Thread: President Joe Biden

Statement from President Joe Biden on Early Student Debt Cancellation for Borrowers Enrolled in SAVE

From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to fix the student loan system and make sure higher education is a pathway to the middle class – not a barrier to opportunity. Already, my Administration has cancelled student debt for 3.6 million Americans through various actions – delivering lifechanging relief to students and families, and we created the most affordable student loan repayment plan ever: the SAVE plan.

I am proud that my Administration is implementing one of the most impactful provisions of the SAVE plan nearly six months ahead of schedule. Starting next month, borrowers enrolled in SAVE who took out less than $12,000 in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years will get their remaining student debt cancelled immediately. This action will particularly help community college borrowers, low-income borrowers, and those struggling to repay their loans. And, it’s part of our ongoing efforts to act as quickly as possible to give more borrowers breathing room so they can get out from under the burden of student loan debt, move on with their lives and pursue their dreams.

I encourage all borrowers who may be eligible for early debt cancellation to sign up for the SAVE plan at studentaid.gov. Already, 6.9 million borrowers are enrolled in the plan, and 3.9 million have a $0 monthly payment.

Today’s announcement builds on all we’ve been able to achieve for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years. This includes: fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law; achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; and holding colleges accountable for leaving students with unaffordable debts. And, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible. I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.

__________

• Joe Biden - They showed me the clip of Trump saying he wanted the economy to crash so he could gain politically. Says he doesn’t want to be Hoover.

Here's the thing: He already is. He’s the first president since Hoover to lose jobs while in office. Some record. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1745470711148261673

Biden reacts to Trump wishing for a market crash - YouTube

__________

• Biden says strikes in Yemen show U.S., allies ‘will not tolerate’ Houthi attacks on shipping

President Joe Biden said Thursday that a series of strikes in Yemen targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels was meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies “will not tolerate” the militant group’s ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea.

Biden said the U.S. and its allies only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said in a statement. “These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.”

The U.S. and British militaries were bombing more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Thursday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, several U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The military targets included logistical hubs, air defense systems and weapons storage locations, they said.

____________

• Biden administration pours $623M into EV charging void

America’s ability to charge future electric vehicles got a jolt Thursday as the Biden administration announced recipients of $623 million in infrastructure funds, with a focus on disadvantaged communities and freight trucks.

The announced grants, split between 22 states and the territory of Puerto Rico, aim to fill numerous and wide gaps in the national EV charging network. The funding will be spent across regions of Georgia, Ohio and Texas and support a range of projects, including for library patrons in Northern California, apartment dwellers in New Jersey and e-bike riders in Arizona.

“This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg in a statement.

The money, the second wave from a $7.5 billion pot for EV charging in the 2021 infrastructure law, was highly anticipated because range anxiety is considered a major challenge to Americans’ widespread adoption of EVs and the Biden administration’s goals to decarbonize the transportation sector.

Other annual spending announcements are expected in the program’s five-year duration.

“It’s a slow transition, and it’s going to take a lot of time,” said Nick Nigro, the founder of Atlas Public Policy, an EV analytics shop. “It shows you how intricate and complicated this is turning out to be.”

Much of this year’s money is intended to stand up charging stations in locations that don’t currently have them, such as tribal lands, poorer urban areas and rural stretches.

The administration said Thursday that disadvantaged communities make up more than 70 percent of the 7,500 stations the second wave of funding intends to build.

“Which is good because the private (charging) networks typically are not deploying…at any significant level in disadvantaged communities because it doesn’t make financial sense,” said Loren McDonald, the founder of EVAdoption, an EV data consultancy. EVs aren’t yet inexpensive enough for lower-income people to buy, McDonald said.

The funding, known as the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program, or CFI, is run by the Federal Highway Administration. Decisionmaking for all of the EV-infrastructure programs comes from a new joint office between the Energy and Transportation departments.

Thursday’s funding was also the first tranche of money, of a total of $2.5 billion, that Congress set aside for community charging projects. States, regions and cities seek the funds through a competitive grant program.

California — home to a plurality of the nation’s EVs, and with far more charging stations than any other state — won the most funds, at $268 million. Texas received the second-most, at $100 million.

“Even [in California], there’s a long way to go, and that’s telling,” said Nigro. “It says that we’re still in the very early stages.”

Big bucks for big trucks

One of the most complex problems the program is trying to solve is zeroing out the emissions of freight vehicles.

Projects to supply medium- and heavy-duty trucks with either hydrogen fuel or high-powered EV charging stations won a big portion of the new funding, at $252 million.

Hydrogen is an energy-dense fuel that could one day supplant gasoline but is still in its industrial infancy. The administration support is intended to build hydrogen fueling networks in Texas, Colorado, California and New York.

The single largest award of this year’s funding round — $70 million -— will go to build five hydrogen fueling stations around the Texas Triangle, which encompasses Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

Two hydrogen-related projects also are in California, including a $7 million station near Southern California’s main ports and a $12 million outpost in Barstow, a key gateway to other Southwestern states.

Almost $9 million will build three hydrogen stations along Interstate 25 in Colorado, and $15 million will support a joint hydrogen and EV-charging project in the New York City borough of the Bronx.

Meanwhile, tens of millions will construct very high-capacity chargers for battery-electric trucks. Those include almost $64 million in New Mexico for two truck charging stations on Interstate 10 and about $76 million for two projects along Interstate 5 and I-10.

Another $12 million will aid charging adjacent to seaports in Washington state at Seattle and Tacoma.

Littler EVs and their many needs

However, the majority of the $623 million announced Thursday will go toward charging light-duty passenger vehicles.

EV sales are growing fast but have slowed in recent months as some models have accumulated on dealer lots. A major doubt of potential EV buyers is whether sufficient charging stations exist.

Much of the new money is going to regional and state governments with the task of filling in the many blank areas on EV-charging maps.

For example, four states — Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New York — will get $15 million each to build charging stations.

Other doses of $15 million will go to regions, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Texas and the joint area of western Washington and northern Oregon.

Two grants, totaling $27.5 million, will serve large swaths of Ohio, and $6 million will serve metro Atlanta.

Yet more funds will go to counties, including several in California, Boulder County in Colorado, Santa Fe County in New Mexico and Oneida County in New York.

Other, often smaller, projects are afoot cities, such as Boise, Idaho; Deerfield, Massachusetts; Columbia, Missouri; Kings Mountain, North Carolina; Taos, New Mexico; and — much bigger than the others — whopping $15 million build-out in El Paso, Texas.

Apartments, libraries and scooters

Some parts of the CFI program are dedicated to specific use cases.

A portion of the funding, for example, supplement a larger federal program to build charging stations on interstates. Overall, $312 million went to 11 such projects, according to FHWA.

They include stations close to major arteries in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Durham, North Carolina, along with a major $15 million building project along highways in Puerto Rico.

The principal funding for highway corridors comes from a larger, $5 billion stream from the infrastructure law that aims to build fast-charging stations at 50-mile intervals close to interstate highways.

Other smaller projects stand out for their unusual sites or purposes.

Contra Costa County in California will get $15 million to put fast chargers at 15 libraries, putting book loaners in competition with gas stations and malls as the spot to power EVs.

In Mesa, Arizona, an almost-$12-million project includes stations to charge electric scooters and bikes.

In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection will spend $10 million to build charging plazas for apartment residents.

Drivers without their own garages are the most difficult customer for EV charging to serve, McDonald said.

The big reason is that building owners “are not excited about becoming fueling stations,” he said. “They are not excited about spending tens of thousands of dollars at their properties when they need to fix the roof and the cracked sidewalks.

“This is where we really need help and government incentives,” he said.

What a choice the electorate have. Its staggering its got to a point that the right choice is a bloke who can't find his way off stage.

^Good job there aren’t any pie charts in the file marked “Posoitive Biden PR”.

Sleepy Joe might be tempted to use them as a jigsaw puzzle.

It is quite pitiful really.

And don't forget baldy orange cunto can run from prison if he wants to, there's nothing stopping him.

Statement from President Joe Biden Marking 100 Days of Captivity for Hostages in Gaza

Today, we mark a devastating and tragic milestone—100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza. For 100 days, they have existed in fear for their lives, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. For 100 days, their families have lived in agony, praying for the safe return of their loved ones. And for each of those 100 days, the hostages and their families have been at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.

Since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7, my Administration has pursued aggressive diplomacy to bring the hostages home. We saw the first results of that effort late October, when two Americans were reunited with their loved ones. In November, working in close coordination with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, we brokered a seven day pause in fighting that resulted in the release of 105 hostages—including a 4-year-old American child—and allowed us to surge additional vital humanitarian aid into Gaza. I was deeply engaged to secure, sustain, and extend that deal. Sadly, Hamas walked away after just one week. But the United States and our partners have not given up. Secretary Blinken was back in the region this past week seeking a path forward for a deal to free all those still being held. I look forward to maintaining close contact with my counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel to return all hostages home and back to their families.

I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100. On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families—we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home.

• Biden campaign staffs up, hires Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson

The Biden campaign hired a former spokesperson for progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to its communications team, as it seeks to beef up its national staff ahead of the election.

Lauren Hitt, the now-former communications director for Ocasio-Cortez, confirmed the move on Saturday, writing on X, formerly Twitter, “Pretty excited to be joining this very talented team and incredibly important fight.”

Hitt’s addition to the team comes along with the hire of Andy Crystal, the former lead research producer for The Problem with Jon Stewart and Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. He will be joining the reelection campaign as a research director, according to his profile on X.

John Kerry is also reportedly planning to assist the president’s reelection bid. Multiple media outlets on Saturday reported Kerry is expected to step down as the U.S. special climate envoy to help Biden’s reelection campaign. A source close to the administration told Axios, which first reported the news, Kerry believes Biden’s reelection is the “single biggest” difference that will help climate progress in the U.S. and globally.

Kerry, 80, previously served as Secretary of State, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. He has played a large role in renewing climate negotiations between the U.S. and China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.

The bulking up of the campaign team comes amid scrutiny from several prominent Democrats who are criticizing the team’s strategy and structure. These political figures, including former President Obama, expressed concerns over the structure of the team in which too few staff are empowered to make decisions without first clearing them with the White House, The Washington Post reported earlier this month.

The campaign argued it is building its staff up at the right time. A source close to the campaign defended the timing to The Hill earlier this month, stating, “Everyone I’ve spoken to on the campaign is working diligently on broadening the campaign to win. They’re staffing up at all levels including at the leadership level, which is totally appropriate at this point.”

_________

• Trump's administration delivered billions to American farmers. So has Biden.

Did Trump or Biden deliver more for farmers? The answer may surprise you.

To hear former President Donald Trump tell it, America’s farmers never had it so good as during his four years in the White House.

“Look I did get you $28 billion, in all fairness, right? Who the hell else would get you $28 billion from China?” Trump asked a crowd in Sioux Center, Iowa last week, part of his final campaign push ahead of the state’s GOP caucuses Monday.

The $28 billion Trump mentioned didn’t actually come from China, however. It was paid out by the U.S. government to compensate farmers harmed by Trump’s trade war with Beijing.

As for his question, who else could get that much money for farmers, the answer is: the Biden administration.

By other measures, Biden has been better for farmers than Trump: Net farm income has actually gone up since the Democrat entered the White House. On average, net farm income has totaled $165 billion between 2021 and 2023, compared to $94 billion between 2017 and 2019. Farm income reached a record high of nearly $189 billion in 2022. And while it is projected to drop off in 2023 (USDA is still tallying receipts from December 2023), it remains above the 20-year average for receipts.

A Proclamation on Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2024

Today, we reflect on the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and recommit to honoring his moral vision on the path to redeeming the soul of our Nation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into America when racial segregation was the law of the land. He had every reason to believe that history had already been written and division would be our Nation’s destiny. But Dr. King rejected that outcome. He heard Scripture’s command to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. He clung to the Declaration of Independence’s promise of equality for all people.

Dr. King’s mission was a moral one: from bridges and ballot boxes to pulpits, protests, and courthouses, he courageously stood for the sacred idea that embodies the soul of our Nation — we are all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. He vocalized that idea on an August day in 1963 when he told our Nation about his dream. He saw that idea realized for many Americans with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ushering in a new era of greater equality and opportunity in our country. That work is not yet finished. It is the task of our time to take up Dr. King’s mantle and make his dream a reality.

The battle for the soul of our Nation is perennial — a constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, and justice and injustice. There are still those who seek to thwart progress and roll back our rights as Americans. But Dr. King and countless crusaders across the span of American history teach us that each generation must answer the call to perfect our Union. We must heed the whispers of our better angels. We must see each other as neighbors and not enemies. We must do our best to seek a life of light, hope, and truth. Because nothing is guaranteed about our democracy. We must fight to keep, defend, and protect it.

On this day, may we recommit to being guided by Dr. King’s light and by the charge of Scripture: “Let us never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time.” We must continue Dr. King’s march forward by choosing democracy over autocracy and a “Beloved Community” over chaos. We must be believers, doers, and, most of all, dreamers. We must be repairers of the breach and remember that the power to redeem the soul of America lies in all of us — “We the People.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 15, 2024, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service projects in honor of Dr. King and to visit MLKDay.gov to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

_________

• Biden Visits Philadelphia Food Bank to Mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day

For the third straight year, President Joe Biden marked Martin Luther King Jr. day by volunteering with Philabundance, a hunger relief assistance program in Philadelphia.

The president sported a hat with the name of the organization as he helped stuff food boxes with bags of apples and more. The event marked Biden's third trip to Philadelphia in two weeks as his campaign is ramping up its 2024 efforts.

"We must continue Dr. King’s march forward by choosing democracy over autocracy and a ‘Beloved Community’ over chaos," Biden said in a statement released by the White House on Monday. "We must be believers, doers, and, most of all, dreamers."
______

• Biden tells Al Sharpton reelection bid driven by Trump's 'off the wall' remarks

President Biden said on Monday his reelection bid is driven by Donald Trump’s “off the wall” rhetoric as the two appear to look past the primary and toward the general election.

“Trump is saying things that are just off the wall,” Biden said, adding he was particularly troubled by Trump’s recent comment over hopes the U.S. will enter into a recession in the next 12 months. “He’s the most anti-democratic … president in American history.”

The president made the remarks at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show commemorating the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., citing examples where he’s helped Black Americans succeed under his tenure. Biden and Sharpton spoke for 12 minutes underscoring the drop in unemployment among Black Americans, child care costs and student debt.

In recent weeks, Biden has characterized Trump as a threat to democracy, pointing to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that saw a mob of Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol building the day members of Congress were certifying the election. Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and falsely maintains the 2020 election he lost was stolen.

_________

• Biden and Democrats raise $97M to close out 2023 after December fundraising blitz

President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee said they raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year, boosted by a star-studded December fundraising blitz that came even as the political world's attention shifted to the start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

The Biden campaign said Monday that it took in $235 million from its launch last April until the end of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in cash on hand — which it said was the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate at this point in the cycle. More than 520,000 donors made 926,000-plus contributions in the quarter, it said.

“This historic haul — proudly powered by strong and growing grassroots enthusiasm — sends a clear message,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the manager of Biden’s reelection campaign, said in a statement. “Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes.”

• President Biden congratulated John on social media Tuesday, saying, “Sir Elton John has been a tidal wave throughout his career to help people rise up and make hope and history rhyme.” https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1747280272565973319

Elton John secured an EGOT on Monday night, joining the select group who have won all four major entertainment awards — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — when he won an Emmy for outstanding variety special for his livestreamed farewell concert at Dodger Stadium.

John has won five Grammys, a Tony Award for best original score for “Aida,” and two Oscars for songs in “The Lion King” (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”) and “Rocketman” (“I’m Gonna Love Me Again”).

With his Emmy for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium,” which streamed on Disney+, John became the 19th person to gain the title. The rather elite club includes Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis.

John, 76, was not present at the Emmys ceremony because of a knee operation, said Ben Winston, an executive producer of the show who accepted the award on John’s behalf.

________

• Biden hails court decision to block Spirit, JetBlue merger

President Biden on Tuesday hailed the decision by a federal judge to block the merger of Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways, calling it a win for consumers.

“Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism – it’s exploitation,” Biden said in a statement. “Today’s ruling is a victory for consumers everywhere who want lower prices and more choices. My Administration will continue to fight to protect consumers and enforce our antitrust laws.”

JetBlue proposed buying Spirit for $3.8 billion, an acquisition that would have made it the fifth-largest airline. U.S. District Judge William Young, in a court filing earlier Tuesday, said the acquisition would “substantially lessen competition” in violation of the Clayton Act, which “was designed to prevent anticompetitive harms for consumers.”

Biden has made promoting competition a major platform for his economic plan to bring down inflation and often says that while he is a capitalist, capitalism without competition is exploitation.

The decision Tuesday was a major win for the Justice Department, which sued to block the merger from proceeding. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the legal action in March 2023 and said that if the merger was allowed to proceed, it would limit choices and increase ticket prices.

Young also argued that the merger would eliminate the biggest low-cost airline in the U.S., Spirit, and drive up prices for consumers as a result.

_________

• Biden, 'Big 4' congressional leaders to meet on stalled aid for Ukraine, Israel

President Joe Biden will host top lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday to discuss his national security supplemental funding request, which includes urgent aid for Ukraine and Israel.

The $106 billion request made by Biden in October has been stalled amid fierce debate on immigration policy, with Republicans demanding stricter protocols on asylum and parole.

“President Biden will host congressional leaders from the Senate and the House along with key committee leaders and ranking members at the White House to discuss the critical importance of his national security supplemental request," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all received invitations to attend, sources told ABC News.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

And don't forget baldy orange cunto can run from prison if he wants to, there's nothing stopping him.

Just out of curiosity, could he then grant himself a pardon from the President, i.e. himself ?

Yes.

What an absolute farce.

^you might want to rethink that response

Statement from President Joe Biden on the CFPB’s Proposed Rule to Curb Overdraft Fees

When companies sneak hidden junk fees into families’ bills, it can take hundreds of dollars a month out of their pockets and make it harder to make ends meet. That might not matter to the wealthy, but it’s real money to hardworking families—and it’s just plain wrong. This is about the companies that rip off hardworking Americans simply because they can.

That’s why today, my Administration took new actions to tackle these hidden fees by proposing a rule that would end excessive overdraft fees. For too long, some banks have charged exorbitant overdraft fees—sometimes $30 or more—that often hit the most vulnerable Americans the hardest, all while banks pad their bottom lines. Banks call it a service—I call it exploitation. Today’s proposal would cut the average overdraft fee by more than half, saving the typical American family that pays these fees $150 a year. That would add up to save families $3.5 billion every year. Unfortunately, some Republicans in Congress continue to defend these exploitative fees.

This is just one part of my Administration’s broader plan to lower costs for hardworking families. We’re going to continue doing everything in our power to bring down costs and grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up, while standing up to extreme Republican attempts to provide more giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations and undermine competition.

__________

• Biden administration cracks down on prior authorization

A federal rule released Wednesday aims to streamline the prior authorization process used by insurers to approve medical procedures and treatments.

The move was welcomed by hospital and physician groups, as well as by members of Congress from both parties.

Prior authorization is a common tool used by insurers but is much maligned by doctors and patients, who say it’s often used to deny doctor-recommended care.

Under the final federal rule, health insurers participating in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or the ObamaCare exchanges will need to respond to expedited prior authorization requests within 72 hours, and standard requests within seven calendar days.

The rule requires all affected payers to include a specific reason for denying a prior authorization request. They will also be required to publicly report prior authorization metrics.

The rule could impact millions of people and represents the Biden administration’s strongest efforts to force insurers to make changes to one of the most contentious practices in health care.

But the new rules don’t apply to veterans who receive their care through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the estimated 153 million Americans covered by private, employer-sponsored plans.

A bipartisan majority of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress have been calling on the White House to make changes to prior authorization. The leaders of the congressional push in a statement praised the rule.

“Today’s action by CMS is a major win for seniors and their families. These new regulations will make a big difference in helping seniors access the medical care they are entitled to without unnecessary delays and denials due to prior authorization,” Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.) and Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) said in a joint statement.

Insurers have said prior authorization is a necessary way to control costs and cut down on unnecessary and expensive treatments.

But doctors and patients accuse insurers of using the process as an obstacle to necessary patient care, often forcing providers to navigate complex and widely varying paperwork requirements or face long waits for decisions.

CMS releases long-awaited crackdown on care denial tool

It’s the latest effort to crack down on a common tool that critics say is used to delay or deny patient care.

_________

• President Biden to visit North Carolina Thursday

Touting his administration's success with adding more manufacturing in the United States, President Joe Biden plans to visit North Carolina this week, according to the White House.

Officials did not give many details on the president's plans, but they said he will be in the Triangle area on Thursday.

Biden's planned trip comes a week after Vice President Kamala Harris went to Charlotte to tout the administration's funding for mental health in schools.

The trip also comes as primary election season officially gets underway. The Iowa Caucuses were held Monday. North Carolina primary voters will cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, March 5.

The White House said Biden will talk about his economic agenda dubbed "Investing in America."

Since Biden took office, companies have announced $16 billion in investments in North Carolina. That includes Wolfspeed's new $5 billion semiconductor plant and Vinfast's $4 billion electric vehicle factory in Chatham County, the administration said.

Toyota is also building a new EV battery plant in central North Carolina.

Those big projects together are expected to create more than 10,000 jobs.

Extra.....

Biden to announce $82M for high-speed internet for North Carolina

President Biden is heading to North Carolina on Thursday to announce $82 million in new investments to connect homes and businesses in the state to high-speed internet.

He will go to the Raleigh-Durham area in the critical battleground state to make the announcement, alongside Gov. Roy Cooper (D). The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan, which was the COVID-19 relief package Biden signed into law in 2021, and aims to connect an additional 16,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina.

The investment, according to a fact sheet from the White House, will also create jobs in manufacturing and construction to produce “Made-in-America fiber-optic cable that will build out internet infrastructure across the country.”

The investment will also save North Carolinians money on their internet bills every month, according to the fact sheet. The White House aims to help 885,000 North Carolina households, about one in five households, save up to $30 a month on their monthly internet bills.

Biden will give remarks and discuss his goal to connect over 300,000 more homes and businesses to high-speed internet by the end of 2026, through a total of $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan. Across the country, the goal is to connect all Americans to high-speed internet by 2030.

Biden’s remarks will highlight his so-called Bidenomics agenda, which is his economic plan to build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Today’s Justice Department Report on the Uvalde School Shooting Response

In May 2022, Jill and I traveled to Uvalde to grieve 21 students and educators senselessly and tragically gunned down at Robb Elementary School. Twenty-one souls stolen from us in a place where they are supposed to feel safe—their classroom.

Following this tragedy, my administration conducted a review to determine lessons learned from the response that day and best practices to ensure a swifter and more effective response to future active shooter incidents. Today’s report makes clear several things: that there was a failure to establish a clear command and control structure, that law enforcement should have quickly deemed this incident an active shooter situation and responded accordingly, and that clearer and more detailed plans in the school district were required to prepare for the possibility that this could occur. There were multiple points of failure that hold lessons for the future, and my team will work with the Justice Department and Department of Education to implement policy changes necessary to help communities respond more effectively in the future.

No community should ever have to go through what the Uvalde community suffered. After the Uvalde shooting, the families of the victims turned their pain into purpose and pushed for the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years, which I signed into law. And I continue to take historic executive action, including the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Congress must now pass commonsense gun safety laws to ensure that mass shootings like this one don’t happen in the first place. We need universal background checks, we need a national red flag law, and we must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The families of Uvalde – and all American communities — deserve nothing less.

The longer we wait to take action, the more communities like Uvalde will continue to suffer due to this epidemic of gun violence.

________

President Biden Delivers Remarks on High-Speed Internet Investments

________

• Biden visits North Carolina, a state he hopes to win in November, to promote internet access

President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled $82 million for North Carolina to help connect 16,000 new households and businesses to high-speed internet, delivering an election-year pitch about policies he says are "just getting started” at improving the United States.

Biden, the Democratic incumbent who is campaigning to win a second term, coupled his economic message with a few jabs at his predecessor, Donald Trump, currently the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination and his most likely future challenger.

Biden brought up Trump's recent comment that he hoped the economy would crash soon because he doesn't want to preside over job losses if he were to be reelected in November. Biden told his audience that Trump already was like Herbert Hoover, who held office during the 1929 stock market crash.

“He’s the only president to be president for four years and lose jobs,” Biden said of Trump.

Biden said the work his administration is doing in North Carolina, on high-speed internet, infrastructure and more, is happening in communities across the country, regardless of the politics.

“What we’re doing here in North Carolina is one piece of a much bigger story," he said. Biden said he was keeping his promise "to be a president for all America, whether you voted for me or not."

Biden talked about all the people who need high-speed internet because they work from home, businesses who need it to reach customers and students who need to do their school work.

“High-speed internet isn't a luxury anymore. It's an absolute necessity,” he said in Raleigh, the state capital. “The investment in high-speed internet means something else as well: good-paying jobs.”

Biden’s reelection campaign has made winning North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes a top priority. The Democrat narrowly lost the state in 2020 by 1.34 percentage points to Trump. They are expected to face each other again in November.

• FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Cut Electric Vehicle Costs for Americans and Continue Building Out a Convenient, Reliable, Made-in-America EV Charging Network

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and Bidenomics, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to lower the cost of electric vehicles (EVs) for Americans and build a convenient, reliable, Made-in-America EV charging network. Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration is already delivering major progress to electrify the great American road trip. Since the President took office, EV sales have more than quadrupled, with more than four and a half million EVs on the road. EV ownership is more affordable than ever before, with prices down over 20% from one year ago. The number of publicly available charging ports has also grown by over 70 percent, with 170,000 publicly available EV chargers across the country, putting us on track to deploy 500,000 chargers by 2026 – achieving the President’s goal four years early.

To continue building on this unprecedented progress, today, the Department of Treasury and the Department of Energy are releasing intended definitions for eligible census tracts that will confirm that the Inflation Reduction Act’s 30C EV charging tax credit is available to approximately two-thirds of Americans. This tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities.

Much, much more in the announcement link above

_________

• Biden forgives another $5 billion in student loans for 74K borrowers

The Biden administration on Friday announced another $5 billion in debt forgiveness for 74,000 student loan borrowers.

Why it matters: Although the Supreme Court blocked Biden's signature student loan forgiveness plan, his administration has found alternative ways to provide relief to more than 3.7 million people.

• The batch of debt cancelation announced Friday stemmed, in part, from his administration's changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
• The majority of borrowers who will benefit from the latest round of forgiveness are teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public service professionals, per a White House release.
• The remaining borrowers who will benefit have repaid their loans for at least 20 years but never got the relief they were entitled to under their income-driven repayment plans.

What they're saying: Biden said in a statement his administration would continue to find other ways to forgive loans held by "as many borrowers as possible."

• "I won't back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams," he said.

The big picture: The price of higher education in the country has soared over the last few decades, according to the Education Data Initiative.

• The Biden administration's blanket student debt forgiveness plan had been critiqued as doing little to address high college costs, the root cause of the trillion-dollar student debt problem.

________

• Biden signs short-term government funding bill, averting a shutdown

President Biden signed a stopgap measure to fund the government through the beginning of March into law on Friday, the White House said, avoiding a partial shutdown as lawmakers continue working to pass a broader spending deal.

The House and Senate approved the continuing resolution on Thursday in bipartisan votes, sending it to Mr. Biden's desk. Without the measure, a partial shutdown would have begun Saturday morning.

The legislation extends current-level funding for some federal agencies through March 1, and others through March 8. The government has been operating under a short-term funding extension passed in November, and this was the third stopgap measure Congress has passed since September.

Congressional leaders announced an agreement on yearlong spending levels earlier this month. The continuing resolution was needed to give lawmakers more time to translate the deal into legislative text and shepherd it through both chambers. But a vocal contingent of conservative Republicans in the House oppose the $1.66 trillion agreement and have urged Speaker Mike Johnson to rescind his support.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said his next goal is reaching an agreement on separate national security legislation. Congressional leaders of both parties met with President Biden at the White House this week to discuss funding for Ukraine, Israel and increased border security. Schumer said it was a "very good meeting" and there was a "large amount of agreement" to fund Ukraine and implement immigration reform at the same time.

_________

• Economic vibes are finally improving, consumer sentiment surges

It appears Americans are finally feeling better about the economy.

Consumer sentiment, a window into the nation’s financial mood, jumped 13 percent in January to its highest level since mid-2021, reflecting optimism that inflation is easing and incomes are rising, according to a closely watched survey by the University of Michigan. Since November, consumer sentiment has risen 29 percent, marking the largest two-month increase in more than 30 years.

Gas prices, often a key driver of sentiment, have fallen 40 percent since June 2022, to just over $3 a gallon. Weekly jobless claims are at their lowest level in more than a year. Sales of cars, clothing and sporting goods all picked up during the holidays, as consumers felt confident enough to keep spending.

Meanwhile, the stock market is surging to new records, with the S&P 500 closing at an all-time high on Friday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...den-inflation/

_________

• Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 hit record highs as tech stocks soar

Stocks climbed on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to record closing highs.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.2% to close at 4,839. This marked the S&P 500's first record close since January 2022. The Dow (^DJI) gained just over 1% to settle at 37,863.

On a percentage basis, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was the day's biggest winner, rising 1.7% to close at 15,310.

• Newsom hitting South Carolina, Nevada to stump for Biden

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is hitting the campaign trail for President Joe Biden, embarking on a three-day swing with stops in South Carolina and Nevada.

Newsom’s travel on behalf of the president will take him next week to the early-state epicenter of Democratic politics in South Carolina, including venues in the Low Country and Midlands, to engage with rural voters.

In an interview, Newsom told POLITICO he’s aiming to focus on what Biden’s three years in the White House have meant to people’s pocketbooks and quality of life.

“It’s about honing in on the message that is not in the aggregate, but actually connects in a rational way with their lived experiences,” Newsom said.

The Democratic governor has long been dismissive of Donald Trump’s Republican challengers and said he’s relieved and even pleased the GOP primary appears to be coming to a swift end so that the Biden campaign and Democrats can focus on the former president.

“Trump will do one thing. It’s an extraordinary thing. And that is he’ll unite the base of the Democratic Party in opposition to his candidacy,” he said. “The No. 1 imperative of a Biden re-election is to consolidate our party and our voters. And No. 2, is to build that contrast [and] to highlight that Biden’s policies are extraordinarily popular.”

_________

• Biden Says Border Hasn't Been Secure for 'Last 10 Years'

President Joe Biden says he does not believe that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure, and that it's been that way for years, despite his requests for funding.

Asked Saturday by a reporter if he believes the border is secure, Biden responded: "No, it’s not. I haven’t believed it for the last 10 years. And I’ve said it for the last 10 years. Give me the money."

His time frame includes the years of the Trump administration.

Biden told Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich that his policies have not engendered the growing crisis, as border crossings reach records numbers.

"I’ve … asked for thousands more, of everything," the president said.

The border has been a divisive topic among lawmakers over the last few months as Republicans pressure the administration to increase funding to enforce stricter border security provisions.

Is the southern border secure? 'No, it's not,' President Biden says

• Biden abortion ad marks campaign shift to emphasize reproductive rights

The Biden re-election campaign rolled out a new campaign ad Sunday, signaling a shift in emphasis to reproductive rights that the White House hopes will carry and define Democrats through the 2024 election cycle.

The campaign ad, titled Forced

, is designed to tie Donald Trump directly to the abortion issue almost 18 months after his nominees to the supreme court helped to overturn a constitutional right to abortion enshrined in Roe v Wade, which would have turned 51 this week.

Dr Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN and mother of three tells the camera her story about traveling out of her state to terminate her pregnancy after learning her fetus had a fatal condition, calling her situation “every woman’s worst nightmare”.

In Texas, she said, her choice “was completely taken away and that’s because of Donald Trump overturning Roe v Wade”.

The launch of the ad comes as anti-abortion activists descended on Washington DC this weekend. One event, the National Pro-Life Summit, activists came to celebrate anti-abortion activism in the US. At another, the March for Life, marchers called for advocacy against abortion rights.

Vice-President Kamala Harris is now being placed to the forefront of the administration’s messaging on reproductive rights, a position Biden has said he is not “big on” because of his Catholic faith, though he believes the landmark 1973 decision “got it right”.

Originally Posted by Troy

Just out of curiosity, could he then grant himself a pardon from the President, i.e. himself ?

Even if he's not elected, the next time any republican becomes president, they will give him a pardon.

Lets just hope that that the white house remains blue until after the orange one is dead.

• Biden mourns Navy SEALs presumed dead off Somalia

President Biden on Monday mourned the loss of two Navy SEALs who are presumed dead after they went missing off the coast of Somalia earlier this month during a special covert mission to seize Iranian missile parts bound for Yemen.

Biden said in a statement that the presumed deaths of the two SEALs were a “profound loss for our country.”

“These SEALs represented the very best of our country, pledging their lives to protect their fellow Americans,” Biden said. “Our hearts go out to the family members, loved ones, friends, and shipmates who are grieving for these two brave Americans.”

“Our entire country stands with you,” he added. “We will never fail to honor their service, their legacy, and their sacrifice.”

The two SEALs went missing on the night of Jan. 11 while boarding a special combat operations craft in the Gulf of Aden. One sailor fell into rough waters and another jumped in to rescue the overboard SEAL.

_________

• Biden-Harris Administration Invests $207 Million in Clean Energy and Domestic Fertilizer Projects to Strengthen American Farms and Businesses as part of Investing in America Agenda

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing $207 million in renewable energy and domestic fertilizer projects to lower energy bills, generate new income, create jobs, and strengthen competition for U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers. Many of the projects are being funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis.

Today’s announcement was made by Secretary Vilsack at the 105th annual American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. This funding advances President Biden’s Investing in America and Bidenomics agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle-out and bottom up, create jobs and spur economic growth in rural communities by increasing competition in agricultural markets, lowering costs and expanding clean energy.

“President Biden and USDA are ensuring farmers, ranchers and small businesses are not only a part of the clean energy economy, but directly benefitting from it,” Secretary Vilsack said. “The investments announced will expand access to renewable energy infrastructure and increase domestic fertilizer production, all while creating good-paying jobs and saving people money on their energy costs that they can then invest back into their businesses and communities.”

Today, the Department is awarding $207 million in 42 states for projects through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).

Today’s REAP awards total $157 million for 675 projects in 42 states, including more than $94 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The REAP program delivers on the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. These investments will cut energy costs for farmers and ag producers that can instead be used to create jobs and new revenue streams for people in their communities.

For example:

List in the link above

__________

• Dow Jones, S&P set new records after choppy month for stocks

Two major stock indexes set new records Monday as markets Wall Street traders place their bets in another year of economic uncertainty.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 138 points by the closing bell Monday, a gain of 0.4 percent that put the index above 38,000 points for the first time. The S&P 500 index rose 0.2 percent on the day to close at a new record high of 4,850.43. The Nasdaq composite closed Monday with a gain of 0.3 percent.

Reproductive Rights Event with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jill Biden, and Doug Emhoff

• Biden blames Trump for lack of abortion access during rally focused on Roe

President Biden on Tuesday directly blamed former President Trump, his likely general election opponent, for the erosion of abortion access across the country and warned supporters another Trump presidency would further curtail reproductive rights.

Biden, speaking at his first campaign rally of the year, put the focus squarely on reproductive rights, an issue he and other Democrats are hoping will motivate female voters and rally the party’s base heading into November.

“Let there be no mistake. The person most responsible for taking away this freedom in America is Donald Trump,” Biden said.

“The reason women are being forced to travel across state lines for health care is Donald Trump,” he added. “The reason their fundamental right has been stripped away is Donald Trump.”

Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, which in 2022 issued a decision overturning the long-standing Roe v. Wade ruling. State governments across the country have since instituted laws dramatically curtailing abortion rights.

The president warned “MAGA Republicans” were set on further restricting abortion access, citing Republican-led states that have passed laws to ban abortion after as little as six weeks of pregnancy and impose punishments on doctors who perform the procedures.

Biden repeatedly singled out Trump, who is on a glide path to the GOP nomination and has repeatedly taken credit for ending Roe v. Wade because of his appointments.

“Donald Trump is betting we won’t vote on this issue … He’s betting you’re going to stop caring … that you’ll get distracted, discouraged and stay home,” Biden said. “Well guess what? I’m betting he’s wrong.”

_________

• Top Biden aides to leave the White House for campaign leadership roles

President Joe Biden’s campaign is shaking up its senior leadership, having Jennifer O’Malley Dillon and Mike Donilon move from their roles in the White House to top jobs for his re-election bid, according to campaign officials.

In the coming weeks as the campaign shifts to a general election posture, the expected staff moves will have Donilon playing a central role in the campaign’s messaging and paid media strategy and O’Malley Dillon in the organizing and execution of the campaign’s path to 270 electoral votes — all under the leadership of campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the officials said.

Chavez Rodriguez said in an interview Tuesday night that she’s “excited to have an all-hands-on-deck approach with colleagues that we know have been critical Biden advisers and were on the 2020 campaign."

She added that the campaign has a clear focus on “what it is that we need to do between now and when it is official who our opponent is going to be.”

“All of that work is well underway and will continue at the clip that we need it to,” she said.

O’Malley Dillon was Biden’s campaign manager in 2020. She has been deputy chief of staff at the White House since Biden became president.

Donilon was a chief strategist for Biden’s 2020 campaign and has been an adviser to the president since he took office in 2021.

Chavez Rodriguez has been campaign manager since last year.

________

• Border win for Biden in bigger battle over federal authority

The Supreme Court's decision on Monday allowing the removal of razor wire at the Texas border is one win for the Biden administration in a bigger battle over federal authority in the state.

The big picture: In Texas, immigration is the arena of fights between the state and the federal government that could prompt other states to adopt similar legal strategies, leading to long and costly lawsuits.

• The federal government and states across the country are in power struggles over voting rights and health and environmental regulations.
• The Texas razor wire case has "much larger implications than just on immigration," says Aron Thorn, a senior attorney at the ​Texas Civil Rights Project who works on border issues.

Catch up fast: Texas under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last year installed miles of barriers using barbed wire and buoys along the Rio Grande in response to record numbers of migrants arriving at the border.

• This month, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to grant the federal government an emergency motion allowing it to remove the wire.
• Last week, federal attorneys cited the drowning deaths of a woman and two children in the Rio Grande as an example of how border agents, who were not allowed past a fence installed by Texas, weren't able to do their jobs and respond to the incident.
• Texas attorneys in a court filing said the agents never asked to cross the fence and that Mexican authorities responded to the drownings.
• A divided court yesterday granted the federal motion. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

What they're saying: Immigration enforcement is "a perfect vehicle" for challenging federal authority because it's such a controversial issue, Thorn tells Axios Latino.

• "They see Texas taking up this mantle of, like, I'm gonna bully the federal government into acting the way I want them to act on immigration."
• Thorn says that mentality can bleed into other issues such as environmental regulation and climate change when states don't agree with federal actions.

Between the lines: The state's rapidly changing demographics are in part what's driving actions to stem migration through Texas, says Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso.

• Hispanics now make up the largest share of the population in Texas.
• Limón Garza's organization is one of several that sued the Texas government last month over a new law that will allow local authorities to arrest and deport unauthorized immigrants.
• "Texas is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-language democracy that is the future of the United States. And I believe that that is why we are seeing such an attack on so many different levels of freedoms in an attempt to avoid that reality," Limón Garza says.

• The plaintiffs, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, which also filed a lawsuit, say the law is unconstitutional because the federal government has authority over immigration. The law is scheduled to take effect on March 5.

The other side: Asked for comment on the court ruling, a spokesperson for Abbott's office pointed Axios to his post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

• "This is not over. Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages," Abbott wrote.
• "I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property."

What to watch: In a separate lawsuit, the Biden administration is fighting to remove buoys from the Rio Grande meant to keep migrants out of Texas. A full panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals will hear the case later this year.

• Other pending lawsuits include ones by Texas against the Biden administration over its immigrant parole program, federal spending, and its interpretation of Title IX, which protects people from sex-based and other forms of discrimination.

_________

• Stock market today: S&P 500 notches another record, Dow breaches 38,000 for first time

US stocks edged higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow notching another record high close, as investors became more upbeat about the health of the economy and looked to coming earnings for signs of an AI boom for techs.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.2% after the index notched its first record close since January 2022 on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.4% to close above the 38,000 level for the first time ever. Stocks in the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) jumped 0.3%.

• United Auto Workers union endorses Biden for president

The United Auto Workers union endorsed President Joe Biden Wednesday.

"If our endorsement must be earned, then Joe Biden has earned it!" UAW President Shawn Fain said in a lengthy speech before introducing the president at the union's conference in Washington.

Fain railed against Trump and his record, arguing that the former president hasn't had the backs of union members. "Donald Trump is a scab!" Fain said. "Donald Trump is a billionaire and that's who he represents!"

Biden expressed enthusiasm in his remarks for UAW workers, saying, "I've always believed that the union movement in America is important because it produces the best-skilled workers in the world. That's what happens. It's good for everybody. It's good for companies. It increases the quality of the job, the quality of the product. It's good for economic growth."

The president also took aim at his predecessor, saying that jobs were lost and auto factories closed under Trump's presidency.

"Tens of thousands of auto jobs were lost nationwide through Trump's presidency," Biden said. "During my presidency, we've opened 20 auto factories and more to come. We've created more than 250,000 auto jobs all across America."

The UAW endorsement could carry significant political implications because of the influence on voters in Michigan, a critical battleground in the 2024 election. Biden narrowly won the state last cycle.

_______

• ACA enrollment surged in red states this year

A record 21.3 million people signed up for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces this year, with the largest enrollment increases tallied in red states.

Why it matters: The 30.7% annual increase in ACA sign-ups comes as former President Trump's renewed calls for repeal have again raised doubts about the law's future.

• Enrollment figures released by federal health officials on Wednesday indicate that Republican-leaning states would be heavily affected by the law's repeal.

By the numbers: States with the largest year-over-year increase in sign-ups include West Virginia (80.2%), Louisiana (75.9%), Ohio (62.2%), Indiana (59.5%) and Tennessee (59.5%), according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the marketplaces.

• Seven other states saw increases of 45% or more: Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Texas.
• Enrollment in Texas increased by just over 1 million to 3.5 million. In Florida, enrollment increased by just shy of 1 million to 4.2 million, the most of any state.
• Enrollment decreased only in Maine (-2.6%) and Washington, D.C. (-1.4%).
• Almost a quarter of enrollees were new to the marketplaces this year.

Zoom in: Some of the enrollment surge can likely be attributed to a portion of the millions who've recently lost Medicaid coverage moving to the marketplaces.

• Democrats also made marketplace subsidies larger and available to more people, though the enhanced assistance is set to expire after 2025 without an extension from Congress.
• The Biden administration also boosted enrollment outreach and closed a "glitch" in the law that kept some families from accessing subsidies.

__________

• Jill Biden invites Kate Cox, Texas woman who was denied emergency abortion, to be State of the Union guest

First lady Jill Biden has invited Kate Cox — the Texas woman who was denied an emergency abortion by the state's Supreme Court — to President Biden's State of the Union address in March, the White House said Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president and first lady called Cox Sunday to talk about her case and experience, and the first lady invited Cox to join her in her box for the address. Cox has accepted, Jean-Pierre said.

"On Sunday, the president and first lady spoke to Kate Cox, who was forced to go to court to seek permission for the care she needed for a nonviable pregnancy that threatened her life, that threatened her life," Jean-Pierre said. "They thanked her for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out about the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas."

Cox, 31, and her husband, Justin, were parents to a girl and a boy already when they discovered in August 2023 that she was pregnant with their third child. But a series of tests revealed the baby they were expecting had serious medical problems, including trisomy 18, a severe genetic condition. The Cox family was told their baby would live a week at best, if she survived the pregnancy and birth, and Kate Cox said she feared for her own health and safety.

__________

• Message to the Senate on the President's Veto of S.J.Res. 38 | The White House

I am returning herewith without my approval S.J.Res. 38, a resolution that would disapprove under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, an action by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) relating to “Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers.”

This resolution would eliminate the domestic manufacturing standards for electric vehicle (EV) chargers funded by the FHWA, thereby harming domestic manufacturing and American jobs. If enacted, it would weaken Buy America requirements by reverting to FHWA’s general waiver for manufactured products, allowing Federal dollars –- including $7.5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law –- to be spent on chargers made in competitor nations like the People’s Republic of China. Additionally, if enacted, this resolution would undermine the hundreds of millions of dollars that the private sector has already invested in domestic EV charging manufacturing, and chill further domestic investment in this critical market.

Snip

Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.

_________

• The Biden administration's emerging economic message

With inflation and recession fears abating, the Biden administration is adopting a more confident, aggressive message about its economic record heading into the 2024 election.

Why it matters: A common thread from the administration's top economic officials is that not only is the economy doing well, but that the U.S. is experiencing a more broadly shared form of growth than was seen under President Trump.

• That includes emphasis on delivering results for middle-class Americans — a mainstay of Biden's political identity — and improving conditions even in parts of the country that have faced longstanding challenges.
• It comes as there have been signs of improvement in the decidedly gloomy mood about the economy among the American public.

Driving the news: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver what her staff describes as a major speech Thursday in Chicago, laying out themes she will advance throughout the year.

• "Like many American cities, Chicago was built by a middle class that drove industrialization and innovation," Yellen will say, according to prepared remarks circulated by Treasury, adding that its "middle-class residents have also faced challenges for decades."
• "This story of the middle class is not separate from the state of the economy. It's at the heart of it," she will say.

She will emphasize the results of the Biden administration's investments in infrastructure — in contrast to the ongoing joke about "Infrastructure Week" in the Trump years that was not accompanied by legislation.

• "In the Trump administration, the idea of doing anything to fix it was a punchline," Yellen will say, according to excerpts first reported by our colleague Hans Nichols. "But this administration has delivered."

Meanwhile, top White House economic adviser Lael Brainard spoke on "place-based growth" this week, emphasizing that the economic benefits of the current expansion are being felt by places that have long been down at the heels.

• A post from the Council of Economic Advisers Tuesday noted that 23 states notched a record-low unemployment rate over the course of 2023.

What they're saying: "President Biden came to office determined to invest in all of America, to leave no community behind," Brainard said at the Brookings Institution on Monday. "It is working."

• "Communities that had been left behind are making a comeback. In recent visits, the President has talked with workers, small business owners, and residents in communities like Allentown and Milwaukee where new jobs and new small businesses are creating hope," she said.

Of note: Brainard's speech did not use the term "Bidenomics," which had become a part of the administration's messaging last summer — but from which Biden allies have distanced themselves.

The bottom line: As the election takes shape, expect Biden's economic lieutenants to emphasize not just that the economy is solid overall but also to tell a story about who is benefiting.

• Biden announces $5 billion in new infrastructure projects

President Biden announced $5 billion in funding for major transportation projects during a visit Thursday to Superior, Wisconsin — part of an effort to tout his administration's investments in long-overdue infrastructure projects.

Why it matters: With an all-but-certain rematch between Biden and former President Trump in the November election, the president is eager to demonstrate his commitment to fixing America's crumbling roads and bridges — something that Trump promised but didn't deliver.

• The infrastructure funding law, passed in November 2021, is one of Biden's signature accomplishments, along with the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Driving the news: The largest project is a $1 billion effort to replace the Blatnik Bridge, a major connection between Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota.

• The current bridge is weight-restricted and can't carry heavy trucks, forcing drivers to take lengthy detours.
• The replacement bridge will increase capacity and create a new shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Other major funding that was announced includes:

• $600 million to replace the I-5 Bridge between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, with an earthquake-resistant, multimodal bridge.
• $427 million to establish the first offshore wind terminal on the West Coast, off California.
• $372 million to replace Cape Cod's nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge.
• $300 million for a new container terminal for the Port of New Orleans.
• $95 million to widen a 10-mile section of I-10 through the Gila River Indian Community and Pinal County in Arizona.

• $142 million to fix the I-376 corridor in Pittsburgh, including an area infamously known as "the bathtub" due to its regular flooding.
• $150 million to reconnect communities divided by the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York when it was built in the mid-1900s.

By the numbers: To date, the Biden administration has announced more than $400 billion in infrastructure law funding for more than 40,000 projects.

Flashback: "Instead of infrastructure week, we're going to have an infrastructure decade," Biden said when he visited the Blatnik Bridge two years ago to promote passage of the law.

__________

• U.S. sets plans to protect endangered whales near offshore wind farms; firms swap wind leases

Two federal environmental agencies issued plans Thursday to better protect endangered whales amid offshore wind farm development.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released final plans to protect endangered North American right whales, of which there are only about 360 left in the world.

The agencies said they are trying to find ways to better protect the whales amid a surge of offshore wind farm projects, particularly on the U.S. East Coast. They plan to look for ways to mitigate potential adverse impacts of offshore wind projects on the whales and their habitat.

The strategy will use artificial intelligence and passive acoustic monitoring to determine where the whales are at a given time and to monitor the impacts of wind development on the animals.

It also calls for avoiding the granting of offshore wind leases in areas where major impacts to right whales may occur; establishing noise limits during construction; supporting research to develop new harm minimization technologies; and making it a priority to develop quieter technology and operating methods for offshore wind development.

They also want to conduct “robust sound field verification” of offshore wind operations to ensure that noise levels are not louder than expected.

Although opponents of offshore wind projects blame them for a spate of whale deaths over the past 13 months on the East Coast, the agencies said climate change is the biggest threat to the right whales. They and other scientific agencies say there is no evidence that offshore wind preparation work is harming or killing whales. Many of them have been struck by ships or become entangled in fishing gear.

Of the 360 right whales left in the ocean, only 70 are reproductively active females.

https://www.boem.gov/bureau-ocean-en...administration

_________

• US economy defies recession fears with 3.3% growth in fourth quarter

The US economy grew at a 3.3 per cent annualised rate during the final quarter of last year, capping off a strong 2023 that defied recession fears and prompted President Joe Biden to attempt to claim credit.

The figures pointed to the US economy’s remarkable resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s sustained campaign to snuff out inflation with higher interest rates — and encouraged investors who believe the central bank will cut rates in the coming months.

For the year as a whole, the US economy expanded by 3.1 per cent, confirming it was the world’s fastest-growing advanced economy in 2023.

“This GDP reading cements America’s position as the dominant driver of global growth,” said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University.

Separate data released on Thursday showed consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from 2.6 per cent three months earlier.

The twin sets of data suggest the economy is headed for a “soft landing”, in which inflation is tamed without triggering a recession.

The numbers will also be a boost for Biden ahead of November’s presidential election, as his strategists try to reverse widespread public dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy that has cast a cloud over his re-election hopes.

Biden and Harris after learning the verdict of the Carroll case

• Biden speaks to Qatar, Egypt leaders ahead of key meeting on Gaza hostage talks

President Biden spoke separately on Friday with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss the efforts to secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the White House said.

Why it matters: The calls are part of a push by Biden personally and his team for a new hostage deal that could lead to a two-month pause in the fighting in Gaza and open the way for ending the war.

• Qatar and Egypt are the key mediators in the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over a possible hostage deal.

Driving the news: Biden made the calls ahead of a critical meeting in Europe on Sunday between CIA director Bill Burns, the Qatar prime minister and the Egyptian and Israeli spy chiefs that is aimed at reaching a breakthrough in the negotiations.

• Brett McGurk, Biden's senior Middle East adviser, visited Cairo and Doha earlier this week to discuss the status of the negotiations.

What they're saying: White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday the U.S. is "hopeful" about the progress in the talks but "doesn't expect imminent developments" towards a deal.

State of play: A senior Israeli official said the negotiations are difficult, complex and slow but it seems both sides want to make progress and succeed in reaching an agreement.

• The official said the aim of the meeting in Europe on Sunday is to coordinate and synchronize between the two mediators and find a way to make progress on the two main sticking points.

• Hamas' demand that Israel commit to ending the war after the hostages are released is a red line for Israel, the official added.
• There's also a huge gap between the number of Palestinian prisoners Hamas wants to be released and the number Israel is willing to release, according to the Israeli official.

_________

• Biden backs Senate border deal, vows to 'shut down the border' when overwhelmed

President Joe Biden said on Friday that the border deal being negotiated in the U.S. Senate was the "toughest and fairest" set of reforms possible and vowed to "shut down the border" the day he signs the bill.

The bipartisan talks have hit a critical point amid mounting Republican opposition. Some Republicans have set a deal on border security as a condition for further Ukraine aid.

Earlier in the day, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the deal is "dead on arrival" in its current form, according to a letter to Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives reviewed by Reuters.

Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the Nov. 5 elections, has grappled with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border during his presidency. Republicans contend Biden should have kept the restrictive policies of Republican former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for his party's nomination.

"What's been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we've ever had in our country," Biden said in a statement.

_________

• US halts new natural gas export facilities, citing climate crisis

Joe Bidens administration announced Friday it was pausing new liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, citing the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis by accelerating the transition from fossil fuels.

It comes as the president looks to shore up his liberal base in a tough election rematch later this year against likely Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has falsely called human-caused global warming a "hoax" and vowed to torpedo his Democratic opponents climate agenda.

"This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time," said Biden in a statement. "While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent."

The US is the worlds leading LNG exporter, averaging 11.6 billion cubic feet (328 million cubic meters) per day according to the tracker CEDIGAZ, with seven terminals currently in operation.

Under the plan, new export applications would be subjected to an indefinite review considering climate and wider environmental and economic impacts.

_________

• Gavin Newsom talks Biden, Snoop Dogg and Trump in South Carolina

Gavin Newsom went to South Carolina to stump for Biden. Voters eyed him for 2028.

Gavin Newsom flew clear across the country to extol the character and candor and competence of President Joe Biden, to warmly embrace his “old friend,” Vice President Kamala Harris.

But under a steamy retirement community gazebo in Bluffton, as rain beat down in the heart of the Lowcountry, Newsom was being objectified, albeit with Southern charm.

“Doesn’t he look much better in person?” asked state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, a Democrat from Walterboro. Onlookers roared at the backhanded compliment, as she continued to swoon. “Oh my God, as we say in the South, ‘that’s a nice glass of tea.’”

There was California’s governor, in a distant land — 2,700 miles from home and still not adjusted to Wednesday morning’s Eastern time-zone change, yet finally in the nerve center of early state presidential politicking. And already, some of his party’s most important voters were sizing him up as a White House aspirant — consuming themselves with the distant election when November is still months away. It went beyond his appearance, with some convinced he was too progressive for the South.

“He’s a liberal,” said Democrat Mary Anne Gnage, ahead of Newsom’s remarks to residents at Sun City Hilton Head, the sprawling retirement community. Gnage likes Newsom, but she was blunt when asked about her initial skepticism of his future prospects here. “Maybe sometimes he’s too liberal.”

It’s a perennial issue — and often a fatal one at that — for elected officials from California who try to export their emerging brands beyond the Golden State’s borders. And it’s one that Newsom was confronting directly, even as he worked to spread the gospel of Biden-Harris.

Newsom wanted to give stump speeches ahead of the state’s new, first-in-the-nation Democratic primary, appearing there for the first time as a headliner and getting early exposure to its powerful blocs of Black voters and rural Democrats. They, meanwhile wanted to test his 2028 chops.

• ‘You’re the reason I am president’: Biden embraces Black voters in S.C.

President Joe Biden on Saturday returned to the state that sparked his 2020 comeback, where he’s all but certain to win the first sanctioned Democratic primary next week.

Biden headlined the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “First-in-the-Nation” celebration dinner, delivering an amped-up message to Black voters, a key part of the state’s Democratic coalition and a constituency vital to Biden’s success in November.


Biden leaned into what his administration has accomplished for Black Americans while highlighting his choice to elevate South Carolina to the first-in-the-nation slot. He also dug into Donald Trump, ramping up his attacks on the heavy favorite for the GOP nomination.

“The truth is, I wouldn’t be here without the Democratic voters of South Carolina, and that’s a fact,” Biden said. “You’re the reason I am president. You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic vice president. And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president. You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser, and you’re the reason we’re gonna win and beat him again.”

His trip to the Palmetto State was one of several treks he and the vice president have made to the state this month, as the president’s aides and allies view the February primary as an important moment to demonstrate his support among Black voters — and to beat back critics concerned about Biden’s standing with the key bloc.

The president ran through a list of policy accomplishments from record unemployment to prescription drug savings, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and his predecessor. Biden repeatedly touted “a promise made, a promise kept,” as the vocal, mostly older crowd joined in a call and response with the president.

A fiery Biden quipped that Trump is “a little confused these days,” referring to the former president’s mixing up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi in a speech earlier this month. And his voice grew angry as he talked about Trump’s past comments about veterans.

“As commander-in-chief, I look at veterans completely differently than Donald Trump. Think about this, especially here in South Carolina. A proud military state. Donald Trump, when he was commander-in-chief, refused to visit a U.S. cemetery outside of Paris for fallen American soldiers. And referred to those heroes as, and I quote, ‘suckers and losers,’” Biden said.

“He actually said that. He said that. How dare he say that? How dare you talk about my son … like that? Look, I call them patriots and heroes. The only loser I see is Donald Trump.”

A few protesters interrupted Biden’s speech, with two people calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and criticizing Biden’s Israel policy, as “four more years” chants drowned out their shouted demands. Another urged the president to declare a climate emergency.

Rep. Dean Phillips, who was also at the event, didn’t participate in the call and response, but stood to clap for Biden as the crowd gave the president a standing ovation. Phillips received a cold reception during his speech, in which he asked Biden to “pass the torch” and warned of the risk of Trump winning in November. He also had to repeatedly ask attendees to listen while they walked around the room and talked during his remarks — another sign he was deep in Biden territory.

Before the dinner, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) accompanied Biden as the president made his first stop at Regal Lounge barbershop in downtown Columbia, taking selfies and shaking hands with customers. After the press was ushered out, one attendee told POLITICO that Biden thanked them for their past support, asking “for their support going forward and reminding folks of some of the work he’s done [for Black voters] and what he’s trying to do.”

Biden’s visit to the state is the latest example of his reelection campaign ramping up after a slow start that underwhelmed many Democrats.

South Carolina Democratic operative Antjuan Seawright, who was at Biden’s events on Saturday, said, “South Carolina, we appreciate Retail Joe. That’s the Joe Biden we know. Him coming by a barbershop in South Carolina, the Black man’s sanctuary, was a sign that he knows the importance of high tech and high touch.”

Campaign aides have reiterated that the purpose of the South Carolina visits is two-fold: Ramping up support for Biden in advance of the primary while also trying to make good on a promise to cement the state’s first-in-the-nation primary status.

“The president was very serious when [he said] he wanted to make sure that the Democratic primary spoke to the full diversity of the Democratic Party and making sure that the base of the party, Black voters, had a say in the early stage of the process,” said a senior Biden campaign official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about internal thinking.

In addition to the string of visits, the Biden campaign moved early to announce on-the-ground aides in South Carolina before other general election battlegrounds had permanent staffing. Surrogates have swung through the state in recent weeks while the campaign has poured six figures into paid advertising, including on television and Black radio stations.

While recent polls have shown Biden underperforming among Black voters compared with his 2020 results, his advisers are hopeful these early investments will send a message that the campaign is prioritizing their support — and that it can help dissolve Dems’ concerns about sagging enthusiasm.

“Feb. 3 is your primary, the first in the nation,” Biden said, as he wrapped his speech. “Organize. Mobilize. Vote. Let’s remember who we are.”

___________

• Biden, Germany's Scholz to Meet at White House on Feb. 9

President Joe Biden will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Feb. 9 in a bid to rally support for additional assistance for Ukraine, the White House said on Saturday.

The two leaders will use their White House meeting to reaffirm their strong support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, the White House said in a statement.

Biden and Scholz will discuss efforts to prevent regional escalation in the Middle East, their steadfast support for Israel’s right to self-defence, and the imperative of increasing humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians from harm in Gaza.

The meeting is set as bipartisan U.S. Senate talks on a border security deal that some Republicans set as a condition for further Ukraine aid have hit a critical point.

Biden said on Friday that the Senate border deal being negotiated was the "toughest and fairest" set of reforms possible and vowed to "shut down the border" the day he signs the bill.

Biden has requested $61.4 billion in additional funding to help supply Ukraine with weapons and replenish U.S. stocks as it nears the two-year mark of its war with Russia. The funds sought for Ukraine are part of a "supplemental" request that also includes $14.3 billion for Israel and $13.6 billion for border protection.

Scholz said this month the majority of countries in the European Union were not delivering sufficient weapons to Ukraine to help it battle Russia, urging allies to increase efforts.

Germany agreed late last year to double the country's military aid for Ukraine in 2024 to 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion), and on Tuesday said it would send six "Sea King" helicopters to Ukraine from its military inventory this year.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...house-on-feb-9

__________

• Newsom says he will ‘go to the ends of the earth’ for Biden

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he would go “to the ends of the earth” for President Biden in a recent MSNBC interview.

When host Alex Wagner noted Newsom was not running for president despite recent moves elevating his national profile, Newsom said there is “[n]o chance” of that happening. He then questioned why someone would want to run at the same time as Biden, who he said has “a record of accomplishments” and is “man of character, a man of decency.”

“I’m old school,” Newsom said. “Talk about loyalty, I’ll go to the ends of the earth for this guy, I really would. I’m not making that up.”

The comment comes a week after the California governor announced he was set to stump for the Biden reelection campaign in Nevada and South Carolina.

In the same interview, Newsom took a swing at former President Trump, saying that he is “damaged goods” and “more unhinged than ever.”

“He can’t be beaten in a primary, but in a general election a general election, I think he’s the most flawed candidate in my lifetime,” Newsom said. “He is damaged goods.”

“He is not as entertaining as he once was. He’s more unhinged than he ever was, more extreme, obviously more dangerous across the spectrum of issues,” he added.

_________

• Biden makes economic sales pitch as campaign ramps up
  

Snip/Yada, yada, yada – “we” understand that most of us are in a good place

But other Republicans have conceded that the economy is doing very well, according to standard econometric measurements.

Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council under former President Trump, said Thursday he’d be bragging about the status of the economy, too, if he were president.

“[Biden] got a good 3.3-percent GDP number for the fourth quarter, following a good 4.9 percent in the third quarter. OK, If I were he, I would be bragging about it, too. And inflation has come down,” Kudlow said on his Fox Business Network television show Thursday.

Inflation has fallen from a nearly 9-percent annual rate in mid-2022 down to 3.3 percent in December. “Core” inflation — which exempts the volatile categories of energy and food — as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index fell to 2.9 percent in December, close to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target range.