Feed aggregator

On Friday, January 10, the Biden-Harris Administration convened state leaders, along with representatives from law enforcement groups and the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), to continue the work of making our communities safer through good policing.  IADLEST operates the National Decertification Index (NDI), a registry of state and local police misconduct that is currently in place in all 50 states and DC.  State and local police departments can check the NDI to make sure they are hiring officers without disqualifying misconduct in their backgrounds.

The event gathered these leaders to encourage the continued adoption and use of NDI by police departments.  IADLEST presented information on the benefits of using the NDI and on upcoming improvements to the NDI, including an expansion that will cover additional types of misconduct.  State leaders also gave inspiring examples of the successful use of the NDI in their states that prevented officers with serious misconduct from being hired.

Participants in the convening included state leaders from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia.

The Biden-Harris Administration has created real incentives for state and local law enforcement agencies to use the National De-Certification Index (NDI).  These incentives include given priority consideration for grant awards to law enforcement agencies that use NDI, creating national accreditation standards that include using NDI, and providing $3 million in funding to expand the NDI.  The Administration also created the first-ever federal police misconduct database, known as the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD), which is being used successfully by each of the 90 federal agencies that employs law enforcement officers.

###

The post Readout of the White House Convening on Police Accountability Databases appeared first on The White House.

New actions provide $350 million in federal grants, including incentives to boost supply, preserve affordability, and provide more support for renters

The United States faces a shortfall of millions of affordable homes that has driven up home prices and rents, and has made finding a quality and affordable home out of reach for too many Americans. Over the last four years, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken action to build more housing, lower housing costs, cut red tape, keep people in their homes, and strengthen communities. After years of under-building, the Administration launched the Housing Supply Action Plan, an all-of-government effort to increase the supply of housing. The Biden-Harris Administration has also stood up for renters, publishing a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights and supporting policies and practices that promote fairness for renters in federal programs. Still, more must be done to build more housing, lower costs, and protect renters.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to:

• Award an additional $100 million in grants to communities that are identifying and removing barriers to affordable housing production and preservation;
• Approve the first residential transit-oriented development (TOD) loan under the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) lending programs to support the development of over 300 units;

Boosting Supply by Providing More Federal Funding and Cutting Red Tape

Through the Housing Supply Action Plan, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken dozens of actions to build more housing by incentivizing local and state governments to reduce regulatory barriers, investing directly in communities, and improving federal financing programs. Today, the Administration is announcing the following actions:

Incentivizing local governments to remove barriers to housing construction.HUD is today announcing $100 million in grant awards through its landmark Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program, which provides grants to communities to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. The PRO Housing grants have a catalyzing impact and will help unlock billions of dollars in new construction. The grants come on the heels of an initial $85 million in awarded grants that Vice President Harris announced in June.

Approving DOT’s first-ever residential transit-oriented development (TOD) financing deal.The Build America Bureau at DOT has approved a loan under the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, its first TOD project with a residential component. The Colony project in Boca Raton, Florida will construct over 300 units at the Tri-Rail Boca Raton commuter rail station and will generate approximately $2 million per year in land lease revenue for the commuter rail system. Over the course of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Build America Bureau has worked with project sponsors to drive interest in its TOD lending programs, which lend at Treasury rates, and streamline program requirements. As a result of these efforts, there are now dozens of projects representing over 13,000 housing units that have expressed interest in the RRIF and Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) lending programs. The Build America Bureau has also updated its FAQs to reflect the potential for HUD and the Bureau to make coordinated investment decisions, which could address one of the main statutory requirements for TIFIA loans: obtaining an investment-grade credit rating. This update could help unlock more residential lending through TIFIA’s Rural Project Initiative (RPI) in particular, with fixed-rate loans equal to half of the US Treasury rate, which would provide a meaningful advantage to the Bureau’s TIFIA borrowers.

These announcements build on the following actions the Administration has taken in recent weeks to help communities build and preserve more housing that working families can afford:

Streamlining federal historic preservation reviews. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) adopted a streamlining measure to make it easier and quicker to rehabilitate millions of federally-owned and federally-funded housing units. Its Program Comment on Certain Housing, Building, and Transportation Undertakings provides all federal agencies – including HUD, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture, among others – with a clear path to upgrade existing housing and to make it more energy efficient, hazard-free, and accessible to people with disabilities. The measure also accelerates the process for approving the solar energy installations on existing buildings, and for approving the installation of “active transportation” elements, including bike lanes and bus shelters, which help connect people and neighborhoods. This measure represents the first time the ACHP has implemented an all-of-government approach to housing, and comes in the wake of its 2023 Housing and Historic Preservation Policy Statement.

Updating underwriting criteria to build more housing.HUD announced updates to its multifamily housing programs’ underwriting standards and guidelines to make financing of both existing and new housing units feasible for more properties and encourage the production of housing affordable to middle income households. Specifically, HUD has revised its underwriting policies to lower minimum debt service coverage ratios and increase maximum loan-to-value ratios, making more lending capacity available for affordable housing. These revisions will increase supply without exposing the government to undue risk. HUD also created a new category of underwriting to support the dozens of states and cities that have created “middle income” housing programs which invest in housing that is affordable to individuals making between 60% to 120% of area median income.

Making it easier to repurpose surplus federal parcels for housing. Building on the Administration’s work to leverage federal property to build more housing, HUD, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and General Services Administration (GSA) finalized a rule to make it easier for public and nonprofit developers to repurpose federal buildings and land to house the homeless. The Title V program, authorized by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, allows federal agencies to use unutilized, underutilized, excess, or surplus federal properties at no cost to develop housing for people experiencing homelessness. The new rule makes it easier for developers to navigate the process, resulting in additional housing units to address homelessness and affordability challenges. In addition, GSA announced that it will accelerate the disposition of additional federal properties, as part of its ongoing efforts to right-size and modernize the federal buildings portfolio. Many of these properties are suitable for housing. And finally, the United States Postal Service (USPS), through a partnership with the General Services Administration, is in contract discussions with the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation. Assuming the purchase contract is consummated, this city-backed entity will repurpose two USPS-owned sites into hundreds of units of housing, including dedicated affordable units.

Streamlining regulations for HUD’s biggest affordable housing supply block grant.HUD finalized a rule to streamline regulations for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), the nation’s largest annual block grant to support affordable housing supply. The final rule makes HOME easier to use for individuals and families looking for a home to rent or buy, as well as for homeowners making upgrades to their homes such as accessibility improvements, new roofs, and replacement of outdated heating and cooling systems with energy efficient ones. The rule streamlines requirements for grantees administering funding, community development organizations building new homes, and property owners renting to HUD-assisted households. The rule also updates requirements regarding property standards, small scale rental housing projects, community land trusts, homebuyer resale, allowable rents for units receiving rental assistance, and tenant protections.

Devoting additional resources to gap financing. The Treasury Department previously announced that it will devote $100 million over three years in payments resulting from Emergency Capital Investment Program investments to a new program at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund primarily focused on increasing the supply of affordable housing. In the next few days, Treasury will be announcing more details about the new program. The CDFI Fund projects that this new funding could support the financing of thousands of affordable housing units.

Reward communities with pro-housing policies that compete for infrastructure funding.DOT updated the ratings criteria for its Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program, which provides up to $4.6 billion per year to support investments in rail, streetcars, and bus rapid transit. The updated CIG ratings process enables projects that include more affordable housing in close proximity to planned transit investments to score higher. This CIG evaluation process outlined in the rating guidance further rewards pro-growth housing policies by increasing weighting assigned to housing-supportive zoning, making clear that active support of housing helps jurisdictions attract competitive federal transit dollars.

Launching a pilot to make it easier for rural homeowners to repair or rehabilitate their homes. USDA’s Section 504 Direct Single Family Housing Loan and Grant program assists very low-income owner occupants of single-family homes in rural areas to repair or rehabilitate their homes. Loan funds are available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, make homes safer or more sanitary, or remove health and safety hazards. Current regulations around USDA’s payment terms within this program make it difficult to hire contractors, since contractors expect some down payment before work begins. This pilot program will enable payments to be made to contractors prior to the site delivery of materials, which will resemble more typical contractor expectations while still protecting applicants from fraudulent contractors that might take downpayment funds and never complete the job.

Supporting Housing Stability

The White House Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights laid out the key principles of a fair rental market and has already catalyzed new federal actions to make those principles a reality. Recent actions include:

Preventing unnecessary and avoidable evictions. HUD published a final rule that requires public housing authorities and private owners participating in certain HUD Multifamily project-based rental assistance programs to provide their tenants with written notification at least 30 days prior to initiating eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent. The final rule also requires that the 30-day notice include: (1) how tenants can cure lease violations for nonpayment of rent and information on how to recertify their income; (2) how to request a minimum rent hardship exemption if applicable to avoid eviction; and (3) an itemized amount, which is separated by month, of alleged rent owed by the tenant, along with any other arrearages allowed by HUD. This rule will help prevent unnecessary evictions and potential homelessness for tenants in HUD-assisted properties each year.

Supporting local eviction prevention programs. HUD awarded $40 million through the Eviction Protection Grant Program to 21 recipients. This program, started under the Biden-Harris Administration, funds nonprofit organizations and government entities to provide no-cost legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of or subject to eviction. The new funding adds to $40 million in previously-allocated funds which provided legal assistance to over 44,000 households thus far.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Final Actions to Build More Housing and Bolster Renter Protections appeared first on The White House.

President Biden came into office facing the worst public health crisis in more than a century. COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on our country – closing our businesses, keeping our kids out of school, and forcing communities into isolation and lockdown. In the first year of the pandemic, nearly 400,000 Americans died of COVID-19.  

Even before taking office, President-elect Biden recognized that the U.S. needed an emergency response that was worthy of the crisis it faced – a response that would leave no stone unturned and that would leverage the full force of the federal government, the innovation of the private sector, and the determination of the American people. Building on decades of research and planning efforts, President Biden, on his first full day in office, released the first comprehensive National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. This strategy focused on building a response to this virus that would give people the tools and transparent communication they needed to protect themselves, reopen our schools, and get our economy moving again.

The following report outlines the numerous actions the Biden-Harris Administration took to combat COVID-19 both nationally and globally, and it serves as a roadmap for how the U.S. can effectively respond to pandemics and public health threats in the future. In addition to this public-facing report, this Administration is leaving behind a three-step playbook that future Administrations can use to continue to protect the nation and effectively respond to any future biological threat.

1 – Taking Immediate Action to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Standing Up the Largest Vaccination Program in Our Country’s History

In President Biden’s first year of office, the Biden-Harris Administration worked hand-in-hand with doctors, nurses, businesses, unions, community organizations, governors, mayors, and citizens across every state, Tribe, and territory to put vaccines at the center of the United States’ COVID-19 response. These vaccines still remain the best tools available to lower the risk of hospitalization and death.

The Administration stood up the largest free vaccination program in American history: mobilizing 90,000 vaccination locations; standing up mass vaccination sites with the ability to administer more than a combined 125,000 shots a day; deploying over 9,000 federal personnel to support vaccinations nationwide – including over 5,000 active-duty troops, and launching vaccinefinder.org to provide current information on locations for vaccination. Another part of the federal government’s strategy to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for the American public was the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP) for COVID-19 Vaccination. Pharmacies are readily accessible in the majority of communities in the U.S. – with most Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy. Recognizing this, the federal government made pharmacies a key part of its COVID-19 vaccination strategy, partnering with 21 retail and long-term care pharmacies to vaccinate Americans in more than 41,000 locations nationwide, including long-term care pharmacies.

As a result of these efforts, over 270 million people received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by May 2023. Additionally, a December 2022 analysis from the Commonwealth Fund suggested that COVID-19 vaccinations saved over 3 million American lives and successfully prevented over 18 million hospitalizations.

Increasing the Country’s Testing Supply

Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, America’s testing supply increased substantially, allowing Americans to quickly get answers without having to go to a doctor’s office, and to make informed decisions about their day-to-day activities. Less than a month after taking office, the Administration announced a $650 million investment to expand COVID-19 testing for schools and underserved populations, as well as an $815 million investment to increase domestic manufacturing of testing supplies so that we would have a more reliable supply when needed. The Administration, through HHS, also partnered with the private sector to develop and scale manufacturing of tests suitable for home use. Free testing sites were available at 21,500 locations around the country. This was made possible by federal action to expand pharmacy testing sites, a federal surge in free testing sites, delivery of tests to thousands of community health centers and rural health clinics, and $10 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to provide tests to K-12 school districts. The Administration also invested nearly $6 billion in ARP funding to cover free testing for uninsured individuals, and to support testing in correctional facilities, shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and mental health facilities. To reach people experiencing homelessness, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide tests across major U.S. cities.

The Biden Administration also stood up COVIDtests.gov through which Americans could order tests that were sent by the United States Postal Service directly to their homes — for free. By the end of the Public Health Emergency in May 2023, the Administration had distributed more than 750 million free COVID-19 tests, shipped directly to more than 85 million households. The Administration had also coordinated more than 50 million diagnostic tests in-person at pharmacy and community-based sites.

Collectively, these actions gave Americans the opportunity to keep both themselves and their communities safe, while getting back to school, work, and time with family and friends. Additionally, the Lancet Public Health journal recently published a study showing that making diagnostic tests available quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic mitigated an estimated 7 million hospitalizations and saved approximately 1.4 million lives.

Increasing Treatment Options for Americans

The Biden-Harris Administration also increased investment in the development, manufacturing, and procurement of COVID-19 treatments, which helped to minimize the severity of COVID-19 infections.  By March 2022, about 5 million antiviral treatment courses were available to Americans, and the President announced the Test-to-Treat initiative to help make it easier for people at high risk of severe disease and those with limited financial means to quickly access free oral antiviral treatments. By April 2022, the U.S. government purchased 20 million treatment courses—more than any other country in the world and took action to nearly double the number of locations where Americans could get oral antivirals. The Administration also provided medical providers with more guidance, education and tools to help them understand and prescribe these treatments, and to help them inform the choices that the American people made about receiving safe and effective treatments.

2 – Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery

On his first day in office, understanding that the pandemic had exacerbated severe and pervasive health and social inequities in America, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery – which included the establishment of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. From the start, the Administration took action to empower communities to improve access for all Americans to tests, therapeutics and vaccines.

In addition, the Administration supported partners through an all-of-society effort that increased response and recovery initiatives in support of communities in every corner of the country. In some communities, local chambers of commerce worked with business leaders to encourage flexibilities such as paid time off for their employees who needed to travel to a vaccination or testing center. In other communities, due to the Administration’s efforts, child care providers offered drop-in services for caregivers to get vaccinated. Some public transit authorities and ride-sharing companies provided free rides to vaccination sites, while churches, civic organizations, barbershops, and beauty salons opened their doors to be trusted spaces for testing or for vaccinations.

Ten months into the Biden-Harris Administration’s term, deaths had declined nearly 90% in Black, brown, and Indigenous communities; the gap in vaccination rates between Black and Latino/Hispanic adults and white adults had closed; and nearly 100% of schools were open for in-person instruction.

Investing in the Hardest-hit and Highest-risk communities:

The Biden-Harris Administration invested over $785 million from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to support organizations that were building vaccine confidence across communities which historically had lower vaccination levels, including communities of color, rural populations, and low-income populations. The Administration bolstered the efforts of Tribal communities seeking to increase awareness of options to mitigate the spread of the virus, and it expanded public health systems’ ability to respond to the needs of older adults who have been among the highest risk for infection or death from COVID-19.

Additionally, recognizing that the pandemic had tremendous impacts on disabled individuals and resulted in new members of the disability community, the Administration prioritized Long COVID services, supports, and research in the context of disability; established a call line dedicated to ensuring individuals with disabilities can equitably utilize the Administration’s at-home test distribution program; ensured disabled individuals and other high-risk individuals could access at-home testing; and invested American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources to build COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access among people with disabilities.

Putting Community Health Centers at the Forefront of the Response:

Community Health Centers played a vital role in the Administration’s efforts to ensure an equitable response, as they served as the single largest source of comprehensive primary health care for medically underserved urban and rural communities. Because of the Administration’s efforts, these centers tested millions of patients for COVID-19, distributed millions of vaccine doses, increased access to telehealth in order to improve and expand patient care, and offered treatment options such as oral antiviral medications and monoclonal antibody therapy. Additionally, through its COVID-19 Testing Supply and COVID-19 N95 Mask Programs, the Administration enabled health centers to distribute millions of N95 masks, COVID-19 at-home test kits, and COVID-19 point-of-care testing supplies, at no charge to their patients and community members.

Supporting Community-Based Organizations in Vaccine Outreach to High-Risk Communities:

Through community-based organization vaccine outreach, the Administration was able to focus on empowering local trusted messengers and providing educational materials that served the most vulnerable populations. The Administration translated materials into 14 languages, and these were used by community- and faith-based organizations around the country, as well as by doctors’ offices, pharmacies, health centers, employers, and other groups. These education and outreach efforts allowed the Administration to reach the unvaccinated, deploy information about the importance of boosters, support pediatric vaccination efforts, and provide other important COVID-19 updates through trusted community members.

Building the Workforce to Support Underserved Communities:

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan provided a total of over $1.1 billion for community health, outreach, and health education workers—the largest ever one-time investment in the nation’s community health workforce. In the fall of 2022, the Administration invested $225 million in American Rescue Plan funds to train over 13,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) – responding to the acute need to expand the health care workforce and address pandemic-related burnout. This effort supported apprenticeship programs for workers at over 500 health care and public health sites nationally, including emergency departments, community health centers, state and local public health departments, mobile health clinics, shelters, housing programs, faith-based organizations, and other locations where high-risk populations access care and receive services.  The Administration also rapidly deployed over 14,000 community outreach workers through over 150 national and local organizations to deepen COVID-19 vaccine confidence, increase vaccination rates, and serve as trusted messengers in underserved communities. These actions built upon the efforts of the roughly 50,000 CHWs who were already working in American communities before the pandemic.

3- Getting America Back on its Feet

Countless lives were saved by the Administration’s efforts to ensure all Americans had access to safe tests, treatments and vaccines. In addition, robust support to employers minimized the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to these efforts, families nationwide were able to get back to work and school and the country’s economy recovered faster and more broadly than any of the other leading economies in the world.

Progress By the Numbers

• In May 2023, compared to January 2021, COVID-19 deaths had declined by 95% and hospitalizations were down nearly 91% in the U.S.; those who were not vaccinated were more likely to be hospitalized or to die of COVID-19, compared to people who were vaccinated.

• With the largest domestic vaccination program in history, the U.S. made it possible for over 270 million people to receive at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by May 2023. At its peak, the Biden Administration COVID-19 vaccination program administered over 4 million vaccines in one day, or over 2,700 vaccines a minute, into the arms of the American people. Lifesaving treatments were widely available and used, with more than 15 million courses administered.

• Through COVIDTests.gov, the Administration has delivered more than 921 million free COVID-19 tests – shipped directly to more than 85 million households – as of January 2025.  

• Through the Administration’s efforts, more than 50 million diagnostics tests were administered in-person at pharmacy and community-based sites.

As a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts, the economic recovery from the pandemic in the U.S. was historic. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) accelerated that economic recovery throughout 2021 and made it more resilient to challenges: one analysis found that the ARP resulted in 4 million more jobs and nearly doubled GDP growth – and that without it, the United States would have come close to a double-digit recession in spring 2021. The results of the ARP have also been historically equitable, with major progress against child poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment for low-income communities and communities of color.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration’s COVID-19 response ensured that schools could reopen and families could get back to work. By the end of March 2020, all public schools in the United States were closed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.  In November 2020, 19 percent of districts remained fully remote, with 45 percent using hybrid models and 36 percent fully in person. Shortly after the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, in early May, 2021, just over 3 months after taking office, only 1 percent of districts across the country were fully remote, and over half of schools were fully in person.

These changes are reflected in the public’s perception of the pandemic’s impact on their lives. According to Gallup public opinion polling, in December 2020, 3/5th of Americans believed that COVID-19 in the U.S. was getting worse. By June 2021, that percentage had fallen to three percent of Americans. Additionally, over half of Americans worried about catching COVID in December 2020, and that number fell to less than 20% by June 2021.

Today, although much progress has been made, the Administration continues to ensure that Americans have what they need to stay safe, including by continuing to provide free COVID-19 tests through COVIDtests.gov. In addition, the Administration has extended the authorities which allow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to continue to administer vaccines, allowing other healthcare workers to focus on other tasks that only they can perform. And, the Administration’s $5 billion investment in Project NextGen continues to accelerate and streamline the rapid development of the next generation of coronavirus vaccines and treatments through public-private collaborations.

In addition to addressing the immediate impact of COVID-19 infections, the Biden-Harris Administration recognized that millions of Americans continue to experience symptoms for months and sometimes years after their acute COVID-19 infection. To help better understand why this occurs and to develop potential treatments, the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated billions of dollars to research efforts, developed the first-ever National Research Action Plan on Long COVID, and created an Advisory Committee on Long COVID.

4 – Ensuring the World Responded and Recovered from COVID-19

While the Biden-Harris Administration implemented all of these programs to help Americans fight COVID-19 here at home, the Administration also recognized that helping the rest of world quickly and effectively respond to the pandemic was critical to both our domestic and the broader global recovery. The United States committed to bringing the same urgency to international response and recovery efforts that we demonstrated domestically. On day one, President Biden called on his National Security Advisor to advance global health security, international pandemic preparedness, and global health resilience to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included re-establishing the National Security Council’s team focused on health security and biodefense.

• Restoring Partnerships with Critical, Life-saving Institutions: As soon as President Biden entered office, he ensured that the U.S. reversed its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization – which was essential to coordinating a global response during the pandemic. In early 2021, United States committed $4 billion to support COVAX, the multilateral effort that aimed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and to support equitable access for every country in the world. In two years, the United States provided over $16 billion to vaccinate the world, save lives, and build stronger health security. The United States also convened world leaders at two Global COVID-19 Summits, accelerating response efforts and mobilizing $3.2 billion in commitments to vaccinate the world, save lives, and build stronger health security.

• Vaccinating the World: The United States donated more COVID-19 vaccines than any other country, and it was the first country to announce a purchase of vaccine doses solely for donation to other countries. The U.S. was also the first country to ensure the African Union could start receiving up to 110 million doses of Moderna at a reduced rate negotiated by the United States – and it was the first country to negotiate a deal to send vaccines directly to humanitarian settings and conflict zones to vaccinate displaced persons. Between May 2021 and February 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration donated – in partnership with COVAX, Caricom, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), and bilaterally – nearly 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. This included over 44 countries and economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 31 countries in the Western Hemisphere, and 26 countries in Southern, Central, and Eastern Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a dropoff in routine childhood immunization in many countries around the world, as they surged scarce resources to pandemic response. As a result, we began to see the reemergence of vaccine-preventable diseases, from measles to polio. In 2024, the United States Government pledged $1.58 billion to support Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, over the next five years. This commitment builds on a 24-year partnership that has immunized over a billion children and saved 17 million lives. The new funding aims to vaccinate the next billion children within a decade, saving over eight million lives by reaching unvaccinated children, expanding vaccinations for diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, and enhancing emergency health preparedness. The United States, through Gavi, also supports the launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will help African countries produce vaccines locally, promoting vaccine equity and swift responses to future health crises. In addition, the United States supports the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is working to accelerate the development of life-saving vaccines against emerging disease threats, and to transform capability for rapid countermeasure development in response to future threats. Notable achievements include: the FDA approval of the world’s first Chikungunya vaccine and technology transfer to regional producers for regional supply to LMICs; the advancement through clinical development of vaccine candidates against Lassa, Nipah, and coronaviruses, among others; and the launch of a new Disease X Vaccine Library with six viral families prioritized as high risk.

• Delivering Life-Saving Resources: In addition, the U.S. government delivered life-saving resources like oxygen, treatments, PPE, and other essential supplies worth more than $1 billion to countries experiencing outbreaks by March 2022. This included countries that were most affected by the pandemic. As an example, as India battled a devastating wave of the Delta variant, the United States delivered supplies worth more than $100 million to provide urgent relief. This included 15 million N95 masks, 1 million rapid diagnostic tests, and vaccine manufacturing supplies to help India make over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the U.S. consistently provided immediate support to allies such as Brazil that were seeing disproportionate cases and deaths due to the pandemic – through providing much-needed ventilators, vaccines, personal protective equipment, and support for struggling businesses and communities.

• Providing Technical Assistance and Supporting Vaccine Manufacturing: U.S. public health experts across multiple federal agencies worked side-by-side with on-the-ground providers – providing technical assistance in vaccine program implementation, care provision, and outbreak investigation. The United States respects countries’ right to protect public health and to promote access to medicines for all. Toward that end, the United States endorsed negotiations of a temporary waiver of WTO intellectual property rules to support access to COVID vaccines.

In addition, the U.S. increased the world’s capacity to manufacture vaccines and fostered an enabling environment for innovation, including by spurring African manufacturing. For example, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) provided a $3.3 million technical assistance grant and a follow-on $15 million loan to Institute Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) in Senegal to expand flexible vaccine manufacturing capacity for both routine and outbreak vaccines. IPD also received support from other U.S. government agencies on regulatory strengthening, workforce development and training, and research and development. 

5) Managing Current Public Health Threats

The tools and strategies that the Biden-Harris Administration developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are applicable to a range of biological threats, including avian flu, Marburg, Ebola, mpox, COVID-19 variants, and others.

As an example, the National Wastewater Surveillance System has allowed the U.S. to glean more specific information on where avian flu is found in the environment, often before the first human or animal case has been confirmed. Additionally, Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance, which was among the first to detect multiple Omicron variants up to six weeks before they were reported elsewhere in the United States, continues to screen for other threats including new COVID-19 variants. Hospital data reporting also provides granular information on which hospitals may see strain due to admissions from COVID-19, Flu, and RSV each respiratory season.

Avian Flu: Protecting Human and Animal Health

Avian flu, or Influenza A(H5N1), was first detected in dairy cattle in the U.S. in late March 2024. While we have seen this virus in birds for decades and the risk to the general public remains low, the Administration immediately knew that the spread to cows and other mammals demanded serious attention and action. Within twenty-four hours of confirmation of the first case, interagency coordination groups began meeting at the senior leader and technical levels to synchronize support to State and local public health and agriculture officials. Since then, the interagency has worked with government, industry and other partners to ensure we keep communities healthy, safe, and informed – by monitoring and stopping transmission, keeping animals healthy, ensuring that our Nation’s food supply remains safe, and safeguarding the livelihood and well-being of American farmers and farmworkers. In total, since USDA began supporting state-led efforts to mitigate the risk of avian flu in poultry in 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated nearly $2.8 billion to this important work.

Monitoring the Virus and Stopping Transmission: Within a few weeks of the outbreak, USDA took action to stop the spread of the virus, issuing a federal order in April 2024 that mandated avian flu testing of all lactating dairy cattle moving between states. USDA also stood up a voluntary program for states and farmers to test their herds, implement biosecurity and created incentives for them to do so. By the end of 2024, USDA and its partner laboratories had run over 110,000 tests on dairy cattle and made more than 1,000 staff deployments to support response and traceback efforts on the ground, including 221 personnel currently deployed. In October 2024, USDA announced a nationwide milk testing initiative, requiring states to comprehensively monitor and respond to the presence of the virus in America’s dairies. Today, 28 states – representing nearly two-thirds of America’s dairy production – have joined this program. The remaining states are working to stand up the necessary infrastructure.  

CDC has also been closely tracking the virus through a collaborative effort between CDC and many partners, including state, local, and territorial health departments; public health and clinical laboratories; clinics; and emergency departments. These include systems to monitor case reporting, laboratory monitoring at both public health and clinical labs, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and assessing wastewater. These systems build on developments over the last four years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether, they provide us with early warning signs on where the virus is spreading, as well as visibility on whether there is any severe disease from avian flu. When human cases have been reported, CDC has engaged and supported state and local health officials with technical support, including the deployment of experts to the field to support public health investigations. 

Since the start of the outbreak, USDA and CDC have been monitoring virus specimens using the latest techniques, to inform our response.  When new human cases are reported, CDC’s national laboratory confirms the findings and performs timely genomic sequencing and other analysis to monitor for any concerning changes in the virus, as well as any potential impacts on our treatments and vaccines. This information has been released in technical reports and the sequences are made available on public servers. Similarly on the animal side, genetic sequences from this outbreak are shared by USDA, with over 4,500 raw or curated sequences having been posted to GISAID (the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) or the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive. USDA continually monitors these sequences for any potentially concerning changes and immediately shares any such findings with CDC.  

Protecting Workers and the Public: Learning from bottlenecks and shortages in the very early COVID-19 response, the Administration has spent the last several years refilling our Strategic National Stockpile to ensure that we have the PPE, antivirals, tests, vaccines, and more that the country needs to prepare for future health emergencies. As a result, HHS was immediately able to offer support to states. To date, we have delivered nearly 4 million pieces of PPE and thousands of antivirals to protect workers. USDA also set up a program that reimburses farmers when they purchase PPE for their workers, and post-exposure prophylaxis with Tamiflu is also promptly offered to workers with any known exposure. We have also taken steps to build trust with impacted communities along the way – investing $5 million in campaign to educate and test farmworkers. In total, USDA and CDC have deployed over 100 federal workers into the field to support response and support workers.

As we protect workers today, we are also preparing for any possible scenario tomorrow. The CDC and NIH are tracking changes in the virus so we can see whether it’s becoming more adaptable to humans.  We have already prepared nearly 5 million doses of vaccines so they’re ready if we need them.  Further, by the end of the first quarter of 2025, we will have stockpiled 10 million doses of vaccine to inoculate humans against bird flu. And we’ve invested $176 million in Moderna to develop next-generation mRNA vaccines that can rapidly respond to any adaptations in the virus, with phase 3 trials beginning shortly. In addition to vaccines, we have 68 million courses of influenza antivirals on hand in the Strategic National Stockpile to treat those who may become infected with the virus. We have made 3,000 courses available to affected communities. 

Preserving Animal Health: Research suggests the virus travels via surfaces related to normal business operations such as vehicles, milking equipment, and people’s clothing. That’s meant that biosecurity practices—like limiting visitors, disinfecting work apparel, and separating animals of different species— were essential to reduce the spread and keep cows healthy. In early May 2024, USDA launched assistance for producers with H5N1 affected premises to improve on-site biosecurity in order to reduce the spread of the virus. This includes financial support for protecting workers with PPE, funding for disposal of milk, reimbursement for veterinary costs, and payments for shipping laboratory Samples. As of January 2025, over 500 farms have utilized these programs to date. Later that month, USDA expanded support for producers to stop the spread through cattle, by issuing a rule to compensate eligible producers with positive herds who experience a loss of milk production. So far, over 300 producers have applied to the program with tens of millions of dollars in payments distributed.  Additionally, USDA accelerated efforts to develop a first-of-its-kind bovine vaccine for the virus, and candidates have already entered field safety trials. USDA also announced in early January 2025 that work would begin to build a new stockpile of avian flu vaccines for poultry.

Ensuring the Safety of Our Food Supply: We have 100 years of data showing pasteurization works, but it was essential for our Administration to confirm that this was still the case with this new pathogen. USDA and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began testing retail dairy samples from across the country to ensure the safety of the commercial pasteurized milk supply and conducted laboratory experiments to reaffirm that pasteurization inactivates the virus. USDA similarly conducted research to confirm that cooking beef to proper temperature inactivates the virus, which it does. USDA also sampled muscle tissue from culled cattle at beef processing facilities as part of our robust ongoing surveillance programs. Today, we are confident that pasteurized milk, as well as properly cooked meat and eggs, are safe for consumers.

Mpox, Marburg, Measles and More: Managing Additional Public Health Threats

The Biden-Harris Administration has also mounted a robust response to other infectious disease threats that have emerged since 2021, including Marburg and Mpox. On Day 1 of the multiple Marburg and Mpox responses, medical countermeasures existed and were ready to be deployed at home and around the world as a result of U.S. preparedness efforts. In the case of Marburg, the United States had invested in experimental vaccines and therapeutics in order to be able to quickly deploy, test, and eventually seek regulatory approval for new countermeasures. 

Mpox Domestic and Global Responses:

• In early 2022, an outbreak of clade II mpox (then known as Monkeypox) rapidly spread globally and domestically. Shortly after the first U.S. case was identified in May 2022, the Administration deployed tens of thousands of doses of an FDA-approved vaccine and hundreds of courses of an investigational therapeutic from the Strategic National Stockpile to support domestic efforts to control spread and treat patients. We also rapidly scaled up testing capacity from 6,000 to 80,000 tests per week and, by October 2022, over one million doses of JYNNEOS had been administered to individuals at heightened risk of exposure to mpox, over 40,000 treatment courses had been distributed across the country, and domestic cases of clade II mpox had decreased by 90%. Today the mpox vaccine, which is effective against both clades of mpox, is also now commercially available with an ample supply at health departments and local pharmacies.

• During the 2022 response, the Biden-Harris Administration also stood up a White House National Monkeypox Response Team and, in collaboration with a diverse group of community-based and civil society partners, promoted equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and testing and made significant strides in reaching vulnerable populations where they were with trusted community messengers.  Among the many successes of this group were the planning and execution of multiple “pop up” sites at events where at-risk individuals could learn more about mpox and, if they chose to do so, protect themselves by getting vaccinated against mpox.
• When a new clade of mpox began spreading internationally in 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration was poised to act quickly. Within weeks of WHO’s declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, President Biden announced in September 2024 that the United States was prepared to commit at least $500 million and to donate up to one million doses of mpox vaccines to support African countries in preventing and responding to this outbreak. We are delivering on that commitment, with two-thirds of our global mpox funding pledge fulfilled already, and all one million of the pledged mpox vaccine doses available now for countries that are ready to receive them.

• Most biological threats emerge outside the United States, which means that Americans will be safer when countries around the world are prepared to prevent, detect and respond to threats when they emerge. As part of the implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy, the United States Government continues to work with more than 50 countries around the world – including most mpox-affected countries and those at-risk of an mpox outbreak – to build stronger global health security capacities, ensuring countries are better prepared to stop outbreaks at their source while protecting U.S. national and homeland security.

• Domestically, in 2024, the Administration has continued to focus on additional preparedness steps to increase awareness of mpox risks; provided updated recommendations to prevent, detect, and treat both clades; and expanded wastewater surveillance to provide an early warning of mpox activity and community spread. In addition, the United States continued to build on the critical testing landscape created during the 2022 outbreak and can not only detect both clades of mpox, but can also differentiate between clade I and clade II mpox.

Global Marburg Response:

In September 2024, Rwanda’s Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), a rare, viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has responded to 11 Ebola or Marburg outbreaks.  Immediately after learning of the outbreak in Rwanda, in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the United States committed millions of dollars to address urgent health gaps in Rwanda and surrounding countries, through provision of technical assistance with surveillance and contact tracing, infection prevention and control guidance, case management, risk communication and community engagement, safe and dignified burials, donation of laboratory test kits, and point of entry exit screening at Rwanda’s airport and neighboring border crossings. Within 8 days of learning of the outbreak, the United States Government worked with the Government of Rwanda, WHO, CEPI, and other critical partners to share experimental vaccine doses with Rwanda, and into the arms of healthcare workers at high risk of exposure, an unprecedented public health achievement. The United States also contributed tests, treatments and PPE, to support response efforts and protect health workers. This support has been made possible through the United States robust investments in science and research over the last 10 years. On December 20, the outbreak was declared over by the Government of Rwanda, with one of the lowest case fatality ratios (22%) of any Marburg outbreak in history.

Domestic Measles Response:

As the number of children protected from measles infections continues to decline due to declining vaccine coverage and misinformation, multiple jurisdictions have had to rapidly respond to measles outbreaks. The administration has deployed experts to support local responses and has distributed additional vaccine doses to support targeted vaccination campaigns, which are effective in ending outbreaks. The Administration has underscored that while the measles vaccine is highly effective and provides durable protection, 93-95% vaccine coverage is needed to maintain community protection. An unvaccinated individual exposed to the virus has a 90% chance of developing disease – therefore vaccination is critical to this response.

6) Building the Infrastructure for Future Biological Threats

The Biden-Harris Administration has also taken historic actions, building on policies from prior administrations, to protect Americans from biological threats that may emerge in the future.

Replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile:

The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was created in 1999 to “provide for the emergency health security of the United States …in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency.” Historically, the SNS holds vaccines and therapeutics to protect the country from any number of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear events. Many of these medical countermeasures are not commercially available and the SNS is the only source for these critical supplies in the country–and in some instances the world. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SNS’s budget increased by 25% – allowing it to secure more of the vaccines, therapeutics and medical supplies needed to protect the country from public health emergencies and disasters.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Strategic National Stockpile distributed more than 27,000 tons of medicines, equipment, and supplies to support the country’s public health and health care needs. Early in the pandemic, the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) deployed 90% of its overall inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) – nearly 72 million items – as well as 100% of its Federal Medical Stations, which served as alternate care sites across the country. Much of this PPE was purchased ten years before with funds from the H1N1 outbreak—and had not been restocked.
Since President Biden took office, the SNS has dramatically increased its stockpiled quantities of PPE and ventilators—with supplies that were made in America where possible. The SNS now has 70 times the number of N95 respirators, 34 times the number of gloves, 50 times the number of isolation gowns, and 10 times the number of ventilators than it had before the pandemic.  Restocking the SNS to these levels has allowed it to make PPE available to communities impacted by COVID1-9, H5N1 and other infectious disease outbreaks. In 2022, the SNS provided nearly 300 million N95 masks to retail pharmacies and community health centers for free —the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.  Under President Biden, the SNS has also assigned staff to state public health departments and completed a series of tribal consultations and urban Indian confers to ensure all communities understand what tools it has available and how to access them in times of emergency or disaster.

Expanding Surveillance Capabilities:

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, because of years of underinvestment in modernizing data systems, some state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions still relied on fax machines to transmit public health data and the U.S. struggles to collect, analyze and share essential data on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in communities, the rate of transmission, and the impact on hospitals. Throughout our response, the U.S. government has expanded our surveillance capabilities to monitor disease and better inform the public. These steps include: 

• Increasing the number of healthcare facilities which provide automated, near real-time electronic case reporting to local, state, tribal, territorial and federal public health officials from less than 200 in 2020 to over 48,000 in 2024 and supporting public health authorities to adopt the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to further enable the exchange of public health data across the healthcare ecosystem to help rapidly identify emerging outbreaks.

• Standing up a National Wastewater Surveillance System, which routinely reports early warning information from over 1,500 sites covering over 150 million people in the United States.

• Scaling up genomic sequencing, which is important to detect new pathogens including variants.  At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, only 23 public health labs demonstrated advanced molecular detection surveillance capabilities. By the end of 2022, this number expanded to 68 public health laboratories, and CDC launched 5 Pathogen Centers of Excellence. The average turnaround time for public health laboratories to publish genome sequences has dramatically improved – decreasing from 96 to 40 days. Some laboratories able to sequence in less than two days.

• Developing a COVID-19 Variant Playbook, which served to assess the disease severity and transmissibility of a new variant immediately, and to expedite the rapid laboratory evaluation of the effectiveness of vaccines, tests, and treatments against any variant.

• As a result of close collaboration between the CDC, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and industry stakeholders, over 80% of all hospitals from across America are now sharing critical data on emergency department visits and hospital admissions.

Advancing Capabilities in RNA Vaccine Technologies: 

With investments totaling over $400 million, the Administration has also been advancing capabilities in RNA vaccine technologies to guard against future pandemics. To further these efforts, multiple companies are currently partnering with HHS to develop RNA vaccines that may allow for a faster, more sustainable response capability against multiple threats, lower the requirement for needles, simplify storage requirements, or investigate new methods of administration.

Strengthening Domestic PPE Supply Chain:

Given gaps in domestic capacity for critical PPE, this Administration, in an effort to minimize foreign reliance, the President signed the “Make PPE in America Act” in 2021. The statute requires that the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans Affairs (VA) (collectively referred to as “covered agencies”) issue long-term contracts for PPE containing only materials and components that are grown, reprocessed, reused or produced in the U.S. This requirement is critical to strengthening our domestic manufacturing capabilities and promoting the production of essential PPE in the United States. The statute recognizes the power of leveraging the federal government’s buying power as a catalyst to increase market participants, support competition and the health of the domestic PPE industry.

A sustained federal commitment to procure PPE from domestic sources supports the health of the domestic PPE industry. Since the enactment of the Make PPE in America Act, covered agencies took actions to support a long-term domestic federal procurement strategy, model demand, and more closely align their acquisition strategies to send a government-wide demand signal to the PPE industry, while working collaboratively with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement the Make PPE in America Act.

Stopping Outbreaks at their Source and Transforming our Biopreparedness Capabilities:

In 2022, President Biden signed National Security Memorandum 15 on Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security. This NSM launched a new National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan, which envisions “a world free from catastrophic biological incidents” and directs a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to prepare for biothreats. It includes an ambitious five-to-ten-year vision for developing moonshot biodefense capabilities, including the ability to develop new vaccines within 100 days and repurpose therapeutics within 90 days.

The most effective way to limit the impact of biological threats is to stop them at their source. The United States is working with countries and partners around the world to ensure they have the capacity to identify and stop emerging threats before they grow into regional or global threats. To advance that goal, the administration published an updated Global Health Security Strategy, laying out our commitment to working with foreign partners in order to continue building our capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats wherever they emerge. The Administration took several concrete actions to support these transformative efforts.  The U.S. Government reached the ambitious goal of directly supporting 50 countries in building their health security capacity, which is one of the most powerful prevention tools we have in this space. The United States has also leveraged financial resources and diplomatic channels to mobilize support for 50 additional countries to strengthen their health security capacities, for a total of more than 100 countries receiving support.

Limitations in the existing global systems to finance pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response left countries and financial institutions ill prepared to effectively contain COVID-19. On day one, President Biden called on his Administration to transform the existing financing institutions and to cultivate new financing sources for global health security that are more effective and sustainable, and that are less dependent on U.S. government assistance. The United States was instrumental in the creation of the Pandemic Fund in 2022, the only multilateral financing facility dedicated exclusively to pandemic preparedness financing for low- and middle- income countries. The Pandemic Fund made significant progress in its first two years, awarding grants totaling $885 million, which mobilized an additional $6 billion in investments, to support 75 countries and economies across six geographic regions. The United States is also working to evolve Multilateral Development Banks to be better equipped to respond to the increasing frequency, scope, and complexity of global challenges, including pandemics. The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supported the establishment of the International Monetary Fund Resilience and Sustainability Trust and its goal of supporting low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries to access long-term, affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, such as health emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and institutions lacked the liquidity to procure the medical countermeasures (MCM) needed to mount effective and timely responses. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation helped develop and lead a G7 Surge Financing Initiative, through which G7 development finance institutions (DFIs), the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and global and regional health stakeholders are developing and deploying innovative financing tools to accelerate access to MCMs in health emergencies. 

While there will always be new or evolving biological threats, developing effective countermeasures for known threats is a critical piece of preparedness. For example, the U.S. government invested billions of dollars in mRNA technology in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic. These public investments translated into millions of lives saved in the United States and around the world, and were crucial to developing the mRNA vaccine technology that can be leveraged in a future pandemic, as well as potentially treating other diseases. For example, the Department of Defense and the National Laboratories are leveraging Artificial Intelligence for rapid development of medical countermeasures. The Administration is executing a whole-of-government implementation plan for strengthening capabilities in early warning, vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, clinical trials, and PPE.

Strengthening Research Capacity and Oversight:

The lives saved and hospitalizations avoided as a result of the COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines were the result of decades of foundational research investments. Because viruses and bacteria are constantly changing and the frequency of naturally occurring biological outbreaks is increasing, the Biden-Harris Administration published the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan in the fall of 2021. In addition, the administration has continued to invest more than $7 billion annually in research by Federal, academic and industry researchers in new ways of protecting Americans from tuberculosis, HIV and other infectious diseases that remain leading causes of illness in our nation. These investments are crucial to ensure our nation is prepared for future threats and to deter those who are seeking asymmetric advantages over the US.

In 2024, the Administration also released an updated policy to enhance oversight of research. This update to standards that were originally released in 2012 will reduce the likelihood of accidental outbreaks and deliberate misuse of life science research, while ensuring that lifesaving research proceeds.

Supporting Global Biosafety and Biosecurity:

Expanding biosurveillance capacity and the rapid evolution of technology are critical for health security, but can also elevate the risk of accidental and deliberate incidents. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken significant steps to minimize the chances of laboratory accidents; reduce the likelihood of deliberate use or accidental misuse; ensure effective biosafety and biosecurity practices and oversight; and promote responsible research and innovation. The Biden-Harris Administration knows that in order to protect the domestic population, investing in global biosafety and biosecurity practices and oversight is essential. These efforts – which minimize the chances of laboratory accidents, reduce the likelihood of deliberate use or accidental misuse, and more – have been critical as we expand biosurveillance capacity. For example, the United States secured inclusion of biosafety and biosecurity as a critical component of the Pandemic Fund grants to support laboratory systems. One of the projects, the Caribbean Public Health Agency Train-the-Trainer Workshop on the Safe Transportation of Infectious Substances, resulted in certified trainers well-positioned to serve as national trainers and advisors in biosafety and safe transport protocols, ensuring safer practices across the region. The U.S. global health security bilateral partnerships also build capacity in biosafety and biosecurity: the final global health security report of the Administration showed that global health security partner countries with at least two years of U.S. Government support demonstrated a net improvement in biosafety and biosecurity capacity from 2018 to 2023. The Administration also supported the 2024 World Health Assembly resolution on Strengthening Laboratory Biological Risk Management, which calls for improvements to biosafety and biosecurity practices globally.

Standing up the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy:

Recognizing the growing threat of pandemics, the Administration stood up the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR) in August of 2023. This is a permanent office in the Executive Office of the President charged with leading and coordinating actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens that could lead to a pandemic and/or to national security. OPPR assumed the duties of the COVID-19 Response Team and Mpox team at the White House and has continued to coordinate and develop policies and priorities related to pandemic preparedness and response.

Because every successful response to a biological event has required a synchronized, integrated team, OPPR has worked with federal, state and local health partners, and has engaged with a broad array of private sector, academic and other stakeholders to ensure lessons from the response to COVID-19 and other recent outbreaks inform future plans and response efforts.  Recent accomplishments include:

• Partnering with multiple industry stakeholders to resolve supply chain issues affecting the availability of a new immunization, reducing infant hospitalizations by more than 80%.
• Partnering with leaders from the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India and multiple industries to develop a process to quickly recognize and address supply chain issues affecting availability of medications in the US and partner countries.
• Partnering with leaders from the Long-Term Care industry to improve vaccination rates for residents of long-term care facilities.
• Partnering with leaders from across the domestic healthcare enterprise to identify and mitigate constraints to our national preparedness for future biological events and to create a collaborative committed to continuing to mitigate future challenges.
• Partnering with community support organizations to identify best practices from the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop strategies to sustain outreach to historically medically underserved communities to ensure all Americans can access their healthcare options.

Conclusion

As of result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts, the COVID-19 pandemic no longer disrupts our daily lives, our children are back in schools, our economy is stronger than ever and families have been able to resume their pre-pandemic routines. As new viruses and other biological threats have continued to emerge, we have remained vigilant in monitoring and responding to each threat. From investments into research for new tests and treatments for diseases, to launching the largest vaccination program in our country’s history, to expanding the nation’s surveillance capabilities, to replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile, the Biden-Harris Administration has transformed our nation’s pandemic preparedness and response.

In order to ensure that future Administrations are prepared for any threat that emerges, the Biden-Harris Administration will also leave behind a three-step internal playbook with nearly 300 pages of guidance on how to rapidly and effectively respond to biological threats from all sources – naturally occurring, accidental and deliberate.

• Step 1: Within 24 hours of notification of a serious biological threat, NSC convenes Departments and Agencies for a biological incident notification and assessment (BINA).
• Step 2: If the threat poses a significant risk to the United States, within 24-48 hours Departments and Agencies establish an Incident Response Coordination Structure (IRCS), with agency leadership and support roles pre-determined in a playbook.
• Step 3: Departments and Agencies operationalize a rapid and effective response, with coordination by the IRCS and leadership from the White House. The playbook includes detailed operational annexes to address many scenarios that commonly arise during biological incident responses. 

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have exercised this three-step playbook numerous times, including in recent weeks. All Departments and Agencies have received final versions of the Playbook, and the Biden-Harris Administration will give copies to the incoming Administration to ensure they are prepared to act on day one of a crisis to protect the American people. 

###

The post REPORT: The Biden-Harris Administration Roadmap for Pandemic Preparedness and Response appeared first on The White House.

President Biden came into office facing the worst public health crisis in more than a century. COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on our country – closing our businesses, keeping our kids out of school, and forcing communities into isolation and lockdown. In the first year of the pandemic, nearly 400,000 Americans died of COVID-19.  

Even before taking office, President-elect Biden recognized that the U.S. needed an emergency response that was worthy of the crisis it faced – a response that would leave no stone unturned and that would leverage the full force of the federal government, the innovation of the private sector, and the determination of the American people. Building on decades of research and planning efforts, President Biden, on his first full day in office, released the first comprehensive National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. This strategy focused on building a response to this virus that would give people the tools and transparent communication they needed to protect themselves, reopen our schools, and get our economy moving again.

The following report outlines the numerous actions the Biden-Harris Administration took to combat COVID-19 both nationally and globally, and it serves as a roadmap for how the U.S. can effectively respond to pandemics and public health threats in the future. In addition to this public-facing report, this Administration is leaving behind a three-step playbook that future Administrations can use to continue to protect the nation and effectively respond to any future biological threat.

1 – Taking Immediate Action to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Standing Up the Largest Vaccination Program in Our Country’s History

In President Biden’s first year of office, the Biden-Harris Administration worked hand-in-hand with doctors, nurses, businesses, unions, community organizations, governors, mayors, and citizens across every state, Tribe, and territory to put vaccines at the center of the United States’ COVID-19 response. These vaccines still remain the best tools available to lower the risk of hospitalization and death.

The Administration stood up the largest free vaccination program in American history: mobilizing 90,000 vaccination locations; standing up mass vaccination sites with the ability to administer more than a combined 125,000 shots a day; deploying over 9,000 federal personnel to support vaccinations nationwide – including over 5,000 active-duty troops, and launching vaccinefinder.org to provide current information on locations for vaccination. Another part of the federal government’s strategy to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for the American public was the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP) for COVID-19 Vaccination. Pharmacies are readily accessible in the majority of communities in the U.S. – with most Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy. Recognizing this, the federal government made pharmacies a key part of its COVID-19 vaccination strategy, partnering with 21 retail and long-term care pharmacies to vaccinate Americans in more than 41,000 locations nationwide, including long-term care pharmacies.

As a result of these efforts, over 270 million people received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by May 2023. Additionally, a December 2022 analysis from the Commonwealth Fund suggested that COVID-19 vaccinations saved over 3 million American lives and successfully prevented over 18 million hospitalizations.

Increasing the Country’s Testing Supply

Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, America’s testing supply increased substantially, allowing Americans to quickly get answers without having to go to a doctor’s office, and to make informed decisions about their day-to-day activities. Less than a month after taking office, the Administration announced a $650 million investment to expand COVID-19 testing for schools and underserved populations, as well as an $815 million investment to increase domestic manufacturing of testing supplies so that we would have a more reliable supply when needed. The Administration, through HHS, also partnered with the private sector to develop and scale manufacturing of tests suitable for home use. Free testing sites were available at 21,500 locations around the country. This was made possible by federal action to expand pharmacy testing sites, a federal surge in free testing sites, delivery of tests to thousands of community health centers and rural health clinics, and $10 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to provide tests to K-12 school districts. The Administration also invested nearly $6 billion in ARP funding to cover free testing for uninsured individuals, and to support testing in correctional facilities, shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and mental health facilities. To reach people experiencing homelessness, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide tests across major U.S. cities.

The Biden Administration also stood up COVIDtests.gov through which Americans could order tests that were sent by the United States Postal Service directly to their homes — for free. By the end of the Public Health Emergency in May 2023, the Administration had distributed more than 750 million free COVID-19 tests, shipped directly to more than 85 million households. The Administration had also coordinated more than 50 million diagnostic tests in-person at pharmacy and community-based sites.

Collectively, these actions gave Americans the opportunity to keep both themselves and their communities safe, while getting back to school, work, and time with family and friends. Additionally, the Lancet Public Health journal recently published a study showing that making diagnostic tests available quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic mitigated an estimated 7 million hospitalizations and saved approximately 1.4 million lives.

Increasing Treatment Options for Americans

The Biden-Harris Administration also increased investment in the development, manufacturing, and procurement of COVID-19 treatments, which helped to minimize the severity of COVID-19 infections.  By March 2022, about 5 million antiviral treatment courses were available to Americans, and the President announced the Test-to-Treat initiative to help make it easier for people at high risk of severe disease and those with limited financial means to quickly access free oral antiviral treatments. By April 2022, the U.S. government purchased 20 million treatment courses—more than any other country in the world and took action to nearly double the number of locations where Americans could get oral antivirals. The Administration also provided medical providers with more guidance, education and tools to help them understand and prescribe these treatments, and to help them inform the choices that the American people made about receiving safe and effective treatments.

2 – Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery

On his first day in office, understanding that the pandemic had exacerbated severe and pervasive health and social inequities in America, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery – which included the establishment of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. From the start, the Administration took action to empower communities to improve access for all Americans to tests, therapeutics and vaccines.

In addition, the Administration supported partners through an all-of-society effort that increased response and recovery initiatives in support of communities in every corner of the country. In some communities, local chambers of commerce worked with business leaders to encourage flexibilities such as paid time off for their employees who needed to travel to a vaccination or testing center. In other communities, due to the Administration’s efforts, child care providers offered drop-in services for caregivers to get vaccinated. Some public transit authorities and ride-sharing companies provided free rides to vaccination sites, while churches, civic organizations, barbershops, and beauty salons opened their doors to be trusted spaces for testing or for vaccinations.

Ten months into the Biden-Harris Administration’s term, deaths had declined nearly 90% in Black, brown, and Indigenous communities; the gap in vaccination rates between Black and Latino/Hispanic adults and white adults had closed; and nearly 100% of schools were open for in-person instruction.

Investing in the Hardest-hit and Highest-risk communities:

The Biden-Harris Administration invested over $785 million from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to support organizations that were building vaccine confidence across communities which historically had lower vaccination levels, including communities of color, rural populations, and low-income populations. The Administration bolstered the efforts of Tribal communities seeking to increase awareness of options to mitigate the spread of the virus, and it expanded public health systems’ ability to respond to the needs of older adults who have been among the highest risk for infection or death from COVID-19.

Additionally, recognizing that the pandemic had tremendous impacts on disabled individuals and resulted in new members of the disability community, the Administration prioritized Long COVID services, supports, and research in the context of disability; established a call line dedicated to ensuring individuals with disabilities can equitably utilize the Administration’s at-home test distribution program; ensured disabled individuals and other high-risk individuals could access at-home testing; and invested American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources to build COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access among people with disabilities.

Putting Community Health Centers at the Forefront of the Response:

Community Health Centers played a vital role in the Administration’s efforts to ensure an equitable response, as they served as the single largest source of comprehensive primary health care for medically underserved urban and rural communities. Because of the Administration’s efforts, these centers tested millions of patients for COVID-19, distributed millions of vaccine doses, increased access to telehealth in order to improve and expand patient care, and offered treatment options such as oral antiviral medications and monoclonal antibody therapy. Additionally, through its COVID-19 Testing Supply and COVID-19 N95 Mask Programs, the Administration enabled health centers to distribute millions of N95 masks, COVID-19 at-home test kits, and COVID-19 point-of-care testing supplies, at no charge to their patients and community members.

Supporting Community-Based Organizations in Vaccine Outreach to High-Risk Communities:

Through community-based organization vaccine outreach, the Administration was able to focus on empowering local trusted messengers and providing educational materials that served the most vulnerable populations. The Administration translated materials into 14 languages, and these were used by community- and faith-based organizations around the country, as well as by doctors’ offices, pharmacies, health centers, employers, and other groups. These education and outreach efforts allowed the Administration to reach the unvaccinated, deploy information about the importance of boosters, support pediatric vaccination efforts, and provide other important COVID-19 updates through trusted community members.

Building the Workforce to Support Underserved Communities:

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan provided a total of over $1.1 billion for community health, outreach, and health education workers—the largest ever one-time investment in the nation’s community health workforce. In the fall of 2022, the Administration invested $225 million in American Rescue Plan funds to train over 13,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) – responding to the acute need to expand the health care workforce and address pandemic-related burnout. This effort supported apprenticeship programs for workers at over 500 health care and public health sites nationally, including emergency departments, community health centers, state and local public health departments, mobile health clinics, shelters, housing programs, faith-based organizations, and other locations where high-risk populations access care and receive services.  The Administration also rapidly deployed over 14,000 community outreach workers through over 150 national and local organizations to deepen COVID-19 vaccine confidence, increase vaccination rates, and serve as trusted messengers in underserved communities. These actions built upon the efforts of the roughly 50,000 CHWs who were already working in American communities before the pandemic.

3- Getting America Back on its Feet

Countless lives were saved by the Administration’s efforts to ensure all Americans had access to safe tests, treatments and vaccines. In addition, robust support to employers minimized the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to these efforts, families nationwide were able to get back to work and school and the country’s economy recovered faster and more broadly than any of the other leading economies in the world.

Progress By the Numbers

• In May 2023, compared to January 2021, COVID-19 deaths had declined by 95% and hospitalizations were down nearly 91% in the U.S.; those who were not vaccinated were more likely to be hospitalized or to die of COVID-19, compared to people who were vaccinated.

• With the largest domestic vaccination program in history, the U.S. made it possible for over 270 million people to receive at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by May 2023. At its peak, the Biden Administration COVID-19 vaccination program administered over 4 million vaccines in one day, or over 2,700 vaccines a minute, into the arms of the American people. Lifesaving treatments were widely available and used, with more than 15 million courses administered.

• Through COVIDTests.gov, the Administration has delivered more than 921 million free COVID-19 tests – shipped directly to more than 85 million households – as of January 2025.  

• Through the Administration’s efforts, more than 50 million diagnostics tests were administered in-person at pharmacy and community-based sites.

As a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts, the economic recovery from the pandemic in the U.S. was historic. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) accelerated that economic recovery throughout 2021 and made it more resilient to challenges: one analysis found that the ARP resulted in 4 million more jobs and nearly doubled GDP growth – and that without it, the United States would have come close to a double-digit recession in spring 2021. The results of the ARP have also been historically equitable, with major progress against child poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment for low-income communities and communities of color.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration’s COVID-19 response ensured that schools could reopen and families could get back to work. By the end of March 2020, all public schools in the United States were closed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.  In November 2020, 19 percent of districts remained fully remote, with 45 percent using hybrid models and 36 percent fully in person. Shortly after the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, in early May, 2021, just over 3 months after taking office, only 1 percent of districts across the country were fully remote, and over half of schools were fully in person.

These changes are reflected in the public’s perception of the pandemic’s impact on their lives. According to Gallup public opinion polling, in December 2020, 3/5th of Americans believed that COVID-19 in the U.S. was getting worse. By June 2021, that percentage had fallen to three percent of Americans. Additionally, over half of Americans worried about catching COVID in December 2020, and that number fell to less than 20% by June 2021.

Today, although much progress has been made, the Administration continues to ensure that Americans have what they need to stay safe, including by continuing to provide free COVID-19 tests through COVIDtests.gov. In addition, the Administration has extended the authorities which allow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to continue to administer vaccines, allowing other healthcare workers to focus on other tasks that only they can perform. And, the Administration’s $5 billion investment in Project NextGen continues to accelerate and streamline the rapid development of the next generation of coronavirus vaccines and treatments through public-private collaborations.

In addition to addressing the immediate impact of COVID-19 infections, the Biden-Harris Administration recognized that millions of Americans continue to experience symptoms for months and sometimes years after their acute COVID-19 infection. To help better understand why this occurs and to develop potential treatments, the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated billions of dollars to research efforts, developed the first-ever National Research Action Plan on Long COVID, and created an Advisory Committee on Long COVID.

4 – Ensuring the World Responded and Recovered from COVID-19

While the Biden-Harris Administration implemented all of these programs to help Americans fight COVID-19 here at home, the Administration also recognized that helping the rest of world quickly and effectively respond to the pandemic was critical to both our domestic and the broader global recovery. The United States committed to bringing the same urgency to international response and recovery efforts that we demonstrated domestically. On day one, President Biden called on his National Security Advisor to advance global health security, international pandemic preparedness, and global health resilience to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included re-establishing the National Security Council’s team focused on health security and biodefense.

• Restoring Partnerships with Critical, Life-saving Institutions: As soon as President Biden entered office, he ensured that the U.S. reversed its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization – which was essential to coordinating a global response during the pandemic. In early 2021, United States committed $4 billion to support COVAX, the multilateral effort that aimed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and to support equitable access for every country in the world. In two years, the United States provided over $16 billion to vaccinate the world, save lives, and build stronger health security. The United States also convened world leaders at two Global COVID-19 Summits, accelerating response efforts and mobilizing $3.2 billion in commitments to vaccinate the world, save lives, and build stronger health security.

• Vaccinating the World: The United States donated more COVID-19 vaccines than any other country, and it was the first country to announce a purchase of vaccine doses solely for donation to other countries. The U.S. was also the first country to ensure the African Union could start receiving up to 110 million doses of Moderna at a reduced rate negotiated by the United States – and it was the first country to negotiate a deal to send vaccines directly to humanitarian settings and conflict zones to vaccinate displaced persons. Between May 2021 and February 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration donated – in partnership with COVAX, Caricom, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), and bilaterally – nearly 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. This included over 44 countries and economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 31 countries in the Western Hemisphere, and 26 countries in Southern, Central, and Eastern Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a dropoff in routine childhood immunization in many countries around the world, as they surged scarce resources to pandemic response. As a result, we began to see the reemergence of vaccine-preventable diseases, from measles to polio. In 2024, the United States Government pledged $1.58 billion to support Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, over the next five years. This commitment builds on a 24-year partnership that has immunized over a billion children and saved 17 million lives. The new funding aims to vaccinate the next billion children within a decade, saving over eight million lives by reaching unvaccinated children, expanding vaccinations for diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, and enhancing emergency health preparedness. The United States, through Gavi, also supports the launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will help African countries produce vaccines locally, promoting vaccine equity and swift responses to future health crises. In addition, the United States supports the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is working to accelerate the development of life-saving vaccines against emerging disease threats, and to transform capability for rapid countermeasure development in response to future threats. Notable achievements include: the FDA approval of the world’s first Chikungunya vaccine and technology transfer to regional producers for regional supply to LMICs; the advancement through clinical development of vaccine candidates against Lassa, Nipah, and coronaviruses, among others; and the launch of a new Disease X Vaccine Library with six viral families prioritized as high risk.

• Delivering Life-Saving Resources: In addition, the U.S. government delivered life-saving resources like oxygen, treatments, PPE, and other essential supplies worth more than $1 billion to countries experiencing outbreaks by March 2022. This included countries that were most affected by the pandemic. As an example, as India battled a devastating wave of the Delta variant, the United States delivered supplies worth more than $100 million to provide urgent relief. This included 15 million N95 masks, 1 million rapid diagnostic tests, and vaccine manufacturing supplies to help India make over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the U.S. consistently provided immediate support to allies such as Brazil that were seeing disproportionate cases and deaths due to the pandemic – through providing much-needed ventilators, vaccines, personal protective equipment, and support for struggling businesses and communities.

• Providing Technical Assistance and Supporting Vaccine Manufacturing: U.S. public health experts across multiple federal agencies worked side-by-side with on-the-ground providers – providing technical assistance in vaccine program implementation, care provision, and outbreak investigation. The United States respects countries’ right to protect public health and to promote access to medicines for all. Toward that end, the United States endorsed negotiations of a temporary waiver of WTO intellectual property rules to support access to COVID vaccines.

In addition, the U.S. increased the world’s capacity to manufacture vaccines and fostered an enabling environment for innovation, including by spurring African manufacturing. For example, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) provided a $3.3 million technical assistance grant and a follow-on $15 million loan to Institute Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) in Senegal to expand flexible vaccine manufacturing capacity for both routine and outbreak vaccines. IPD also received support from other U.S. government agencies on regulatory strengthening, workforce development and training, and research and development. 

5) Managing Current Public Health Threats

The tools and strategies that the Biden-Harris Administration developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are applicable to a range of biological threats, including avian flu, Marburg, Ebola, mpox, COVID-19 variants, and others.

As an example, the National Wastewater Surveillance System has allowed the U.S. to glean more specific information on where avian flu is found in the environment, often before the first human or animal case has been confirmed. Additionally, Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance, which was among the first to detect multiple Omicron variants up to six weeks before they were reported elsewhere in the United States, continues to screen for other threats including new COVID-19 variants. Hospital data reporting also provides granular information on which hospitals may see strain due to admissions from COVID-19, Flu, and RSV each respiratory season.

Avian Flu: Protecting Human and Animal Health

Avian flu, or Influenza A(H5N1), was first detected in dairy cattle in the U.S. in late March 2024. While we have seen this virus in birds for decades and the risk to the general public remains low, the Administration immediately knew that the spread to cows and other mammals demanded serious attention and action. Within twenty-four hours of confirmation of the first case, interagency coordination groups began meeting at the senior leader and technical levels to synchronize support to State and local public health and agriculture officials. Since then, the interagency has worked with government, industry and other partners to ensure we keep communities healthy, safe, and informed – by monitoring and stopping transmission, keeping animals healthy, ensuring that our Nation’s food supply remains safe, and safeguarding the livelihood and well-being of American farmers and farmworkers. In total, since USDA began supporting state-led efforts to mitigate the risk of avian flu in poultry in 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated nearly $2.8 billion to this important work.

Monitoring the Virus and Stopping Transmission: Within a few weeks of the outbreak, USDA took action to stop the spread of the virus, issuing a federal order in April 2024 that mandated avian flu testing of all lactating dairy cattle moving between states. USDA also stood up a voluntary program for states and farmers to test their herds, implement biosecurity and created incentives for them to do so. By the end of 2024, USDA and its partner laboratories had run over 110,000 tests on dairy cattle and made more than 1,000 staff deployments to support response and traceback efforts on the ground, including 221 personnel currently deployed. In October 2024, USDA announced a nationwide milk testing initiative, requiring states to comprehensively monitor and respond to the presence of the virus in America’s dairies. Today, 28 states – representing nearly two-thirds of America’s dairy production – have joined this program. The remaining states are working to stand up the necessary infrastructure.  

CDC has also been closely tracking the virus through a collaborative effort between CDC and many partners, including state, local, and territorial health departments; public health and clinical laboratories; clinics; and emergency departments. These include systems to monitor case reporting, laboratory monitoring at both public health and clinical labs, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and assessing wastewater. These systems build on developments over the last four years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether, they provide us with early warning signs on where the virus is spreading, as well as visibility on whether there is any severe disease from avian flu. When human cases have been reported, CDC has engaged and supported state and local health officials with technical support, including the deployment of experts to the field to support public health investigations. 

Since the start of the outbreak, USDA and CDC have been monitoring virus specimens using the latest techniques, to inform our response.  When new human cases are reported, CDC’s national laboratory confirms the findings and performs timely genomic sequencing and other analysis to monitor for any concerning changes in the virus, as well as any potential impacts on our treatments and vaccines. This information has been released in technical reports and the sequences are made available on public servers. Similarly on the animal side, genetic sequences from this outbreak are shared by USDA, with over 4,500 raw or curated sequences having been posted to GISAID (the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) or the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive. USDA continually monitors these sequences for any potentially concerning changes and immediately shares any such findings with CDC.  

Protecting Workers and the Public: Learning from bottlenecks and shortages in the very early COVID-19 response, the Administration has spent the last several years refilling our Strategic National Stockpile to ensure that we have the PPE, antivirals, tests, vaccines, and more that the country needs to prepare for future health emergencies. As a result, HHS was immediately able to offer support to states. To date, we have delivered nearly 4 million pieces of PPE and thousands of antivirals to protect workers. USDA also set up a program that reimburses farmers when they purchase PPE for their workers, and post-exposure prophylaxis with Tamiflu is also promptly offered to workers with any known exposure. We have also taken steps to build trust with impacted communities along the way – investing $5 million in campaign to educate and test farmworkers. In total, USDA and CDC have deployed over 100 federal workers into the field to support response and support workers.

As we protect workers today, we are also preparing for any possible scenario tomorrow. The CDC and NIH are tracking changes in the virus so we can see whether it’s becoming more adaptable to humans.  We have already prepared nearly 5 million doses of vaccines so they’re ready if we need them.  Further, by the end of the first quarter of 2025, we will have stockpiled 10 million doses of vaccine to inoculate humans against bird flu. And we’ve invested $176 million in Moderna to develop next-generation mRNA vaccines that can rapidly respond to any adaptations in the virus, with phase 3 trials beginning shortly. In addition to vaccines, we have 68 million courses of influenza antivirals on hand in the Strategic National Stockpile to treat those who may become infected with the virus. We have made 3,000 courses available to affected communities. 

Preserving Animal Health: Research suggests the virus travels via surfaces related to normal business operations such as vehicles, milking equipment, and people’s clothing. That’s meant that biosecurity practices—like limiting visitors, disinfecting work apparel, and separating animals of different species— were essential to reduce the spread and keep cows healthy. In early May 2024, USDA launched assistance for producers with H5N1 affected premises to improve on-site biosecurity in order to reduce the spread of the virus. This includes financial support for protecting workers with PPE, funding for disposal of milk, reimbursement for veterinary costs, and payments for shipping laboratory Samples. As of January 2025, over 500 farms have utilized these programs to date. Later that month, USDA expanded support for producers to stop the spread through cattle, by issuing a rule to compensate eligible producers with positive herds who experience a loss of milk production. So far, over 300 producers have applied to the program with tens of millions of dollars in payments distributed.  Additionally, USDA accelerated efforts to develop a first-of-its-kind bovine vaccine for the virus, and candidates have already entered field safety trials. USDA also announced in early January 2025 that work would begin to build a new stockpile of avian flu vaccines for poultry.

Ensuring the Safety of Our Food Supply: We have 100 years of data showing pasteurization works, but it was essential for our Administration to confirm that this was still the case with this new pathogen. USDA and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began testing retail dairy samples from across the country to ensure the safety of the commercial pasteurized milk supply and conducted laboratory experiments to reaffirm that pasteurization inactivates the virus. USDA similarly conducted research to confirm that cooking beef to proper temperature inactivates the virus, which it does. USDA also sampled muscle tissue from culled cattle at beef processing facilities as part of our robust ongoing surveillance programs. Today, we are confident that pasteurized milk, as well as properly cooked meat and eggs, are safe for consumers.

Mpox, Marburg, Measles and More: Managing Additional Public Health Threats

The Biden-Harris Administration has also mounted a robust response to other infectious disease threats that have emerged since 2021, including Marburg and Mpox. On Day 1 of the multiple Marburg and Mpox responses, medical countermeasures existed and were ready to be deployed at home and around the world as a result of U.S. preparedness efforts. In the case of Marburg, the United States had invested in experimental vaccines and therapeutics in order to be able to quickly deploy, test, and eventually seek regulatory approval for new countermeasures. 

Mpox Domestic and Global Responses:

• In early 2022, an outbreak of clade II mpox (then known as Monkeypox) rapidly spread globally and domestically. Shortly after the first U.S. case was identified in May 2022, the Administration deployed tens of thousands of doses of an FDA-approved vaccine and hundreds of courses of an investigational therapeutic from the Strategic National Stockpile to support domestic efforts to control spread and treat patients. We also rapidly scaled up testing capacity from 6,000 to 80,000 tests per week and, by October 2022, over one million doses of JYNNEOS had been administered to individuals at heightened risk of exposure to mpox, over 40,000 treatment courses had been distributed across the country, and domestic cases of clade II mpox had decreased by 90%. Today the mpox vaccine, which is effective against both clades of mpox, is also now commercially available with an ample supply at health departments and local pharmacies.

• During the 2022 response, the Biden-Harris Administration also stood up a White House National Monkeypox Response Team and, in collaboration with a diverse group of community-based and civil society partners, promoted equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and testing and made significant strides in reaching vulnerable populations where they were with trusted community messengers.  Among the many successes of this group were the planning and execution of multiple “pop up” sites at events where at-risk individuals could learn more about mpox and, if they chose to do so, protect themselves by getting vaccinated against mpox.
• When a new clade of mpox began spreading internationally in 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration was poised to act quickly. Within weeks of WHO’s declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, President Biden announced in September 2024 that the United States was prepared to commit at least $500 million and to donate up to one million doses of mpox vaccines to support African countries in preventing and responding to this outbreak. We are delivering on that commitment, with two-thirds of our global mpox funding pledge fulfilled already, and all one million of the pledged mpox vaccine doses available now for countries that are ready to receive them.

• Most biological threats emerge outside the United States, which means that Americans will be safer when countries around the world are prepared to prevent, detect and respond to threats when they emerge. As part of the implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy, the United States Government continues to work with more than 50 countries around the world – including most mpox-affected countries and those at-risk of an mpox outbreak – to build stronger global health security capacities, ensuring countries are better prepared to stop outbreaks at their source while protecting U.S. national and homeland security.

• Domestically, in 2024, the Administration has continued to focus on additional preparedness steps to increase awareness of mpox risks; provided updated recommendations to prevent, detect, and treat both clades; and expanded wastewater surveillance to provide an early warning of mpox activity and community spread. In addition, the United States continued to build on the critical testing landscape created during the 2022 outbreak and can not only detect both clades of mpox, but can also differentiate between clade I and clade II mpox.

Global Marburg Response:

In September 2024, Rwanda’s Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), a rare, viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has responded to 11 Ebola or Marburg outbreaks.  Immediately after learning of the outbreak in Rwanda, in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the United States committed millions of dollars to address urgent health gaps in Rwanda and surrounding countries, through provision of technical assistance with surveillance and contact tracing, infection prevention and control guidance, case management, risk communication and community engagement, safe and dignified burials, donation of laboratory test kits, and point of entry exit screening at Rwanda’s airport and neighboring border crossings. Within 8 days of learning of the outbreak, the United States Government worked with the Government of Rwanda, WHO, CEPI, and other critical partners to share experimental vaccine doses with Rwanda, and into the arms of healthcare workers at high risk of exposure, an unprecedented public health achievement. The United States also contributed tests, treatments and PPE, to support response efforts and protect health workers. This support has been made possible through the United States robust investments in science and research over the last 10 years. On December 20, the outbreak was declared over by the Government of Rwanda, with one of the lowest case fatality ratios (22%) of any Marburg outbreak in history.

Domestic Measles Response:

As the number of children protected from measles infections continues to decline due to declining vaccine coverage and misinformation, multiple jurisdictions have had to rapidly respond to measles outbreaks. The administration has deployed experts to support local responses and has distributed additional vaccine doses to support targeted vaccination campaigns, which are effective in ending outbreaks. The Administration has underscored that while the measles vaccine is highly effective and provides durable protection, 93-95% vaccine coverage is needed to maintain community protection. An unvaccinated individual exposed to the virus has a 90% chance of developing disease – therefore vaccination is critical to this response.

6) Building the Infrastructure for Future Biological Threats

The Biden-Harris Administration has also taken historic actions, building on policies from prior administrations, to protect Americans from biological threats that may emerge in the future.

Replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile:

The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was created in 1999 to “provide for the emergency health security of the United States …in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency.” Historically, the SNS holds vaccines and therapeutics to protect the country from any number of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear events. Many of these medical countermeasures are not commercially available and the SNS is the only source for these critical supplies in the country–and in some instances the world. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SNS’s budget increased by 25% – allowing it to secure more of the vaccines, therapeutics and medical supplies needed to protect the country from public health emergencies and disasters.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Strategic National Stockpile distributed more than 27,000 tons of medicines, equipment, and supplies to support the country’s public health and health care needs. Early in the pandemic, the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) deployed 90% of its overall inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) – nearly 72 million items – as well as 100% of its Federal Medical Stations, which served as alternate care sites across the country. Much of this PPE was purchased ten years before with funds from the H1N1 outbreak—and had not been restocked.
Since President Biden took office, the SNS has dramatically increased its stockpiled quantities of PPE and ventilators—with supplies that were made in America where possible. The SNS now has 70 times the number of N95 respirators, 34 times the number of gloves, 50 times the number of isolation gowns, and 10 times the number of ventilators than it had before the pandemic.  Restocking the SNS to these levels has allowed it to make PPE available to communities impacted by COVID1-9, H5N1 and other infectious disease outbreaks. In 2022, the SNS provided nearly 300 million N95 masks to retail pharmacies and community health centers for free —the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.  Under President Biden, the SNS has also assigned staff to state public health departments and completed a series of tribal consultations and urban Indian confers to ensure all communities understand what tools it has available and how to access them in times of emergency or disaster.

Expanding Surveillance Capabilities:

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, because of years of underinvestment in modernizing data systems, some state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions still relied on fax machines to transmit public health data and the U.S. struggles to collect, analyze and share essential data on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in communities, the rate of transmission, and the impact on hospitals. Throughout our response, the U.S. government has expanded our surveillance capabilities to monitor disease and better inform the public. These steps include: 

• Increasing the number of healthcare facilities which provide automated, near real-time electronic case reporting to local, state, tribal, territorial and federal public health officials from less than 200 in 2020 to over 48,000 in 2024 and supporting public health authorities to adopt the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to further enable the exchange of public health data across the healthcare ecosystem to help rapidly identify emerging outbreaks.

• Standing up a National Wastewater Surveillance System, which routinely reports early warning information from over 1,500 sites covering over 150 million people in the United States.

• Scaling up genomic sequencing, which is important to detect new pathogens including variants.  At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, only 23 public health labs demonstrated advanced molecular detection surveillance capabilities. By the end of 2022, this number expanded to 68 public health laboratories, and CDC launched 5 Pathogen Centers of Excellence. The average turnaround time for public health laboratories to publish genome sequences has dramatically improved – decreasing from 96 to 40 days. Some laboratories able to sequence in less than two days.

• Developing a COVID-19 Variant Playbook, which served to assess the disease severity and transmissibility of a new variant immediately, and to expedite the rapid laboratory evaluation of the effectiveness of vaccines, tests, and treatments against any variant.

• As a result of close collaboration between the CDC, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and industry stakeholders, over 80% of all hospitals from across America are now sharing critical data on emergency department visits and hospital admissions.

Advancing Capabilities in RNA Vaccine Technologies: 

With investments totaling over $400 million, the Administration has also been advancing capabilities in RNA vaccine technologies to guard against future pandemics. To further these efforts, multiple companies are currently partnering with HHS to develop RNA vaccines that may allow for a faster, more sustainable response capability against multiple threats, lower the requirement for needles, simplify storage requirements, or investigate new methods of administration.

Strengthening Domestic PPE Supply Chain:

Given gaps in domestic capacity for critical PPE, this Administration, in an effort to minimize foreign reliance, the President signed the “Make PPE in America Act” in 2021. The statute requires that the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans Affairs (VA) (collectively referred to as “covered agencies”) issue long-term contracts for PPE containing only materials and components that are grown, reprocessed, reused or produced in the U.S. This requirement is critical to strengthening our domestic manufacturing capabilities and promoting the production of essential PPE in the United States. The statute recognizes the power of leveraging the federal government’s buying power as a catalyst to increase market participants, support competition and the health of the domestic PPE industry.

A sustained federal commitment to procure PPE from domestic sources supports the health of the domestic PPE industry. Since the enactment of the Make PPE in America Act, covered agencies took actions to support a long-term domestic federal procurement strategy, model demand, and more closely align their acquisition strategies to send a government-wide demand signal to the PPE industry, while working collaboratively with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement the Make PPE in America Act.

Stopping Outbreaks at their Source and Transforming our Biopreparedness Capabilities:

In 2022, President Biden signed National Security Memorandum 15 on Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security. This NSM launched a new National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan, which envisions “a world free from catastrophic biological incidents” and directs a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to prepare for biothreats. It includes an ambitious five-to-ten-year vision for developing moonshot biodefense capabilities, including the ability to develop new vaccines within 100 days and repurpose therapeutics within 90 days.

The most effective way to limit the impact of biological threats is to stop them at their source. The United States is working with countries and partners around the world to ensure they have the capacity to identify and stop emerging threats before they grow into regional or global threats. To advance that goal, the administration published an updated Global Health Security Strategy, laying out our commitment to working with foreign partners in order to continue building our capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats wherever they emerge. The Administration took several concrete actions to support these transformative efforts.  The U.S. Government reached the ambitious goal of directly supporting 50 countries in building their health security capacity, which is one of the most powerful prevention tools we have in this space. The United States has also leveraged financial resources and diplomatic channels to mobilize support for 50 additional countries to strengthen their health security capacities, for a total of more than 100 countries receiving support.

Limitations in the existing global systems to finance pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response left countries and financial institutions ill prepared to effectively contain COVID-19. On day one, President Biden called on his Administration to transform the existing financing institutions and to cultivate new financing sources for global health security that are more effective and sustainable, and that are less dependent on U.S. government assistance. The United States was instrumental in the creation of the Pandemic Fund in 2022, the only multilateral financing facility dedicated exclusively to pandemic preparedness financing for low- and middle- income countries. The Pandemic Fund made significant progress in its first two years, awarding grants totaling $885 million, which mobilized an additional $6 billion in investments, to support 75 countries and economies across six geographic regions. The United States is also working to evolve Multilateral Development Banks to be better equipped to respond to the increasing frequency, scope, and complexity of global challenges, including pandemics. The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supported the establishment of the International Monetary Fund Resilience and Sustainability Trust and its goal of supporting low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries to access long-term, affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, such as health emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and institutions lacked the liquidity to procure the medical countermeasures (MCM) needed to mount effective and timely responses. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation helped develop and lead a G7 Surge Financing Initiative, through which G7 development finance institutions (DFIs), the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and global and regional health stakeholders are developing and deploying innovative financing tools to accelerate access to MCMs in health emergencies. 

While there will always be new or evolving biological threats, developing effective countermeasures for known threats is a critical piece of preparedness. For example, the U.S. government invested billions of dollars in mRNA technology in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic. These public investments translated into millions of lives saved in the United States and around the world, and were crucial to developing the mRNA vaccine technology that can be leveraged in a future pandemic, as well as potentially treating other diseases. For example, the Department of Defense and the National Laboratories are leveraging Artificial Intelligence for rapid development of medical countermeasures. The Administration is executing a whole-of-government implementation plan for strengthening capabilities in early warning, vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, clinical trials, and PPE.

Strengthening Research Capacity and Oversight:

The lives saved and hospitalizations avoided as a result of the COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines were the result of decades of foundational research investments. Because viruses and bacteria are constantly changing and the frequency of naturally occurring biological outbreaks is increasing, the Biden-Harris Administration published the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan in the fall of 2021. In addition, the administration has continued to invest more than $7 billion annually in research by Federal, academic and industry researchers in new ways of protecting Americans from tuberculosis, HIV and other infectious diseases that remain leading causes of illness in our nation. These investments are crucial to ensure our nation is prepared for future threats and to deter those who are seeking asymmetric advantages over the US.

In 2024, the Administration also released an updated policy to enhance oversight of research. This update to standards that were originally released in 2012 will reduce the likelihood of accidental outbreaks and deliberate misuse of life science research, while ensuring that lifesaving research proceeds.

Supporting Global Biosafety and Biosecurity:

Expanding biosurveillance capacity and the rapid evolution of technology are critical for health security, but can also elevate the risk of accidental and deliberate incidents. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken significant steps to minimize the chances of laboratory accidents; reduce the likelihood of deliberate use or accidental misuse; ensure effective biosafety and biosecurity practices and oversight; and promote responsible research and innovation. The Biden-Harris Administration knows that in order to protect the domestic population, investing in global biosafety and biosecurity practices and oversight is essential. These efforts – which minimize the chances of laboratory accidents, reduce the likelihood of deliberate use or accidental misuse, and more – have been critical as we expand biosurveillance capacity. For example, the United States secured inclusion of biosafety and biosecurity as a critical component of the Pandemic Fund grants to support laboratory systems. One of the projects, the Caribbean Public Health Agency Train-the-Trainer Workshop on the Safe Transportation of Infectious Substances, resulted in certified trainers well-positioned to serve as national trainers and advisors in biosafety and safe transport protocols, ensuring safer practices across the region. The U.S. global health security bilateral partnerships also build capacity in biosafety and biosecurity: the final global health security report of the Administration showed that global health security partner countries with at least two years of U.S. Government support demonstrated a net improvement in biosafety and biosecurity capacity from 2018 to 2023. The Administration also supported the 2024 World Health Assembly resolution on Strengthening Laboratory Biological Risk Management, which calls for improvements to biosafety and biosecurity practices globally.

Standing up the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy:

Recognizing the growing threat of pandemics, the Administration stood up the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR) in August of 2023. This is a permanent office in the Executive Office of the President charged with leading and coordinating actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens that could lead to a pandemic and/or to national security. OPPR assumed the duties of the COVID-19 Response Team and Mpox team at the White House and has continued to coordinate and develop policies and priorities related to pandemic preparedness and response.

Because every successful response to a biological event has required a synchronized, integrated team, OPPR has worked with federal, state and local health partners, and has engaged with a broad array of private sector, academic and other stakeholders to ensure lessons from the response to COVID-19 and other recent outbreaks inform future plans and response efforts.  Recent accomplishments include:

• Partnering with multiple industry stakeholders to resolve supply chain issues affecting the availability of a new immunization, reducing infant hospitalizations by more than 80%.
• Partnering with leaders from the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India and multiple industries to develop a process to quickly recognize and address supply chain issues affecting availability of medications in the US and partner countries.
• Partnering with leaders from the Long-Term Care industry to improve vaccination rates for residents of long-term care facilities.
• Partnering with leaders from across the domestic healthcare enterprise to identify and mitigate constraints to our national preparedness for future biological events and to create a collaborative committed to continuing to mitigate future challenges.
• Partnering with community support organizations to identify best practices from the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop strategies to sustain outreach to historically medically underserved communities to ensure all Americans can access their healthcare options.

Conclusion

As of result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts, the COVID-19 pandemic no longer disrupts our daily lives, our children are back in schools, our economy is stronger than ever and families have been able to resume their pre-pandemic routines. As new viruses and other biological threats have continued to emerge, we have remained vigilant in monitoring and responding to each threat. From investments into research for new tests and treatments for diseases, to launching the largest vaccination program in our country’s history, to expanding the nation’s surveillance capabilities, to replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile, the Biden-Harris Administration has transformed our nation’s pandemic preparedness and response.

In order to ensure that future Administrations are prepared for any threat that emerges, the Biden-Harris Administration will also leave behind a three-step internal playbook with nearly 300 pages of guidance on how to rapidly and effectively respond to biological threats from all sources – naturally occurring, accidental and deliberate.

• Step 1: Within 24 hours of notification of a serious biological threat, NSC convenes Departments and Agencies for a biological incident notification and assessment (BINA).
• Step 2: If the threat poses a significant risk to the United States, within 24-48 hours Departments and Agencies establish an Incident Response Coordination Structure (IRCS), with agency leadership and support roles pre-determined in a playbook.
• Step 3: Departments and Agencies operationalize a rapid and effective response, with coordination by the IRCS and leadership from the White House. The playbook includes detailed operational annexes to address many scenarios that commonly arise during biological incident responses. 

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have exercised this three-step playbook numerous times, including in recent weeks. All Departments and Agencies have received final versions of the Playbook, and the Biden-Harris Administration will give copies to the incoming Administration to ensure they are prepared to act on day one of a crisis to protect the American people. 

###

The post REPORT: The Biden-Harris Administration Roadmap for Pandemic Preparedness and Response appeared first on The White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines and thanked him for the partnership of the Philippines and for their close working relationship over the past two and a half years, including through six meetings in Manila, Washington, D.C., Jakarta, and San Francisco. The Vice President underscored the strength of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance and people-to-people ties and noted it was critical for preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. The leaders reviewed progress made in the Alliance during the Biden-Harris Administration, including initiatives launched on the Vice President’s November 2022 visit to the Philippines, to enhance cooperation on climate and clean energy, technology, critical minerals and semiconductor supply chains, maritime security, and inclusive economic growth. The Vice President recalled her visit to Palawan, the Philippines – the highest-ranking visit by a U.S. official ever – and reaffirmed her support for all those she met there, including women in the fishing community of Tagburos and members of the Philippine Coast Guard. The Vice President affirmed the importance of continued defense of international rules and norms in the South China Sea in the face of provocations from the People’s Republic of China and noted the United States must stand with the Philippines in the face of such provocations and the enduring nature of the U.S. defense commitments to the Philippines. They also discussed trilateral cooperation with Japan as a key pillar of regional security, which the Vice President helped accelerate with the first leader-level trilateral meeting in Jakarta in September 2023.
 

# # #

The post Readout of Vice President Harris’s Call with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines appeared first on The White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines and thanked him for the partnership of the Philippines and for their close working relationship over the past two and a half years, including through six meetings in Manila, Washington, D.C., Jakarta, and San Francisco. The Vice President underscored the strength of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance and people-to-people ties and noted it was critical for preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. The leaders reviewed progress made in the Alliance during the Biden-Harris Administration, including initiatives launched on the Vice President’s November 2022 visit to the Philippines, to enhance cooperation on climate and clean energy, technology, critical minerals and semiconductor supply chains, maritime security, and inclusive economic growth. The Vice President recalled her visit to Palawan, the Philippines – the highest-ranking visit by a U.S. official ever – and reaffirmed her support for all those she met there, including women in the fishing community of Tagburos and members of the Philippine Coast Guard. The Vice President affirmed the importance of continued defense of international rules and norms in the South China Sea in the face of provocations from the People’s Republic of China and noted the United States must stand with the Philippines in the face of such provocations and the enduring nature of the U.S. defense commitments to the Philippines. They also discussed trilateral cooperation with Japan as a key pillar of regional security, which the Vice President helped accelerate with the first leader-level trilateral meeting in Jakarta in September 2023.
 

# # #

The post Readout of Vice President Harris’s Call with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines appeared first on The White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke separately today with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. The Vice President expressed regret she was no longer able to travel to Singapore given the historic wildfires in Los Angeles. The Vice President thanked both leaders for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration in strengthening the U.S.-Singapore relationship. The leaders reviewed the Vice President’s consistent engagement on the Indo-Pacific and her work to expand the U.S.-Singapore relationship, beginning during her August 2021 visit. They discussed the implementation of various initiatives the Vice President launched on that visit to address climate and clean energy, cyber cooperation, supply chains, emerging technology, and bilateral military cooperation. Building on her bilateral meetings with Singaporean leaders and multilateral summits with Indo-Pacific leaders, the Vice President underscored the continued importance of defending international rules and norms around the world, including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. The leaders discussed the continued importance of ASEAN centrality and the strengthening of the U.S.-ASEAN relationship in the Biden-Harris Administration, including through the Vice President’s participation in the 2023 U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta and the 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C. The Vice President reaffirmed her view that the United States has enduring interests and commitments in the Indo-Pacific and she expressed optimism in the future based on the dynamism in Southeast Asia. The Vice President underscored the importance of U.S.-Singapore cooperation for promoting security and prosperity in the region and around the world. With Senior Minister Lee, the Vice President thanked him for the hospitality he showed her in Singapore in 2021, and expressed her appreciation for their warm and substantive engagements over the past four years.
 

# # #

The post Readout of Vice President Harris’s Calls with Prime Minister Wong and Senior Minister Lee of Singapore appeared first on The White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke separately today with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. The Vice President expressed regret she was no longer able to travel to Singapore given the historic wildfires in Los Angeles. The Vice President thanked both leaders for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration in strengthening the U.S.-Singapore relationship. The leaders reviewed the Vice President’s consistent engagement on the Indo-Pacific and her work to expand the U.S.-Singapore relationship, beginning during her August 2021 visit. They discussed the implementation of various initiatives the Vice President launched on that visit to address climate and clean energy, cyber cooperation, supply chains, emerging technology, and bilateral military cooperation. Building on her bilateral meetings with Singaporean leaders and multilateral summits with Indo-Pacific leaders, the Vice President underscored the continued importance of defending international rules and norms around the world, including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. The leaders discussed the continued importance of ASEAN centrality and the strengthening of the U.S.-ASEAN relationship in the Biden-Harris Administration, including through the Vice President’s participation in the 2023 U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta and the 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C. The Vice President reaffirmed her view that the United States has enduring interests and commitments in the Indo-Pacific and she expressed optimism in the future based on the dynamism in Southeast Asia. The Vice President underscored the importance of U.S.-Singapore cooperation for promoting security and prosperity in the region and around the world. With Senior Minister Lee, the Vice President thanked him for the hospitality he showed her in Singapore in 2021, and expressed her appreciation for their warm and substantive engagements over the past four years.
 

# # #

The post Readout of Vice President Harris’s Calls with Prime Minister Wong and Senior Minister Lee of Singapore appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden is announcing strong and decisive actions to safeguard America from national security risks associated with the exploitation of U.S. connected vehicle supply chains by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russian Federation (Russia). The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that our automotive supply chains are resilient and secure from foreign adversary cyber threats. 

The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule that will prohibit the sale and import of connected vehicle hardware and software systems, as well as completed connected vehicles, from the PRC and Russia. This final rule marks the conclusion of a rigorous factfinding and regulatory process that President Biden launched last year.

Connected vehicles are comprised of many connected components and systems – such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite connectivity – designed to provide consumers with greater convenience and increase safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.  At the same time, foreign adversary involvement in the supply chains of connected vehicles poses a significant threat in most cars on the road today, granting malign actors unfettered access to these connected systems and the data they collect. As PRC automakers aggressively seek to increase their presence in American and global automotive markets, through this final rule, President Biden is delivering on his commitment to secure critical American supply chains and protect our national security.

The Department of Commerce’s rule will also help the United States defend against the PRC’s  cyber espionage and intrusion operations, which continue to pose a significant threat to U.S. critical infrastructure and public safety.  Over the past several years, PRC state-sponsored cyber actors such as Volt Typhoon have engaged in an extensive hacking campaign aimed at pre-positioning on – and potentially launching disruptive cyberattacks targeting – U.S. critical infrastructure. Russia also remains a malign cyber actor, with a similar history of well-documented cyber attacks against U.S. systems.  The American transportation system is vital to facilitating commerce, essential services, and daily life.  This rule ensures that our critical infrastructure is not exposed to the risk of foreign adversary-controlled supply chains that could provide bad actors with the means to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure.

Beyond risks to critical infrastructure, the Department of Commerce assesses that certain hardware and software used in connected vehicles could enable mass collection of sensitive information, including geolocation data, audio and video recordings, and other pattern-of-life analysis.

The final rule is the culmination of a year-long examination of these risks and extensive consultation with industry and international partners.  It will prohibit the import or sale of certain connected vehicle systems designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by entities with ties to the PRC or Russia.  This includes vehicle connectivity systems (VCS), or systems and components that connect vehicles to the outside world – including via Bluetooth, cellular, satellite, and Wi-Fi modules – and automated driving systems (ADS), which allow highly autonomous vehicles to operate independently of a driver behind the wheel.  The rule includes restrictions on the import or sale of connected vehicles using VCS and ADS software, as well as imports of VCS hardware equipment. Restrictions on software will take effect for Model Year 2027 and restrictions on hardware will take effect for Model Year 2030. The rule also includes a prohibition on the sale of connected vehicles in the United States by entities who are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia – even if those vehicles were made in the United States. That prohibition will take effect with Model Year 2027.

While this final rule applies only to passenger vehicles, the Department of Commerce is also announcing today its intent to pursue a rulemaking to address foreign adversary involvement in the supply chain of commercial connected vehicles, or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds, given the significant and unique risks they pose to national security and public safety. The Department of Commerce will also continue to consider the use of its authorities to address individual entities that may pose a threat to the connected vehicles ICTS supply chain.

In developing this final rule, the Department consulted with industry to ensure any actions maximally protect U.S. national security, while minimizing unintended consequences or disruptions to the market.  The Biden-Harris Administration also made extensive efforts to engage U.S. allies and partners, including through convening an inaugural multinational meeting to address connected vehicle risks in July 2024 of more than a dozen countries to advance affirmative cybersecurity standards and coordinate policy measures to mitigate risks. Commerce and other agencies will continue to work closely with industry and international partners as the final rule comes into effect.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Safeguarding America from National Security Risks of Connected Vehicle Technology from China and Russia appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden is announcing strong and decisive actions to safeguard America from national security risks associated with the exploitation of U.S. connected vehicle supply chains by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russian Federation (Russia). The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that our automotive supply chains are resilient and secure from foreign adversary cyber threats. 

The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule that will prohibit the sale and import of connected vehicle hardware and software systems, as well as completed connected vehicles, from the PRC and Russia. This final rule marks the conclusion of a rigorous factfinding and regulatory process that President Biden launched last year.

Connected vehicles are comprised of many connected components and systems – such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite connectivity – designed to provide consumers with greater convenience and increase safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.  At the same time, foreign adversary involvement in the supply chains of connected vehicles poses a significant threat in most cars on the road today, granting malign actors unfettered access to these connected systems and the data they collect. As PRC automakers aggressively seek to increase their presence in American and global automotive markets, through this final rule, President Biden is delivering on his commitment to secure critical American supply chains and protect our national security.

The Department of Commerce’s rule will also help the United States defend against the PRC’s  cyber espionage and intrusion operations, which continue to pose a significant threat to U.S. critical infrastructure and public safety.  Over the past several years, PRC state-sponsored cyber actors such as Volt Typhoon have engaged in an extensive hacking campaign aimed at pre-positioning on – and potentially launching disruptive cyberattacks targeting – U.S. critical infrastructure. Russia also remains a malign cyber actor, with a similar history of well-documented cyber attacks against U.S. systems.  The American transportation system is vital to facilitating commerce, essential services, and daily life.  This rule ensures that our critical infrastructure is not exposed to the risk of foreign adversary-controlled supply chains that could provide bad actors with the means to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure.

Beyond risks to critical infrastructure, the Department of Commerce assesses that certain hardware and software used in connected vehicles could enable mass collection of sensitive information, including geolocation data, audio and video recordings, and other pattern-of-life analysis.

The final rule is the culmination of a year-long examination of these risks and extensive consultation with industry and international partners.  It will prohibit the import or sale of certain connected vehicle systems designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by entities with ties to the PRC or Russia.  This includes vehicle connectivity systems (VCS), or systems and components that connect vehicles to the outside world – including via Bluetooth, cellular, satellite, and Wi-Fi modules – and automated driving systems (ADS), which allow highly autonomous vehicles to operate independently of a driver behind the wheel.  The rule includes restrictions on the import or sale of connected vehicles using VCS and ADS software, as well as imports of VCS hardware equipment. Restrictions on software will take effect for Model Year 2027 and restrictions on hardware will take effect for Model Year 2030. The rule also includes a prohibition on the sale of connected vehicles in the United States by entities who are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia – even if those vehicles were made in the United States. That prohibition will take effect with Model Year 2027.

While this final rule applies only to passenger vehicles, the Department of Commerce is also announcing today its intent to pursue a rulemaking to address foreign adversary involvement in the supply chain of commercial connected vehicles, or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds, given the significant and unique risks they pose to national security and public safety. The Department of Commerce will also continue to consider the use of its authorities to address individual entities that may pose a threat to the connected vehicles ICTS supply chain.

In developing this final rule, the Department consulted with industry to ensure any actions maximally protect U.S. national security, while minimizing unintended consequences or disruptions to the market.  The Biden-Harris Administration also made extensive efforts to engage U.S. allies and partners, including through convening an inaugural multinational meeting to address connected vehicle risks in July 2024 of more than a dozen countries to advance affirmative cybersecurity standards and coordinate policy measures to mitigate risks. Commerce and other agencies will continue to work closely with industry and international partners as the final rule comes into effect.

###

The post FACT SHEET: Safeguarding America from National Security Risks of Connected Vehicle Technology from China and Russia appeared first on The White House.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:  

Section 1.  Purpose.  Artificial intelligence (AI) is a defining technology of our era.  Recent advancements in AI demonstrate its rapidly growing relevance to national security, including with respect to logistics, military capabilities, intelligence analysis, and cybersecurity.  Building AI in the United States will help prevent adversaries from gaining access to, and using, powerful future systems to the detriment of our military and national security.  It will also enable the United States Government to continue harnessing AI in service of national-security missions while preventing the United States from becoming dependent on other countries’ infrastructure to develop and operate powerful AI tools.

Advances at the frontier of AI will also have significant implications for United States economic competitiveness.  These imperatives require building AI infrastructure in the United States on the time frame needed to ensure United States leadership over competitors who, already, are racing to take the lead in AI development and adoption.  Building AI in the United States requires enormous private-sector investments in infrastructure, especially for the advanced computing clusters needed to train AI models and the energy infrastructure needed to power this work.  Already, AI’s electricity and computational needs are vast, and they are set to surge in the years ahead.  This work also requires secure, reliable supply chains for critical components needed to build AI infrastructure, from construction materials to advanced electronics.

This order sets our Nation on the path to ensure that future frontier AI can, and will, continue to be built here in the United States.  In building domestic AI infrastructure, our Nation will also advance its leadership in the clean energy technologies needed to power the future economy, including geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear energy; foster a vibrant, competitive, and open technology ecosystem in the United States, in which small companies can compete alongside large ones; maintain low consumer electricity prices; and help ensure that the development of AI infrastructure benefits the workers building it and communities near it.  

With this order, I provide a plan for protecting national security, preserving our economic competitiveness, revitalizing our energy infrastructure, and ensuring United States leadership in AI.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to enable the development and operation of AI infrastructure, including data centers, in the United States in accordance with five guiding principles.  When undertaking the actions set forth in this order, executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall adhere to these principles, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(a)  The development of AI infrastructure should advance United States national security and leadership in AI.  Meeting this goal will require steps by the Federal Government, in collaboration with the private sector, to advance AI development and use AI for future national-security missions, including through the work described in National Security Memorandum 25 of October 24, 2024 (Advancing the United States’ Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Fulfill National Security Objectives; and Fostering the Safety, Security, and Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence) (NSM-25).  It will also require the use of safeguards to improve the cyber, supply-chain, and physical security of the laboratories at which powerful AI is developed, stored, and used.  Additionally, protecting United States national security will require further work to evaluate and manage risks related to the powerful capabilities that future frontier AI may possess.

(b)  The development of AI infrastructure should advance United States economic competitiveness, including by fostering a vibrant technology ecosystem.  Already, AI is creating new jobs and industries, and its effects are being felt in sectors across the economy.  The Federal Government must ensure that the United States remains competitive in the global economy, including through harnessing the benefits of this technology for all Americans.  It must also promote a fair, open, and competitive AI ecosystem so that small developers and entrepreneurs can continue to drive innovation — a priority highlighted in both Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence), and NSM-25 — as well as to support secure, reliable supply-chain infrastructure for AI activities.

(c)  The United States can and should lead the world in operating the next generation of AI data centers with clean power.  Meeting this goal will require building on recent successes to modernize our Nation’s energy infrastructure; improve permitting processes; and support investments in, and expeditious development of, both currently available and emerging clean energy technologies, such as geothermal energy, nuclear energy, and long-duration energy storage used to store clean energy, as well as relevant supply chains.  The United States must not be surpassed in its support for the development, commercialization, and operation of clean energy technologies at home and abroad, and the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure offers another vital opportunity to accelerate and deploy these energy technologies.  To help ensure that new data center electricity demand does not take clean power away from other end users, result in resource adequacy issues, or increase grid emissions, the construction of AI infrastructure must be matched with new, clean electricity generation resources.

(d)  The development of AI infrastructure should proceed without raising energy costs for American consumers and businesses, and it should have strong community support.  The companies developing, commercializing, and deploying AI must finance the cost of building the infrastructure needed for AI operations, including the development of next-generation power infrastructure built for these operations.  

(e)  The development of AI infrastructure should benefit those working to build it.  Meeting this goal will require high labor standards and safeguards for the buildout of AI infrastructure, consultation and close collaboration with communities affected by this infrastructure’s development and operation, and continuous work to mitigate risks and potential harms.  The American people more broadly must safely enjoy the gains and opportunities from technological innovation in the AI ecosystem.

Sec. 3.  Definitions.  For purposes of this order:

(a)  The term “agency” means each agency described in 44 U.S.C. 3502(1), except for the independent regulatory agencies described in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5).

(b)  The term “AI data center” means a data center used primarily with respect to developing or operating AI.

(c)  The term “AI infrastructure” refers collectively to AI data centers, generation and storage resources procured to deliver electrical energy to data centers, and transmission facilities developed or upgraded for the same purpose.

(d)  The term “AI model” means a component of an information system that implements AI technology and uses computational, statistical, or machine-learning techniques to produce outputs from a given set of inputs.

(e)  The term “clean energy” or “clean energy generation resources” means generation resources that produce few or no emissions of carbon dioxide during operation, including when paired with clean storage technologies.  This term includes geothermal, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, solar, wind, hydroelectric, hydrokinetic (including tidal, wave, and current), and marine energy; and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies (for which the carbon capture equipment meets the definition set forth in 26 C.F.R. 1.45Q-2(c)) that operate with fossil fuel generation resources, that achieve carbon dioxide capture rates of 90 percent or higher on an annual basis, and that permanently sequester the captured carbon dioxide.

(f)  The term “clean power” means electricity generated by the generation resources described in subsection (e) of this section.

(g)  The term “clean repowering” means the practice of siting new clean generation sources at a site with an existing point of interconnection and generation sources operating with fossil fuels, such that some output or capacity from existing generation sources is replaced by the new clean generation sources.

(h)  The term “critical electric infrastructure information” has the same meaning as set forth in 18 C.F.R.  388.113(c).

(i)  The term “data center” means a facility used to store, manage, process, and disseminate electronic information for a computer network, and it includes any facility that is composed of one or more permanent or semi-permanent structures, or that is a dedicated space within such structure, and operates persistently in a fixed location; that is used for the housing of information technology equipment, including servers, mainframe computers, high-performance computing devices, or data-storage devices; and that is actively used for the hosting of information and information systems that are accessed by other systems or by users on other devices.

(j)  The term “distributed energy resource” has the same meaning as set forth in 18 C.F.R. 35.28(b)(10).

(k)  The term “Federal Permitting Agencies” refers to the agency members of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) established under section 41002 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, 42 U.S.C. 4370m-1, as well as any other agency with authority to issue a Federal permit or approval required for the development or operation of AI infrastructure.

(l)  The term “Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program” refers to the program established to provide an approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the Federal Government, as codified in 44 U.S.C. 3607-3616 (as enacted by the FedRAMP Authorization Act, section 5921 of Public Law 117-263).

(m)  The term “frontier AI data center” means an AI data center capable of being used to develop, within a reasonable time frame, an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.

(n)  The term “frontier AI infrastructure” means AI infrastructure for which the relevant data center is a frontier AI data center.

(o)  The term “frontier AI training” refers to the act of developing an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.

(p)  The term “generation resource” means a facility that produces electricity.

(q)  The terms “interconnection,” “interconnection facilities,” and “point of interconnection” refer to facilities and equipment that physically and electrically connect generation resources or electrical load to the electric grid for the purpose of the delivery of electricity, for which grid operators have granted all appropriate approvals required for those facilities and equipment to operate.

(r)  The term “lab-security measures” refers to steps to detect, prevent, or mitigate physical, cyber, or other threats to the operation of a data center, to the integrity of information or other assets stored within it, or of unauthorized access to such information or assets.

(s)  The term “leading-edge logic semiconductors” refers to semiconductors produced at high volumes using extreme ultraviolet lithography tools as defined by the CHIPS Incentives Program Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2023-NIST-CHIPS-CFF-01.

(t)  The term “model weight” means a numerical parameter within an AI model that helps determine the model’s outputs in response to inputs.

(u)  The term “new source review” refers to the permitting program with this name in 40 C.F.R. parts 51 or 52.

(v)  The term “non-Federal parties” refers to private-sector entities that enter into a contract with the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy pursuant to section 4(g) of this order.

(w)  The term “priority geothermal zone” refers to lands with high potential for the development of geothermal power generation resources, as designated by the Secretary of the Interior, including pursuant to section 4(c) of this order.

(x)  The term “project labor agreement” means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that establishes the terms and conditions of a construction project.

(y)  The term “surplus interconnection service” has the same meaning as set forth in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 845.

(z)  The terms “transmission facilities” and “transmission infrastructure” mean equipment or structures, including transmission lines and related facilities, used for the purpose of delivering electricity.

(aa)  The term “transmission organization” refers to a Regional Transmission Organization or an Independent System Operator.

(bb)  The term “transmission provider” means an entity that manages or operates transmission facilities for the delivery of electric energy used primarily by the public and that is not a transmission organization.

(cc)  The term “waters of the United States” has the same meaning as set forth in 33 C.F.R. 328.3(a).

Sec. 4.  Establishing Federal Sites for AI Infrastructure.  (a)  By February 28, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, if possible, each identify a minimum of 3 sites on Federal land managed by their respective agencies that may be suitable for the agencies to lease to non-Federal entities for the construction and operation of a frontier AI data center, as well as for the construction and operation of clean energy facilities to serve the data center, by the end of 2027.  In identifying these sites, each Secretary shall, as feasible and appropriate, seek to prioritize sites that possess the following characteristics, as consistent with the objective of fully permitting and approving work to construct a frontier AI data center at each site by the end of 2025:

(i)     inclusion of sufficient terrain with appropriate land gradients, soil durability, and other topographical characteristics for frontier AI data centers; 

(ii)    minimized adverse effects from AI infrastructure development or operation on local communities’ health, wellbeing, and resource access; natural or cultural resources; threatened or endangered species; and harbors or river improvements not associated with hydropower generation resources;

(iii)   proximity to any communities seeking to host AI infrastructure, including for reasons related to local workers’ access to jobs involved in designing, building, maintaining, and operating data centers;

(iv)    ready access and proximity to high-voltage transmission infrastructure that minimizes the scale of, cost of, and timeline to develop any transmission upgrades or development needed to interconnect AI infrastructure, in consideration of access and proximity to:  

(A)  high-capacity transmission infrastructure with unused capacity, as identified by collection activities described in section 6 of this order;

(B)  any planned generation facilities that can enable delivery of electricity to an AI data center on the site managed by each Secretary’s respective agency, that possess an executed interconnection agreement with a transmission provider, that do not possess an executed power purchase agreement, and for which construction has not yet begun;

(C)  any lands that the Secretary of the Interior identifies pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; and

(D)  any power generation facilities with high clean repowering potential;

(v)     location within geographic areas that are not at risk of persistently failing to attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and where the total cancer risk from air pollution is at or below the national average according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2020 AirToxScreen;

(vi)    lack of proximity to waters of the United States for purposes of permitting requirements;

(vii)   lack of extensive restrictions on land uses associated with constructing and operating AI infrastructure or on access to necessary rights-of-way for such activities;

(viii)  ready access to high-capacity telecommunications networks;

(ix)    suitability for the development of access roads or other temporary infrastructure necessary for the construction of AI infrastructure; and

(x)     absence of other characteristics that would, if the site was used or repurposed for AI infrastructure, compromise a competing national security concern as determined by the relevant Secretary in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.  

(b)  By March 15, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall identify sites managed by BLM that the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM, deems may be suitable for granting or issuing rights of way to private-sector entities to construct and operate additional clean energy facilities that are being or may be built as components of frontier AI infrastructure developed pursuant to this section.  In performing this work, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall take steps to ensure where feasible and appropriate that any such sites identified under this subsection include sufficient acreage for developing clean generation resources that can deliver sufficient electricity to each site identified under subsection (a) of this section for matching the capacity needs of frontier AI data centers on the latter sites.  The sites identified under this subsection shall include any land managed by the Department of the Interior that is within a region designated by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (c) of this section, or a region preliminarily identified as a candidate for such designation.  In determining the suitability of sites, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM, shall prioritize identification of sites that:  

(i)    contain completed, permitted, or planned clean generation projects that can enable delivery of electricity as described in this subsection and possess an executed interconnection agreement with a transmission provider;

(ii)   have been allocated as available for solar applications in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development, published by BLM, or that have otherwise been allocated as available for clean-energy applications in a BLM resource management plan;

(iii)  have reasonable access to and are located nearby existing high-voltage transmission lines that have at least one gigawatt of additional capacity available, or for which such capacity can be reasonably developed through reconductoring, grid-enhancing technologies, or transmission upgrades;

(iv)   possess the characteristics described in subsections (a)(i)-(x) of this section, in a manner that is consistent with the objective of fully permitting and approving work to construct utility-scale power facilities on a timeline that allows for the operation of those facilities by the end of 2027 or as soon as feasible thereafter; and

(v)    possess other characteristics conducive to enabling new clean power development at such sites to contribute to lower regional electricity prices or to bring other community benefits.

(c)  By March 15, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall, if possible, designate at least five regions composed of lands or subsurface areas managed by the Department of the Interior as Priority Geothermal Zones (PGZs).  The Secretary of the Interior shall designate those regions based on their potential for geothermal power generation resources, including hydrothermal and next-generation geothermal power and thermal storage; diversity of geological characteristics; and possession of the characteristics described in subsections (a)(i)-(x) and (b)(i)-(v) of this section.

(d)  The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy,  and the Secretary of the Interior shall each make a legal determination as to whether each site identified pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section is available for lease or for the issuance of a right of way, as appropriate, pursuant to the authority of the Secretary that made the identification, and as to whether the Secretary has the legal authority to lease or grant a right of way over or upon each site identified for the construction of frontier AI infrastructure.  For purposes of this order, a site shall be considered “cleared” under this subsection if the relevant Secretary has determined that the site is available for lease and the Secretary concerned has the authority to lease it.    

(e)  By March 31, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the heads of any other agencies that either Secretary deems appropriate, shall coordinate to design, launch, and administer competitive public solicitations of proposals from non-Federal entities to lease Federal land to construct frontier AI infrastructure, including frontier AI data centers, on sites identified under subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any.  When issuing the solicitations, the Secretaries shall announce the sites identified under subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and additional relevant information including the sites’ geographic coordinates, technical characteristics, proximity to sites identified consistent with subsection (b) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and other relevant information.  The solicitations shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent the Secretaries agree that such requirements promote national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, require applicants to identify particular sites on which they propose to construct and operate frontier AI infrastructure; submit a detailed plan specifying proposed timelines, financing methods, and technical construction plans associated with such construction work, including a contingency plan for decommissioning infrastructure on Federal sites; submit a plan that describes proposed frontier AI training work to occur at the site once operational; submit a plan for detailing the extent of the use of high labor and construction standards as described in subsection (g)(viii) of this section; and submit a plan with proposed lab-security measures, including personnel and material access requirements, that could be associated with the operation of frontier AI infrastructure.  These requirements should be designed to ensure adequate collection of information from applicants regarding the criteria in subsections (g)(i)-(xvi) of this section.  The solicitations shall close within 30 days of their issuance.

(f)  By March 31, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall publicize the sites identified under subsection (b) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and additional relevant information including the sites’ geographic coordinates, technical characteristics, proximity to sites identified consistent with subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and other relevant information.  

(g)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall announce any winning proposals identified through solicitations described in subsection (e) of this section.  In selecting any winning proposals, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation with each other, assign winners the opportunity to apply for any Federal permits needed to build and operate frontier AI infrastructure pursuant to the frameworks described in subsection (h) of this section on any sites included in the solicitations issued under subsection (e) of this section, as the Secretaries deem appropriate.  The Secretaries shall consult with the Attorney General on the implications of selections on the competition and market-structure characteristics of the broader AI ecosystem.  The Chair of the Federal Trade Commission is encouraged to participate in these consultations.  The Secretaries shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent that the Secretaries assess that the requirement promotes national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, select at least one proposal developed and submitted jointly by a consortium of two or more small- or medium-sized organizations — as determined by those organizations’ market capitalization, revenues, or similar characteristics — provided that the Secretaries receive at least one such proposal that meets the appropriate qualifications.  The Secretaries shall provide technical assistance, as appropriate, to small- or medium-sized organizations seeking to submit proposals.  The criteria for selecting winning proposals shall include, at a minimum, consideration of the following characteristics of the applicants and any identified partner organizations, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent that the Secretaries agree that the listed characteristics promote national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate:

(i)     proposed financing mechanisms and sources of funds secured or likely to be secured for work to be performed at the site;

(ii)    plans for ensuring high-quality AI training operations to be executed at the site by the applicant or third-party partners;

(iii)   plans for maximizing energy, water, and other resource efficiency, including waste-heat utilization in constructing and operating the AI data center at the site, the strength of the proposed energy master plan for the site, and the quality of analysis of potential strains on local communities;

(iv)    safety and security measures, including cybersecurity measures, proposed to be implemented at the site, and capabilities for such implementation;

(v)      capabilities and acumen of applicable AI scientists, engineers, and other workforce essential to the operation of AI infrastructure;

(vi)    plans for commercializing or otherwise deploying or advancing deployment of appropriate intellectual property, including AI model weights, developed at the site, as well as plans for commercializing or otherwise deploying or advancing deployment of innovations related to power generation and transmission infrastructure developed in the course of building or operating AI infrastructure;

(vii)   plans to help ensure that the construction and operation of AI infrastructure does not increase electricity costs to other ratepayers or water costs to consumers, including, as appropriate, through appropriate proposed or recommended future engagement with any applicable regulatory authorities and State, Tribal, or local governments;

(viii)  plans to use high labor standards that help ensure continuous and high-quality work performed on the site, such as paying prevailing wages; hiring registered apprentices; promoting positive labor-management relations through a project labor agreement; and otherwise adopting high job quality and labor standards for the construction and operations workforce as set forth in Executive Order 14126 of September 6, 2024 (Investing in America and Investing in American Workers), and a plan to address labor-related risks associated with the development and use of AI;

(ix)    design features and operational controls and plans that mitigate potential environmental effects and implement strong community health, public safety, and environmental protection measures;

(x)     other benefits to the community and electric grid infrastructure surrounding the site;

(xi)    experience completing comparable construction projects;

(xii)   experience in compliance with Federal, State, and local permits and environmental reviews relevant to construction and operation of AI infrastructure or, in the alternative, other evidence of an ability to obtain and comply with such permits or reviews in an efficient manner;

(xiii)  the presence of organizational and management structures to help ensure sound governance of work performed at the site;

(xiv)   the effect of the selection of an applicant on the emergence of an interoperable, competitive AI ecosystem;

(xv)    whether an applicant has already been assigned an opportunity, or is being assigned another opportunity, to build a frontier AI data center on a Federal site through the solicitation process described in this section; and

(xvi)   other considerations of national defense, national security, or the public interest, including economic security, as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy deem appropriate.

(h)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall each develop a framework through which any winning applicants selected under subsection (g) of this section may apply to lease sites respectively identified under subsection (a) of this section, and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, to construct and operate AI infrastructure, and by which the applicants may own the AI infrastructure facilities on those sites, subject to the conditions described in subsections (i)-(x) of this subsection.  To the extent that the Secretaries assess that it is consistent with national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, these frameworks shall allow for winning applicants to cooperate with other appropriate private-sector entities on construction and operation activities, including through contracting and subcontracting relationships, and the frameworks shall not require that parties proposing to own AI infrastructure be identical to those proposing to operate the infrastructure or perform work at the sites on which the infrastructure is located.  Actions taken by Federal entities pursuant to the frameworks shall conform to any applicable requirements of Appendix B of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 and any other appropriate budget-scoring practices; applicable in-kind consideration shall be taken into account in calculating the cost to lessees of any such leases.  As part of the foregoing work, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, to the extent consistent with their respective authorities and with national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, require lease or contract terms that accomplish the following:  

(i)     establish a target of the applicant’s beginning construction of a frontier AI data center by January 1, 2026, and commencing full-capacity operation of the AI infrastructure by December 31, 2027, subject to fulfillment of relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, and in a manner consistent with opportunities to operate the infrastructure at or below full capacity at an earlier date;

(ii)    require that, concurrent with operating a frontier AI data center on a Federal site, non-Federal parties constructing, owning, or operating AI infrastructure have procured sufficient new clean power generation resources with capacity value to meet the frontier AI data center’s planned electricity needs, including by providing power that matches the data center’s timing of electricity use on an hourly basis and is deliverable to the data center;

(iii)   clarify that non-Federal parties bear all responsibility for paying any costs that parties to the frameworks described in subsection (h) of this section, as well as transmission providers or transmission organizations or other entities not party to the contract, incur from work pursuant to it, including costs of work performed by agencies to complete necessary environmental reviews, any costs related to the procurement of clean power generation resources and capacity in accordance with subsection (g)(ii) of this section, any costs of decommissioning AI infrastructure on Federal sites, any costs of developing transmission infrastructure needed to serve a frontier AI data center on a Federal site, and the fair market value of leasing and using applicable Federal lands;

(iv)    require adherence to technical standards and guidelines for cyber, supply-chain, and physical security for protecting and controlling any facilities, equipment, devices, systems, data, and other property, including AI model weights, that are developed, acquired, modified, used, or stored at the site or in the course of work performed on the site.  The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Director of the AI Safety Institute (AISI) at NIST, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall identify available standards and guidelines to which adherence shall be required under this subsection.  The identified standards should reflect and incorporate guidelines and best practices developed by the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of NIST, pursuant to Executive Order 14028 of May 12, 2021 (Enhancing United States Cybersecurity), and Executive Order 14110 of November 1, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence).  The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, shall support the ongoing improvement of the framework described in this subsection by developing security guidelines for frontier AI training and operation and, as part of this work, shall comprehensively evaluate the security implications of publicly available AI models that the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, deems globally significant;  

(v)     require that non-Federal parties owning or operating frontier AI data centers sign a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, to facilitate collaborative research and evaluations on AI models developed, acquired, modified, run, or stored at the site or in the course of work performed on the site, for the purpose of assessing the national-security or other significant risks of those models;

(vi)    require non-Federal parties to report information about investments or financial capital from any person used or involved in the development (including construction), ownership, or operation of AI infrastructure on the site and in the development, operation, or use of AI models operating in such AI infrastructure, as appropriate to evaluate risks to national security; and require non-Federal parties to limit the involvement in any such activities of, or the use or involvement in any such activities of investments or financial capital from, any person whom the Secretaries of Defense or Energy deem appropriate on national security grounds;

(vii)   require non-Federal parties owning or operating AI data centers on Federal sites to take appropriate steps to advance the objective of harnessing AI, with appropriate safeguards, for purposes of national security, military preparedness, and intelligence operations, including with respect to the objectives and work outlined in NSM-25.  Such steps shall, as consistent with applicable legal authorities, include collaborating with the Federal Government on regularly recurring assessments of the national-security implications of AI models developed on Federal sites, as appropriate.  In addition, as appropriate and consistent with any relevant Federal procurement laws and regulations, the non-Federal parties shall be required to commit to providing access to such models, and critical resources derivative of such models, to the Federal Government for national-security applications at terms at least no less favorable than current market rates, consistent with NSM-25 and the associated Framework to Advance AI Governance and Risk Management in National Security.  To the extent feasible, AI models and resources derived from them shall be developed and provided to the Federal Government in a manner that prevents vendor lock-in and supports interoperability, including as consistent with the measures in section 5 of OMB Memorandum M-24-18;

(viii)  require that non-Federal parties owning or operating frontier AI data centers on Federal sites develop plans to make available computational resources that are not dedicated to supporting frontier AI training, or otherwise allocated under another provision, for commercial use by startups and small firms on nondiscriminatory terms and in a manner that minimizes barriers to interoperability, entry, or exit for users;

(ix)    require non-Federal parties owning or operating AI infrastructure on Federal sites to explore the availability of clean energy resources — such as geothermal power generation resources and thermal storage, long-duration storage paired with clean energy, and carbon capture and sequestration as described in section 3(e) of this order, as well as beneficial uses of waste heat — at any appropriate sites that those parties lease for purposes of constructing frontier AI data centers on Federal sites or procuring power generation capacity to serve these data centers; and

(x)     require AI developers owning and operating frontier AI data centers on Federal sites either to procure, for use in the development of their data centers, an appropriate share (as measured by monetary value) of leading-edge logic semiconductors fabricated in the United States to the maximum extent practicable; or to develop and implement a plan, subject to the respective approval of the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Energy, to qualify leading-edge logic semiconductors fabricated in the United States for use in the developer’s data centers as soon as practicable.  The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall develop any such requirements — including any determinations about amounts of leading-edge logic semiconductors that may be considered “appropriate” — in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce.  

(i)  Within 1 year of the date of this order and consistent with applicable law, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, shall issue regulations that prescribe heightened safeguards to protect computing hardware acquired, developed, stored, or used on any sites on which frontier AI infrastructure is located and that are managed by the Department of Defense, as needed to implement or build upon the objectives of, or the requirements established pursuant to, subsection 4(g)(iv).  The regulations shall include requirements to conform with appropriate high-impact level standards identified through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, and they shall further provide for appropriate penalties consistent with applicable authorities.  No less than annually the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the aforementioned individuals, shall review the need for updates to the regulations, and promulgate any necessary revisions.  The Secretary of Energy shall impose substantively the same requirements with respect to frontier AI infrastructure on sites managed by the Department of Energy, to the extent authorized by law.

(j)  To enable the use — for advancing geothermal power development, including the development of thermal storage — of Federal lands already subject to leases:

(i)   Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a program with personnel dedicated to providing technical assistance for, streamlining, and otherwise advancing direct-use leasing of geothermal projects on BLM lands, including as consistent with the policies set forth in 43 C.F.R. subpart 3205, and leases of geothermal projects on lands subject to mining claims or under an oil and gas lease.

(ii)  When issuing leases and related authorizations for geothermal projects, the Secretary of the Interior shall consider the extent to which the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and other appropriate statutes have been satisfied by prior analyses of the lease area.  

(k)  In performing the work described in section 4 of this order, including as related to the selection and management of sites, the head of each respective Federal agency shall:

(i)    consult, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments), and the Presidential Memorandum of November 30, 2022 (Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation), with Tribal Nations for which such work may have implications or who otherwise request such consultation;

(ii)   seek input from, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law and Administration policies, with State and local governments and other stakeholders and communities for which such work may have implications; and

(iii)  consider taking actions that present the greatest opportunities to support the goals described in Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and A Framework for Action (November 2024).

Sec. 5.  Protecting American Consumers and Communities.  (a)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and the heads of other agencies that the Secretary deems appropriate, shall submit a report to the President on the potential effects of AI data centers on electricity prices for consumers and businesses.  This report shall include electricity-rate-structure best practices for appropriate Federal agencies, State regulators, and transmission providers and transmission organizations to promote procurement of clean energy generation resources as components of AI infrastructure without increasing costs for other customers through cost-allocation processes or other mechanisms — particularly in regions that have or are expected to have high concentrations of AI infrastructure — as well as regional analyses of key data center hubs.  The report shall further account for any existing approaches developed by Federal agencies to engage transmission providers and State regulators regarding electricity prices.  After submitting the report, the Secretary of Energy shall engage appropriate private-sector entities, to include the winning applicants selected under subsection 4(g) of this order, on the report’s findings and recommendations.

(b)  The Secretary of Energy shall provide technical assistance to State public utility commissions to consider rate structures, including clean transition tariffs and any other appropriate structures identified under subsection (a) of this section, to enable new AI infrastructure to use clean energy without causing unnecessary increases in electricity or water prices.

(c)  The Secretary of Energy and the heads of other appropriate agencies as the Secretary of Energy deems appropriate, shall coordinate to expand research-and-development efforts related to AI data center efficiency.  Supported research and development shall cover, as appropriate, efficiency considerations associated with data center buildings, including the data center shell; electrical systems; heating, ventilation, and cooling infrastructure; software; and beneficial use cases for wastewater heat from data center operations.  As part of this work, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Energy shall submit a report to the President identifying appropriate ways that agencies can advance industry-wide data center energy efficiency through research and development, including server consolidation; hardware efficiency; virtualization; optimized cooling and airflow management; and power management, monitoring, and capacity planning.

(d)  In implementing this order with respect to AI infrastructure on Federal sites, the heads of relevant agencies shall prioritize taking appropriate measures to keep electricity costs low for households, consumers, and businesses.

(e)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), shall evaluate best practices for public participation and governmental engagement in the development of potential siting and energy-related infrastructure for data centers, to include practices for seeking input on potential health, safety, and environmental impacts and mitigation measures for nearby communities.  The Director shall present recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, who shall — as feasible and appropriate, and to advance the goals of assuring effective governmental engagement and meaningful public participation — implement and incorporate these recommendations into their siting and related decision-making processes regarding AI infrastructure.

Sec. 6.  Facilitating Electric Grid Interconnections for Federal Sites.  (a)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, for the purpose of supporting any winning applicants of the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall establish requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to report to the Secretary information regarding surplus interconnection service; available transmission capacity for interconnecting generators; opportunities for clean repowering; and proposed, planned, or initiated projects to build clean power generation capacity for which construction is not complete, but which have executed generation interconnection agreements.  Information requested regarding these proposed, planned, or initiated projects shall include the size, location, and generation technology for each such clean power generation project, as well as the status and estimated cost of any transmission upgrades necessary to enable that project’s interconnection consistent with the interconnection agreement.  The Secretary shall facilitate communication, as appropriate, among the owners of such surplus interconnection service, facilities with opportunities for clean repowering, or clean power generator projects and winning applicants to the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order.  The Secretary shall further establish appropriate requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to continue reporting information described in this subsection on an ongoing basis, and in any event no less than annually.

(b)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall identify and communicate, as appropriate, a prioritized list of underutilized points of interconnection that are relevant to AI infrastructure on Federal sites and that demonstrate the highest potential for uses associated with AI infrastructure.  In developing this list, the Secretary shall direct transmission providers and transmission organizations to identify areas of the transmission network best suited to serve as points of interconnection for either data centers or other AI infrastructure that will use electricity from the transmission system — and locations best suited for interconnection of clean generators to serve such data centers — considering criteria such as minimizing the need for transmission upgrades necessary to accommodate such interconnection and access to clean energy generation resources.   

(c)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and in consultation, as appropriate, with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall engage with transmission providers and transmission organizations owning, operating, or maintaining transmission infrastructure located near Federal sites selected for AI infrastructure to identify any grid upgrades, deployment of advanced transmission technologies such as high-performance conductors or grid-enhancing technologies, operational changes, or other steps expected to be required for extending interconnection services to AI infrastructure by the end of 2027.  Such engagements shall continue as the parties deem appropriate, and they shall prioritize, as appropriate, efforts to enable use of surplus interconnection services, clean repowering, and other methods of accelerated shifts toward clean power and beneficial use of waste heat.  The engagements shall also include consideration of ways that the performance of such work as described in this subsection can most contribute to lower regional electricity prices.

(d)  The Secretary of Energy shall conduct an analysis of currently available transmission infrastructure serving potential sites, and the likely cost and feasibility of, and timeline for, developing additional such infrastructure needed for constructing and operating a frontier AI data center on sites identified under subsection 4(a) of this order, and cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order, including by providing the frontier AI data center with clean energy and capacity.  The Secretary shall identify and collect from transmission providers and transmission organizations information that the Secretary deems necessary for the analysis required under this subsection.  The Secretary shall, as appropriate, treat such information as critical electric infrastructure information.

Sec. 7.  Expeditiously Processing Permits for Federal Sites.  (a)  The heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall prioritize work and exercise all applicable authorities, as appropriate, to expedite the processing of permits and approvals required for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, with the goal of issuing all permits and approvals required for construction by the end of 2025 or as soon as they can be completed consistent with applicable law.  As part of this work, the Permitting Council may provide coordination of permitting for AI infrastructure on Federal sites, as appropriate and to the extent that the relevant developers of AI infrastructure submit a notice of the initiation of a proposed covered project under 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2 and the project is determined to be such a covered project by the Permitting Council.  

(b)  To facilitate expeditious implementation of the requirements under NEPA with respect to Federal sites:

(i)    The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy shall identify, within their respective agencies, personnel dedicated to performing NEPA reviews of projects to construct and operate AI infrastructure on Federal sites.

(ii)   The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy, shall undertake a programmatic environmental review, on a thematic basis, of the environmental effects — and opportunities to mitigate those effects — involved with the construction and operation of AI data centers, as well as of other components of AI infrastructure as the Secretary of Defense deems appropriate.  The review shall conclude, with all appropriate documents published, on the date of the close of the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order, or as soon thereafter as possible.  The review shall, as applicable, incorporate by reference previously developed environmental studies, surveys, and impact analyses, including the analysis described in subsection 4(b)(ii) of this order.

(iii)  After the conclusion of the programmatic review described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the heads of other relevant agencies, as appropriate, shall commence any further environmental reviews that are required under NEPA for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, including by applying any available categorical exclusions.  Such reviews shall, as appropriate, build on or incorporate by reference the programmatic environmental review conducted under subsection (b)(ii) of this section, as well as any other studies, surveys, and impact analyses that the Secretaries deem appropriate.

(c)  To advance expeditious preconstruction permitting and ensure full compliance with air-quality permit requirements for AI infrastructure, the Administrator of the EPA, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall:

(i)    within 30 days of the selection of winning applications under subsection 4(g) of this order, engage State and local permitting authorities with jurisdiction over sites selected for AI infrastructure, as appropriate, to enhance relevant authorities’ understanding of the technical characteristics of AI infrastructure projects as relevant to new source reviews under the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., and to enhance the public’s understanding of the same, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of information by AI developers operating on Federal sites regarding best practices for expeditiously obtaining air-quality permits;

(ii)   continue engagements with State and local permitting authorities, and provide technical assistance to AI developers operating on Federal sites, on an ongoing basis and as appropriate, to help advance expeditious conclusion of, and compliance with, new source reviews; and

(iii)  following the acquisition of all preconstruction air-quality permits by developers, take steps to ensure, on an ongoing basis and as appropriate, that AI developers operating on Federal sites adhere to all requirements of operational air-quality permits applicable to their respective projects; that information needed to demonstrate compliance, possibly including air-monitoring data, is made publicly available and regularly updated; and that best practices are identified for air-emissions reduction and air-quality monitoring regarding AI infrastructure on Federal sites.

(d)  To help ensure expeditious permitting or permission processes related to waters of the United States and harbor and river improvements, the Secretary of Defense shall prioritize work, as appropriate, to process applications for permits administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., and to process applications for permission for appropriate projects under section 14 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 408), as consistent with the statutes’ requirements, in order to render determinations on any such permits or permissions associated with AI infrastructure on Federal sites by the end of 2025, or as soon as feasible consistent with statutory requirements.  The Secretary shall, consistent with applicable law, prioritize allocation of resources toward USACE district offices, and direct the allocation of resources within such offices, as needed to comply with this directive.  The Secretary shall further apply all general permits applicable to AI infrastructure where appropriate to promote expeditious permitting on such Federal sites.

(e)  Within 30 days of the selection of any winning applications under subsection 4(g) of this order, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall initiate Tribal consultations as applicable and appropriate based on the sites selected.  Upon receipt of sufficient project information, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall further initiate consultations with the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), to ensure that the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on each site that is identified under subsection 4(a) of this order, cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order, and subsequently chosen as the location for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure pursuant to a winning application under subsection 4(g) of this order are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of a critical habitat of such species.  The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall conclude such consultations with USFWS, to the maximum extent practicable, within 90 days of the initiation of such consultations when feasible and consistent with statutory requirements.

(f)  To advance the development of geothermal energy production and thermal storage, including in support of AI infrastructure on Federal sites:

(i)    Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall undertake a programmatic environmental review, on a thematic basis, of the environmental impacts and associated mitigations involved with the construction and operation of a geothermal power plant.  

(ii)   By the date on which the review described in subsection (f)(i) of this section is completed, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a target cumulative capacity of permitted or operational geothermal projects by a year that the Secretary shall designate.

(iii)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall assess existing categorical exclusions that are listed in the NEPA procedures of other agencies and could apply to actions taken in connection with geothermal energy development.  The Secretary shall propose adopting such categorical exclusions as the Secretary, after consultation with the heads of agencies whose NEPA procedures list the categorical exclusions, deems appropriate, and, after considering all comments received through applicable public comment processes, take any actions to adopt categorical exclusions that are appropriate given the received comments, as consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The Secretary shall prioritize the expeditious permitting of geothermal projects, including the application of any appropriate categorical exclusions adopted under this subsection, on PGZs.  The Secretary shall prioritize work to expeditiously permit geothermal projects on PGZs above the work described in subsection (f)(i) of this section.

(iv)   When issuing leases and related authorizations for geothermal projects on PGZs, the Secretary of the Interior shall fulfill the requirements of NEPA and the Endangered Species Act in a manner that allows for the earliest possible operation of geothermal power plants consistent with applicable law.  

(v)    The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy shall, as appropriate, coordinate to determine and clarify appropriate procedures for the execution of leases or subleases for developing or expanding clean energy generation resources, including geothermal energy generation resources, on withdrawn lands subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy.

Sec. 8.  Ensuring Adequate Transmission Infrastructure for Federal Sites.  (a)  The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior, shall take steps to enable AI infrastructure on Federal sites to have reliable access to transmission facilities adequate for the operation of frontier AI data centers by the end of 2027.  

(b)  To promote any needed upgrades and development of transmission infrastructure that is located on or that is necessary to support Federal sites with AI infrastructure, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM and the Director of USFWS, shall:

(i)   by September 30, 2025, identify and initiate use of all appropriate authorities to construct, finance, facilitate, and plan such upgrades and development, including through the Transmission Infrastructure Program administered by the Western Area Power Administration; and

(ii)  prioritize the allocation of staff and resources for developing transmission infrastructure needed to support AI infrastructure on Federal sites -‑ and in doing so, as appropriate, allocate relevant staff and resources from any component within the Department of Energy for this purpose -‑ consistent with the requirements and objectives of this order and applicable law.

(c)  Because of the importance of frontier AI infrastructure, including transmission capacity, to the defense industrial base, critical infrastructure, and military preparedness:  

(i)   The Secretary of Energy shall consider expected use of frontier AI data centers on Federal sites as part of the Secretary’s triennial study of electric transmission capacity constraints and congestion under section 216(a)(1) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)(1)).

(ii)  Consistent with the requirements of section 216(a)(2) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)(2)), and based on any findings made in future studies of electric transmission capacity constraints and congestion as described in subsection (c)(i) of this section, the Secretary shall consider whether to designate geographic areas around frontier AI infrastructure on Federal sites as national interest electric transmission corridors.  

(d)  The Secretary of Energy shall, as appropriate, help ensure that transmission facilities upgraded or developed to support AI data centers on Federal sites:  

(i)   are designed to support all reasonably foreseeable electric loads, including through the deployment of grid-enhancing technologies, high-performance conductors, and other advanced transmission technologies, including those described in the Department of Energy’s Innovative Grid Deployment Liftoffreport, that will increase the capabilities of the transmission facilities on a timely and cost-effective basis; and

(ii)  conform to conductor efficiency standards or other technical standards or criteria that the Secretary determines will optimize facilities’ performance and cost-effectiveness.

(e)  To improve the timely availability of critical grid equipment for frontier AI infrastructure, such as electrical transformers, circuit breakers, switchgears, and cables, and to protect electricity consumers from exposure to rising equipment prices:  

(i)   Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly consult with domestic suppliers of such technologies on the expected needs of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, suppliers’ current production plans, and opportunities for Government support in helping suppliers meet market demands.

(ii)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall facilitate industry-led convenings on transformers and other critical grid components, which shall include appropriate representatives from agencies, transmission providers and transmission organizations, domestic suppliers of transformers, data center developers, and other private-sector organizations.  On an ongoing basis, the Secretary, after consulting with participants in the industry-led convenings, shall:  

(A)  on at least an annual basis, develop and publish supply and demand forecasts for transformers, including forecasts for different transformer variants and analyses of supply and demand trends under different future scenarios, which shall include scenarios for growth in electricity demand from AI infrastructure and other sources of demand; and

(B)  consider and, as appropriate, execute purchases of transformers and other critical grid components in order to provide demand certainty for domestic manufacturers to invest in capacity for meeting the needs of AI infrastructure.  Any decision to execute such purchases shall be based on economic or other industry data, including the capacity utilization of domestic suppliers of transformers or other components, that the Secretary deems relevant to evaluating the status of the domestic industry.  The Secretary shall subsequently execute sales of any purchased transformers or other critical grid components at times that the Secretary deems appropriate based on such data.  

(f)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall establish requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to report to the Secretary transmission-related information to assist in siting and accelerating the interconnection of generation resources to serve frontier AI data centers on sites identified under section 4(a) of this order and cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order.  Such information may include data on transmission congestion to help identify where additional transmission investments could enable the development of additional transmission capacity to serve such AI data centers.

(g)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the heads of agencies that possess loan or loan-guarantee authorities shall evaluate whether any such authorities could be used to support the development of AI infrastructure on Federal sites — including the production of critical grid equipment as described in subsection (e) of this section, or other actions to strengthen the AI infrastructure supply chain.  In cases in which any authorities are available and appropriate for this purpose, the heads of relevant agencies shall provide that information to developers of AI infrastructure on Federal sites or other appropriate private-sector entities.

Sec. 9.  Additional Efforts to Improve Permitting and Power Procurement Nationwide.  (a)  The heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall designate, with respect to each of their component agencies, dedicated staff to handle all matters related to permits and approvals for AI infrastructure.  Such designations shall include personnel dedicated to coordinating with and addressing the needs of applicants for permits under the respective agency’s purview.  In designating such personnel, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall, as appropriate, implement staffing arrangements and other mechanisms that accelerate permitting for AI infrastructure to the maximum extent possible.

(b)  To improve review practices pursuant to NEPA:

(i)    Within 60 days of the date of this order, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies, in coordination with the Chair of CEQ, shall assess existing categorical exclusions and identify opportunities to establish new categorical exclusions to support AI infrastructure on Federal sites, consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The heads of agencies whose NEPA regulations include categorical exclusions related to fiber-optic cables are encouraged, in undertaking these assessments, to evaluate whether such categorical exclusions may be applied to the development of fiber-optic cables as used for AI infrastructure. 

(ii)   Within 120 days of the date of this order, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, propose any new categorical exclusions and, after considering all comments received through applicable public comment processes, take any actions to establish categorical exclusions that are appropriate given the received comments.

(iii)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, and consistent with the directives described in section 7 of this order, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Energy shall identify any existing categorical exclusions that are listed in the NEPA procedures of other agencies and that are relevant to the development of clean energy, electric transmission, or AI data centers and take any appropriate steps to adopt such categorical exclusions where appropriate and consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Energy shall take any appropriate steps to adopt and apply such categorical exclusions to AI infrastructure on Federal sites where consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.

(c)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall issue a request for information on opportunities for accelerated interconnection at existing power plants, including as related to surplus interconnection service and clean repowering.  The request shall seek details on the ownership of such plants with surplus interconnection service and the plants’ suitability for colocation of new clean power generation resources with shared grid access.  

(d)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall issue a request for information from private-sector entities including transmission providers, transmission organizations, and clean energy developers regarding load interconnection processes.  The Secretary shall subsequently engage with transmission providers and transmission organizations regarding best practices to improve the transparency and efficiency of such processes, including through adopting new technologies, software, and procedures.  The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and financial assistance to facilitate such adoption, as appropriate.  The Secretary shall publish a report describing the results of this work within 1 year of the date of this order.

(e)  To promote the expeditious, responsible development of nuclear power generation resources, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall:

(i)    seek to facilitate the deployment of additional nuclear power and, as relevant, supply-chain services on lands owned by, respectively, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy — including Department of Defense installations and sites owned or managed by the Department of Energy National Laboratories — by, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, identifying opportunities for such deployment on specific lands to the extent such opportunities exist and, in the case of the Secretary of Energy only, by evaluating whether financial support for such deployment is appropriate; 

(ii)   within 180 days of the date of this order, coordinate to publish a joint list of ten high-priority sites — or, if fewer than ten appropriate sites exist, as many sites as possible — which may overlap with sites identified and cleared under section 4 of this order, that are most conducive to expeditious, safe, and responsible deployment of additional nuclear power capacity readily available to serve AI data center electricity demand by December 31, 2035, taking into account factors including Federal, State, Tribal, and local ordinances; permitting and other regulatory requirements; water access; climate resilience and natural-hazard risks; and transmission and interconnection dynamics; and

(iii)  within 1 year of the date of this order, publish either a joint plan or their own respective plans describing how each Secretary will facilitate deployment of additional nuclear power capacity as described in this subsection on any such sites.  Any such plan shall address selection of appropriate nuclear reactor technologies; the licensing and permitting of relevant technologies or facilities; the approach that each Secretary would take to ensure the safe and responsible transportation of uranium and any other radioactive material to the site; the approach that each Secretary would take to ensure the safe and responsible storage or disposal of any spent nuclear fuel; remediation of the site after the plant ceases operation as needed; and any other steps necessary to ensure the deployment will protect public health, safety, and the environment, consistent with all applicable legal requirements and the principles of the document entitled Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action (November 2024); and

(iv)   when carrying out actions under this subsection, comply with the directives of section 4(k) of this order.

(f)   Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, shall submit a report to the President on supply chain risks applicable to the United States data center industry.  The report shall include analysis of supply chain risks associated with the materials used to construct and maintain data centers, the electronics necessary to operate a data center, and emerging data center technologies, as well as recommended steps for the Federal Government to take to address identified risks.  The report shall also include analysis on supply chain risks applicable to the generation and transmission infrastructure needed to power AI data centers.  On an ongoing basis, as appropriate, the Secretary of Commerce shall engage with the private sector to identify emerging supply chain risks that have the potential to undermine the success of the United States AI infrastructure industry — with such success defined to include the industry’s commercialization of emerging technologies — and to recommend policy solutions to address identified risks.

(g)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, to promote the expeditious, responsible development and deployment of distributed energy solutions that support the development and operation of AI infrastructure, the Secretary of Energy shall develop model contracts for using distributed energy resources (DERs) to increase the local grid’s capacity to support AI infrastructure.  In developing such contracts, the Secretary shall consider options for cost-effective uses of DERs, including distribution-sited generation resources, energy storage assets, and opportunities for flexible management of electricity demand.  The model contracts shall, as appropriate, include clauses providing for the owners of data centers to finance costs incurred by other entities in developing, installing, and operating DERs, consistent with the objective of utilities accounting for these financing activities when processing data center owners’ interconnection applications.

(h)  By July 31, 2025, the Permitting Council shall engage with developers of AI infrastructure to advance their understanding of resources available under title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (Public Law 114–94) to accelerate permitting processes and reviews for clean energy projects that are part of AI infrastructure on Federal sites.  As part of this work, the Permitting Council, in consultation with the White House Task Force on AI Datacenter Infrastructure announced on October 29, 2024, shall endeavor to engage small developers of AI infrastructure.  

(i)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the USACE, shall, consistent with applicable law, assess existing nationwide permits (NWPs) to determine how they may be applied to facilitate the construction of AI data centers and develop and publish a list of NWPs that could facilitate such construction.  The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the USACE, shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, subsequently establish such new NWPs as expediently as possible.

(j)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall release for public comment draft reporting requirements for AI data centers covering all phases of AI data centers’ development and operation — including material extraction, component fabrication, transportation, construction, operation, recycling, and retirement — regarding embodied greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and excess heat or energy expenditures, as distinct from operational intensity of greenhouse gas emissions.  

(k)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Administrator of the EPA and the Chair of CEQ, shall establish a grand challenge, serving as a call to voluntary action for appropriate private-sector and other stakeholders, for the purpose of:

(i)    setting targets for minimizing the power usage effectiveness ratio and water usage effectiveness ratio of AI data centers, with a goal of bringing the power usage effectiveness ratio of AI data centers on Federal sites below 1.1;

(ii)   promoting best practices for the beneficial use of waste heat and other efforts to maximize efficiency;

(iii)  promoting best practices for data center energy management and sustainable design and operational practices for data centers that avoid or reduce adverse effects on natural and cultural resources and communities, and that protect public health and the environment;

(iv)   raising AI developer and user awareness regarding the comparative energy intensities of different computational tasks; and

(v)    developing best practices and standards for software and algorithmic efficiency.

Sec. 10.  Engagement Abroad.  (a)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the heads of other relevant agencies as the Secretary of State may deem appropriate, shall develop a plan for engaging allies and partners on accelerating the buildout of trusted AI infrastructure around the world.  Such a plan shall include measures to advance collaboration on the global buildout of trusted AI infrastructure; mitigate and prevent harms to local and affected communities; engage the private sector and investor community to identify and mitigate barriers to AI infrastructure investments; support the deployment of commercially available reliable clean power sources and the development and commercialization of emerging clean energy technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors; exchange best practices for permitting, power procurement, and cultivating talent to build, operate, and maintain trusted AI infrastructure; and strengthen cyber, physical, and supply chain security safeguards related to AI infrastructure.  Within 1 year of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs a report on actions taken pursuant to this plan.

(b)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall convene heads of appropriate agencies, to include the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, and the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, to identify and implement actions to facilitate United States exports and engagements abroad related to advanced nuclear technologies and relevant supply-chain services.

Sec. 11.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    January 14, 2025.

The post Executive Order on Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:  

Section 1.  Purpose.  Artificial intelligence (AI) is a defining technology of our era.  Recent advancements in AI demonstrate its rapidly growing relevance to national security, including with respect to logistics, military capabilities, intelligence analysis, and cybersecurity.  Building AI in the United States will help prevent adversaries from gaining access to, and using, powerful future systems to the detriment of our military and national security.  It will also enable the United States Government to continue harnessing AI in service of national-security missions while preventing the United States from becoming dependent on other countries’ infrastructure to develop and operate powerful AI tools.

Advances at the frontier of AI will also have significant implications for United States economic competitiveness.  These imperatives require building AI infrastructure in the United States on the time frame needed to ensure United States leadership over competitors who, already, are racing to take the lead in AI development and adoption.  Building AI in the United States requires enormous private-sector investments in infrastructure, especially for the advanced computing clusters needed to train AI models and the energy infrastructure needed to power this work.  Already, AI’s electricity and computational needs are vast, and they are set to surge in the years ahead.  This work also requires secure, reliable supply chains for critical components needed to build AI infrastructure, from construction materials to advanced electronics.

This order sets our Nation on the path to ensure that future frontier AI can, and will, continue to be built here in the United States.  In building domestic AI infrastructure, our Nation will also advance its leadership in the clean energy technologies needed to power the future economy, including geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear energy; foster a vibrant, competitive, and open technology ecosystem in the United States, in which small companies can compete alongside large ones; maintain low consumer electricity prices; and help ensure that the development of AI infrastructure benefits the workers building it and communities near it.  

With this order, I provide a plan for protecting national security, preserving our economic competitiveness, revitalizing our energy infrastructure, and ensuring United States leadership in AI.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to enable the development and operation of AI infrastructure, including data centers, in the United States in accordance with five guiding principles.  When undertaking the actions set forth in this order, executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall adhere to these principles, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law:

(a)  The development of AI infrastructure should advance United States national security and leadership in AI.  Meeting this goal will require steps by the Federal Government, in collaboration with the private sector, to advance AI development and use AI for future national-security missions, including through the work described in National Security Memorandum 25 of October 24, 2024 (Advancing the United States’ Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Fulfill National Security Objectives; and Fostering the Safety, Security, and Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence) (NSM-25).  It will also require the use of safeguards to improve the cyber, supply-chain, and physical security of the laboratories at which powerful AI is developed, stored, and used.  Additionally, protecting United States national security will require further work to evaluate and manage risks related to the powerful capabilities that future frontier AI may possess.

(b)  The development of AI infrastructure should advance United States economic competitiveness, including by fostering a vibrant technology ecosystem.  Already, AI is creating new jobs and industries, and its effects are being felt in sectors across the economy.  The Federal Government must ensure that the United States remains competitive in the global economy, including through harnessing the benefits of this technology for all Americans.  It must also promote a fair, open, and competitive AI ecosystem so that small developers and entrepreneurs can continue to drive innovation — a priority highlighted in both Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence), and NSM-25 — as well as to support secure, reliable supply-chain infrastructure for AI activities.

(c)  The United States can and should lead the world in operating the next generation of AI data centers with clean power.  Meeting this goal will require building on recent successes to modernize our Nation’s energy infrastructure; improve permitting processes; and support investments in, and expeditious development of, both currently available and emerging clean energy technologies, such as geothermal energy, nuclear energy, and long-duration energy storage used to store clean energy, as well as relevant supply chains.  The United States must not be surpassed in its support for the development, commercialization, and operation of clean energy technologies at home and abroad, and the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure offers another vital opportunity to accelerate and deploy these energy technologies.  To help ensure that new data center electricity demand does not take clean power away from other end users, result in resource adequacy issues, or increase grid emissions, the construction of AI infrastructure must be matched with new, clean electricity generation resources.

(d)  The development of AI infrastructure should proceed without raising energy costs for American consumers and businesses, and it should have strong community support.  The companies developing, commercializing, and deploying AI must finance the cost of building the infrastructure needed for AI operations, including the development of next-generation power infrastructure built for these operations.  

(e)  The development of AI infrastructure should benefit those working to build it.  Meeting this goal will require high labor standards and safeguards for the buildout of AI infrastructure, consultation and close collaboration with communities affected by this infrastructure’s development and operation, and continuous work to mitigate risks and potential harms.  The American people more broadly must safely enjoy the gains and opportunities from technological innovation in the AI ecosystem.

Sec. 3.  Definitions.  For purposes of this order:

(a)  The term “agency” means each agency described in 44 U.S.C. 3502(1), except for the independent regulatory agencies described in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5).

(b)  The term “AI data center” means a data center used primarily with respect to developing or operating AI.

(c)  The term “AI infrastructure” refers collectively to AI data centers, generation and storage resources procured to deliver electrical energy to data centers, and transmission facilities developed or upgraded for the same purpose.

(d)  The term “AI model” means a component of an information system that implements AI technology and uses computational, statistical, or machine-learning techniques to produce outputs from a given set of inputs.

(e)  The term “clean energy” or “clean energy generation resources” means generation resources that produce few or no emissions of carbon dioxide during operation, including when paired with clean storage technologies.  This term includes geothermal, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, solar, wind, hydroelectric, hydrokinetic (including tidal, wave, and current), and marine energy; and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies (for which the carbon capture equipment meets the definition set forth in 26 C.F.R. 1.45Q-2(c)) that operate with fossil fuel generation resources, that achieve carbon dioxide capture rates of 90 percent or higher on an annual basis, and that permanently sequester the captured carbon dioxide.

(f)  The term “clean power” means electricity generated by the generation resources described in subsection (e) of this section.

(g)  The term “clean repowering” means the practice of siting new clean generation sources at a site with an existing point of interconnection and generation sources operating with fossil fuels, such that some output or capacity from existing generation sources is replaced by the new clean generation sources.

(h)  The term “critical electric infrastructure information” has the same meaning as set forth in 18 C.F.R.  388.113(c).

(i)  The term “data center” means a facility used to store, manage, process, and disseminate electronic information for a computer network, and it includes any facility that is composed of one or more permanent or semi-permanent structures, or that is a dedicated space within such structure, and operates persistently in a fixed location; that is used for the housing of information technology equipment, including servers, mainframe computers, high-performance computing devices, or data-storage devices; and that is actively used for the hosting of information and information systems that are accessed by other systems or by users on other devices.

(j)  The term “distributed energy resource” has the same meaning as set forth in 18 C.F.R. 35.28(b)(10).

(k)  The term “Federal Permitting Agencies” refers to the agency members of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) established under section 41002 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, 42 U.S.C. 4370m-1, as well as any other agency with authority to issue a Federal permit or approval required for the development or operation of AI infrastructure.

(l)  The term “Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program” refers to the program established to provide an approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the Federal Government, as codified in 44 U.S.C. 3607-3616 (as enacted by the FedRAMP Authorization Act, section 5921 of Public Law 117-263).

(m)  The term “frontier AI data center” means an AI data center capable of being used to develop, within a reasonable time frame, an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.

(n)  The term “frontier AI infrastructure” means AI infrastructure for which the relevant data center is a frontier AI data center.

(o)  The term “frontier AI training” refers to the act of developing an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.

(p)  The term “generation resource” means a facility that produces electricity.

(q)  The terms “interconnection,” “interconnection facilities,” and “point of interconnection” refer to facilities and equipment that physically and electrically connect generation resources or electrical load to the electric grid for the purpose of the delivery of electricity, for which grid operators have granted all appropriate approvals required for those facilities and equipment to operate.

(r)  The term “lab-security measures” refers to steps to detect, prevent, or mitigate physical, cyber, or other threats to the operation of a data center, to the integrity of information or other assets stored within it, or of unauthorized access to such information or assets.

(s)  The term “leading-edge logic semiconductors” refers to semiconductors produced at high volumes using extreme ultraviolet lithography tools as defined by the CHIPS Incentives Program Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2023-NIST-CHIPS-CFF-01.

(t)  The term “model weight” means a numerical parameter within an AI model that helps determine the model’s outputs in response to inputs.

(u)  The term “new source review” refers to the permitting program with this name in 40 C.F.R. parts 51 or 52.

(v)  The term “non-Federal parties” refers to private-sector entities that enter into a contract with the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy pursuant to section 4(g) of this order.

(w)  The term “priority geothermal zone” refers to lands with high potential for the development of geothermal power generation resources, as designated by the Secretary of the Interior, including pursuant to section 4(c) of this order.

(x)  The term “project labor agreement” means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that establishes the terms and conditions of a construction project.

(y)  The term “surplus interconnection service” has the same meaning as set forth in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 845.

(z)  The terms “transmission facilities” and “transmission infrastructure” mean equipment or structures, including transmission lines and related facilities, used for the purpose of delivering electricity.

(aa)  The term “transmission organization” refers to a Regional Transmission Organization or an Independent System Operator.

(bb)  The term “transmission provider” means an entity that manages or operates transmission facilities for the delivery of electric energy used primarily by the public and that is not a transmission organization.

(cc)  The term “waters of the United States” has the same meaning as set forth in 33 C.F.R. 328.3(a).

Sec. 4.  Establishing Federal Sites for AI Infrastructure.  (a)  By February 28, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, if possible, each identify a minimum of 3 sites on Federal land managed by their respective agencies that may be suitable for the agencies to lease to non-Federal entities for the construction and operation of a frontier AI data center, as well as for the construction and operation of clean energy facilities to serve the data center, by the end of 2027.  In identifying these sites, each Secretary shall, as feasible and appropriate, seek to prioritize sites that possess the following characteristics, as consistent with the objective of fully permitting and approving work to construct a frontier AI data center at each site by the end of 2025:

(i)     inclusion of sufficient terrain with appropriate land gradients, soil durability, and other topographical characteristics for frontier AI data centers; 

(ii)    minimized adverse effects from AI infrastructure development or operation on local communities’ health, wellbeing, and resource access; natural or cultural resources; threatened or endangered species; and harbors or river improvements not associated with hydropower generation resources;

(iii)   proximity to any communities seeking to host AI infrastructure, including for reasons related to local workers’ access to jobs involved in designing, building, maintaining, and operating data centers;

(iv)    ready access and proximity to high-voltage transmission infrastructure that minimizes the scale of, cost of, and timeline to develop any transmission upgrades or development needed to interconnect AI infrastructure, in consideration of access and proximity to:  

(A)  high-capacity transmission infrastructure with unused capacity, as identified by collection activities described in section 6 of this order;

(B)  any planned generation facilities that can enable delivery of electricity to an AI data center on the site managed by each Secretary’s respective agency, that possess an executed interconnection agreement with a transmission provider, that do not possess an executed power purchase agreement, and for which construction has not yet begun;

(C)  any lands that the Secretary of the Interior identifies pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; and

(D)  any power generation facilities with high clean repowering potential;

(v)     location within geographic areas that are not at risk of persistently failing to attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and where the total cancer risk from air pollution is at or below the national average according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2020 AirToxScreen;

(vi)    lack of proximity to waters of the United States for purposes of permitting requirements;

(vii)   lack of extensive restrictions on land uses associated with constructing and operating AI infrastructure or on access to necessary rights-of-way for such activities;

(viii)  ready access to high-capacity telecommunications networks;

(ix)    suitability for the development of access roads or other temporary infrastructure necessary for the construction of AI infrastructure; and

(x)     absence of other characteristics that would, if the site was used or repurposed for AI infrastructure, compromise a competing national security concern as determined by the relevant Secretary in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.  

(b)  By March 15, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall identify sites managed by BLM that the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM, deems may be suitable for granting or issuing rights of way to private-sector entities to construct and operate additional clean energy facilities that are being or may be built as components of frontier AI infrastructure developed pursuant to this section.  In performing this work, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall take steps to ensure where feasible and appropriate that any such sites identified under this subsection include sufficient acreage for developing clean generation resources that can deliver sufficient electricity to each site identified under subsection (a) of this section for matching the capacity needs of frontier AI data centers on the latter sites.  The sites identified under this subsection shall include any land managed by the Department of the Interior that is within a region designated by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (c) of this section, or a region preliminarily identified as a candidate for such designation.  In determining the suitability of sites, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM, shall prioritize identification of sites that:  

(i)    contain completed, permitted, or planned clean generation projects that can enable delivery of electricity as described in this subsection and possess an executed interconnection agreement with a transmission provider;

(ii)   have been allocated as available for solar applications in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development, published by BLM, or that have otherwise been allocated as available for clean-energy applications in a BLM resource management plan;

(iii)  have reasonable access to and are located nearby existing high-voltage transmission lines that have at least one gigawatt of additional capacity available, or for which such capacity can be reasonably developed through reconductoring, grid-enhancing technologies, or transmission upgrades;

(iv)   possess the characteristics described in subsections (a)(i)-(x) of this section, in a manner that is consistent with the objective of fully permitting and approving work to construct utility-scale power facilities on a timeline that allows for the operation of those facilities by the end of 2027 or as soon as feasible thereafter; and

(v)    possess other characteristics conducive to enabling new clean power development at such sites to contribute to lower regional electricity prices or to bring other community benefits.

(c)  By March 15, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall, if possible, designate at least five regions composed of lands or subsurface areas managed by the Department of the Interior as Priority Geothermal Zones (PGZs).  The Secretary of the Interior shall designate those regions based on their potential for geothermal power generation resources, including hydrothermal and next-generation geothermal power and thermal storage; diversity of geological characteristics; and possession of the characteristics described in subsections (a)(i)-(x) and (b)(i)-(v) of this section.

(d)  The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy,  and the Secretary of the Interior shall each make a legal determination as to whether each site identified pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section is available for lease or for the issuance of a right of way, as appropriate, pursuant to the authority of the Secretary that made the identification, and as to whether the Secretary has the legal authority to lease or grant a right of way over or upon each site identified for the construction of frontier AI infrastructure.  For purposes of this order, a site shall be considered “cleared” under this subsection if the relevant Secretary has determined that the site is available for lease and the Secretary concerned has the authority to lease it.    

(e)  By March 31, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the heads of any other agencies that either Secretary deems appropriate, shall coordinate to design, launch, and administer competitive public solicitations of proposals from non-Federal entities to lease Federal land to construct frontier AI infrastructure, including frontier AI data centers, on sites identified under subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any.  When issuing the solicitations, the Secretaries shall announce the sites identified under subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and additional relevant information including the sites’ geographic coordinates, technical characteristics, proximity to sites identified consistent with subsection (b) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and other relevant information.  The solicitations shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent the Secretaries agree that such requirements promote national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, require applicants to identify particular sites on which they propose to construct and operate frontier AI infrastructure; submit a detailed plan specifying proposed timelines, financing methods, and technical construction plans associated with such construction work, including a contingency plan for decommissioning infrastructure on Federal sites; submit a plan that describes proposed frontier AI training work to occur at the site once operational; submit a plan for detailing the extent of the use of high labor and construction standards as described in subsection (g)(viii) of this section; and submit a plan with proposed lab-security measures, including personnel and material access requirements, that could be associated with the operation of frontier AI infrastructure.  These requirements should be designed to ensure adequate collection of information from applicants regarding the criteria in subsections (g)(i)-(xvi) of this section.  The solicitations shall close within 30 days of their issuance.

(f)  By March 31, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall publicize the sites identified under subsection (b) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and additional relevant information including the sites’ geographic coordinates, technical characteristics, proximity to sites identified consistent with subsection (a) of this section and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, if any, and other relevant information.  

(g)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall announce any winning proposals identified through solicitations described in subsection (e) of this section.  In selecting any winning proposals, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation with each other, assign winners the opportunity to apply for any Federal permits needed to build and operate frontier AI infrastructure pursuant to the frameworks described in subsection (h) of this section on any sites included in the solicitations issued under subsection (e) of this section, as the Secretaries deem appropriate.  The Secretaries shall consult with the Attorney General on the implications of selections on the competition and market-structure characteristics of the broader AI ecosystem.  The Chair of the Federal Trade Commission is encouraged to participate in these consultations.  The Secretaries shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent that the Secretaries assess that the requirement promotes national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, select at least one proposal developed and submitted jointly by a consortium of two or more small- or medium-sized organizations — as determined by those organizations’ market capitalization, revenues, or similar characteristics — provided that the Secretaries receive at least one such proposal that meets the appropriate qualifications.  The Secretaries shall provide technical assistance, as appropriate, to small- or medium-sized organizations seeking to submit proposals.  The criteria for selecting winning proposals shall include, at a minimum, consideration of the following characteristics of the applicants and any identified partner organizations, to the extent consistent with applicable law and to the extent that the Secretaries agree that the listed characteristics promote national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate:

(i)     proposed financing mechanisms and sources of funds secured or likely to be secured for work to be performed at the site;

(ii)    plans for ensuring high-quality AI training operations to be executed at the site by the applicant or third-party partners;

(iii)   plans for maximizing energy, water, and other resource efficiency, including waste-heat utilization in constructing and operating the AI data center at the site, the strength of the proposed energy master plan for the site, and the quality of analysis of potential strains on local communities;

(iv)    safety and security measures, including cybersecurity measures, proposed to be implemented at the site, and capabilities for such implementation;

(v)      capabilities and acumen of applicable AI scientists, engineers, and other workforce essential to the operation of AI infrastructure;

(vi)    plans for commercializing or otherwise deploying or advancing deployment of appropriate intellectual property, including AI model weights, developed at the site, as well as plans for commercializing or otherwise deploying or advancing deployment of innovations related to power generation and transmission infrastructure developed in the course of building or operating AI infrastructure;

(vii)   plans to help ensure that the construction and operation of AI infrastructure does not increase electricity costs to other ratepayers or water costs to consumers, including, as appropriate, through appropriate proposed or recommended future engagement with any applicable regulatory authorities and State, Tribal, or local governments;

(viii)  plans to use high labor standards that help ensure continuous and high-quality work performed on the site, such as paying prevailing wages; hiring registered apprentices; promoting positive labor-management relations through a project labor agreement; and otherwise adopting high job quality and labor standards for the construction and operations workforce as set forth in Executive Order 14126 of September 6, 2024 (Investing in America and Investing in American Workers), and a plan to address labor-related risks associated with the development and use of AI;

(ix)    design features and operational controls and plans that mitigate potential environmental effects and implement strong community health, public safety, and environmental protection measures;

(x)     other benefits to the community and electric grid infrastructure surrounding the site;

(xi)    experience completing comparable construction projects;

(xii)   experience in compliance with Federal, State, and local permits and environmental reviews relevant to construction and operation of AI infrastructure or, in the alternative, other evidence of an ability to obtain and comply with such permits or reviews in an efficient manner;

(xiii)  the presence of organizational and management structures to help ensure sound governance of work performed at the site;

(xiv)   the effect of the selection of an applicant on the emergence of an interoperable, competitive AI ecosystem;

(xv)    whether an applicant has already been assigned an opportunity, or is being assigned another opportunity, to build a frontier AI data center on a Federal site through the solicitation process described in this section; and

(xvi)   other considerations of national defense, national security, or the public interest, including economic security, as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy deem appropriate.

(h)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall each develop a framework through which any winning applicants selected under subsection (g) of this section may apply to lease sites respectively identified under subsection (a) of this section, and cleared under subsection (d) of this section, to construct and operate AI infrastructure, and by which the applicants may own the AI infrastructure facilities on those sites, subject to the conditions described in subsections (i)-(x) of this subsection.  To the extent that the Secretaries assess that it is consistent with national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, these frameworks shall allow for winning applicants to cooperate with other appropriate private-sector entities on construction and operation activities, including through contracting and subcontracting relationships, and the frameworks shall not require that parties proposing to own AI infrastructure be identical to those proposing to operate the infrastructure or perform work at the sites on which the infrastructure is located.  Actions taken by Federal entities pursuant to the frameworks shall conform to any applicable requirements of Appendix B of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 and any other appropriate budget-scoring practices; applicable in-kind consideration shall be taken into account in calculating the cost to lessees of any such leases.  As part of the foregoing work, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall, to the extent consistent with their respective authorities and with national defense, national security, or the public interest, as appropriate, require lease or contract terms that accomplish the following:  

(i)     establish a target of the applicant’s beginning construction of a frontier AI data center by January 1, 2026, and commencing full-capacity operation of the AI infrastructure by December 31, 2027, subject to fulfillment of relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, and in a manner consistent with opportunities to operate the infrastructure at or below full capacity at an earlier date;

(ii)    require that, concurrent with operating a frontier AI data center on a Federal site, non-Federal parties constructing, owning, or operating AI infrastructure have procured sufficient new clean power generation resources with capacity value to meet the frontier AI data center’s planned electricity needs, including by providing power that matches the data center’s timing of electricity use on an hourly basis and is deliverable to the data center;

(iii)   clarify that non-Federal parties bear all responsibility for paying any costs that parties to the frameworks described in subsection (h) of this section, as well as transmission providers or transmission organizations or other entities not party to the contract, incur from work pursuant to it, including costs of work performed by agencies to complete necessary environmental reviews, any costs related to the procurement of clean power generation resources and capacity in accordance with subsection (g)(ii) of this section, any costs of decommissioning AI infrastructure on Federal sites, any costs of developing transmission infrastructure needed to serve a frontier AI data center on a Federal site, and the fair market value of leasing and using applicable Federal lands;

(iv)    require adherence to technical standards and guidelines for cyber, supply-chain, and physical security for protecting and controlling any facilities, equipment, devices, systems, data, and other property, including AI model weights, that are developed, acquired, modified, used, or stored at the site or in the course of work performed on the site.  The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Director of the AI Safety Institute (AISI) at NIST, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall identify available standards and guidelines to which adherence shall be required under this subsection.  The identified standards should reflect and incorporate guidelines and best practices developed by the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of NIST, pursuant to Executive Order 14028 of May 12, 2021 (Enhancing United States Cybersecurity), and Executive Order 14110 of November 1, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence).  The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, shall support the ongoing improvement of the framework described in this subsection by developing security guidelines for frontier AI training and operation and, as part of this work, shall comprehensively evaluate the security implications of publicly available AI models that the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, deems globally significant;  

(v)     require that non-Federal parties owning or operating frontier AI data centers sign a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of AISI at NIST, to facilitate collaborative research and evaluations on AI models developed, acquired, modified, run, or stored at the site or in the course of work performed on the site, for the purpose of assessing the national-security or other significant risks of those models;

(vi)    require non-Federal parties to report information about investments or financial capital from any person used or involved in the development (including construction), ownership, or operation of AI infrastructure on the site and in the development, operation, or use of AI models operating in such AI infrastructure, as appropriate to evaluate risks to national security; and require non-Federal parties to limit the involvement in any such activities of, or the use or involvement in any such activities of investments or financial capital from, any person whom the Secretaries of Defense or Energy deem appropriate on national security grounds;

(vii)   require non-Federal parties owning or operating AI data centers on Federal sites to take appropriate steps to advance the objective of harnessing AI, with appropriate safeguards, for purposes of national security, military preparedness, and intelligence operations, including with respect to the objectives and work outlined in NSM-25.  Such steps shall, as consistent with applicable legal authorities, include collaborating with the Federal Government on regularly recurring assessments of the national-security implications of AI models developed on Federal sites, as appropriate.  In addition, as appropriate and consistent with any relevant Federal procurement laws and regulations, the non-Federal parties shall be required to commit to providing access to such models, and critical resources derivative of such models, to the Federal Government for national-security applications at terms at least no less favorable than current market rates, consistent with NSM-25 and the associated Framework to Advance AI Governance and Risk Management in National Security.  To the extent feasible, AI models and resources derived from them shall be developed and provided to the Federal Government in a manner that prevents vendor lock-in and supports interoperability, including as consistent with the measures in section 5 of OMB Memorandum M-24-18;

(viii)  require that non-Federal parties owning or operating frontier AI data centers on Federal sites develop plans to make available computational resources that are not dedicated to supporting frontier AI training, or otherwise allocated under another provision, for commercial use by startups and small firms on nondiscriminatory terms and in a manner that minimizes barriers to interoperability, entry, or exit for users;

(ix)    require non-Federal parties owning or operating AI infrastructure on Federal sites to explore the availability of clean energy resources — such as geothermal power generation resources and thermal storage, long-duration storage paired with clean energy, and carbon capture and sequestration as described in section 3(e) of this order, as well as beneficial uses of waste heat — at any appropriate sites that those parties lease for purposes of constructing frontier AI data centers on Federal sites or procuring power generation capacity to serve these data centers; and

(x)     require AI developers owning and operating frontier AI data centers on Federal sites either to procure, for use in the development of their data centers, an appropriate share (as measured by monetary value) of leading-edge logic semiconductors fabricated in the United States to the maximum extent practicable; or to develop and implement a plan, subject to the respective approval of the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Energy, to qualify leading-edge logic semiconductors fabricated in the United States for use in the developer’s data centers as soon as practicable.  The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall develop any such requirements — including any determinations about amounts of leading-edge logic semiconductors that may be considered “appropriate” — in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce.  

(i)  Within 1 year of the date of this order and consistent with applicable law, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, shall issue regulations that prescribe heightened safeguards to protect computing hardware acquired, developed, stored, or used on any sites on which frontier AI infrastructure is located and that are managed by the Department of Defense, as needed to implement or build upon the objectives of, or the requirements established pursuant to, subsection 4(g)(iv).  The regulations shall include requirements to conform with appropriate high-impact level standards identified through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, and they shall further provide for appropriate penalties consistent with applicable authorities.  No less than annually the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the aforementioned individuals, shall review the need for updates to the regulations, and promulgate any necessary revisions.  The Secretary of Energy shall impose substantively the same requirements with respect to frontier AI infrastructure on sites managed by the Department of Energy, to the extent authorized by law.

(j)  To enable the use — for advancing geothermal power development, including the development of thermal storage — of Federal lands already subject to leases:

(i)   Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a program with personnel dedicated to providing technical assistance for, streamlining, and otherwise advancing direct-use leasing of geothermal projects on BLM lands, including as consistent with the policies set forth in 43 C.F.R. subpart 3205, and leases of geothermal projects on lands subject to mining claims or under an oil and gas lease.

(ii)  When issuing leases and related authorizations for geothermal projects, the Secretary of the Interior shall consider the extent to which the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and other appropriate statutes have been satisfied by prior analyses of the lease area.  

(k)  In performing the work described in section 4 of this order, including as related to the selection and management of sites, the head of each respective Federal agency shall:

(i)    consult, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments), and the Presidential Memorandum of November 30, 2022 (Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation), with Tribal Nations for which such work may have implications or who otherwise request such consultation;

(ii)   seek input from, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law and Administration policies, with State and local governments and other stakeholders and communities for which such work may have implications; and

(iii)  consider taking actions that present the greatest opportunities to support the goals described in Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and A Framework for Action (November 2024).

Sec. 5.  Protecting American Consumers and Communities.  (a)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and the heads of other agencies that the Secretary deems appropriate, shall submit a report to the President on the potential effects of AI data centers on electricity prices for consumers and businesses.  This report shall include electricity-rate-structure best practices for appropriate Federal agencies, State regulators, and transmission providers and transmission organizations to promote procurement of clean energy generation resources as components of AI infrastructure without increasing costs for other customers through cost-allocation processes or other mechanisms — particularly in regions that have or are expected to have high concentrations of AI infrastructure — as well as regional analyses of key data center hubs.  The report shall further account for any existing approaches developed by Federal agencies to engage transmission providers and State regulators regarding electricity prices.  After submitting the report, the Secretary of Energy shall engage appropriate private-sector entities, to include the winning applicants selected under subsection 4(g) of this order, on the report’s findings and recommendations.

(b)  The Secretary of Energy shall provide technical assistance to State public utility commissions to consider rate structures, including clean transition tariffs and any other appropriate structures identified under subsection (a) of this section, to enable new AI infrastructure to use clean energy without causing unnecessary increases in electricity or water prices.

(c)  The Secretary of Energy and the heads of other appropriate agencies as the Secretary of Energy deems appropriate, shall coordinate to expand research-and-development efforts related to AI data center efficiency.  Supported research and development shall cover, as appropriate, efficiency considerations associated with data center buildings, including the data center shell; electrical systems; heating, ventilation, and cooling infrastructure; software; and beneficial use cases for wastewater heat from data center operations.  As part of this work, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Energy shall submit a report to the President identifying appropriate ways that agencies can advance industry-wide data center energy efficiency through research and development, including server consolidation; hardware efficiency; virtualization; optimized cooling and airflow management; and power management, monitoring, and capacity planning.

(d)  In implementing this order with respect to AI infrastructure on Federal sites, the heads of relevant agencies shall prioritize taking appropriate measures to keep electricity costs low for households, consumers, and businesses.

(e)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), shall evaluate best practices for public participation and governmental engagement in the development of potential siting and energy-related infrastructure for data centers, to include practices for seeking input on potential health, safety, and environmental impacts and mitigation measures for nearby communities.  The Director shall present recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, who shall — as feasible and appropriate, and to advance the goals of assuring effective governmental engagement and meaningful public participation — implement and incorporate these recommendations into their siting and related decision-making processes regarding AI infrastructure.

Sec. 6.  Facilitating Electric Grid Interconnections for Federal Sites.  (a)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, for the purpose of supporting any winning applicants of the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall establish requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to report to the Secretary information regarding surplus interconnection service; available transmission capacity for interconnecting generators; opportunities for clean repowering; and proposed, planned, or initiated projects to build clean power generation capacity for which construction is not complete, but which have executed generation interconnection agreements.  Information requested regarding these proposed, planned, or initiated projects shall include the size, location, and generation technology for each such clean power generation project, as well as the status and estimated cost of any transmission upgrades necessary to enable that project’s interconnection consistent with the interconnection agreement.  The Secretary shall facilitate communication, as appropriate, among the owners of such surplus interconnection service, facilities with opportunities for clean repowering, or clean power generator projects and winning applicants to the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order.  The Secretary shall further establish appropriate requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to continue reporting information described in this subsection on an ongoing basis, and in any event no less than annually.

(b)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall identify and communicate, as appropriate, a prioritized list of underutilized points of interconnection that are relevant to AI infrastructure on Federal sites and that demonstrate the highest potential for uses associated with AI infrastructure.  In developing this list, the Secretary shall direct transmission providers and transmission organizations to identify areas of the transmission network best suited to serve as points of interconnection for either data centers or other AI infrastructure that will use electricity from the transmission system — and locations best suited for interconnection of clean generators to serve such data centers — considering criteria such as minimizing the need for transmission upgrades necessary to accommodate such interconnection and access to clean energy generation resources.   

(c)  By June 30, 2025, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and in consultation, as appropriate, with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall engage with transmission providers and transmission organizations owning, operating, or maintaining transmission infrastructure located near Federal sites selected for AI infrastructure to identify any grid upgrades, deployment of advanced transmission technologies such as high-performance conductors or grid-enhancing technologies, operational changes, or other steps expected to be required for extending interconnection services to AI infrastructure by the end of 2027.  Such engagements shall continue as the parties deem appropriate, and they shall prioritize, as appropriate, efforts to enable use of surplus interconnection services, clean repowering, and other methods of accelerated shifts toward clean power and beneficial use of waste heat.  The engagements shall also include consideration of ways that the performance of such work as described in this subsection can most contribute to lower regional electricity prices.

(d)  The Secretary of Energy shall conduct an analysis of currently available transmission infrastructure serving potential sites, and the likely cost and feasibility of, and timeline for, developing additional such infrastructure needed for constructing and operating a frontier AI data center on sites identified under subsection 4(a) of this order, and cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order, including by providing the frontier AI data center with clean energy and capacity.  The Secretary shall identify and collect from transmission providers and transmission organizations information that the Secretary deems necessary for the analysis required under this subsection.  The Secretary shall, as appropriate, treat such information as critical electric infrastructure information.

Sec. 7.  Expeditiously Processing Permits for Federal Sites.  (a)  The heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall prioritize work and exercise all applicable authorities, as appropriate, to expedite the processing of permits and approvals required for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, with the goal of issuing all permits and approvals required for construction by the end of 2025 or as soon as they can be completed consistent with applicable law.  As part of this work, the Permitting Council may provide coordination of permitting for AI infrastructure on Federal sites, as appropriate and to the extent that the relevant developers of AI infrastructure submit a notice of the initiation of a proposed covered project under 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2 and the project is determined to be such a covered project by the Permitting Council.  

(b)  To facilitate expeditious implementation of the requirements under NEPA with respect to Federal sites:

(i)    The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy shall identify, within their respective agencies, personnel dedicated to performing NEPA reviews of projects to construct and operate AI infrastructure on Federal sites.

(ii)   The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy, shall undertake a programmatic environmental review, on a thematic basis, of the environmental effects — and opportunities to mitigate those effects — involved with the construction and operation of AI data centers, as well as of other components of AI infrastructure as the Secretary of Defense deems appropriate.  The review shall conclude, with all appropriate documents published, on the date of the close of the solicitations described in subsection 4(e) of this order, or as soon thereafter as possible.  The review shall, as applicable, incorporate by reference previously developed environmental studies, surveys, and impact analyses, including the analysis described in subsection 4(b)(ii) of this order.

(iii)  After the conclusion of the programmatic review described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the heads of other relevant agencies, as appropriate, shall commence any further environmental reviews that are required under NEPA for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, including by applying any available categorical exclusions.  Such reviews shall, as appropriate, build on or incorporate by reference the programmatic environmental review conducted under subsection (b)(ii) of this section, as well as any other studies, surveys, and impact analyses that the Secretaries deem appropriate.

(c)  To advance expeditious preconstruction permitting and ensure full compliance with air-quality permit requirements for AI infrastructure, the Administrator of the EPA, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, shall:

(i)    within 30 days of the selection of winning applications under subsection 4(g) of this order, engage State and local permitting authorities with jurisdiction over sites selected for AI infrastructure, as appropriate, to enhance relevant authorities’ understanding of the technical characteristics of AI infrastructure projects as relevant to new source reviews under the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., and to enhance the public’s understanding of the same, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of information by AI developers operating on Federal sites regarding best practices for expeditiously obtaining air-quality permits;

(ii)   continue engagements with State and local permitting authorities, and provide technical assistance to AI developers operating on Federal sites, on an ongoing basis and as appropriate, to help advance expeditious conclusion of, and compliance with, new source reviews; and

(iii)  following the acquisition of all preconstruction air-quality permits by developers, take steps to ensure, on an ongoing basis and as appropriate, that AI developers operating on Federal sites adhere to all requirements of operational air-quality permits applicable to their respective projects; that information needed to demonstrate compliance, possibly including air-monitoring data, is made publicly available and regularly updated; and that best practices are identified for air-emissions reduction and air-quality monitoring regarding AI infrastructure on Federal sites.

(d)  To help ensure expeditious permitting or permission processes related to waters of the United States and harbor and river improvements, the Secretary of Defense shall prioritize work, as appropriate, to process applications for permits administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., and to process applications for permission for appropriate projects under section 14 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 408), as consistent with the statutes’ requirements, in order to render determinations on any such permits or permissions associated with AI infrastructure on Federal sites by the end of 2025, or as soon as feasible consistent with statutory requirements.  The Secretary shall, consistent with applicable law, prioritize allocation of resources toward USACE district offices, and direct the allocation of resources within such offices, as needed to comply with this directive.  The Secretary shall further apply all general permits applicable to AI infrastructure where appropriate to promote expeditious permitting on such Federal sites.

(e)  Within 30 days of the selection of any winning applications under subsection 4(g) of this order, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall initiate Tribal consultations as applicable and appropriate based on the sites selected.  Upon receipt of sufficient project information, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall further initiate consultations with the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), to ensure that the construction and operation of AI infrastructure on each site that is identified under subsection 4(a) of this order, cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order, and subsequently chosen as the location for the construction and operation of AI infrastructure pursuant to a winning application under subsection 4(g) of this order are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of a critical habitat of such species.  The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall conclude such consultations with USFWS, to the maximum extent practicable, within 90 days of the initiation of such consultations when feasible and consistent with statutory requirements.

(f)  To advance the development of geothermal energy production and thermal storage, including in support of AI infrastructure on Federal sites:

(i)    Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall undertake a programmatic environmental review, on a thematic basis, of the environmental impacts and associated mitigations involved with the construction and operation of a geothermal power plant.  

(ii)   By the date on which the review described in subsection (f)(i) of this section is completed, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a target cumulative capacity of permitted or operational geothermal projects by a year that the Secretary shall designate.

(iii)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall assess existing categorical exclusions that are listed in the NEPA procedures of other agencies and could apply to actions taken in connection with geothermal energy development.  The Secretary shall propose adopting such categorical exclusions as the Secretary, after consultation with the heads of agencies whose NEPA procedures list the categorical exclusions, deems appropriate, and, after considering all comments received through applicable public comment processes, take any actions to adopt categorical exclusions that are appropriate given the received comments, as consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The Secretary shall prioritize the expeditious permitting of geothermal projects, including the application of any appropriate categorical exclusions adopted under this subsection, on PGZs.  The Secretary shall prioritize work to expeditiously permit geothermal projects on PGZs above the work described in subsection (f)(i) of this section.

(iv)   When issuing leases and related authorizations for geothermal projects on PGZs, the Secretary of the Interior shall fulfill the requirements of NEPA and the Endangered Species Act in a manner that allows for the earliest possible operation of geothermal power plants consistent with applicable law.  

(v)    The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy shall, as appropriate, coordinate to determine and clarify appropriate procedures for the execution of leases or subleases for developing or expanding clean energy generation resources, including geothermal energy generation resources, on withdrawn lands subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy.

Sec. 8.  Ensuring Adequate Transmission Infrastructure for Federal Sites.  (a)  The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior, shall take steps to enable AI infrastructure on Federal sites to have reliable access to transmission facilities adequate for the operation of frontier AI data centers by the end of 2027.  

(b)  To promote any needed upgrades and development of transmission infrastructure that is located on or that is necessary to support Federal sites with AI infrastructure, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of BLM and the Director of USFWS, shall:

(i)   by September 30, 2025, identify and initiate use of all appropriate authorities to construct, finance, facilitate, and plan such upgrades and development, including through the Transmission Infrastructure Program administered by the Western Area Power Administration; and

(ii)  prioritize the allocation of staff and resources for developing transmission infrastructure needed to support AI infrastructure on Federal sites -‑ and in doing so, as appropriate, allocate relevant staff and resources from any component within the Department of Energy for this purpose -‑ consistent with the requirements and objectives of this order and applicable law.

(c)  Because of the importance of frontier AI infrastructure, including transmission capacity, to the defense industrial base, critical infrastructure, and military preparedness:  

(i)   The Secretary of Energy shall consider expected use of frontier AI data centers on Federal sites as part of the Secretary’s triennial study of electric transmission capacity constraints and congestion under section 216(a)(1) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)(1)).

(ii)  Consistent with the requirements of section 216(a)(2) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)(2)), and based on any findings made in future studies of electric transmission capacity constraints and congestion as described in subsection (c)(i) of this section, the Secretary shall consider whether to designate geographic areas around frontier AI infrastructure on Federal sites as national interest electric transmission corridors.  

(d)  The Secretary of Energy shall, as appropriate, help ensure that transmission facilities upgraded or developed to support AI data centers on Federal sites:  

(i)   are designed to support all reasonably foreseeable electric loads, including through the deployment of grid-enhancing technologies, high-performance conductors, and other advanced transmission technologies, including those described in the Department of Energy’s Innovative Grid Deployment Liftoffreport, that will increase the capabilities of the transmission facilities on a timely and cost-effective basis; and

(ii)  conform to conductor efficiency standards or other technical standards or criteria that the Secretary determines will optimize facilities’ performance and cost-effectiveness.

(e)  To improve the timely availability of critical grid equipment for frontier AI infrastructure, such as electrical transformers, circuit breakers, switchgears, and cables, and to protect electricity consumers from exposure to rising equipment prices:  

(i)   Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly consult with domestic suppliers of such technologies on the expected needs of AI infrastructure on Federal sites, suppliers’ current production plans, and opportunities for Government support in helping suppliers meet market demands.

(ii)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall facilitate industry-led convenings on transformers and other critical grid components, which shall include appropriate representatives from agencies, transmission providers and transmission organizations, domestic suppliers of transformers, data center developers, and other private-sector organizations.  On an ongoing basis, the Secretary, after consulting with participants in the industry-led convenings, shall:  

(A)  on at least an annual basis, develop and publish supply and demand forecasts for transformers, including forecasts for different transformer variants and analyses of supply and demand trends under different future scenarios, which shall include scenarios for growth in electricity demand from AI infrastructure and other sources of demand; and

(B)  consider and, as appropriate, execute purchases of transformers and other critical grid components in order to provide demand certainty for domestic manufacturers to invest in capacity for meeting the needs of AI infrastructure.  Any decision to execute such purchases shall be based on economic or other industry data, including the capacity utilization of domestic suppliers of transformers or other components, that the Secretary deems relevant to evaluating the status of the domestic industry.  The Secretary shall subsequently execute sales of any purchased transformers or other critical grid components at times that the Secretary deems appropriate based on such data.  

(f)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall establish requirements for transmission providers and transmission organizations to report to the Secretary transmission-related information to assist in siting and accelerating the interconnection of generation resources to serve frontier AI data centers on sites identified under section 4(a) of this order and cleared under subsection 4(d) of this order.  Such information may include data on transmission congestion to help identify where additional transmission investments could enable the development of additional transmission capacity to serve such AI data centers.

(g)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the heads of agencies that possess loan or loan-guarantee authorities shall evaluate whether any such authorities could be used to support the development of AI infrastructure on Federal sites — including the production of critical grid equipment as described in subsection (e) of this section, or other actions to strengthen the AI infrastructure supply chain.  In cases in which any authorities are available and appropriate for this purpose, the heads of relevant agencies shall provide that information to developers of AI infrastructure on Federal sites or other appropriate private-sector entities.

Sec. 9.  Additional Efforts to Improve Permitting and Power Procurement Nationwide.  (a)  The heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall designate, with respect to each of their component agencies, dedicated staff to handle all matters related to permits and approvals for AI infrastructure.  Such designations shall include personnel dedicated to coordinating with and addressing the needs of applicants for permits under the respective agency’s purview.  In designating such personnel, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall, as appropriate, implement staffing arrangements and other mechanisms that accelerate permitting for AI infrastructure to the maximum extent possible.

(b)  To improve review practices pursuant to NEPA:

(i)    Within 60 days of the date of this order, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies, in coordination with the Chair of CEQ, shall assess existing categorical exclusions and identify opportunities to establish new categorical exclusions to support AI infrastructure on Federal sites, consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The heads of agencies whose NEPA regulations include categorical exclusions related to fiber-optic cables are encouraged, in undertaking these assessments, to evaluate whether such categorical exclusions may be applied to the development of fiber-optic cables as used for AI infrastructure. 

(ii)   Within 120 days of the date of this order, the heads of Federal Permitting Agencies shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, propose any new categorical exclusions and, after considering all comments received through applicable public comment processes, take any actions to establish categorical exclusions that are appropriate given the received comments.

(iii)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, and consistent with the directives described in section 7 of this order, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Energy shall identify any existing categorical exclusions that are listed in the NEPA procedures of other agencies and that are relevant to the development of clean energy, electric transmission, or AI data centers and take any appropriate steps to adopt such categorical exclusions where appropriate and consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.  The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Energy shall take any appropriate steps to adopt and apply such categorical exclusions to AI infrastructure on Federal sites where consistent with the requirements of NEPA and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.

(c)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall issue a request for information on opportunities for accelerated interconnection at existing power plants, including as related to surplus interconnection service and clean repowering.  The request shall seek details on the ownership of such plants with surplus interconnection service and the plants’ suitability for colocation of new clean power generation resources with shared grid access.  

(d)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall issue a request for information from private-sector entities including transmission providers, transmission organizations, and clean energy developers regarding load interconnection processes.  The Secretary shall subsequently engage with transmission providers and transmission organizations regarding best practices to improve the transparency and efficiency of such processes, including through adopting new technologies, software, and procedures.  The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and financial assistance to facilitate such adoption, as appropriate.  The Secretary shall publish a report describing the results of this work within 1 year of the date of this order.

(e)  To promote the expeditious, responsible development of nuclear power generation resources, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall:

(i)    seek to facilitate the deployment of additional nuclear power and, as relevant, supply-chain services on lands owned by, respectively, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy — including Department of Defense installations and sites owned or managed by the Department of Energy National Laboratories — by, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, identifying opportunities for such deployment on specific lands to the extent such opportunities exist and, in the case of the Secretary of Energy only, by evaluating whether financial support for such deployment is appropriate; 

(ii)   within 180 days of the date of this order, coordinate to publish a joint list of ten high-priority sites — or, if fewer than ten appropriate sites exist, as many sites as possible — which may overlap with sites identified and cleared under section 4 of this order, that are most conducive to expeditious, safe, and responsible deployment of additional nuclear power capacity readily available to serve AI data center electricity demand by December 31, 2035, taking into account factors including Federal, State, Tribal, and local ordinances; permitting and other regulatory requirements; water access; climate resilience and natural-hazard risks; and transmission and interconnection dynamics; and

(iii)  within 1 year of the date of this order, publish either a joint plan or their own respective plans describing how each Secretary will facilitate deployment of additional nuclear power capacity as described in this subsection on any such sites.  Any such plan shall address selection of appropriate nuclear reactor technologies; the licensing and permitting of relevant technologies or facilities; the approach that each Secretary would take to ensure the safe and responsible transportation of uranium and any other radioactive material to the site; the approach that each Secretary would take to ensure the safe and responsible storage or disposal of any spent nuclear fuel; remediation of the site after the plant ceases operation as needed; and any other steps necessary to ensure the deployment will protect public health, safety, and the environment, consistent with all applicable legal requirements and the principles of the document entitled Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action (November 2024); and

(iv)   when carrying out actions under this subsection, comply with the directives of section 4(k) of this order.

(f)   Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, shall submit a report to the President on supply chain risks applicable to the United States data center industry.  The report shall include analysis of supply chain risks associated with the materials used to construct and maintain data centers, the electronics necessary to operate a data center, and emerging data center technologies, as well as recommended steps for the Federal Government to take to address identified risks.  The report shall also include analysis on supply chain risks applicable to the generation and transmission infrastructure needed to power AI data centers.  On an ongoing basis, as appropriate, the Secretary of Commerce shall engage with the private sector to identify emerging supply chain risks that have the potential to undermine the success of the United States AI infrastructure industry — with such success defined to include the industry’s commercialization of emerging technologies — and to recommend policy solutions to address identified risks.

(g)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, to promote the expeditious, responsible development and deployment of distributed energy solutions that support the development and operation of AI infrastructure, the Secretary of Energy shall develop model contracts for using distributed energy resources (DERs) to increase the local grid’s capacity to support AI infrastructure.  In developing such contracts, the Secretary shall consider options for cost-effective uses of DERs, including distribution-sited generation resources, energy storage assets, and opportunities for flexible management of electricity demand.  The model contracts shall, as appropriate, include clauses providing for the owners of data centers to finance costs incurred by other entities in developing, installing, and operating DERs, consistent with the objective of utilities accounting for these financing activities when processing data center owners’ interconnection applications.

(h)  By July 31, 2025, the Permitting Council shall engage with developers of AI infrastructure to advance their understanding of resources available under title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (Public Law 114–94) to accelerate permitting processes and reviews for clean energy projects that are part of AI infrastructure on Federal sites.  As part of this work, the Permitting Council, in consultation with the White House Task Force on AI Datacenter Infrastructure announced on October 29, 2024, shall endeavor to engage small developers of AI infrastructure.  

(i)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the USACE, shall, consistent with applicable law, assess existing nationwide permits (NWPs) to determine how they may be applied to facilitate the construction of AI data centers and develop and publish a list of NWPs that could facilitate such construction.  The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the USACE, shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, subsequently establish such new NWPs as expediently as possible.

(j)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall release for public comment draft reporting requirements for AI data centers covering all phases of AI data centers’ development and operation — including material extraction, component fabrication, transportation, construction, operation, recycling, and retirement — regarding embodied greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and excess heat or energy expenditures, as distinct from operational intensity of greenhouse gas emissions.  

(k)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Administrator of the EPA and the Chair of CEQ, shall establish a grand challenge, serving as a call to voluntary action for appropriate private-sector and other stakeholders, for the purpose of:

(i)    setting targets for minimizing the power usage effectiveness ratio and water usage effectiveness ratio of AI data centers, with a goal of bringing the power usage effectiveness ratio of AI data centers on Federal sites below 1.1;

(ii)   promoting best practices for the beneficial use of waste heat and other efforts to maximize efficiency;

(iii)  promoting best practices for data center energy management and sustainable design and operational practices for data centers that avoid or reduce adverse effects on natural and cultural resources and communities, and that protect public health and the environment;

(iv)   raising AI developer and user awareness regarding the comparative energy intensities of different computational tasks; and

(v)    developing best practices and standards for software and algorithmic efficiency.

Sec. 10.  Engagement Abroad.  (a)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the heads of other relevant agencies as the Secretary of State may deem appropriate, shall develop a plan for engaging allies and partners on accelerating the buildout of trusted AI infrastructure around the world.  Such a plan shall include measures to advance collaboration on the global buildout of trusted AI infrastructure; mitigate and prevent harms to local and affected communities; engage the private sector and investor community to identify and mitigate barriers to AI infrastructure investments; support the deployment of commercially available reliable clean power sources and the development and commercialization of emerging clean energy technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors; exchange best practices for permitting, power procurement, and cultivating talent to build, operate, and maintain trusted AI infrastructure; and strengthen cyber, physical, and supply chain security safeguards related to AI infrastructure.  Within 1 year of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs a report on actions taken pursuant to this plan.

(b)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall convene heads of appropriate agencies, to include the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, and the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, to identify and implement actions to facilitate United States exports and engagements abroad related to advanced nuclear technologies and relevant supply-chain services.

Sec. 11.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    January 14, 2025.

The post Executive Order on Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

While representing the United States at the first-ever Global Summit on AI Safety in London, I laid out a vision for the future of artificial intelligence (AI) — a future where AI is used to advance the public interest. In order for that vision to be realized, it is imperative that the United States remain the global leader on AI.

The Executive Order announced today will ensure the United States has the infrastructure — including large-scale data centers and clean power facilities — necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage and safeguard our national security interests. The significant electrical power needs of large-scale AI operations also present a new opportunity for advancing American leadership in clean-energy technology, which will power our future economy. By activating the full force of the federal government to speed up and scale AI operations here in the United States, we are securing our global leadership on AI, which will have a profound impact on our economy, society, and national security for generations to come.

# # #

The post Statement by Vice President Harris on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

While representing the United States at the first-ever Global Summit on AI Safety in London, I laid out a vision for the future of artificial intelligence (AI) — a future where AI is used to advance the public interest. In order for that vision to be realized, it is imperative that the United States remain the global leader on AI.

The Executive Order announced today will ensure the United States has the infrastructure — including large-scale data centers and clean power facilities — necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage and safeguard our national security interests. The significant electrical power needs of large-scale AI operations also present a new opportunity for advancing American leadership in clean-energy technology, which will power our future economy. By activating the full force of the federal government to speed up and scale AI operations here in the United States, we are securing our global leadership on AI, which will have a profound impact on our economy, society, and national security for generations to come.

# # #

The post Statement by Vice President Harris on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

The United States leads the world at the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). Cutting-edge AI will have profound implications for national security and enormous potential to improve Americans’ lives if harnessed responsibly, from helping cure disease to keeping communities safe by mitigating the effects of climate change. However, we cannot take our lead for granted.

We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water.

That is why today, I am signing an historic Executive Order to accelerate the speed at which we build the next generation of AI infrastructure here in America, in a way that enhances economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy.

This Executive Order will direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to lease federal sites where the private sector can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale. These efforts are designed to accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that is responsible and respectful to local communities, and in a way that does not impose any new costs on American families.

These efforts also will help position America to lead the world in clean energy deployment in the context of strategic competition abroad. Some of this new capacity will also be committed for use by small businesses and startups. This renewed partnership between the government and industry will ensure that the United States will continue to lead the age of AI.

President Biden Issues Executive Order to Advance U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure

Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order to secure American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and ensure that the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations—including large-scale data centers and new clean power infrastructure—can be built with speed and scale here in the United States.

Building AI infrastructure in the United States is a national security imperative. As AI’s capabilities grow, so do its implications for Americans’ safety and security. Domestic data centers for training and operating powerful AI models will help the United States facilitate AI’s safe and secure development, harness AI in service of national security, and prevent adversaries from accessing powerful systems to the detriment of our military and national-security. It will also help prevent America from growing dependent on other countries to access powerful AI tools.

Building AI infrastructure is also vital to America’s continued economic competitiveness. AI is poised to have large effects across our economy, including in health care, transportation, education, and beyond, and it is too important to be offshored. In addition, the significant and growing electricity needs of large-scale AI operations present a new opportunity for advancing American leadership in the clean energy technologies that will power the economy. This infrastructure can and must be built without raising costs for American consumers and in ways that support continued progress on commercializing and deploying clean energy.

Today’s Executive Order enables an AI infrastructure buildout that protects national security, enhances competitiveness, powers AI with clean energy, enhances AI safety, keeps prices low for consumers, demonstrates responsible ways to scale new technologies, and promotes a competitive AI ecosystem. As described below, the Executive Order directs agencies to take sweeping steps to accelerate large-scale AI infrastructure development at federal sites, while directing the imposition of key requirements and safeguards on the developers building on these locations.

Accelerating AI Infrastructure Development

The Executive Order directs certain agencies to make federal sites available for AI data centers and new clean power facilities, facilitate this infrastructure’s interconnection to the electric grid, fulfill permitting obligations expeditiously, and advance transmission development around federal sites. To accelerate AI infrastructure development, agencies will leverage their authorities to:

• Lease federal sites owned by the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) to host gigawatt-scale AI data centers. DOD and DOE will select sites where the private sector can build AI data centers and clean power facilities based on those sites’ accessibility to high-capacity transmission infrastructure and minimized adverse effects on communities, the natural environment, and commercial resources. After selecting sites, DOD and DOE will hold competitive solicitations for proposals to lease these sites for building, owning, and operating large-scale AI infrastructure—all at private expense.

• Catalyze deployment of new clean energy generation to support AI infrastructure. Developers selected to build on DOD and DOE sites will be required to bring online sufficient clean energy generation resources to match the full electricity needs of their data centers, consistent with applicable law. To support these efforts, the Department of Interior will identify lands it manages that are suitable for clean energy that can support data centers on DOE and DOD sites, while enhancing permitting processes for geothermal projects. DOE will take further steps to promote distributed energy resources, advance siting of clean generation resources at existing points of interconnection, and support the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy.

• Prioritize full and expeditious permitting of AI infrastructure on federal sites. Agencies will prioritize and dedicate staff toward permitting this infrastructure in a timely manner, and DOD will immediately undertake environmental analyses that will improve the speed and accuracy of future site-specific reviews. Agencies will identify further opportunities to support expeditious permitting at these sites, such as by applying or establishing “categorical exclusions”—the fastest form of review under the National Environmental Policy Act—for infrastructure that does not significantly affect the environment.

• Accelerate transmission development around federal sites. To help ensure the timely operation of AI infrastructure on federal sites, DOE will take appropriate steps to coordinate with developers in constructing, financing, facilitating, and planning the upgrade and development of transmission lines around those sites. To facilitate this work, DOE will also collect information to improve transmission planning in these regions, such as utility data on transmission congestion. Additionally, DOD, DOE, and the Department of Commerce will support producers of transformers and other grid components critical for AI infrastructure—including through appropriate steps to establish equipment reserves—as federal agencies explore loan-guarantee programs to advance AI infrastructure development.

• Facilitate interconnection of AI infrastructure to the electric grid. DOE will engage utilities on their requirements for interconnecting AI infrastructure on federal sites and on opportunities to accelerate interconnection via grid-enhancing technologies, operational changes, and other measures. DOE will also share information about underutilized points interconnection that can serve federal sites and on clean energy projects that have preexisting interconnection approvals but are not yet built.

• Ensure low electricity prices for consumers. Developers selected to build on DOD and DOE sites will be required, consistent with applicable law, to pay all costs of building and operating AI infrastructure so that this development does not raise electricity prices for consumers. Agencies will also complete a study on the effects of all AI data centers on electricity prices, and DOE will provide technical assistance to state public utility commissions regarding electricity tariff designs that can support connecting new large customers with clean energy.

• Advance allies and partners’ development of AI infrastructure. The Department of State will engage allies and partners on steps to build trusted AI infrastructure around the world. This work will support global efforts to advance the development of clean energy technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors; catalyze investment in AI infrastructure; and strengthen data center safety and security.

Lease Obligations for Developers on Federal Sites. The buildout of AI infrastructure must not only advance national security and competitiveness but also support U.S. clean energy leadership, a competitive technology ecosystem, low consumer prices, workers building AI infrastructure, and communities near it. To hold AI developers accountable, the Executive Order outlines certain contractual obligations that DOD and DOE will impose on developers on federal sites, consistent with applicable law. Those obligations include:

• Paying the full cost of building, operating, and maintaining AI infrastructure—including the costs of building new data centers and clean power facilities, transmission development and upgrades.

• Procuring new clean energy generation resources that can be delivered to the data center and that accurately match their electricity and capacity needs. This buildout will prevent electricity price increases and advance U.S. energy leadership.

• Strengthening lab-security requirements and evaluating the national security implications of AI models developed on federal sites.The evaluations will assess models for risks to safety and security, as well as their potential to advance national-security objectives.

• Adhering to high labor standards, promoting positive labor-management relations,and paying workers prevailing wages.

• Purchasing an appropriate share of domestically manufactured semiconductors to help ensure a robust domestic semiconductor supply chain.

###

The post Statement by President Biden on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

The United States leads the world at the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). Cutting-edge AI will have profound implications for national security and enormous potential to improve Americans’ lives if harnessed responsibly, from helping cure disease to keeping communities safe by mitigating the effects of climate change. However, we cannot take our lead for granted.

We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water.

That is why today, I am signing an historic Executive Order to accelerate the speed at which we build the next generation of AI infrastructure here in America, in a way that enhances economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy.

This Executive Order will direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to lease federal sites where the private sector can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale. These efforts are designed to accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that is responsible and respectful to local communities, and in a way that does not impose any new costs on American families.

These efforts also will help position America to lead the world in clean energy deployment in the context of strategic competition abroad. Some of this new capacity will also be committed for use by small businesses and startups. This renewed partnership between the government and industry will ensure that the United States will continue to lead the age of AI.

President Biden Issues Executive Order to Advance U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure

Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order to secure American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and ensure that the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations—including large-scale data centers and new clean power infrastructure—can be built with speed and scale here in the United States.

Building AI infrastructure in the United States is a national security imperative. As AI’s capabilities grow, so do its implications for Americans’ safety and security. Domestic data centers for training and operating powerful AI models will help the United States facilitate AI’s safe and secure development, harness AI in service of national security, and prevent adversaries from accessing powerful systems to the detriment of our military and national-security. It will also help prevent America from growing dependent on other countries to access powerful AI tools.

Building AI infrastructure is also vital to America’s continued economic competitiveness. AI is poised to have large effects across our economy, including in health care, transportation, education, and beyond, and it is too important to be offshored. In addition, the significant and growing electricity needs of large-scale AI operations present a new opportunity for advancing American leadership in the clean energy technologies that will power the economy. This infrastructure can and must be built without raising costs for American consumers and in ways that support continued progress on commercializing and deploying clean energy.

Today’s Executive Order enables an AI infrastructure buildout that protects national security, enhances competitiveness, powers AI with clean energy, enhances AI safety, keeps prices low for consumers, demonstrates responsible ways to scale new technologies, and promotes a competitive AI ecosystem. As described below, the Executive Order directs agencies to take sweeping steps to accelerate large-scale AI infrastructure development at federal sites, while directing the imposition of key requirements and safeguards on the developers building on these locations.

Accelerating AI Infrastructure Development

The Executive Order directs certain agencies to make federal sites available for AI data centers and new clean power facilities, facilitate this infrastructure’s interconnection to the electric grid, fulfill permitting obligations expeditiously, and advance transmission development around federal sites. To accelerate AI infrastructure development, agencies will leverage their authorities to:

• Lease federal sites owned by the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) to host gigawatt-scale AI data centers. DOD and DOE will select sites where the private sector can build AI data centers and clean power facilities based on those sites’ accessibility to high-capacity transmission infrastructure and minimized adverse effects on communities, the natural environment, and commercial resources. After selecting sites, DOD and DOE will hold competitive solicitations for proposals to lease these sites for building, owning, and operating large-scale AI infrastructure—all at private expense.

• Catalyze deployment of new clean energy generation to support AI infrastructure. Developers selected to build on DOD and DOE sites will be required to bring online sufficient clean energy generation resources to match the full electricity needs of their data centers, consistent with applicable law. To support these efforts, the Department of Interior will identify lands it manages that are suitable for clean energy that can support data centers on DOE and DOD sites, while enhancing permitting processes for geothermal projects. DOE will take further steps to promote distributed energy resources, advance siting of clean generation resources at existing points of interconnection, and support the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy.

• Prioritize full and expeditious permitting of AI infrastructure on federal sites. Agencies will prioritize and dedicate staff toward permitting this infrastructure in a timely manner, and DOD will immediately undertake environmental analyses that will improve the speed and accuracy of future site-specific reviews. Agencies will identify further opportunities to support expeditious permitting at these sites, such as by applying or establishing “categorical exclusions”—the fastest form of review under the National Environmental Policy Act—for infrastructure that does not significantly affect the environment.

• Accelerate transmission development around federal sites. To help ensure the timely operation of AI infrastructure on federal sites, DOE will take appropriate steps to coordinate with developers in constructing, financing, facilitating, and planning the upgrade and development of transmission lines around those sites. To facilitate this work, DOE will also collect information to improve transmission planning in these regions, such as utility data on transmission congestion. Additionally, DOD, DOE, and the Department of Commerce will support producers of transformers and other grid components critical for AI infrastructure—including through appropriate steps to establish equipment reserves—as federal agencies explore loan-guarantee programs to advance AI infrastructure development.

• Facilitate interconnection of AI infrastructure to the electric grid. DOE will engage utilities on their requirements for interconnecting AI infrastructure on federal sites and on opportunities to accelerate interconnection via grid-enhancing technologies, operational changes, and other measures. DOE will also share information about underutilized points interconnection that can serve federal sites and on clean energy projects that have preexisting interconnection approvals but are not yet built.

• Ensure low electricity prices for consumers. Developers selected to build on DOD and DOE sites will be required, consistent with applicable law, to pay all costs of building and operating AI infrastructure so that this development does not raise electricity prices for consumers. Agencies will also complete a study on the effects of all AI data centers on electricity prices, and DOE will provide technical assistance to state public utility commissions regarding electricity tariff designs that can support connecting new large customers with clean energy.

• Advance allies and partners’ development of AI infrastructure. The Department of State will engage allies and partners on steps to build trusted AI infrastructure around the world. This work will support global efforts to advance the development of clean energy technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors; catalyze investment in AI infrastructure; and strengthen data center safety and security.

Lease Obligations for Developers on Federal Sites. The buildout of AI infrastructure must not only advance national security and competitiveness but also support U.S. clean energy leadership, a competitive technology ecosystem, low consumer prices, workers building AI infrastructure, and communities near it. To hold AI developers accountable, the Executive Order outlines certain contractual obligations that DOD and DOE will impose on developers on federal sites, consistent with applicable law. Those obligations include:

• Paying the full cost of building, operating, and maintaining AI infrastructure—including the costs of building new data centers and clean power facilities, transmission development and upgrades.

• Procuring new clean energy generation resources that can be delivered to the data center and that accurately match their electricity and capacity needs. This buildout will prevent electricity price increases and advance U.S. energy leadership.

• Strengthening lab-security requirements and evaluating the national security implications of AI models developed on federal sites.The evaluations will assess models for risks to safety and security, as well as their potential to advance national-security objectives.

• Adhering to high labor standards, promoting positive labor-management relations,and paying workers prevailing wages.

• Purchasing an appropriate share of domestically manufactured semiconductors to help ensure a robust domestic semiconductor supply chain.

###

The post Statement by President Biden on the Executive Order on Advancing U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure appeared first on The White House.

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

12:28 P.M. EST

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi. Good afternoon, everyone.

Q Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see everybody.

Today, the president — the Biden-Harris administration is approving student loan relief for more than 150,000 borrowers, bringing the total number of Americans who have had their student debt approved to be canceled by the administration to over 5 million people.

These 150 [150,000] borrowers include almost 85,000 borrowers who attended schools that cheated and defrauded their students; 61,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabil- — disabilities; and 6,100 public servant workers.

This announcement builds on the historic actions our administration has taken to reduce the burden of student debt, hold bad actors accountable, and fight on behalf of students across the country.

Today’s milestone isn’t just a number. It’s life-changing debt relief for 5 million people and their families who now have more breathing room to buy homes, start small businesses, save for retirement, and much more.

Now, turning to the latest in California wildfires, President Biden and Vice President Harris convened their team over the weekend to receive the latest updates on the firefighting and how federal resources are supporting the state and local efforts.

Local, state, and federal firefighters continue their fire suppression and containment efforts across Los Angeles. They are making progress, but, to be clear, the situation remains extremely active — active, especially as winds pick up again.

These firefighters and other emergency personnel are heroes. Many have lost their own homes and belongings and are — and are working day and night to protect communities that remain at risk.

At the president’s direction, hundreds of federal personnel, including aerial and ground support, are in California to assist with fire- — firefighting efforts and to help communities.

Hundreds of firefighters from neighboring states — including Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Texas — have also traveled to Los Angeles to help.

Amidst the devastation, we are also seeing bright pockets of hope and community as neighbors help neighbors by donating food, clothes, coffee, hygiene products, diapers, formula, and much more.

Volunteers are working around the clock to organize donations old and new, and Americans across the country are coming together to help those in need. The best of America shines through even in the darkest moments.

Later this afternoon, the president and the vice president will be briefed by key federal officials. Our administration remains laser-focused on helping those impacted, and we will continue to use every tool available to support the firefighting efforts.

And finally, before I turn it over to — to our national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, I just want to acknowledge April Ryan, who has been covering the White House for 28 years as of today.

Thank you for your service and congratulations on this milestone as one of the longest-serving Black White House correspondents. I always appreciate your —

Q The longest-serving.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Yes, ma’am. (Laughter.)

Q Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Correct. Correction made at the podium.

The longest-serving Black White House correspondent. So, congratulations. We always appreciate your tough questions, our back-and-forths, and your persistence in this room. And so, congratulations.

And with that, I have our national security advisor, Jake Sullivan to speak more about the foreign policy speech today and any of your questions.

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you very much. And good afternoon.

April, congratulations on being the longest-serving — (laughter) — Black White House correspondent. I also appreciate your tough questions, but I especially appreciate your easy questions. (Laughter.) So, if you have any of those today, I’d be happy to take them.

As Karine just noted, later today, President Biden will deliver an address at the State Department on the United States’ position in the world as he hands it off to the incoming administration.

The State Department, as many of you know, is where President Biden delivered his first foreign policy address in February of 2021, and it was a very different world then. We were still in the midst of a devastating health and economic crisis, with our alliances fraying and fragile, and our competitors and adversaries on the march, growing stronger.

And the president spoke at a ti- — at that time about the urgency of meeting the challenges of this world in a period of profound transition and change. The post-Cold War era had ended. The United States was in a contest for what comes next — economically, technologically, and with respect to our values and vision for the world.

A time of change and transition like that has brought geopolitical turbulence, technological disruption, the pressures of an energy transition, and more. We’ve had a lot thrown at us. But as we pass the baton to our successor, the president will report with confidence that America is winning that contest for the future.

If you look around the world today and you ask the question, “Which country is the most dynamic and innovative, the most attractive to partners and friends, the most capable of marshalling solutions to the big challenges we face? Who’s leading the world in technology? Who’s had the strongest economic recovery?” The answer to all of these questions is clear, indisputable, and the same: It’s the United States of America.

So, in his address this afternoon, you’ll hear the president lay this out. And basically, it boils down to a series of simple questions.

Are our alliances stronger? Yes.

Are our adversaries weaker and under greater pressure, even as they align more closely? Yes.

Did we improve our strategic position in the long-term competition with China? And did we do so while stabilizing the relationship so that we’re not tipping over into conflict? Yes.

Did we begin to reverse a long-term trend and revitalize our defense industrial base and diversify our supply chains for critical goods? Yes.

Did we strengthen the engines of American economic and technological power? Yes.

And did we do all of this while keeping America out of war? Yes.

The president fundamentally delivered on his promise to invest in America, including in our manufacturing base, to produce the world’s most advanced semiconductors and other strategic technologies.

In fact, our cutting-edge technologies — AI, biotech, quantum, and others — are the envy of the world.

When the president took office, many of you were writing that China’s economy was on track to surpass America’s economy by the end of the decade or shortly thereafter. Now, on current course and speed, they’re unlikely to ever surpass us.

America’s alliances meanwhile have actually never been stronger in Europe and in Asia. NATO is bigger, more unified, and our allies are stepping up to pay their fair share. Our Asian alliances are more robust and now more tightly linked than at any point in history.

Russia tried to conquer Ukraine, to wipe it off the map. But thanks to Ukrainian bravery and our support, Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine — at enormous cost, with over 700,000 casualties in the war. And Ukraine stands free, Kyiv stands free, and Ukraine will emerge from this war a strong, sovereign, independent nation rooted in the West.

This has been made possible by the unity of the alliance that President Biden built and rallied, and a massive effort led by the United States on a scale not seen since the Second World War to equip a partner with the military capability it needed to defend itself against a brutal invasion by a much bigger neighbor.

Even as we competed fiercely with China, the president actually opened and deepened diplomatic channels with Beijing, including new military-to-military channels that help us manage this competition and prevent it from veering into confrontation or conflict.

In the Middle East, we’ve stood in defense of our friends and we’ve stood up to our enemies.

We built and acted alongside an unprecedented coalition to directly defend Israel in the face of Iranian aggression. Iran is now at the weakest point since 1979.

There is a ceasefire in Lebanon and the possibility of a new political future with a new president. Russia and Iran’s lackey in Syria, Assad, is gone.

And we are now at a pivotal point in the negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. The president spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and just got off the phone with the amir of Qatar. He’ll be speaking soon, also, with President Sisi of Egypt.

We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week. I’m not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make it happen.

Now there are serious and ongoing challenges in the world. The Houthis continue to represent a clear and present danger; ISIS is trying to use the fall of Assad to regenerate after years of sustained pressure and the degradation of its networks; North Korea remains the same menace it has been for many years, across many administrations; China’s cyberattacks are a continuing threat; and more. But we have the capacity and the wherewithal and the friends and allies to meet these challenges.

Finally, there are also important initiatives that the next team should carry forward, in our view, that have a strong bipartisan foundation in order to cement America’s position of strength in the world and our current lead in key areas: the work we’ve started to revitalize our defense industrial base, the steps we’ve taken to protect America’s foundational technologies from being used against us by our competitors, the major global infrastructure initiative that provides a long-term alternative to China’s Belt and Road.

Suffice it to say, it’s been an action-packed four years. But if you take stock of where America stands today, I believe deeply that the incoming administration is starting with a very strong hand.

So, as we pass the baton, we are doing so, thanks to the leadership of President Biden and his team, from a position of profound American confidence and capacity. And when you look around the world, there is no other country that has what we have to bring to both the competition we face and the challenges we need to marshal the world to help solve.

And with that, I’d be happy to take your questions.

Yeah.

Q Thanks for doing this, Jake. With regard to the hostages in Gaza, what is it that you’ve been able to make progress on that makes you feel more confident? And what is it that you still need to figure out how to address to get that deal finalized this week?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, to answer that question, let me just take a step back. President Biden laid out a framework for a cease fire and hostage deal last June. That framework was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council and remains the operative framework for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. It is the deal that the parties right now are working off of to try to close.

So, that broad framework includes the phases. It includes prisoner exchange for hostages. It includes a surge of humanitarian assistance once the guns go quiet, which we will be able to move trucks much more rapidly.

Since June, we’ve had multiple efforts to close the deal. We’ve come close and haven’t been able to get across the line. There have been some details, particularly around the formulas with respect to prisoner releases, formulas around the exact disposition of Israeli forces, and other things along those lines — those details we have been hammering away at week after week, month after month. And now, in the last period, just over the course of the last several weeks, we have accelerated that effort to try to bring this to a close.

I was in Israel in December, and then I was in Qatar and Egypt, and I met with the leaders of all three countries basically to try to help put this on a track to get it across the line.

President Biden sent Brett McGurk out to Qatar more than a week ago. He has been camped out in Doha, day in, day out, 24 hours a day, working to tighten up these details and try to get this done.

We have also coordinated very closely with the incoming administration to present a united message to all the parties, which says it is in the American national security interest — regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming administration — to get this deal done as fast as possible.

And now, we think those details are on the brink of being fully hammered out and the parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal. Whether or not we go from where we are now to actually closing it, the hours and days ahead will tell. But I believe it is there for the taking, and we’re going to do everything we can to push it to get it across the line.

Yeah.

Q Thanks, Jake. Historians, one day, will write the history of the Biden foreign policy and probably end up summarizing it in two to three sentences. How would you write those two to three sentences?

MR. SULLIVAN: I would say that we made our alliances stronger. We made our enemies weaker. We made America’s sources of strength stronger. And we did all of that while keeping America out of war.

Yes.

Q And I didn’t hear you mention Afghanistan in your opening at all. How is that going to be addressed in the speech? How would he explain or defend it at this point?

MR. SULLIVAN: He will address Afghanistan in the speech. And — and it was, in a sense, referenced, because I said we kept America out of war.

In fact, President Biden ended America’s longest war after 20 years. It had been passed from president to president, sending American men and women to fight and die in a foreign land, year after year after year. President Biden was not going to hand that off, and he believes that history will judge his decision to end that war as being the right decision for the United States, that America is better off today, that we are not entering now our 25th year of war of Americans fighting and dying, of billions and billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan.

And what we have been able to do instead is refocus that effort and energy and attention on the challenges of the future.

Now, when you end a war after 20 years, with all of the decisions that have piled up over that time, there are going to be challenges and difficulties. And there were challenges and difficulties in the period of the drawdown.

But people predicted once we left Afghanistan, it would harm our alliances. Our alliances are at historic highs.

They predicted that we would have a safe haven in Afghanistan for plotting terrorist attacks against the American homeland. Terrorism remains a very real concern, but President Biden pointed out before he pulled out that it’s a more defer- — diffuse and metastasized threat, including the kind of homegrown violent extremism that we saw on display in New Orleans in January.

In fact, over the course of these four years, we have seen President Biden — that was the first terrorist attack that has happened on American soil. It was not connected to Afghanistan, as far as we know. It was connected to inspiration from ISIS.

And so, President Biden believes that the decision he took has left America in a profoundly stronger position, and he will explain in his speech today why he thinks that’s the case.

Yeah.

Q Can you talk at all about this unified U.S. approach between your administration and the incoming?

And 40-plus years ago, when President Reagan took over, there was this perception that there had been an intention to deny President Carter the announcement of the U.S. hostages. These are different times, different circumstances, but were there lessons from that or a different approach to try to avoid that kind of a repeat? What is the unity piece?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I — I don’t think that that was primarily the thing on President Biden’s mind when he directed us to start working intensively with the incoming administration.

What was on his mind is we’re in this period of change and transition, and we can’t have anything missed between the cup and the lip in the handoff between our administration and the incoming administration.

So, he told us, he told me, “Sit down with your successor as soon as you possibly can and start working through and mapping out what they need to know and how we can work together in this period of transition to put ourselves in the best position possible.”

And in fact, we’ve seen in the context of the Middle East that we have coordinated on common messaging around the ceasefire in Lebanon, and we are coordinated — very closely coordinated, including with Steve Witkoff and Brett McGurk, around trying to bring this hostage deal to a close.

And it’s because there is a spirit being brought to this work which says: These are not partisan issues; these are American national security issues. And it’s the kind of spirit that President Biden has brought to this job from the very beginning that set the politics aside, do what’s right for the country, and have our team work with the incoming team in that regard.

And I have to say, our coordination thus far, the engagement we’ve had, it’s been professional. It’s been deep and substantive, and yes, we disagree on a lot of things, and I’m sure that in the months ahead, I’ll have my share of criticisms just as Mike Waltz has had his share of criticisms of me.

And this is not about us seeing everything exactly the same way or — or coming at things from the same perspective, but it is about a shared view that a time of transition is a time of risk and that it is critical that we close ranks as Americans to say, “No one can take advantage of us, but we will try to take advantage of every opportunity available to us in this critical period.”

Yeah.

Q Are there any assurances in the latest iteration of what’s being discussed in this hostage and ceasefire deal — deal — are there assurances that the Americans who are alive will be released as part of this phase of releases?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, obviously, we have been focused on ensuring that all of the Americans ultimately come home. That is part of the objective that President Biden set forth. It is part of the phases of this hostage deal that all of the Americans come home.

Now, what they are working through and hammering out are the details of the precise sequencing of people coming out over the course of the — the weeks and months of this deal. That’s getting hammered out as one of the final details, but a paramount priority for President Biden, as for the incoming team, is ensuring that we ultimately get all of the Americans reunited with the families and the remains of those Americans who have tragically passed away are also brought home so that they can get the — the proper burial that they deserve.

Yeah.

Q So, would they be in the first phase?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, like I said, the details of how exactly this is going to play out are being hammered out in the endgame, and I can’t report to you exactly how it will play with each of the Americans.

Yeah.

Q Jake, thanks for being here. So, just real quickly on the Gaza hostage situation, how many of the 98 hostages that are still held are believed to be alive? All 98?

MR. SULLIVAN: I have to give it — refer you to the Israelis, who have been taking the — the lead in terms of characterizing their best assessment, which is combined with our best assessment, of the answer to that question. We have a good sense, we believe, with respect to the Americans, but in terms of that broader universe, particularly the Israeli hostages, they’d be in the best position to answer your question.

Q And, sorry, Jake, I just — I wanted to ask you another question that has to do with the timing and the sequencing of some of the things that the administration has been announcing.

We’ve seen oil prices jump as a result of the tightened sanctions. Was there any — you know, and then we’ve got other things happening now — sort of new restrictions on AI and chips that are all coming in the kind of final days of this administration. Can you say a word to your thinking about the timing and then, also, you know, whether you expect, from where you sit right now, that oil prices are going to stay high and that American consumers will — will, you know, sort of bear the brunt of that decision?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first, remember that when the Ukraine war kicked off — started in those early months in 2022, oil prices spiked way above $100. The price environment for us to put sanctions on Russia’s oil sector at that time would have meant a really significant hit to the American pocketbook and the American consumer. The price environment today is profoundly different.

And you said “spiked.” Actually, oil prices today are significantly lower than they have been, over an average, in the past few years. So, actually, we have just a fundamentally different price environment, and that is the reason for why now, because President Biden was not going to impose sanctions on Russia’s oil sector if it meant an undue burden on American working families.

He does not believe that the action he took places such an undue burden on them, and he believes, as you project out over the course of 2025 on supply and demand, that the oil market is very well supplied, that oil prices will stabilize in a place that does not impose undue burdens on American consumers, and that, on the one hand, we can hit Putin’s pocketbook without, on the other hand, taking too big a whack out of the American people’s pocketbook.

That was not an opportunity available to us one year ago. It is now an opportunity available to us, and that is why the president took this decision.

The other point that I would make is that the new team is setting up for a negotiation. And in a negotiation, you need leverage. And part of that leverage has to come from the kind of economic pressure that makes Putin see he’s going to continue to pay a significant price economically. And so, this is also in service of an effective diplomatic outcome that will produce a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.

Q Did you coordinate that —

MR. SULLIVAN: With respect —

Q I mean, did you coordinate that with the — with the incoming team?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not going to say we coordinated it, but we informed them of what we intended to do, because we are trying to maintain transparency through the transition and share with them the actions that we are taking in advance so that they aren’t surprised by any of them.

That also goes for the AI diffusion rule. Again, not coordinated — and I’m not — I don’t want to suggest that. But we were — we were transparent with them about the steps in that regard.

We have been working on that issue for going on a year now. It is a complicated question, because we’re trying to strike the right balance between ensuring that the frontier of AI stays in the United States of America and our close allies while also ensuring that the rest of the world can benefit from AI and get the hardware that they need to power AI applications going forward.

So, that balance required a huge amount of work and back-and-forth and many principals’ meetings, conversations with the president. It ultimately came together towards the end, but we’ve been telegraphing for some time that this rule was coming, and the key for us was making sure that we had it in place.

But we also set up a hundred-and-twenty-day comment period so that we’re not putting the next administration in a position where they immediately have to start moving out. They can take comments and they can make judgments at that point about what the best way forward is.

We think this is, in a bipartisan spirit, the way to best preserve and protect America’s lead when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Yeah.

Q Thanks. Jake, I have two questions. First, can I go back to something Josh asked at the outset, which is
why you all believe that this ceasefire deal is sort of near — near its ending point — near the finish line? Can you offer some additional specificity about what has changed? Because I feel that we have heard you all express a level of optimism many times at various points over these last several months.

MR. SULLIVAN: I have to go back and check the record about my level of optimism, at least in recent months, because, in fairness to your question, there has been a little bit of a “Lucy and the football” quality where we thought we got really close and then it just didn’t happen.

But I haven’t stood at this podium and said anything particularly optimistic about a hostage deal in quite some time, and that’s because we haven’t been in the position that I find — I think we are in today.

Why is that? It’s because the gaps have fundamentally narrowed on the key issues — the formulas over prisoner exchanges, the formulas over the details of how Israel’s forces will be postured in their pullback in the Gaza Strip, the details over how to conduct the humanitarian surge in the wake of the guns going silent. These things now, on paper — the gaps between the two sides are slowly getting removed, one by one, and issues are closing.

I think there’s a couple of reasons for why this is happening, the biggest one of which is that Israel has achieved its substantial military objectives in Gaza and Hamas has suffered catastrophic losses — military losses — over the course of the conflict. And when you put those two factors together, we believe that the time is ripe to get a deal and to have it close. And our hope is that it will happen here in the near term.

Now, I cannot predict to you it will. I cannot promise you it will. And, you know, if in five days it hasn’t happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that. But I think there’s a good chance we can close this. And I think because of that good chance, we have to use every ounce of our diplomatic effort to try to get it across the finish line, because that would be good for everyone, and it’s also profoundly in the national interests of this country.

Yeah.

Q Thanks, Jake. How do you view Donald Trump’s reelection in the context of President Biden’s foreign policy legacy? And how, in your view, is it not a rejection by voters of the Biden administration’s both world view and its robust engagement with multilateral institutions, which, by your own admission, has been a cornerstone of President Biden’s presidency?

MR. SULLIVAN: Look, I’ll leave it to others to judge the reasons for why the election went the way it did. I — I’m not in a good position to be a political pundit up here, but I do not believe that the evidence bears out that foreign policy or questions of multilateralism were the central driving issue in the outcome of the election.

The American people are complex beings — human beings. We’re all complex beings. So, we can think one thing about inflation and another thing about alliances. And a vote doesn’t mean that it’s a rejection of everything President Biden has done by any stretch of the imagination. So, there will be time for us to sort all of that out.

President Trump will make his own decisions about how he wants to pursue his foreign policy. The question for us is: Are we putting him in the best possible position, where the United States is actually standing with confidence and capacity in the world?

And I think if you look at the health of our alliances, you look at the fact that we are not bogged down in war, you look at the state of our competitors and adversaries, and then you look at these fundamental underlying sources of strength — I mean, whether it’s in manufacturing or it’s in technology or the reversal of the slide in our defense industrial base — these are the things we can give to the incoming team.

What they do with that is fundamentally up to them, and then the American people will judge whether they like that or don’t like that.

We are just going to do the best we can. And then I think when history judges the baton as we pass it off, the hand as we pass it off, I think it will judge that we are leaving things to Trump, in terms of America’s core strengths, better than we found them.

Yeah.

Q Jake, as you wrap up your time as national security advisor, what do you consider to be the greatest geo- — geopolitical threat facing the United States right now?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I — look, I think one way of answering that question is to point to the potential for China’s aggression in the coming years, to point to Russia’s continuing challenge.

But I’m going to answer the question in a little bit of a different way, which is I genuinely believe the most consequential thing happening in the world right now is the scale, pace, and breathtaking speed with which AI is going to transform the global landscape. And it’s either going to work for us or it’s going to work against us. And in order for it to work for us, we have to stay ahead and we have to shape the rules of the road.

The Biden administration put forward the first international set of standards on artificial intelligence, codified by the U.N. General Assembly. There’s more work to be done on that front.

The Biden administration has made the investments to ensure we have the lead in AI right now. But if it’s China, not the United States, determining the future of AI on the planet, I think that is — the stakes of that are just profound.

And so, I hope that the new administration — because this shouldn’t be a partisan issue at all — sees that challenge and that opportunity and seizes it so that it’s America making technology work for us, rather than adversaries make technology work against us.

Q Jake?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q Thank you, Jake. When President Biden spoke at the State Department four years ago, he said that “American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy.”

Now, four years later, President Biden will be leaving office and handing the reins to a man who he has repeatedly characterized as an authoritarian, as a threat to American democracy.

How can you say that, by President Biden’s metric, his administration has met those goals if he’s handing the reins off to someone who he’s described in those terms?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first of all, American democracy includes elections, and there was an election in 2024. President-elect Trump won that election. Unlike in past circumstances, the outgoing administration is not challenging the democratic legitimacy of that victory. President-elect Trump won the election. So, that’s point one.

Point two, you mentioned China and Russia. You know, I’m obviously biased, but I just think an objective read on the situation from when we come into today about the position of the United States in the long-term competition with China — if you look at 2021 and you look at 2025 — we are much better positioned than we were four years ago.

And we are supporting our friends and allies in the same way in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe, as well as elsewhere.

And when you look at what we have rallied to push back against Russia’s desire to remove a major country from the map in Europe, we have said we are going to stand up to Russian aggression in a serious way.

Now, what comes in the period ahead with respect to America’s democratic institutions, the choices of the incoming team, we will have to see. I can’t judge that in advance.

All I can say, again, is what we are giving that team and — and what there is to be able to work with, and that’s what the president will reflect on today.

Q One — one follow-up.

Q Jake?

Q One follow-up, Jake. AP reported recently that the incoming team under Representative Waltz is asking career civil servants, detailees who they voted for in the last election. Is that an appropriate question that civil servants should be asked?

MR. SULLIVAN: I have not heard that directly from Mike Waltz or from anyone on the incoming team, so I’m not going to answer what seems to be speculation in the media.

What I will tell you is this, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart: The National Security Council staff is made up of career professionals, by and large. There’s a small number of political appointees who will leave when this administration leaves, but the overwhelming majority of NSC staff are career professionals from the Defense Department, the intelligence community, the State Department, the Energy Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, across the board. These are patriots. They are people dedicated to the national interests of this country, and they have served without fear or favor for both Democratic and Republican administrations. And many of them have raised their hands to say, “I’m ready to stay and keep serving.”

From my perspective, when we inherited the team from the Trump administration, I said, “I want those patriots. I want those people working for us, regardless of their political affiliation.” The incoming administration will have to make its own decisions.

Yeah.

Q Jake, going back to AI and a couple of other questions. As you’re saying that it’s a huge national security issue, is there a concern about how it does not — AI is — on the national security front, is not accurately depicting or scanning people of color, because we are understanding civil rights groups are very upset about that, how it’s misidentifying. Is that a concern with national security as well?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes, it is. Of course, it’s — if you think about the series of concerns that are raised by the advent of artificial intelligence, they range across economic, military, and social risks. One of those is bias. And there have been a lot of studies to show that bias is a genuine challenge when it comes to artificial intelligence and the ways in which that could undermine social cohesion in the United States and globally; has national security impli- —

Q And terrorism, right?

MR. SULLIVAN: — and — and terrorism — has national security implications and is something that we have to contend with. It is part of the president’s executive order on national — on artificial intelligence, alongside a number of these other risks.

Q And also, two other questions. One on hate. On the national security front, where do you see hate going in the next couple of months, next couple of years, as we’re seeing a change in administrations and a change in attitude?

MR. SULLIVAN: I think hate-fueled violent extremism of multiple stripes is something that when we came into office we saw as a real challenge. And as we leave office, we’ve built a lot of tools to try to prevent and disrupt this kind of violence. And going forward, it remains a ongoing threat, and it takes many different forms.

But I think it’s incumbent upon every leader to try to work on a bipartisan basis, on an American basis, to address their — the root causes of this hate, to try to speak to how we turn our discourse in directions that reduce the oxygen that is given to it. And that’s something that when I leave government, I will personally try to contribute to — to lowering the temperature and to increasing the degree to which people feel that they have a place and do not need to turn to this kind of violence to express themselves.

Q And lastly, Sub-Saharan Africa has a large piece of national security connected to it. During the first term of the then-President Donald Trump, Africa was not on the page. Do you believe that Africa needs to be on the forefront for — when it comes to national security for the incoming administration?

MR. SULLIVAN: Absolutely yes. And I will say that in my conversations with my successor, one of the things that he’s asked a lot of questions about are the investments in infrastructure — physical, digital, energy infrastructure — in Africa; the high-standard investments we’ve tried to stimulate and that have gotten bipartisan support from the Congress. He’s asked a lot of questions about how to carry that forward.

So, my hope is that, in fact, just given the sheer significance and stakes at play with respect to the African continent over the coming years, that that is a priority for the incoming administration.

Q Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: I’ll take one more. Yeah.

Q Thank you, Jake. Our office in Jerusalem is reporting that the hostage deal is imminent, and actually President Trump might go and get the American hostages on his plane. Do you believe that the threat by him of turning the Middle East into an open hell has pushed both Hamas and the Israeli government to deliver this?

And second, what’s your reaction to the election of Lebanon’s new prime minister who is anti-Hezbollah but also he’s a judge on the ICJ that opened a case against Israel for crimes against humanity and war crimes?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, for — on the second question, President Biden had a good conversation with the new Lebanese president, President Aoun. I believe there is a huge opportunity for Lebanon to turn this ceasefire and the degradation of Hezbollah into a new chapter for Lebanon that is brighter and built not on terrorism but on the future.

President Aoun has made his selection of a prime minister. Now it’s up to the parliament in Lebanon to take that forward.

I’m not going to comment here today on the particular selection, other than to say that we believe President Aoun can steward a new chapter for Lebanon, and he’s making his selections of who will be a good partner for him in that regard.

With respect to the question about President Trump and his comments, you know, he’s talked about all hell to pay, all hell breaking loose, and so forth. One — one thing I would observe is that if you’re Hamas, all hell has been breaking loose on you for 14 months. The Israelis have destroyed their military formations, taken out their top leadership, removed their military capabilities in, you know, significant dimensions. So, the Israelis have not been holding back when it comes to going after Hamas, and I’m not quite sure what it would mean to add further military pressure to Hamas beyond what has already happened.

But I do believe that the consequence of all of that degradation is that we are finally at the point, both from Israel’s perspective and Hamas’s perspective, where a deal could come together.

And then, deadlines matter. And trying to drive to do this towards the end of the Biden administration is focusing the minds of people, and we are coordinating closely with the incoming administration to make maximum use of this particular period to get this thing done.

So, I’ll leave it there.

I just will say one last word, which is, this is — I hope this is my last time at this podium — (laughter) — at least for a little while, and I don’t mean that in a negative sense. I mean the only thing that would bring me back is an unexpected event in the next few days, which, as you all know, is totally possible given everything you’ve seen over the course of the past years.

But if it is, in fact, my last time before you, I just want to say thank you for what you guys do every day. And thank you for putting up with me. It’s been an honor to be able to really try to illuminate these issues through tough, probing, and penetrating questioning. And I’ve — can’t say I’ve always enjoyed every moment up here, but I certainly have been privileged to be able to do it. So, thank you guys very much.

Q Thanks, Jake.

Q Thank you.

Q We appreciate you coming. Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, people clapping in the back. (Laughter.)

Thank you, Jake. Thank you for your service, and it’s been a — it’s truly been an honor to serve in this administration with you.

We — I wanted to give Jake as much time as possible. And we do not have a lot of time, because, as you know, the president is going to be heading out to the State Department to give his final speech on foreign policy. So, trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do here. I can take a couple questions, but we are —

AIDE: Two questions.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — we are going to have to end in about —

AIDE: (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, okay. I — I apologize for that.

Go ahead, Josh. Good to see you.

Q Good to see you. I’ll hit you with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hopefully it’s not my last time I’ll see you at the podium.

Q I — I — we can do a separate briefing later.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Don’t put anything out there, please. (Laughs.)

Q True.

Some Republicans are saying that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — wildfire aid should be tied to increasing the debt ceiling. What does the administration make of that? And what are the plans for continuity for people that are wondering about what the next week could hold for them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, look, I’m not going to get into these hypotheticals and potentials of — of policies and what’s going to happen moving forward. We are very much focused on what’s happening on the ground, helping local and state officials. And certainly, we see what the brave firefighters are doing to trying to contain these wildfires, protecting lives and property. And it has been — it has been just amazing to watch this certainly unprecedented event.

And so, what we’re going to do on the federal level, as you’ve heard, this president — we’ve read out calls that he’s done, briefings that he’s done. You’ve sa- — you’ve seen him in person take questions from your colleagues about the federal response here.

And what we want to do is — is ensure that we provide every resource available to firefighters, to first responders.

And so, we will — we will — our commitment right now is to — our commitment is to continue to support the communities on the ground through different disaster assistant programs and federal government — that the federal government could have — could — could certainly provide. And so, that’s our focus.

Not going to get into what it could look like down the road. What we want to do is make sure that we are dealing with this unprecedented — again, unprecedented, horrific, catastrophic moment that we’re seeing Southern California having to deal with.

And we are very appreciative of firefighters, first responders. And — and obviously, the community that we’re seeing on the ground is certainly heartwarming.

Hi.

Q Thank you, Karine. (Laughter.) If I don’t see you again —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — well, you know —

Q — in the briefing, thank you for all what — you could have stopped taking the hard questions years ago, and you didn’t. So, we appreciate that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Over two years, my friend. This is, let’s say, one last dance. Right? I don’t know how I’m going to fill my — my dance card now. How — how will I fill that void without you?

Q Whoo! Wow.

Q You tell me. (Laughter.) You tell me.

So, a wee- —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Start some rumors in here, I guess. (Laughter.)

Q He’s getting red, too. Look at him. (Laughter.)

Q So, a week from now, it’s all over.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Ah, yes.

Q Between next Monday and 2028 —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: 2028?

Q — who’s the leader of the Democratic Party?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, my goodness. Wow. That is — honestly, that is for people much smarter than I to make that assessment, that decision. Obviously, voters will decide. That is not something for me to decide.

I could say right now, in this moment, in this room — as I’m looking at the clock, as it’s counting down, because we have to leave shortly — you have the president, President Joe Biden, who is obviously the president and the leader of the Democratic Party. I do not have a — I cannot predict the future, so that is not something that I’m going to do from here.

Q So, no leader of the party?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s not what I said.

Q Well, it’s not President Biden —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, my gosh. I regret —

Q — and it’s not Vice President —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m regretting this right now.

Q — Harris and there’s no chair of the D- — DNC.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m regretting all of this.

Q So, it’s nobody.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s not what I said. I said that I am — you asked me about what’s 2028 is going to look like between now and 2028. I can’t — or post — post, obviously, this president’s tenure. That’s not for me to decide. That’s not for me to speak to.

I could only speak about the here and now, and that’s why I appreciate this job and what I’m doing right now.

Q And President Biden says that he’s not going to be “out of sight, out of mind.” But isn’t that what voters basically said that they wanted, is him gone?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, this is a president that has served more than 50 years, who has given all of himself, if you will — right? — as a public servant, whether as a senator, as a local elected official, as vice president, and now as president.

I think anybody who has served that long and does it from their heart and soul because they believe this country deserves so much more, they believe that the American people deserve more and has worked day in and day in — out, and certainly as president in the last four years, I think deserves some respect.
And I think he deserves some respect. And so, I’ll leave it there.

Q Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Mary.

Q One quick one on the fires. Obviously, 24 people so far we know of have died in the fires. Has the president reached out or been in touch with any of their families directly?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I — look, our hearts and — our hearts, obviously, go out to the families who have lost a loved one in these devastating fires and certainly the victims and the community out there. It is, again, horrific.

And as you know, and you all have been reporting this, local officials obviously confirmed additional deaths over the weekend. And so, we — the president — I don’t have any calls to read out, as the president has made to — to families.

Right now, the president’s commitment — and you’re going to hear him in a couple of hours when he returns from the State Department where he does wildfire briefing with his team. What we’re trying to do is use every resource available so that we can help the — to — we can help respond and certainly save lives.

And I’m going to let, certainly, Los Angeles County speak to the numbers and how — how the — any information that they may have, I don’t have anything right now to share on any conversations that the president may have done as it relates to families and victims.

But it is devastating, and we’re doing everything that we can to offer up resources on the ground. As you know, we’ve been talking about that.

AIDE: Karine, (inaudible).

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know. One more. Go ahead.

Q Thank you, Karine. There are reports that the Biden an- — administration this week was set to announce Medicare price negotiations. And Bloomberg is now reporting that Eli Lilly has asked the U.S. government to pause its forward march with the drug price negotiations. I was just wondering if you could provide any update to if those rollouts could be coming this week and kind of give an update to what’s going on.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any update to share at this time. Certainly not going to get ahead of any potential announcement that we may have.

As you know, the Inflation Reduction Act was incredibly important in lowering costs for Americans, as we think about — I mean, if you think about, obviously, climate change, it was the — and what we’re seeing with the wildfires, it certainly is the most proactive piece of legislation that we were able to get passed to deal with climate change.

But as you asked me about — about this particular question, look, we were able to beat Medicare. That is something that this president was able to do. Now you see Medicare is able to make negotiations.

I — I think you — you remember, about a year or so ago, Eli Lilly was able to bring down their cost on insulin. A lot of that was because of what this president did on ta- — capping insulin for — for seniors, which was — makes a big deal, makes it — makes it — is a chi- — a life-changing effort for seniors.

And so, look, not going to get ahead on any potential announcement. Don’t have anything to share. But lowering costs on medical — medical prescription drugs, making sure that we make things more affordable for Americans, that is something that the president has put at the center when he talks about his economic policy and, certainly, moving forward. I don’t have anything beyond that.

Guys, I will see you —

Q Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ll be back. I’ll be back. I’ll be seeing —

Q Karine, there’s been a lot of like —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — disinformation and misinformation about the response to the California fires. In the case of the Hurricanes Helene and Milton, there was some finding that Chinese and other foreign countries were amplifying messages or —

Do you have any evidence of that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any evidence to share with you on — on that piece.

But what I will say about misinformation and disinformation: It is incredibly dangerous, as we all know, as we’re trying to provide resources, as we’re trying to — folks on the ground, local officials are trying to make sure that they’re tr- — they’re keeping people safe who are dealing with this wildfires. It gets in the way of that. It puts people’s lives in danger.

And so, certainly, we’re going to continue to call that out. And it is — it is something that needs to stop.

As far as if any entity, countries that are behind that, I can’t speak to that at this time. But certainly, we — we need to continue to call out the misinformation, defirmation [disinformation]. It is dangerous, it puts people’s lives at risk, and it needs to stop.

All right. Thanks, everybody.

Q Thanks, Karine.

Q Thank you.

Q You’ve going to have at least one more this week, right?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. I’ll be back. (Laughter.)

1:17 P.M. EST

The post Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan appeared first on The White House.

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

12:28 P.M. EST

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hi. Good afternoon, everyone.

Q Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good to see everybody.

Today, the president — the Biden-Harris administration is approving student loan relief for more than 150,000 borrowers, bringing the total number of Americans who have had their student debt approved to be canceled by the administration to over 5 million people.

These 150 [150,000] borrowers include almost 85,000 borrowers who attended schools that cheated and defrauded their students; 61,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabil- — disabilities; and 6,100 public servant workers.

This announcement builds on the historic actions our administration has taken to reduce the burden of student debt, hold bad actors accountable, and fight on behalf of students across the country.

Today’s milestone isn’t just a number. It’s life-changing debt relief for 5 million people and their families who now have more breathing room to buy homes, start small businesses, save for retirement, and much more.

Now, turning to the latest in California wildfires, President Biden and Vice President Harris convened their team over the weekend to receive the latest updates on the firefighting and how federal resources are supporting the state and local efforts.

Local, state, and federal firefighters continue their fire suppression and containment efforts across Los Angeles. They are making progress, but, to be clear, the situation remains extremely active — active, especially as winds pick up again.

These firefighters and other emergency personnel are heroes. Many have lost their own homes and belongings and are — and are working day and night to protect communities that remain at risk.

At the president’s direction, hundreds of federal personnel, including aerial and ground support, are in California to assist with fire- — firefighting efforts and to help communities.

Hundreds of firefighters from neighboring states — including Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Texas — have also traveled to Los Angeles to help.

Amidst the devastation, we are also seeing bright pockets of hope and community as neighbors help neighbors by donating food, clothes, coffee, hygiene products, diapers, formula, and much more.

Volunteers are working around the clock to organize donations old and new, and Americans across the country are coming together to help those in need. The best of America shines through even in the darkest moments.

Later this afternoon, the president and the vice president will be briefed by key federal officials. Our administration remains laser-focused on helping those impacted, and we will continue to use every tool available to support the firefighting efforts.

And finally, before I turn it over to — to our national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, I just want to acknowledge April Ryan, who has been covering the White House for 28 years as of today.

Thank you for your service and congratulations on this milestone as one of the longest-serving Black White House correspondents. I always appreciate your —

Q The longest-serving.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Yes, ma’am. (Laughter.)

Q Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Correct. Correction made at the podium.

The longest-serving Black White House correspondent. So, congratulations. We always appreciate your tough questions, our back-and-forths, and your persistence in this room. And so, congratulations.

And with that, I have our national security advisor, Jake Sullivan to speak more about the foreign policy speech today and any of your questions.

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you very much. And good afternoon.

April, congratulations on being the longest-serving — (laughter) — Black White House correspondent. I also appreciate your tough questions, but I especially appreciate your easy questions. (Laughter.) So, if you have any of those today, I’d be happy to take them.

As Karine just noted, later today, President Biden will deliver an address at the State Department on the United States’ position in the world as he hands it off to the incoming administration.

The State Department, as many of you know, is where President Biden delivered his first foreign policy address in February of 2021, and it was a very different world then. We were still in the midst of a devastating health and economic crisis, with our alliances fraying and fragile, and our competitors and adversaries on the march, growing stronger.

And the president spoke at a ti- — at that time about the urgency of meeting the challenges of this world in a period of profound transition and change. The post-Cold War era had ended. The United States was in a contest for what comes next — economically, technologically, and with respect to our values and vision for the world.

A time of change and transition like that has brought geopolitical turbulence, technological disruption, the pressures of an energy transition, and more. We’ve had a lot thrown at us. But as we pass the baton to our successor, the president will report with confidence that America is winning that contest for the future.

If you look around the world today and you ask the question, “Which country is the most dynamic and innovative, the most attractive to partners and friends, the most capable of marshalling solutions to the big challenges we face? Who’s leading the world in technology? Who’s had the strongest economic recovery?” The answer to all of these questions is clear, indisputable, and the same: It’s the United States of America.

So, in his address this afternoon, you’ll hear the president lay this out. And basically, it boils down to a series of simple questions.

Are our alliances stronger? Yes.

Are our adversaries weaker and under greater pressure, even as they align more closely? Yes.

Did we improve our strategic position in the long-term competition with China? And did we do so while stabilizing the relationship so that we’re not tipping over into conflict? Yes.

Did we begin to reverse a long-term trend and revitalize our defense industrial base and diversify our supply chains for critical goods? Yes.

Did we strengthen the engines of American economic and technological power? Yes.

And did we do all of this while keeping America out of war? Yes.

The president fundamentally delivered on his promise to invest in America, including in our manufacturing base, to produce the world’s most advanced semiconductors and other strategic technologies.

In fact, our cutting-edge technologies — AI, biotech, quantum, and others — are the envy of the world.

When the president took office, many of you were writing that China’s economy was on track to surpass America’s economy by the end of the decade or shortly thereafter. Now, on current course and speed, they’re unlikely to ever surpass us.

America’s alliances meanwhile have actually never been stronger in Europe and in Asia. NATO is bigger, more unified, and our allies are stepping up to pay their fair share. Our Asian alliances are more robust and now more tightly linked than at any point in history.

Russia tried to conquer Ukraine, to wipe it off the map. But thanks to Ukrainian bravery and our support, Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine — at enormous cost, with over 700,000 casualties in the war. And Ukraine stands free, Kyiv stands free, and Ukraine will emerge from this war a strong, sovereign, independent nation rooted in the West.

This has been made possible by the unity of the alliance that President Biden built and rallied, and a massive effort led by the United States on a scale not seen since the Second World War to equip a partner with the military capability it needed to defend itself against a brutal invasion by a much bigger neighbor.

Even as we competed fiercely with China, the president actually opened and deepened diplomatic channels with Beijing, including new military-to-military channels that help us manage this competition and prevent it from veering into confrontation or conflict.

In the Middle East, we’ve stood in defense of our friends and we’ve stood up to our enemies.

We built and acted alongside an unprecedented coalition to directly defend Israel in the face of Iranian aggression. Iran is now at the weakest point since 1979.

There is a ceasefire in Lebanon and the possibility of a new political future with a new president. Russia and Iran’s lackey in Syria, Assad, is gone.

And we are now at a pivotal point in the negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. The president spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and just got off the phone with the amir of Qatar. He’ll be speaking soon, also, with President Sisi of Egypt.

We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week. I’m not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make it happen.

Now there are serious and ongoing challenges in the world. The Houthis continue to represent a clear and present danger; ISIS is trying to use the fall of Assad to regenerate after years of sustained pressure and the degradation of its networks; North Korea remains the same menace it has been for many years, across many administrations; China’s cyberattacks are a continuing threat; and more. But we have the capacity and the wherewithal and the friends and allies to meet these challenges.

Finally, there are also important initiatives that the next team should carry forward, in our view, that have a strong bipartisan foundation in order to cement America’s position of strength in the world and our current lead in key areas: the work we’ve started to revitalize our defense industrial base, the steps we’ve taken to protect America’s foundational technologies from being used against us by our competitors, the major global infrastructure initiative that provides a long-term alternative to China’s Belt and Road.

Suffice it to say, it’s been an action-packed four years. But if you take stock of where America stands today, I believe deeply that the incoming administration is starting with a very strong hand.

So, as we pass the baton, we are doing so, thanks to the leadership of President Biden and his team, from a position of profound American confidence and capacity. And when you look around the world, there is no other country that has what we have to bring to both the competition we face and the challenges we need to marshal the world to help solve.

And with that, I’d be happy to take your questions.

Yeah.

Q Thanks for doing this, Jake. With regard to the hostages in Gaza, what is it that you’ve been able to make progress on that makes you feel more confident? And what is it that you still need to figure out how to address to get that deal finalized this week?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, to answer that question, let me just take a step back. President Biden laid out a framework for a cease fire and hostage deal last June. That framework was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council and remains the operative framework for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. It is the deal that the parties right now are working off of to try to close.

So, that broad framework includes the phases. It includes prisoner exchange for hostages. It includes a surge of humanitarian assistance once the guns go quiet, which we will be able to move trucks much more rapidly.

Since June, we’ve had multiple efforts to close the deal. We’ve come close and haven’t been able to get across the line. There have been some details, particularly around the formulas with respect to prisoner releases, formulas around the exact disposition of Israeli forces, and other things along those lines — those details we have been hammering away at week after week, month after month. And now, in the last period, just over the course of the last several weeks, we have accelerated that effort to try to bring this to a close.

I was in Israel in December, and then I was in Qatar and Egypt, and I met with the leaders of all three countries basically to try to help put this on a track to get it across the line.

President Biden sent Brett McGurk out to Qatar more than a week ago. He has been camped out in Doha, day in, day out, 24 hours a day, working to tighten up these details and try to get this done.

We have also coordinated very closely with the incoming administration to present a united message to all the parties, which says it is in the American national security interest — regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming administration — to get this deal done as fast as possible.

And now, we think those details are on the brink of being fully hammered out and the parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal. Whether or not we go from where we are now to actually closing it, the hours and days ahead will tell. But I believe it is there for the taking, and we’re going to do everything we can to push it to get it across the line.

Yeah.

Q Thanks, Jake. Historians, one day, will write the history of the Biden foreign policy and probably end up summarizing it in two to three sentences. How would you write those two to three sentences?

MR. SULLIVAN: I would say that we made our alliances stronger. We made our enemies weaker. We made America’s sources of strength stronger. And we did all of that while keeping America out of war.

Yes.

Q And I didn’t hear you mention Afghanistan in your opening at all. How is that going to be addressed in the speech? How would he explain or defend it at this point?

MR. SULLIVAN: He will address Afghanistan in the speech. And — and it was, in a sense, referenced, because I said we kept America out of war.

In fact, President Biden ended America’s longest war after 20 years. It had been passed from president to president, sending American men and women to fight and die in a foreign land, year after year after year. President Biden was not going to hand that off, and he believes that history will judge his decision to end that war as being the right decision for the United States, that America is better off today, that we are not entering now our 25th year of war of Americans fighting and dying, of billions and billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan.

And what we have been able to do instead is refocus that effort and energy and attention on the challenges of the future.

Now, when you end a war after 20 years, with all of the decisions that have piled up over that time, there are going to be challenges and difficulties. And there were challenges and difficulties in the period of the drawdown.

But people predicted once we left Afghanistan, it would harm our alliances. Our alliances are at historic highs.

They predicted that we would have a safe haven in Afghanistan for plotting terrorist attacks against the American homeland. Terrorism remains a very real concern, but President Biden pointed out before he pulled out that it’s a more defer- — diffuse and metastasized threat, including the kind of homegrown violent extremism that we saw on display in New Orleans in January.

In fact, over the course of these four years, we have seen President Biden — that was the first terrorist attack that has happened on American soil. It was not connected to Afghanistan, as far as we know. It was connected to inspiration from ISIS.

And so, President Biden believes that the decision he took has left America in a profoundly stronger position, and he will explain in his speech today why he thinks that’s the case.

Yeah.

Q Can you talk at all about this unified U.S. approach between your administration and the incoming?

And 40-plus years ago, when President Reagan took over, there was this perception that there had been an intention to deny President Carter the announcement of the U.S. hostages. These are different times, different circumstances, but were there lessons from that or a different approach to try to avoid that kind of a repeat? What is the unity piece?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I — I don’t think that that was primarily the thing on President Biden’s mind when he directed us to start working intensively with the incoming administration.

What was on his mind is we’re in this period of change and transition, and we can’t have anything missed between the cup and the lip in the handoff between our administration and the incoming administration.

So, he told us, he told me, “Sit down with your successor as soon as you possibly can and start working through and mapping out what they need to know and how we can work together in this period of transition to put ourselves in the best position possible.”

And in fact, we’ve seen in the context of the Middle East that we have coordinated on common messaging around the ceasefire in Lebanon, and we are coordinated — very closely coordinated, including with Steve Witkoff and Brett McGurk, around trying to bring this hostage deal to a close.

And it’s because there is a spirit being brought to this work which says: These are not partisan issues; these are American national security issues. And it’s the kind of spirit that President Biden has brought to this job from the very beginning that set the politics aside, do what’s right for the country, and have our team work with the incoming team in that regard.

And I have to say, our coordination thus far, the engagement we’ve had, it’s been professional. It’s been deep and substantive, and yes, we disagree on a lot of things, and I’m sure that in the months ahead, I’ll have my share of criticisms just as Mike Waltz has had his share of criticisms of me.

And this is not about us seeing everything exactly the same way or — or coming at things from the same perspective, but it is about a shared view that a time of transition is a time of risk and that it is critical that we close ranks as Americans to say, “No one can take advantage of us, but we will try to take advantage of every opportunity available to us in this critical period.”

Yeah.

Q Are there any assurances in the latest iteration of what’s being discussed in this hostage and ceasefire deal — deal — are there assurances that the Americans who are alive will be released as part of this phase of releases?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, obviously, we have been focused on ensuring that all of the Americans ultimately come home. That is part of the objective that President Biden set forth. It is part of the phases of this hostage deal that all of the Americans come home.

Now, what they are working through and hammering out are the details of the precise sequencing of people coming out over the course of the — the weeks and months of this deal. That’s getting hammered out as one of the final details, but a paramount priority for President Biden, as for the incoming team, is ensuring that we ultimately get all of the Americans reunited with the families and the remains of those Americans who have tragically passed away are also brought home so that they can get the — the proper burial that they deserve.

Yeah.

Q So, would they be in the first phase?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, like I said, the details of how exactly this is going to play out are being hammered out in the endgame, and I can’t report to you exactly how it will play with each of the Americans.

Yeah.

Q Jake, thanks for being here. So, just real quickly on the Gaza hostage situation, how many of the 98 hostages that are still held are believed to be alive? All 98?

MR. SULLIVAN: I have to give it — refer you to the Israelis, who have been taking the — the lead in terms of characterizing their best assessment, which is combined with our best assessment, of the answer to that question. We have a good sense, we believe, with respect to the Americans, but in terms of that broader universe, particularly the Israeli hostages, they’d be in the best position to answer your question.

Q And, sorry, Jake, I just — I wanted to ask you another question that has to do with the timing and the sequencing of some of the things that the administration has been announcing.

We’ve seen oil prices jump as a result of the tightened sanctions. Was there any — you know, and then we’ve got other things happening now — sort of new restrictions on AI and chips that are all coming in the kind of final days of this administration. Can you say a word to your thinking about the timing and then, also, you know, whether you expect, from where you sit right now, that oil prices are going to stay high and that American consumers will — will, you know, sort of bear the brunt of that decision?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first, remember that when the Ukraine war kicked off — started in those early months in 2022, oil prices spiked way above $100. The price environment for us to put sanctions on Russia’s oil sector at that time would have meant a really significant hit to the American pocketbook and the American consumer. The price environment today is profoundly different.

And you said “spiked.” Actually, oil prices today are significantly lower than they have been, over an average, in the past few years. So, actually, we have just a fundamentally different price environment, and that is the reason for why now, because President Biden was not going to impose sanctions on Russia’s oil sector if it meant an undue burden on American working families.

He does not believe that the action he took places such an undue burden on them, and he believes, as you project out over the course of 2025 on supply and demand, that the oil market is very well supplied, that oil prices will stabilize in a place that does not impose undue burdens on American consumers, and that, on the one hand, we can hit Putin’s pocketbook without, on the other hand, taking too big a whack out of the American people’s pocketbook.

That was not an opportunity available to us one year ago. It is now an opportunity available to us, and that is why the president took this decision.

The other point that I would make is that the new team is setting up for a negotiation. And in a negotiation, you need leverage. And part of that leverage has to come from the kind of economic pressure that makes Putin see he’s going to continue to pay a significant price economically. And so, this is also in service of an effective diplomatic outcome that will produce a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.

Q Did you coordinate that —

MR. SULLIVAN: With respect —

Q I mean, did you coordinate that with the — with the incoming team?

MR. SULLIVAN: I’m not going to say we coordinated it, but we informed them of what we intended to do, because we are trying to maintain transparency through the transition and share with them the actions that we are taking in advance so that they aren’t surprised by any of them.

That also goes for the AI diffusion rule. Again, not coordinated — and I’m not — I don’t want to suggest that. But we were — we were transparent with them about the steps in that regard.

We have been working on that issue for going on a year now. It is a complicated question, because we’re trying to strike the right balance between ensuring that the frontier of AI stays in the United States of America and our close allies while also ensuring that the rest of the world can benefit from AI and get the hardware that they need to power AI applications going forward.

So, that balance required a huge amount of work and back-and-forth and many principals’ meetings, conversations with the president. It ultimately came together towards the end, but we’ve been telegraphing for some time that this rule was coming, and the key for us was making sure that we had it in place.

But we also set up a hundred-and-twenty-day comment period so that we’re not putting the next administration in a position where they immediately have to start moving out. They can take comments and they can make judgments at that point about what the best way forward is.

We think this is, in a bipartisan spirit, the way to best preserve and protect America’s lead when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Yeah.

Q Thanks. Jake, I have two questions. First, can I go back to something Josh asked at the outset, which is
why you all believe that this ceasefire deal is sort of near — near its ending point — near the finish line? Can you offer some additional specificity about what has changed? Because I feel that we have heard you all express a level of optimism many times at various points over these last several months.

MR. SULLIVAN: I have to go back and check the record about my level of optimism, at least in recent months, because, in fairness to your question, there has been a little bit of a “Lucy and the football” quality where we thought we got really close and then it just didn’t happen.

But I haven’t stood at this podium and said anything particularly optimistic about a hostage deal in quite some time, and that’s because we haven’t been in the position that I find — I think we are in today.

Why is that? It’s because the gaps have fundamentally narrowed on the key issues — the formulas over prisoner exchanges, the formulas over the details of how Israel’s forces will be postured in their pullback in the Gaza Strip, the details over how to conduct the humanitarian surge in the wake of the guns going silent. These things now, on paper — the gaps between the two sides are slowly getting removed, one by one, and issues are closing.

I think there’s a couple of reasons for why this is happening, the biggest one of which is that Israel has achieved its substantial military objectives in Gaza and Hamas has suffered catastrophic losses — military losses — over the course of the conflict. And when you put those two factors together, we believe that the time is ripe to get a deal and to have it close. And our hope is that it will happen here in the near term.

Now, I cannot predict to you it will. I cannot promise you it will. And, you know, if in five days it hasn’t happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that. But I think there’s a good chance we can close this. And I think because of that good chance, we have to use every ounce of our diplomatic effort to try to get it across the finish line, because that would be good for everyone, and it’s also profoundly in the national interests of this country.

Yeah.

Q Thanks, Jake. How do you view Donald Trump’s reelection in the context of President Biden’s foreign policy legacy? And how, in your view, is it not a rejection by voters of the Biden administration’s both world view and its robust engagement with multilateral institutions, which, by your own admission, has been a cornerstone of President Biden’s presidency?

MR. SULLIVAN: Look, I’ll leave it to others to judge the reasons for why the election went the way it did. I — I’m not in a good position to be a political pundit up here, but I do not believe that the evidence bears out that foreign policy or questions of multilateralism were the central driving issue in the outcome of the election.

The American people are complex beings — human beings. We’re all complex beings. So, we can think one thing about inflation and another thing about alliances. And a vote doesn’t mean that it’s a rejection of everything President Biden has done by any stretch of the imagination. So, there will be time for us to sort all of that out.

President Trump will make his own decisions about how he wants to pursue his foreign policy. The question for us is: Are we putting him in the best possible position, where the United States is actually standing with confidence and capacity in the world?

And I think if you look at the health of our alliances, you look at the fact that we are not bogged down in war, you look at the state of our competitors and adversaries, and then you look at these fundamental underlying sources of strength — I mean, whether it’s in manufacturing or it’s in technology or the reversal of the slide in our defense industrial base — these are the things we can give to the incoming team.

What they do with that is fundamentally up to them, and then the American people will judge whether they like that or don’t like that.

We are just going to do the best we can. And then I think when history judges the baton as we pass it off, the hand as we pass it off, I think it will judge that we are leaving things to Trump, in terms of America’s core strengths, better than we found them.

Yeah.

Q Jake, as you wrap up your time as national security advisor, what do you consider to be the greatest geo- — geopolitical threat facing the United States right now?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, I — look, I think one way of answering that question is to point to the potential for China’s aggression in the coming years, to point to Russia’s continuing challenge.

But I’m going to answer the question in a little bit of a different way, which is I genuinely believe the most consequential thing happening in the world right now is the scale, pace, and breathtaking speed with which AI is going to transform the global landscape. And it’s either going to work for us or it’s going to work against us. And in order for it to work for us, we have to stay ahead and we have to shape the rules of the road.

The Biden administration put forward the first international set of standards on artificial intelligence, codified by the U.N. General Assembly. There’s more work to be done on that front.

The Biden administration has made the investments to ensure we have the lead in AI right now. But if it’s China, not the United States, determining the future of AI on the planet, I think that is — the stakes of that are just profound.

And so, I hope that the new administration — because this shouldn’t be a partisan issue at all — sees that challenge and that opportunity and seizes it so that it’s America making technology work for us, rather than adversaries make technology work against us.

Q Jake?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q Thank you, Jake. When President Biden spoke at the State Department four years ago, he said that “American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy.”

Now, four years later, President Biden will be leaving office and handing the reins to a man who he has repeatedly characterized as an authoritarian, as a threat to American democracy.

How can you say that, by President Biden’s metric, his administration has met those goals if he’s handing the reins off to someone who he’s described in those terms?

MR. SULLIVAN: Well, first of all, American democracy includes elections, and there was an election in 2024. President-elect Trump won that election. Unlike in past circumstances, the outgoing administration is not challenging the democratic legitimacy of that victory. President-elect Trump won the election. So, that’s point one.

Point two, you mentioned China and Russia. You know, I’m obviously biased, but I just think an objective read on the situation from when we come into today about the position of the United States in the long-term competition with China — if you look at 2021 and you look at 2025 — we are much better positioned than we were four years ago.

And we are supporting our friends and allies in the same way in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe, as well as elsewhere.

And when you look at what we have rallied to push back against Russia’s desire to remove a major country from the map in Europe, we have said we are going to stand up to Russian aggression in a serious way.

Now, what comes in the period ahead with respect to America’s democratic institutions, the choices of the incoming team, we will have to see. I can’t judge that in advance.

All I can say, again, is what we are giving that team and — and what there is to be able to work with, and that’s what the president will reflect on today.

Q One — one follow-up.

Q Jake?

Q One follow-up, Jake. AP reported recently that the incoming team under Representative Waltz is asking career civil servants, detailees who they voted for in the last election. Is that an appropriate question that civil servants should be asked?

MR. SULLIVAN: I have not heard that directly from Mike Waltz or from anyone on the incoming team, so I’m not going to answer what seems to be speculation in the media.

What I will tell you is this, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart: The National Security Council staff is made up of career professionals, by and large. There’s a small number of political appointees who will leave when this administration leaves, but the overwhelming majority of NSC staff are career professionals from the Defense Department, the intelligence community, the State Department, the Energy Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, across the board. These are patriots. They are people dedicated to the national interests of this country, and they have served without fear or favor for both Democratic and Republican administrations. And many of them have raised their hands to say, “I’m ready to stay and keep serving.”

From my perspective, when we inherited the team from the Trump administration, I said, “I want those patriots. I want those people working for us, regardless of their political affiliation.” The incoming administration will have to make its own decisions.

Yeah.

Q Jake, going back to AI and a couple of other questions. As you’re saying that it’s a huge national security issue, is there a concern about how it does not — AI is — on the national security front, is not accurately depicting or scanning people of color, because we are understanding civil rights groups are very upset about that, how it’s misidentifying. Is that a concern with national security as well?

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes, it is. Of course, it’s — if you think about the series of concerns that are raised by the advent of artificial intelligence, they range across economic, military, and social risks. One of those is bias. And there have been a lot of studies to show that bias is a genuine challenge when it comes to artificial intelligence and the ways in which that could undermine social cohesion in the United States and globally; has national security impli- —

Q And terrorism, right?

MR. SULLIVAN: — and — and terrorism — has national security implications and is something that we have to contend with. It is part of the president’s executive order on national — on artificial intelligence, alongside a number of these other risks.

Q And also, two other questions. One on hate. On the national security front, where do you see hate going in the next couple of months, next couple of years, as we’re seeing a change in administrations and a change in attitude?

MR. SULLIVAN: I think hate-fueled violent extremism of multiple stripes is something that when we came into office we saw as a real challenge. And as we leave office, we’ve built a lot of tools to try to prevent and disrupt this kind of violence. And going forward, it remains a ongoing threat, and it takes many different forms.

But I think it’s incumbent upon every leader to try to work on a bipartisan basis, on an American basis, to address their — the root causes of this hate, to try to speak to how we turn our discourse in directions that reduce the oxygen that is given to it. And that’s something that when I leave government, I will personally try to contribute to — to lowering the temperature and to increasing the degree to which people feel that they have a place and do not need to turn to this kind of violence to express themselves.

Q And lastly, Sub-Saharan Africa has a large piece of national security connected to it. During the first term of the then-President Donald Trump, Africa was not on the page. Do you believe that Africa needs to be on the forefront for — when it comes to national security for the incoming administration?

MR. SULLIVAN: Absolutely yes. And I will say that in my conversations with my successor, one of the things that he’s asked a lot of questions about are the investments in infrastructure — physical, digital, energy infrastructure — in Africa; the high-standard investments we’ve tried to stimulate and that have gotten bipartisan support from the Congress. He’s asked a lot of questions about how to carry that forward.

So, my hope is that, in fact, just given the sheer significance and stakes at play with respect to the African continent over the coming years, that that is a priority for the incoming administration.

Q Thank you.

MR. SULLIVAN: I’ll take one more. Yeah.

Q Thank you, Jake. Our office in Jerusalem is reporting that the hostage deal is imminent, and actually President Trump might go and get the American hostages on his plane. Do you believe that the threat by him of turning the Middle East into an open hell has pushed both Hamas and the Israeli government to deliver this?

And second, what’s your reaction to the election of Lebanon’s new prime minister who is anti-Hezbollah but also he’s a judge on the ICJ that opened a case against Israel for crimes against humanity and war crimes?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, for — on the second question, President Biden had a good conversation with the new Lebanese president, President Aoun. I believe there is a huge opportunity for Lebanon to turn this ceasefire and the degradation of Hezbollah into a new chapter for Lebanon that is brighter and built not on terrorism but on the future.

President Aoun has made his selection of a prime minister. Now it’s up to the parliament in Lebanon to take that forward.

I’m not going to comment here today on the particular selection, other than to say that we believe President Aoun can steward a new chapter for Lebanon, and he’s making his selections of who will be a good partner for him in that regard.

With respect to the question about President Trump and his comments, you know, he’s talked about all hell to pay, all hell breaking loose, and so forth. One — one thing I would observe is that if you’re Hamas, all hell has been breaking loose on you for 14 months. The Israelis have destroyed their military formations, taken out their top leadership, removed their military capabilities in, you know, significant dimensions. So, the Israelis have not been holding back when it comes to going after Hamas, and I’m not quite sure what it would mean to add further military pressure to Hamas beyond what has already happened.

But I do believe that the consequence of all of that degradation is that we are finally at the point, both from Israel’s perspective and Hamas’s perspective, where a deal could come together.

And then, deadlines matter. And trying to drive to do this towards the end of the Biden administration is focusing the minds of people, and we are coordinating closely with the incoming administration to make maximum use of this particular period to get this thing done.

So, I’ll leave it there.

I just will say one last word, which is, this is — I hope this is my last time at this podium — (laughter) — at least for a little while, and I don’t mean that in a negative sense. I mean the only thing that would bring me back is an unexpected event in the next few days, which, as you all know, is totally possible given everything you’ve seen over the course of the past years.

But if it is, in fact, my last time before you, I just want to say thank you for what you guys do every day. And thank you for putting up with me. It’s been an honor to be able to really try to illuminate these issues through tough, probing, and penetrating questioning. And I’ve — can’t say I’ve always enjoyed every moment up here, but I certainly have been privileged to be able to do it. So, thank you guys very much.

Q Thanks, Jake.

Q Thank you.

Q We appreciate you coming. Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, people clapping in the back. (Laughter.)

Thank you, Jake. Thank you for your service, and it’s been a — it’s truly been an honor to serve in this administration with you.

We — I wanted to give Jake as much time as possible. And we do not have a lot of time, because, as you know, the president is going to be heading out to the State Department to give his final speech on foreign policy. So, trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do here. I can take a couple questions, but we are —

AIDE: Two questions.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — we are going to have to end in about —

AIDE: (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, okay. I — I apologize for that.

Go ahead, Josh. Good to see you.

Q Good to see you. I’ll hit you with —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hopefully it’s not my last time I’ll see you at the podium.

Q I — I — we can do a separate briefing later.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Don’t put anything out there, please. (Laughs.)

Q True.

Some Republicans are saying that —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — wildfire aid should be tied to increasing the debt ceiling. What does the administration make of that? And what are the plans for continuity for people that are wondering about what the next week could hold for them?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. So, look, I’m not going to get into these hypotheticals and potentials of — of policies and what’s going to happen moving forward. We are very much focused on what’s happening on the ground, helping local and state officials. And certainly, we see what the brave firefighters are doing to trying to contain these wildfires, protecting lives and property. And it has been — it has been just amazing to watch this certainly unprecedented event.

And so, what we’re going to do on the federal level, as you’ve heard, this president — we’ve read out calls that he’s done, briefings that he’s done. You’ve sa- — you’ve seen him in person take questions from your colleagues about the federal response here.

And what we want to do is — is ensure that we provide every resource available to firefighters, to first responders.

And so, we will — we will — our commitment right now is to — our commitment is to continue to support the communities on the ground through different disaster assistant programs and federal government — that the federal government could have — could — could certainly provide. And so, that’s our focus.

Not going to get into what it could look like down the road. What we want to do is make sure that we are dealing with this unprecedented — again, unprecedented, horrific, catastrophic moment that we’re seeing Southern California having to deal with.

And we are very appreciative of firefighters, first responders. And — and obviously, the community that we’re seeing on the ground is certainly heartwarming.

Hi.

Q Thank you, Karine. (Laughter.) If I don’t see you again —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — well, you know —

Q — in the briefing, thank you for all what — you could have stopped taking the hard questions years ago, and you didn’t. So, we appreciate that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Over two years, my friend. This is, let’s say, one last dance. Right? I don’t know how I’m going to fill my — my dance card now. How — how will I fill that void without you?

Q Whoo! Wow.

Q You tell me. (Laughter.) You tell me.

So, a wee- —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Start some rumors in here, I guess. (Laughter.)

Q He’s getting red, too. Look at him. (Laughter.)

Q So, a week from now, it’s all over.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Ah, yes.

Q Between next Monday and 2028 —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: 2028?

Q — who’s the leader of the Democratic Party?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, my goodness. Wow. That is — honestly, that is for people much smarter than I to make that assessment, that decision. Obviously, voters will decide. That is not something for me to decide.

I could say right now, in this moment, in this room — as I’m looking at the clock, as it’s counting down, because we have to leave shortly — you have the president, President Joe Biden, who is obviously the president and the leader of the Democratic Party. I do not have a — I cannot predict the future, so that is not something that I’m going to do from here.

Q So, no leader of the party?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s not what I said.

Q Well, it’s not President Biden —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, my gosh. I regret —

Q — and it’s not Vice President —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m regretting this right now.

Q — Harris and there’s no chair of the D- — DNC.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m regretting all of this.

Q So, it’s nobody.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s not what I said. I said that I am — you asked me about what’s 2028 is going to look like between now and 2028. I can’t — or post — post, obviously, this president’s tenure. That’s not for me to decide. That’s not for me to speak to.

I could only speak about the here and now, and that’s why I appreciate this job and what I’m doing right now.

Q And President Biden says that he’s not going to be “out of sight, out of mind.” But isn’t that what voters basically said that they wanted, is him gone?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, this is a president that has served more than 50 years, who has given all of himself, if you will — right? — as a public servant, whether as a senator, as a local elected official, as vice president, and now as president.

I think anybody who has served that long and does it from their heart and soul because they believe this country deserves so much more, they believe that the American people deserve more and has worked day in and day in — out, and certainly as president in the last four years, I think deserves some respect.
And I think he deserves some respect. And so, I’ll leave it there.

Q Thanks, Karine.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Mary.

Q One quick one on the fires. Obviously, 24 people so far we know of have died in the fires. Has the president reached out or been in touch with any of their families directly?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I — look, our hearts and — our hearts, obviously, go out to the families who have lost a loved one in these devastating fires and certainly the victims and the community out there. It is, again, horrific.

And as you know, and you all have been reporting this, local officials obviously confirmed additional deaths over the weekend. And so, we — the president — I don’t have any calls to read out, as the president has made to — to families.

Right now, the president’s commitment — and you’re going to hear him in a couple of hours when he returns from the State Department where he does wildfire briefing with his team. What we’re trying to do is use every resource available so that we can help the — to — we can help respond and certainly save lives.

And I’m going to let, certainly, Los Angeles County speak to the numbers and how — how the — any information that they may have, I don’t have anything right now to share on any conversations that the president may have done as it relates to families and victims.

But it is devastating, and we’re doing everything that we can to offer up resources on the ground. As you know, we’ve been talking about that.

AIDE: Karine, (inaudible).

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I know. One more. Go ahead.

Q Thank you, Karine. There are reports that the Biden an- — administration this week was set to announce Medicare price negotiations. And Bloomberg is now reporting that Eli Lilly has asked the U.S. government to pause its forward march with the drug price negotiations. I was just wondering if you could provide any update to if those rollouts could be coming this week and kind of give an update to what’s going on.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any update to share at this time. Certainly not going to get ahead of any potential announcement that we may have.

As you know, the Inflation Reduction Act was incredibly important in lowering costs for Americans, as we think about — I mean, if you think about, obviously, climate change, it was the — and what we’re seeing with the wildfires, it certainly is the most proactive piece of legislation that we were able to get passed to deal with climate change.

But as you asked me about — about this particular question, look, we were able to beat Medicare. That is something that this president was able to do. Now you see Medicare is able to make negotiations.

I — I think you — you remember, about a year or so ago, Eli Lilly was able to bring down their cost on insulin. A lot of that was because of what this president did on ta- — capping insulin for — for seniors, which was — makes a big deal, makes it — makes it — is a chi- — a life-changing effort for seniors.

And so, look, not going to get ahead on any potential announcement. Don’t have anything to share. But lowering costs on medical — medical prescription drugs, making sure that we make things more affordable for Americans, that is something that the president has put at the center when he talks about his economic policy and, certainly, moving forward. I don’t have anything beyond that.

Guys, I will see you —

Q Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ll be back. I’ll be back. I’ll be seeing —

Q Karine, there’s been a lot of like —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q — disinformation and misinformation about the response to the California fires. In the case of the Hurricanes Helene and Milton, there was some finding that Chinese and other foreign countries were amplifying messages or —

Do you have any evidence of that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I don’t have any evidence to share with you on — on that piece.

But what I will say about misinformation and disinformation: It is incredibly dangerous, as we all know, as we’re trying to provide resources, as we’re trying to — folks on the ground, local officials are trying to make sure that they’re tr- — they’re keeping people safe who are dealing with this wildfires. It gets in the way of that. It puts people’s lives in danger.

And so, certainly, we’re going to continue to call that out. And it is — it is something that needs to stop.

As far as if any entity, countries that are behind that, I can’t speak to that at this time. But certainly, we — we need to continue to call out the misinformation, defirmation [disinformation]. It is dangerous, it puts people’s lives at risk, and it needs to stop.

All right. Thanks, everybody.

Q Thanks, Karine.

Q Thank you.

Q You’ve going to have at least one more this week, right?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. I’ll be back. (Laughter.)

1:17 P.M. EST

The post Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made additional disaster assistance available to the State of California by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding for emergency work undertaken in the State of California as a result of wildfires and straight-line winds beginning on January 7, 2025, and continuing.

Under the President’s order today, Federal funds for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance have been increased to 100 percent of the total eligible costs for a period of 180 days of the State’s choosing within the first 270 days from the start of the incident period.

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

###

The post President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Amends California Disaster Declaration appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made additional disaster assistance available to the State of California by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding for emergency work undertaken in the State of California as a result of wildfires and straight-line winds beginning on January 7, 2025, and continuing.

Under the President’s order today, Federal funds for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance have been increased to 100 percent of the total eligible costs for a period of 180 days of the State’s choosing within the first 270 days from the start of the incident period.

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

###

The post President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Amends California Disaster Declaration appeared first on The White House.