6/30/2021

Pentagon | Jun. 30 2021

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June 29, 2021
President Biden Remarks on Infrastructure in La Crosse, Wisconsin
President Biden spoke about his infrastructure proposals, at the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility in La Crosse Wisconsin.

Remarks by President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework

JUNE 29, 2021•SPEECHES AND REMARKS

La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility
La Crosse, Wisconsin


THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Thank you, Laurie.  Please, please, please sit down.  I once said that to a big crowd; it was in the evening.  I said, “Please, sit down.”  And there were no seats.  They were out in a football field.  (Laughter.)  And the press pointed out, “Biden is losing it.”  (Laughter.)  Well, I can see you all have seats.  (Laughter.)

Laurie, thank you very much.  I told Laurie, when she was showing me the bus she’s driving now: Back when I was in law school, I drove a school bus during the summers to pick up spending money.  And from one bus driver to another, Laurie, I want to thank you for all you do to make this city run, to help folks get where they need to go.  And you do it in a way that sometimes is not always easy. 

I’m glad to be here with great Wisconsin leaders.  Gov, I guess I landed at the airport just a few minutes before you did.  Thank you for making the effort to be here.  And my good friend, Tammy Baldwin — Senator Baldwin is here.  And Congressman Ron Kind is — and, Mom, thank you for raising a good kid...     more


Fact Sheet: Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework Will Address Barriers Communities of Color Face to Economic Opportunity

JUNE 29, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework addresses economic disparities in our economy and the consequences of decades of disinvestment in America’s infrastructure that have fallen most heavily on communities of color. Through critical investments, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework increases access to good-paying jobs, affordable high-speed internet, reliable public transit, clean drinking water and other resources to ensure communities of color get a fair shot at the American dream.

These critical investments are first steps in advancing equity and racial justice throughout our economy. The President believes additional investments are needed in our nation’s caregiving infrastructure, housing supply, regional development, and workforce development programs to ensure that communities of color and other underserved communities can access economic opportunity and justice. And, earlier this month in Tulsa, OK, President Biden announced a whole-of-government effort to increase the share of federal contracts going to small disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent over the next five years, leveraging the government’s purchasing power to help more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework:

DELIVERS HIGH SPEED INTERNET TO EVERY AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD...     more
June 29, 2021
Department Briefing
Defense Department Spokesman John Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon.


Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing

JUNE 29, 2021

Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby

PRESS SECRETARY JOHN F. KIRBY: There's a happy face.

Q: Hidden behind the mask, can't tell.

MR. KIRBY: All right. A couple of things at the top, we'll get right to it. As some of you know, General Gus Perna, who serves as the chief operating officer of the Countermeasures Acceleration Group, who is going to retire at the end of the week. His deputy, retired Lieutenant General Paul Ostrowski, a 35-year veteran himself, will also step down from his position as director of supply production and distribution, and return to civilian service.

...On a new topic, as I mentioned last week, this Monday -- yesterday, U.S. Navy Europe and the Ukrainian Navy kicked off Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea with the largest number of participants in the exercise's 21 iterations.

During the opening ceremony, Deputy Commander Captain Kyle Gantt explained that there is nothing provocative about a naval exercise in international waters, and he's absolutely right. This longstanding exercise continues to support security and stability in the region through interoperability with our Black Sea NATO allies and partners...     quoted from

USS Ross during a previous visit to the Black Sea, April 25, 2019
U.S. Destroyer Shows Up Right Off Crimea On Vessel Tracking Sites But It Never Left Port

This bizarre spoofing incident around the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea is the second of its kind in the last two weeks.

Jun. 30 - Acouple of hours ago, in what appeared to be the latest development in the cat-and-mouse naval activities being played out by Russia and NATO in the Black Sea, online ship tracking services showed the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Ross (DDG-71), sailing together with a Ukrainian patrol boat just five miles off the coast of the contested Crimean Peninsula in the middle of the night. The Navy has denied that ship was ever anywhere near Crimea. What looked at first sight like a deliberate passage through what NATO recognizes as Ukrainian territorial waters, but which are also claimed by Russia, now seems to have been a case of deliberate spoofing of maritime tracking data, something that also occurred two weeks ago in the same area.

Earlier this evening, MarineTraffic and VesselFinder, aggregators that provide real-time information on ship movements, showed USS Ross sailing very close to the Crimean coast, causing a big stir in the online open source intelligence community. If true, this would have put the ship closer to the Russian-occupied peninsula than the U.K. Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender had been on June 23...     more