?”  He said, “No, no, no, no.”

So, I went up and I said, “My name is Joe Biden.”  (Laughter.)  “I got someone” — (inaudible) I did — I said, “I want someone you’ll meet,” and I took her hand and I walked her over.  I said, “I want you to meet my buddy, John McCain.”  (Laughter.)  He married her.  (Laughter and applause.)

But John and I would — like brothers, we’d argue like hell — I mean shout at each other.  Then we’d sit down and have dinner together.  We disagreed, but John was a patriot. 

There’s a lot of good Republicans out there, but these guys are not that breed of cat.  They’re a different group. 

So, you got to — I wasn’t going to run, as I said, after this — for president again, and I mean that sincerely.  And my son Beau, who was the attorney general of the state of Delaware, and when he — one day I came home — I used to com- — commute home because I couldn’t afford daycare.  I couldn’t afford house care.  But my mom and our whole family was helping take care of my kids after my wife and daughter were killed. 

And so, I commuted for 36 years on the train.  And as I — I got off the train, and I said — my son Beau said to me, “Dad, what are you doing on Friday?”  This was on the previous Sunday.  And I said, “What do you mean?”  “I’d like you to pin my bars on.”  I said, “Pin your bars on?”  “Yeah, Dad.”  He said, “I joined the National Guard.” 

I said, “You’re married.  You got two kids.”  And he said, “Dad, but we have to — somebody has got to do this.”  So, he got p- — he got sent to Iraq for a year.  And you’re either state property or you’re federal property.  So, you either work for the president or you work for the governor.  So, he gave up his attorney general job temporarily when he got deployed to Iraq for a year. 

The problem was he was only about 300 yards from a burn pit, just like those guys who went in 9/11 into — those firefighters.  And he came home with stage four glioblastoma, and no one makes it.  And he died. 

But before he died, and this relates to what — how strongly I feel about this — before he died, he said, “Dad, you got to make me a pro-” — we were going home because my mom — my — my father had died, and my mom had moved in with us.  And my wife and I were coming home from Washington on a Friday.  And so, we lived, as the crow flies, just a mile from where our son Beau was but really two miles in terms of getting there. 

So, we went over to his house for dinner.  After dinner, my wife said, “I’m going home and change.”  It was a Friday afternoon.  It was in, I guess, probably — anyway.  And — and Beau turned to his wife and said, “Would you take the kids?  I want to talk to Dad.” 

And he said, “Dad” — give you my word.  He said, “Dad, look at me.”  We have this thing about Biden (inaudible) — “look at me, I’m” — meaning “I’m really serious.”  And he said, “Dad, I know when I die” — and we know — I said — he said, “We both know I’m going to die, Dad.  I’m going to be okay, though.  I’m okay with it, Dad.”

He said, “You got to make me a promise.  You got to make me a promise.”  I said, “What’s the promise, honey?”  He said, “Promise me you won’t quit.  You’ll want to quit.  You’ll want to get out of politics.”

I said, “Beau” — he said, “Dad, promise me.  Give me your word as a Biden, Dad.  Look at me, Dad.  Look at me.”  And I gave him my word. 

I had no intention of running again until then.  But even then, I didn’t think I’d ever run again.  I’d stay engaged, but I’d run — this is after being vice president. 

And then I saw those folks coming out of the fields in Charlottesville carrying Nazi swastikas and torches, accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan.  And Beau had died, and I looked at it, and I — and I knew.  I knew I had to keep my promise. 

So, that’s the only reason I ran again.  And I ran because — Beau knows, and you know in your heart, every one of you, I’ve asked you — if Trump wins, this nation changes.  There’s only two things we can do: guarantee that he doesn’t or, if he does, make sure we have a strongest Democratic majority we can get to make sure he (inaudible).  (Applause.)

And the thing I can say — and I’ve told this both to — both your senators, and I told you, your former governor, who’s my buddy — if there’s one word to describe you all, you have enormous integrity.  No, no, you have enormous integrity.  It’s the highest compliment, in my family, you can give anyone: integrity. 

So, folks, let’s be the party we — we say we are. 

Last comment I’ll make.  When I was vice president, I had gotten — I think both my colleagues would say when I left the Senate, I was thought to be someone who’d get a lot done in the Senate.  I was able to cross the aisle pretty well.  And after being vice president for six years, seven years, and, as Barack would tell you, I was the only guy who went up to the Senate and the House to deal with the Congress, because of my experience.

And I was asked — so, I decided — things were getting really kind of rough because we were starting to get this — this division was getting personal that was existing in politics.  So, I decided to go up to the Se- — since I was president of the Senate, as the Se- — as the vice president, I went up to the Senate dining room. 

There used to be a dining room.  There was a dining room in the Senate.  There were two of them.  If you could go down and the senators were — were going to take you lunch, they’ll take you to the Senate dining room.  They can take you in to a dining room where they can sit with you and you can have lunch.  There was a waiting room there.

But right across from it, there’s another dining room.  It’s private.  It’s — it had — it’s a room about the size of this one, with an archway that is about where you guys are.  There’s a great, big table that seats — what? — 10, 12, 14 people.  And there is a buffet along the left side.  And then you go through that archway, and there’s another table facing the other direc- — perpendicular.

And the Democrats sit at one table and the Republicans at another.  When there are not that many people there, you sit together.  And you get to know somebody.  You get to know them so you don’t hate them, and you find out that their wife has breast cancer or they have a son who’s — who’s in trouble or they have a daughter that’s hooked on drugs or they have some serious problem.  Even though you totally disagree them, it’s hard to dislike them. 

And then we used to have lunch all together all the time, even after bitter arguments on the floor.  And we got to know one another.  It was hard to hate the people you knew when you knew the personal side of them. 

So, I decided I was going to walk in and try to settle some things that were going on.  And I walked into the Senate dining room and there was no dining room anymore, just lounge chairs.  There’s not a place in the United States Senate where Democrats and Republicans can go and sit down and have lunch together as a group and privately, unless you have it in your office. 

We don’t talk to each other anymore.  We don’t communicate.  We don’t talk about the things that matter.  And people feel isolated, even in — in the politics. 

They don’t have the dining room back, do they?

SENATOR SHAHEEN:  No.

SENATOR HASSEN:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I remember, and we used to — by the way, we used to travel together.  We used to travel, and we’d bring your spouse with you — Democrat and Republican.  You get to know somebody else on a personal level, it changes — it doesn’t change your political view; it changes your attitude. 

Well, Americans are being driven apart, and that’s not who we are. 

I’ll end where I began.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis we’ve faced stronger than we went in.  And it’s up to us, as the Democratic Party, not just to win but to make sure — to make sure. 

I used to teach constitutional law — talk about every generation has an obligation to extend democracy.  Well, it’s real.  I used to — even when I taught it, I thought maybe it’s an exaggeration.  We all have an obligation to strengthen our democracy.  And we’ve got that chance now.

And New Hampshire is a beacon.  Not a joke.  You’re a beacon.  You guys do it, it’ll make a — it’ll send a message that’s profound. 

So, please — please, please, please — reelect your two senators.  We need them badly.  Reelect Mag- — elect Maggie, because you’ll find she’s smarter than you, smarter than me.  (Laughter.)  And reelect the gover- — elect the governor, because we can pull the con- —

Did you ever think you’d have — I’ll end — I know the former vice president pretty well, and his daughter is a congresswoman.  And he’s a tough guy from Wyoming.  We used to argue like hell, but he’s completely, completely honorable.  And so is she.  Did you ever think you would see the congresswoman from Wyoming strongly supporting the Democratic candidate because she knows what the other guy is?

So, folks, please — please, please, please — we count your votes earlier than everybody else.  You know, you’ve got to.  You’ve got hard work to do. 

Remember, every damn vote counts you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  (Applause.)

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  Mr. President.  Mr. President.  Everybody sit down for one minute.

So, Mr. President, we know you love New Hampshire.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Learned to ski here.

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  And New Hampshire loves you.  (Applause.)  So, Kathy Sullivan thought I was going to give you a lottery ticket — (laughter) — which I probably should have done.  But instead — you don’t have to put it on — New Hampshire hat.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I tell you what.  I like hats a lot the more bald I get.  (Laughter.)  Let me get this — come on, Joe.  Give me a second here.  (The president puts on a hat.)  (Applause.)

GOVERNOR SUNUNU:  And we have a New Hampshire sweatshirt, “Live free or die.”  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s exactly right, man.  Make sure we all live free, okay?  (Inaudible.)  (Applause.)

Thank you.  (Applause.) 

5:48 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden During Visit to a New Hampshire Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office | Concord, NH appeared first on The White House.

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Manchester, New Hampshire

2:06 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hey, guys. Hi. Hi. I’m sorry. Hi, everybody. All right. Just a quick thing on New Hampshire at the top. So, as you know, the president is going to be joined by Senator Bernie Sanders to discuss the work the Biden-Harris administration has done to cut health care costs.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which every single congressional Republican voted against, health care is more accessible and more affordable than ever before.

You will hear directly from President Biden today, who will discuss a new report that shows that nearly 1.5 million Medicare enrollees saved $1 billion on prescription drugs in just the first half of 2024 thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

For years, Republican elected officials, including the previous administration, have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which gives millions of Americans accessible — acc- — pardon me, access to quality, affordable health care.

Congressional Republicans have also proposed extreme budgets that would rip aw- — rip coverage away from millions of Americans while doing Big Pharma bidding — Big Pharma’s bidding to drive up prescription drug costs, eliminate the $35 cap on insulin, and get rid of the cap on out-of-pocket drugs.

Despite these attacks, President Biden and Vice President Harris remain focused on expanding access to health care and lowering prescription drug costs for families. And you’ll hear more from this president — from the president this afternoon.

With that, go ahead.

Q On the unauthorized release of classified documents, does the fact that the FBI is investigating suggest they believe it was an internal leak and not a hack?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can just say — as you just stated in your question to me, the FBI is investigating this.

I’m not going to get into details or specifics. I’m going to let the, you know, authorized personnel who are looking into it speak to this. So, again, I would refer you to those — to those specific agencies. I just don’t have anything more to add. I’m going to let the FBI do their job and do what they need to do to get to the bottom of it.

Q Another question. On the — the seniors saving a billion dollars, does that take into account some of the higher premiums that have been reported for drug plans this year as a result of drug caps and the administration pulling billions of dollars from Medicare — the Medicare Trust Fund?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m sorry. I’m having a little bit of a hard time hearing you. So, you said —

Q As far as the — the billion dollars that seniors are saving —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — does that take into account the — the result of drug caps, as well as pulling from the Medicare Trust Fund?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, it’s a good question. Let me — I don’t have the specifics to that — of the billion dollars. Obviously, it’s saving Americans a lot on prescription drugs — a billion dollars, as I just stated — so I think that’s really important, and that’s what we wanted to note. The president will certainly share more.

I don’t have the specific on that particular question about caps, so I can talk to the team and get back to you. But I think the — the most important thing here to note is that because of the Inflation Reduction Act, because of the work that this administration has done to lower costs on drug — on drug pres- — on prescription drugs, you’re seeing the results of that.

Again, the Inflation Reduction Act — only Democrats voted for that; Republicans went against it. And now you have Medicare, who are — who’s able — Medicare is able to really negotiate lowering cost prices. And I think it’s a win. This is a win for Americans across the country.

This is what you’re going to hear from the president. Senator Bernie Sanders — obviously, he can speak for himself — has been a huge advocate of low- — lowering drug costs. So, I think it’s important. This report obviously shows a really critical number that matters, and I think — and connected that — connecting that to the Inflation Re- — Reduction Act. It — it’s a big deal. It’s a really big deal.

At that particular, specific question, I’m going to have to ask the team to get back to you on that.

Go ahead, Jeff.

Q Karine, the president told us on Friday, I believe, that he was aware of plans by Israel to respond to Iran, but he didn’t give us any details about that. Can you — and I’m not expecting you to give details —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — although you’d be welcome to.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.)

Q But my question is: Is the fact that Secretary Blinken is in the region right now — is that delaying a response by Israel?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things, and as — you’re right, I’m not going to — to go beyond what the president said, and I said this before — I’ve said in a briefing room a couple of times: We’re not going to preview — we don’t want to preview anything for the Iranians. That’s not something that we’re going to do from here. And at the end of the day, it’s Isr- — the Israeli government. It is their — it’s their military operation; they have to respond to that.

Obviously, we have continued to show our support for Israelis’ security. That continues to be ironclad.

And they — they live in a region — as you’ve heard us say many times — in a neighborhood that’s incredibly tough, and they have to deal with threats, and they have to be able to, certainly, protect themselves and react to those threats, obviously.

As it relates to — so — so, that’s that piece, right? So, they have to speak to that — the timing. That includes the timing, what is it going to look like. They have to speak to that.

Look, you know, you’ve seen the secretary go to the region multiple times, especially since October 7th of last year. And there — it’s — it’s diplomacy, obviously. It’s an opportunity to talk to — he’s in Israel today, but also to talk to our allies and partners in the region about what can we do to de-escalate tensions. That is something that we are very focused on: what can we do to stop the war, obviously, in Gaza, to get more humanitarian aid. And we have seen an uptick in humanitarian aid over the last couple of days. And so, that’s really critical and important.

So, what he’s doing in the region is important to what we’re trying to do — right? — getting to that de-escalation, but also a long-lasting peace.

I’ll — I’ll let the State Department — which they’ve spoken to a couple times already about his trip, about the meaning of it, where he’s going, what he’s going to do. Again, obviously, he’s in Israel today.

But I — I can’t really — I can’t really dictate or speak to how Israel is going to move forward, their timing of it, their military operation. That’s something for them to speak to.

But what Blinken — Secretary Blinken is trying to do is important to, I guess, the — the long-term goal here and what we’re trying to get, but also ending the war in Gaza and getting that humanitarian aid.

Q Just on Israel as well. Donald Trump confirmed that he spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Is the White House concerned at all about them having continued communications?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m — I’m just not going to speak to that.

Look, as you know, we talk to the Israeli government on a regular basis on the — all the issues that I just laid out s- — in responding to Jeff. And we have a — a long friendship with the Israeli people, and we are committed to their security, obviously, as I’ve stated before. And I’m just not going to comment about the former president, who’s now a candidate, talking — talking to the prime minister.

I would refer you to the prime minister directly if he has something more to say about that. And to the pr- — the former president.

Q Another one on the Middle East, Karine. La- — yes- — just yesterday, more than 60 people were killed in an Israeli strike on South Beirut. In one month, more than 1,500 people have died as a result of Israeli bombardments. Is this still a targeted operation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we have certainly seen the reports, and we’re going to have co- — we’re having conversations, as you know, as I just stated, on a regular basis with the Israeli government on — on this and — and obviously other matters.

Look — and — and I’ve said this before, we’ve said this before: Israel has the right and the responsibility to respond to threats, but obviously, they also have a responsibility that — that they — they make sure that a civilian ca- — one civilian casualty is too many, right? That they make sure that they do this in a way that we’re protecting civilian lives and so — or — and so –and we’ve said this before: Israel must take every feasible precaution to prevent civilians during this — during this time, during this operation.

And so, we’re — continue to — to talk to them. We’re going to continue to have those discussion.

We do not want to see one civilian, you know, killed in this, right? We want to make sure that all lives are — innocent lives are protected here. And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversations.

Q And on today’s event, if I may. How confident are you that all the work that has been done on — on drug costs won’t be undone by a future administration?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, so, look the Inflation Reduction Act is the law, as you know, right? And as I’ve stated many times, every single Republican voted against it. Obviously, they’re trying to repeal it. And — and, you know — and it’s something that’s — we see it as an odd thing to do because it’s — Democrats and Republicans see this as being very popular. And — and so — and what this law does: It delivers real benefits for Americans.

And like I said, today the president is going to announce that seniors have saved $1 billion — right? — in the last six months because of the Inflation Reduction Act.

And so, look, we’re going to — I think when it comes to the president and the vice president, we put the American people first. We’re focused on making sure that we deliver for them. The Inflation Reduction Act did just that, as it relates to health care costs. And obviously, the president is going to speak to this.

But it’s the law. It’s the law. And — and I think that’s important to note as well.

Q Karine, what — what’s the president’s political message today when he stops by the campaign office two weeks before Election Day?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, I can’t speak to politics from here. We do try to follow the law. But what I can speak to is his event — the official event that he’s going to be doing.

Lowering drug costs — I think that’s an important message to send to the American people. That’s an important message to send to Americans: how much the Biden-Harris administration has done everything that we can to continue to lower costs as we try to rebuild the economy.

Let’s not forget what the president and the vice president walked into. They walked into an economy that was in a downturn, and they were able to turn that around.

But we understand that people still feel it, right? Some people wake up in the morning and they’re trying to figure out how are they going to pay for a cancer drug — right? — how are they going to pay for a drug that’s going to save their lives. And here you see this president and this vice president actually take action.

We beat Big Pharma, which is something that many elected officials have tried to do. And this president and this vice president got it done.

So, that’s the message, I would say, that the president is trying to send to Americans just across the country, that we’re going to continue to fight for them. I’m not going to speak to — I would say stay tuned. You’ll hear from the president later today.

Q Is there a reason why New Hampshire today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think, as the president says all the time, he’s a president for all Americans. Doesn’t matter if it’s a red state, blue state. We have said, when you all ask me, “Well, how is the president going to get his message out,” this is part of it, right? Going to a place like New Hampshire, or, last week, he went to Wisconsin, he went to Pennsylvania.

He’s going across — across the country and making sure that the American people know what we have tried to do and — and are doing to make sure that we uplift Americans.

Anybody else?

Q There’s a report out about political fundraising targeting elderly dementia patients. Is the president concerned at all that any fundraising in his name may have done that inadvertently?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Is it from one of the camp- — it’s from the —

Q It was a CNN story today.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Was it the Republican campaign?

Q I think there is multiple.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I haven’t seen that, so I can’t speak to that. Look, more broadly — speaking more broadly here and not leaning into any campaign or any political ad, we have said, like, misinformation, we understand how dangerous that could be and that type of false information — how much that could be hurtful and harmful to people. And so, we’ve always called that out in the sense of, like, people have to be — be responsible.

And I can’t speak to this particular political ad. I haven’t seen it. And also, I just want to be careful to not speak to anything that is politically related to this election cycle.

Go ahead.

Q Has President Biden given officials a timeline to complete their investigation on the leaks — on the intelligence leak?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would have to refer you to — as I just mentioned, the FBI is looking into it. I would have to refer you to them. I ca- — I don’t have a timeline to speak to.

Q Well, I mean, he’s only — you know, busy weeks ahead, you know, between the election and end of the year. There — you don’t have anything more to add on that with timing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Are you — do you mean the — the —

Q The investigation. Just for —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just can’t speak to that. That is something that the appropriate authorities can speak to. FBI is in- — looking into it. I just can’t speak to a timeline.

Yeah.

Q The president is scheduled to be in Wilmington this weekend. Is there any chance he’s going to — you know, and Harris is supposed to be in Philadelphia. Is there any chance that they’re going to appear together? Do you have anything to preview on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, the president and the vice president has appeared together multiple times in the past several months or weeks and — whether it’s campaign or official.

So, I don’t have anything else to add beyond that, sp- — especially if you’re asking me about a campaign event. But I will say stay tuned. Stay tuned.

All right, guys. Thank you so much.

Q Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wow, that was quick. Okay. All right.

Q Quick and dirty.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) Quick and dirty.

2:20 P.M. EDT

The post Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Manchester, NH appeared first on The White House.

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Manchester, New Hampshire

2:06 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hey, guys. Hi. Hi. I’m sorry. Hi, everybody. All right. Just a quick thing on New Hampshire at the top. So, as you know, the president is going to be joined by Senator Bernie Sanders to discuss the work the Biden-Harris administration has done to cut health care costs.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which every single congressional Republican voted against, health care is more accessible and more affordable than ever before.

You will hear directly from President Biden today, who will discuss a new report that shows that nearly 1.5 million Medicare enrollees saved $1 billion on prescription drugs in just the first half of 2024 thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

For years, Republican elected officials, including the previous administration, have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which gives millions of Americans accessible — acc- — pardon me, access to quality, affordable health care.

Congressional Republicans have also proposed extreme budgets that would rip aw- — rip coverage away from millions of Americans while doing Big Pharma bidding — Big Pharma’s bidding to drive up prescription drug costs, eliminate the $35 cap on insulin, and get rid of the cap on out-of-pocket drugs.

Despite these attacks, President Biden and Vice President Harris remain focused on expanding access to health care and lowering prescription drug costs for families. And you’ll hear more from this president — from the president this afternoon.

With that, go ahead.

Q On the unauthorized release of classified documents, does the fact that the FBI is investigating suggest they believe it was an internal leak and not a hack?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can just say — as you just stated in your question to me, the FBI is investigating this.

I’m not going to get into details or specifics. I’m going to let the, you know, authorized personnel who are looking into it speak to this. So, again, I would refer you to those — to those specific agencies. I just don’t have anything more to add. I’m going to let the FBI do their job and do what they need to do to get to the bottom of it.

Q Another question. On the — the seniors saving a billion dollars, does that take into account some of the higher premiums that have been reported for drug plans this year as a result of drug caps and the administration pulling billions of dollars from Medicare — the Medicare Trust Fund?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m sorry. I’m having a little bit of a hard time hearing you. So, you said —

Q As far as the — the billion dollars that seniors are saving —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — does that take into account the — the result of drug caps, as well as pulling from the Medicare Trust Fund?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, it’s a good question. Let me — I don’t have the specifics to that — of the billion dollars. Obviously, it’s saving Americans a lot on prescription drugs — a billion dollars, as I just stated — so I think that’s really important, and that’s what we wanted to note. The president will certainly share more.

I don’t have the specific on that particular question about caps, so I can talk to the team and get back to you. But I think the — the most important thing here to note is that because of the Inflation Reduction Act, because of the work that this administration has done to lower costs on drug — on drug pres- — on prescription drugs, you’re seeing the results of that.

Again, the Inflation Reduction Act — only Democrats voted for that; Republicans went against it. And now you have Medicare, who are — who’s able — Medicare is able to really negotiate lowering cost prices. And I think it’s a win. This is a win for Americans across the country.

This is what you’re going to hear from the president. Senator Bernie Sanders — obviously, he can speak for himself — has been a huge advocate of low- — lowering drug costs. So, I think it’s important. This report obviously shows a really critical number that matters, and I think — and connected that — connecting that to the Inflation Re- — Reduction Act. It — it’s a big deal. It’s a really big deal.

At that particular, specific question, I’m going to have to ask the team to get back to you on that.

Go ahead, Jeff.

Q Karine, the president told us on Friday, I believe, that he was aware of plans by Israel to respond to Iran, but he didn’t give us any details about that. Can you — and I’m not expecting you to give details —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — although you’d be welcome to.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.)

Q But my question is: Is the fact that Secretary Blinken is in the region right now — is that delaying a response by Israel?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things, and as — you’re right, I’m not going to — to go beyond what the president said, and I said this before — I’ve said in a briefing room a couple of times: We’re not going to preview — we don’t want to preview anything for the Iranians. That’s not something that we’re going to do from here. And at the end of the day, it’s Isr- — the Israeli government. It is their — it’s their military operation; they have to respond to that.

Obviously, we have continued to show our support for Israelis’ security. That continues to be ironclad.

And they — they live in a region — as you’ve heard us say many times — in a neighborhood that’s incredibly tough, and they have to deal with threats, and they have to be able to, certainly, protect themselves and react to those threats, obviously.

As it relates to — so — so, that’s that piece, right? So, they have to speak to that — the timing. That includes the timing, what is it going to look like. They have to speak to that.

Look, you know, you’ve seen the secretary go to the region multiple times, especially since October 7th of last year. And there — it’s — it’s diplomacy, obviously. It’s an opportunity to talk to — he’s in Israel today, but also to talk to our allies and partners in the region about what can we do to de-escalate tensions. That is something that we are very focused on: what can we do to stop the war, obviously, in Gaza, to get more humanitarian aid. And we have seen an uptick in humanitarian aid over the last couple of days. And so, that’s really critical and important.

So, what he’s doing in the region is important to what we’re trying to do — right? — getting to that de-escalation, but also a long-lasting peace.

I’ll — I’ll let the State Department — which they’ve spoken to a couple times already about his trip, about the meaning of it, where he’s going, what he’s going to do. Again, obviously, he’s in Israel today.

But I — I can’t really — I can’t really dictate or speak to how Israel is going to move forward, their timing of it, their military operation. That’s something for them to speak to.

But what Blinken — Secretary Blinken is trying to do is important to, I guess, the — the long-term goal here and what we’re trying to get, but also ending the war in Gaza and getting that humanitarian aid.

Q Just on Israel as well. Donald Trump confirmed that he spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Is the White House concerned at all about them having continued communications?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m — I’m just not going to speak to that.

Look, as you know, we talk to the Israeli government on a regular basis on the — all the issues that I just laid out s- — in responding to Jeff. And we have a — a long friendship with the Israeli people, and we are committed to their security, obviously, as I’ve stated before. And I’m just not going to comment about the former president, who’s now a candidate, talking — talking to the prime minister.

I would refer you to the prime minister directly if he has something more to say about that. And to the pr- — the former president.

Q Another one on the Middle East, Karine. La- — yes- — just yesterday, more than 60 people were killed in an Israeli strike on South Beirut. In one month, more than 1,500 people have died as a result of Israeli bombardments. Is this still a targeted operation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we have certainly seen the reports, and we’re going to have co- — we’re having conversations, as you know, as I just stated, on a regular basis with the Israeli government on — on this and — and obviously other matters.

Look — and — and I’ve said this before, we’ve said this before: Israel has the right and the responsibility to respond to threats, but obviously, they also have a responsibility that — that they — they make sure that a civilian ca- — one civilian casualty is too many, right? That they make sure that they do this in a way that we’re protecting civilian lives and so — or — and so –and we’ve said this before: Israel must take every feasible precaution to prevent civilians during this — during this time, during this operation.

And so, we’re — continue to — to talk to them. We’re going to continue to have those discussion.

We do not want to see one civilian, you know, killed in this, right? We want to make sure that all lives are — innocent lives are protected here. And so, we’re going to continue to have those conversations.

Q And on today’s event, if I may. How confident are you that all the work that has been done on — on drug costs won’t be undone by a future administration?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, so, look the Inflation Reduction Act is the law, as you know, right? And as I’ve stated many times, every single Republican voted against it. Obviously, they’re trying to repeal it. And — and, you know — and it’s something that’s — we see it as an odd thing to do because it’s — Democrats and Republicans see this as being very popular. And — and so — and what this law does: It delivers real benefits for Americans.

And like I said, today the president is going to announce that seniors have saved $1 billion — right? — in the last six months because of the Inflation Reduction Act.

And so, look, we’re going to — I think when it comes to the president and the vice president, we put the American people first. We’re focused on making sure that we deliver for them. The Inflation Reduction Act did just that, as it relates to health care costs. And obviously, the president is going to speak to this.

But it’s the law. It’s the law. And — and I think that’s important to note as well.

Q Karine, what — what’s the president’s political message today when he stops by the campaign office two weeks before Election Day?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, I can’t speak to politics from here. We do try to follow the law. But what I can speak to is his event — the official event that he’s going to be doing.

Lowering drug costs — I think that’s an important message to send to the American people. That’s an important message to send to Americans: how much the Biden-Harris administration has done everything that we can to continue to lower costs as we try to rebuild the economy.

Let’s not forget what the president and the vice president walked into. They walked into an economy that was in a downturn, and they were able to turn that around.

But we understand that people still feel it, right? Some people wake up in the morning and they’re trying to figure out how are they going to pay for a cancer drug — right? — how are they going to pay for a drug that’s going to save their lives. And here you see this president and this vice president actually take action.

We beat Big Pharma, which is something that many elected officials have tried to do. And this president and this vice president got it done.

So, that’s the message, I would say, that the president is trying to send to Americans just across the country, that we’re going to continue to fight for them. I’m not going to speak to — I would say stay tuned. You’ll hear from the president later today.

Q Is there a reason why New Hampshire today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think, as the president says all the time, he’s a president for all Americans. Doesn’t matter if it’s a red state, blue state. We have said, when you all ask me, “Well, how is the president going to get his message out,” this is part of it, right? Going to a place like New Hampshire, or, last week, he went to Wisconsin, he went to Pennsylvania.

He’s going across — across the country and making sure that the American people know what we have tried to do and — and are doing to make sure that we uplift Americans.

Anybody else?

Q There’s a report out about political fundraising targeting elderly dementia patients. Is the president concerned at all that any fundraising in his name may have done that inadvertently?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Is it from one of the camp- — it’s from the —

Q It was a CNN story today.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Was it the Republican campaign?

Q I think there is multiple.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I haven’t seen that, so I can’t speak to that. Look, more broadly — speaking more broadly here and not leaning into any campaign or any political ad, we have said, like, misinformation, we understand how dangerous that could be and that type of false information — how much that could be hurtful and harmful to people. And so, we’ve always called that out in the sense of, like, people have to be — be responsible.

And I can’t speak to this particular political ad. I haven’t seen it. And also, I just want to be careful to not speak to anything that is politically related to this election cycle.

Go ahead.

Q Has President Biden given officials a timeline to complete their investigation on the leaks — on the intelligence leak?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would have to refer you to — as I just mentioned, the FBI is looking into it. I would have to refer you to them. I ca- — I don’t have a timeline to speak to.

Q Well, I mean, he’s only — you know, busy weeks ahead, you know, between the election and end of the year. There — you don’t have anything more to add on that with timing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Are you — do you mean the — the —

Q The investigation. Just for —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just can’t speak to that. That is something that the appropriate authorities can speak to. FBI is in- — looking into it. I just can’t speak to a timeline.

Yeah.

Q The president is scheduled to be in Wilmington this weekend. Is there any chance he’s going to — you know, and Harris is supposed to be in Philadelphia. Is there any chance that they’re going to appear together? Do you have anything to preview on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: As you know, the president and the vice president has appeared together multiple times in the past several months or weeks and — whether it’s campaign or official.

So, I don’t have anything else to add beyond that, sp- — especially if you’re asking me about a campaign event. But I will say stay tuned. Stay tuned.

All right, guys. Thank you so much.

Q Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wow, that was quick. Okay. All right.

Q Quick and dirty.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) Quick and dirty.

2:20 P.M. EDT

The post Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Manchester, NH appeared first on The White House.

Oval Office

11:48 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Got everybody?

Well, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the White House. We were just talking very briefly that I spent a little time in Slovenia early on, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful country.

Twenty years ago, when I was a United States senator, I pushed very hard for your country’s admission to NATO, as you know, because I knew then what I know now: We’re stronger and a safer world when we stand together with good partners like you.

We’ve seen it in support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal aggression. And we see it in — in our work to support democracy and prosperity across the W- — the Western Balkans. And we see it — and we saw it earlier this past summer when we secured the release of 16 people, including four Americans, unjustly held in Russia. And I want to thank you. It was a feat of diplomacy. I want to thank your country for your support and your leadership and partnership that made it possible. And that’s not hyperbole. You made it possible. Thank you.

We made it clear to anyone who questions whether our allies matter — well, they just look at what you did. And they — you matter a great deal.

And so, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And we look forward to our discussion today.

The floor is yours.

PRIME MINISTER GOLOB: Mr. President, dear Joe, just couple of words, and that is that, with a little help of true friends, nothing is impossible. And I think that’s really what our joint effort with the prisoner swap demonstrated to all of the world. And let’s continue to work in a true fr- — friendship and with a lot of trust.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, there’s a lot we agree on. So, welcome. Good to have you here.

PRIME MINISTER GOLOB: Glad to be here.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: And we got to get our — get moving.

Thank you all.

11:50 A.M. EDT

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Oval Office

11:48 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Got everybody?

Well, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the White House. We were just talking very briefly that I spent a little time in Slovenia early on, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful country.

Twenty years ago, when I was a United States senator, I pushed very hard for your country’s admission to NATO, as you know, because I knew then what I know now: We’re stronger and a safer world when we stand together with good partners like you.

We’ve seen it in support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal aggression. And we see it in — in our work to support democracy and prosperity across the W- — the Western Balkans. And we see it — and we saw it earlier this past summer when we secured the release of 16 people, including four Americans, unjustly held in Russia. And I want to thank you. It was a feat of diplomacy. I want to thank your country for your support and your leadership and partnership that made it possible. And that’s not hyperbole. You made it possible. Thank you.

We made it clear to anyone who questions whether our allies matter — well, they just look at what you did. And they — you matter a great deal.

And so, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And we look forward to our discussion today.

The floor is yours.

PRIME MINISTER GOLOB: Mr. President, dear Joe, just couple of words, and that is that, with a little help of true friends, nothing is impossible. And I think that’s really what our joint effort with the prisoner swap demonstrated to all of the world. And let’s continue to work in a true fr- — friendship and with a lot of trust.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, there’s a lot we agree on. So, welcome. Good to have you here.

PRIME MINISTER GOLOB: Glad to be here.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: And we got to get our — get moving.

Thank you all.

11:50 A.M. EDT

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with Prime Minister Robert Golob of the Republic of Slovenia at the White House.  The leaders had an in-depth discussion on a range of foreign policy issues of mutual interest.  President Biden expressed his gratitude for Slovenia’s role in the historic deal that secured the release of three Americans unjustly detained by Russia, as well as an American green card holder who won a Pulitzer Prize while in Russian detention, and 12 other human rights defenders and political dissidents.  They discussed U.S.-Slovenian cooperation on clean energy and advanced technologies, and a joint approach to Western Balkans – an area of strategic interest for both  the United States and the Republic of Slovenia.  They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend against Russia’s aggression.  They discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, the need to reach a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to safely return to their homes, to ensure civilians – including humanitarians and journalists – are protected, and to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and to achieve a ceasefire deal that secures the release of the hostages.  President Biden underscored the need for increased defense investments to ensure NATO is properly resourced to face tomorrow’s challenges.

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