White House News (白宮消息) | May 6th, 2021

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Biden on implementation of American Rescue Plan — 5/5/21
President Biden delivers remarks on his administration's implementation of the American Rescue Plan.

Remarks by President Biden on His Administration’s Implementation of the American Rescue Plan
MAY 05, 2021

​THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Earlier today, I — I visited a restaurant here in town, Las — I’m going to mispronounce it — Las Geme- — Las Gelameas [Gemelas].  And — which is a pilot program for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and an important piece of the American Rescue Plan.

One of my goals with the American Rescue Plan is to make sure that we get this law’s benefits quickly and directly to the American people.

So before I say a bit more about what we’re doing to support our nation’s restaurants, let me provide an update on what is happening through the American Rescue Plan right now, as I speak. 

First is providing checks in pockets and shots in arms.  More than 163 million Rescue payments have already gone out.  These are checks — direct payments of up to $1,400 — that, for a typical family of four making about $110,000, means a $5,600 check you’ll get.  By the time all of the money is distributed, more than 85 percent of American households will have received a check. 

The Rescue Plan is also funding vaccine administration and distribution.  It’s a big reason why we were able to administer over 220 million shots in my first 100 days — a pace unmatched by any other nation in the world or in prior mass vaccinations in all of American history. 

You know, it’s helped schools reopen safely.  It’s helping childcare centers stay in business.  It’s helping families pay for childcare. 

The Rescue Plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans facing hunger.  And hunger is already sharply down in the United States. 

It’s also providing rental assistance to keep people from being evicted from their homes, it’s making healthcare more affordable, it’s cutting child poverty in this country in half, and the list goes on.  And the message is clear: Help is here. 

​And the bottom line is this: The American Rescue Plan is working.  America is getting vaccinated.  Job creation is soaring.  The economy is growing.  And our country is on the move again.      more

Biden administration backs waiving of vaccine intellectual property protections
​
May 6 - ​President Joe Biden’s administration is throwing its support behind efforts to waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines in an effort to speed the end of the pandemic. United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the US government’s position in a Wednesday statement, amid World Trade Organisation talks over easing global trade rules to enable more countries to produce more of the life-saving vaccines.     source from

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MAY 5, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a briefing on the Biden administration’s policy agenda. Secretary Vilsack talked about addressing food insecurity in the American Families Plan and providing aide to minority-owned farms. When asked about Facebook’s independent board’s decision to uphold the ban on former President Trump, the press secretary would not comment on his social media use but said the platforms have a responsibility to address disinformation and misinformation on their sites.

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, May 5, 2021

MS. PSAKI:  Hi, everyone. 
 
Q    Hi, good afternoon. 
 
MS. PSAKI:  Good afternoon.  Okay.  We have another special guest joining us today: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. 
 
As you all know, this is Secretary Vilsack’s second turn at the Department of Agriculture, which he led in the Obama-Biden administration from 2009 through 2017, making him the longest-serving member of President Obama’s Cabinet.
 
In those years, Secretary Vilsack fought to put Americans back to work by investing in rural infrastructure, renewable energy, and large-scale conservation partnerships.  Under his leadership, USDA introduced healthier food choices in school meals to benefit 50 million children, and expanded free and reduced-price lunches for millions of kids.
 
Prior to his appointment — or nomination and confirmation, I should say — Secretary Vilsack served two terms as the Governor of Iowa, in the Iowa State Senate, and as the Mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
 
With that, I will turn it over to the Secretary, who will be — take a few questions once he concludes his remarks.
 
SECRETARY VILSACK:  Jen, thanks very much.  It’s certainly a pleasure to be here today with all of you.
 
I’m here primarily to talk about food and nutrition security.  And you may think that that is just about food and nutrition security, but, in fact, it’s about a lot more than that. 
 
When you understand that 25 percent of America’s workforce is directly or indirectly impacted by the food and ag industry, that it represents a significant percentage of our GDP, that educational achievement is somewhat dependent on youngsters having healthy and nutritious food as they begin their school year and school day, and the fact that it is a noted effort in reducing poverty, food and nutrition security becomes an important issue.  And certainly, we’ve seen the impact of that during the course of the pandemic. ​     more

Psaki Pushes Back on McConnell Saying His Focus Is To Stop the Biden Administration

May 6 - White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is pushing back on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) after he said his focus is on stopping the Biden administration.

A reporter mentioned during a White House press briefing on Wednesday McConnell said, “100% of my focus is on stopping this new administration.”
She asked Psaki, “Are you concerned that it will be difficult to work with Republicans when you have these kinds of statements coming from their leader?”

Psaki replied, “I guess the contrast for people to consider is 100% of our focus is on delivering relief to the American people, on getting the pandemic under control and putting people back to work and we welcome support and engagement and work with Republicans on that.”

​She continued, “The president has extended an open arm to that. The door to the Oval Office open.”     source from

White House News (白宮消息) | May 5th, 2021

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MAY 4, 2021
President Biden Remarks on COVID-19 Response and Vaccine Program
President Biden delivered remarks on the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the goal of administering at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot to 70% of US adult population by July 4.

White House Wants 70 Percent of Adults Vaccinated by July 4
President Joe Biden has set a new vaccination goal. He says he wants nearly three-fourths of American adults vaccinated by Independence Day.

Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the Vaccination Program
MAY 04, 2021

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon. Today, two months until July 4th, I’m here to report that we’re — we’re in our vaccination program — where we are and what comes next in an effort to get this country back closer to normal.

And first: Where are we? Well, as everyone knows, I promised that we’d administer 100 million shots in my first 100 days. After we met that goal, we doubled it to a — a historic 200 million shots. By the time we reached 100 days last week, we had shattered that mark with over 220 million shots in arms.

And as we stand here today, almost 150 million Americans have gotten at least one shot.  Over 105 million Americans are fully vaccinated.  And among our most vulnerable population — seniors — we are nearing 85 percent of those who have gotten their first shot. Seventy percent of the seniors are now fully vaccinated.  It’s a dramatic turnaround from where we were in January, when less than 2 percent of adults and less than 1 percent of seniors were fully vaccinated. 

Not only that, cases are down in 40 states these past two weeks.  Deaths are down dramatically since January — down over 80 percent among seniors, which includes a drop among Hispanics of 80 percent and among African Americans of 70 percent of seniors.  

There are tens of thousands of Americans alive today because — who would not be alive otherwise were they not — had access to rapid vaccination program.  Moms and dads, sisters and brothers, grandparents, neighbors, old friends — they’re around now, and God — thank God for that.

Now, where do we go from here?  Well, as we anticipated, the pace of vaccinations is slowing now that the majority of American adults have already gotten their first shot.  But we are still vaccinating millions of Americans every day. 

In fact, in the last 10 days, 1 out of every 10 adult Americans got a shot.  But, soon, we’ll have reached the adults who are most eager to get vaccinated, and, at that point, this effort will shift to a new phase, which is what I want to talk about today.

Our new phase will focus on three areas.  First, kids, children between the ages of 12 and 15 years of age.  They are not yet eligible for a vaccine...     more

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MAY 4, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on the Biden administration’s policy agenda. She discussed the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, aid being provided to India, and the president’s proposed American Jobs and Families plans.

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, May 4, 2021

...​At the end of March, there were more than 5,000 children in Customs and Border Protection Patrol stations.  Today, that number is approximately 600.

The amount of time children spend in CBP facilities is down by 75 percent — from 131 hours at the end of March to under 30 hours now.

And just yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will begin the process of reuniting a number of families who were separated by the policies of the previous administration.

Clearly, we’re not done; there’s a lot of work ahead.  Migration is a dynamic and evolving challenge, but the President has a plan and we’re working on implementing it. 

Just a few more brief updates for you.  As you know, Friday is “Jobs Day.”  Here we are again.  And to mark the occasion, I wanted to convey to all of you that we are going to be welcoming in Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to the briefing room on Friday to provide an update to all of you and take some questions.

And throughout this week, the President, the Vice President, Cabinet members, and other administration officials are fanning out across the country to make a forceful argument for the President’s economic vision.  The President, of course, began that push just yesterday, in Virginia, to talk about the Jobs Plan and the Families Plan, and it will continue today with the Vice President who will be traveling to — who will be in Milwaukee.

As part of this, we’ll also have Secretary Vilsack joining us in the briefing tomorrow to talk about the vital child nutrition proposals in the American Families Plan.

Finally, today, Jeff Zients and members of our COVID Response Team held their weekly meeting with our nation’s governors. 
This week, over 29 million doses will go out across all of our channels, with two thirds of those doses going to jurisdictions and one third to federal channels...   quoted from

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 28: PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, FLANKED BY VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS AND HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CALIF.), ADDRESSES A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS, WITH VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS AND HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CALIF.) ON THE DAIS BEHIND HIM, ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021. BIDEN SPOKE TO A NATION SEEKING TO EMERGE FROM TWIN CRISES OF PANDEMIC AND ECONOMIC SLIDE IN HIS FIRST SPEECH TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS.
Joe Biden and the Next 100 Days

May 5 - ...We cannot know what kind of President Biden might have become after one of his earlier runs, but he became president at a moment of both economic peril and political violence—for four years, Trump and his allies leveled attacks on America’s ideals, which culminated with a violent mob storming the Capitol and seeking to undo a free and fair election. 

Under these circumstances, and with extraordinary experience and empathy, Biden has laid the foundation for an historic presidency that builds back a better, more inclusive and secure American dream and middle class. If he stays the course, his second 100 days could produce an historic set of legislative accomplishments that empower a team of true public servants to spend the remainder of the term making real the American ideals in which Joe Biden has never lost faith. ​    quoted from

MAY 4, 2021
Vice President Harris Remarks at Conference on the Americas
Vice President Harris addresses the Conference on the Americas, focusing her remarks on the underlying causes behind migration from Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico to the U.S. southern border.

Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Virtual Washington Conference on the Americas
MAY 04, 2021

...Last week, President Joe Biden and I reached the 100th day of our administration.  In that time, we have let the world know — and the President has been very clear about this — America is back. 

We have rejoined the Paris Agreement.  We are ending our nation’s longest war.  We are rebuilding our alliances and engaging partners all over the world.  And we are revitalizing our relationships throughout the Western Hemisphere from the southernmost parts of South America, to the northernmost parts of Canada, and everywhere in between.

The Western Hemisphere is our home.  And because it is our home, because the people within it are our neighbors, it is imperative that we promote democracy and good governance, security, and prosperity within the region. 

It is also important that we build relationships throughout the hemisphere that are based on dignicy [dignity] and diplomacy — relationships that are both candid and collaborative. 

The strength of the United States of America depends on the strength of all of the Western Hemisphere.  In so many ways, our fates are intertwined.  That is especially true of Latin America, one of our fastest-growing trade partners. 

To be sure, our relationship with Latin America is bigger than trade.  And our relationship is incredibly complex and, at times, has been incredibly complicated.  Today, I want to make clear that our administration firmly believes in the potential of the region and in the power of the people of the region. 

Latin Americans are shaping their own future...    more

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US Legislators Call on Biden to Help Raise Funds for Yemen

May 5, TEHRAN (FNA)- A group of influential United States legislators called on the Joe Biden administration to help raise $2.5bln in aid for Yemenis suffering amid what they described as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.

In an open letter on Tuesday, four US senators urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide more aid for Yemen and rally other countries to contribute after a recent United Nations fundraising appeal for the war-torn country fell short, Al-Jazeera reported.

The UN conference in March sought to raise $3.85bln but only raised $1.35bln. The Biden administration had pledged $19mln in US assistance, far below the “fair share” of $1.2bln that international aid group Oxfam had urged Washington to contribute.

“More than 20 million Yemenis depend on humanitarian assistance to survive and we cannot let them down,” reads the bipartisan letter, signed by Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Jeanne Shaheen, as well as Republican Senators Jerry Moran and Todd Young.

“Unfortunately, the looming threat of famine has re-emerged. Today, nearly 50,000 people in Yemen are living in famine-like conditions with 5 million more just a step away,” added the legislators, urging Blinken to support calls for a second humanitarian donor conference for Yemen.

Switzerland and Sweden have called for another fundraising conference to fill the $2.5bln shortage
“We urge you to work with other major donors to rally around that meeting, mobilizing the resources needed to stave off famine and save lives,” the senators said in their letter.

Murphy has been travelling in the region this week and met in Amman on Tuesday with the US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, and a group of European diplomats.

Lenderking had been in Saudi Arabia and Oman on April 29 for talks on Yemen.

“Folks are definitely hoping the United States contributes its fair share. It’s definitely a welcome letter,” stated Hassan El-Tayyab, a lobbyist in Washington with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker advocacy organisation.
But El-Tayyab told Al-Jazeera that “aid alone is not enough to support the population”.

​“It’s at best a Band-Aid,” he continued, adding, “What Yemen needs is a nationwide ceasefire that ends the war.”
Biden has withdrawn US support for offensive operations carried out by a military coalition in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and paused weapons sales to Riyadh that had been previously approved by the Donald Trump administration.     source from

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Biden in April offered a meeting in a third country.
Biden Says 'Hope and Expectation' for Putin Meeting in June

May 4 - ...​Biden is scheduled to attend a G7 summit in Britain in mid-June, followed by NATO and EU summits in Brussels, which would open the door to the logistics of a separate Putin meeting.
Austria and Finland have expressed interest in hosting the summit.

In April, Washington expelled 10 Russian diplomats over what it says was Russia's large-scale cyber attack on U.S. computer systems and interference in the 2020 presidential election. Moscow responded with tit-for-tat expulsions.

, the Biden administration has stressed that it wants to bring stability to the relationship and that Washington and Moscow need to cooperate on key areas, such as nuclear weapons and the climate crisis.   quoted from

NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - May 4th, 2021 | NBC Nightly News
May 5, 2021
3.2K147SHARESAVEPresident Biden announces new goal for 70 percent of adults to get first Covid vaccine by July 4, the FDA may soon authorize Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children, and fears of the Taliban’s return as U.S. troops leave Afghanistan.

White House News (白宮消息) | May 4th, 2021

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MAY 3, 2021
Defense Department Briefing | C-SPAN.org
​Defense Department Press Secretary John Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon.

Defender Europe 21 Exercises Multinational Interoperability, Readiness, Transparency

May 4 - Exercise Defender Europe 21 has started once again. This year's exercise involves 26 nations, including the U.S., and around 28,000 multinational forces all focused on building operational readiness and interoperability between NATO allies and partners.

"It's defensive in nature, focused on deterring aggression, while preparing our forces to respond to crisis and conduct large-scale combat operations if necessary," said Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby, during a briefing today at the Pentagon.

Another key attribute of Defender Europe 21, Kirby said, is the transparency surrounding what it is all about, who will participate, what is meant to be accomplished.

"[Defender Europe] is an exercise that's annual. We've been doing it a long, long time ... it's a defensive exercise. And it's one that helps us build interoperability," Kirby said. "Here's the other thing that's different: we actually come to the podium and tell you about it."

Kirby said that openly discussing the Defender Europe 21 exercise and why U.S., NATO partners and other European allies are gathering troops is an important facet of the operation. Other nations have not been so clear or forthright about their own amassing of troops, he said.

"I'm going to continually talk about what we're doing — it's called transparency — it's a wonderful thing," he said "And we're not getting that out of Moscow and we haven't. So that's a big difference right there. It's a defensive exercise and you will be able to hear us talk about it and communicate to you and to the world what we're doing and why."

In past weeks, Russia had amassed more than 100,000 troops on the Russian side of its border with Ukraine — alarming the Ukrainians and allies. In recent days, those troops have started to pull back, but many still remain.

"There's still quite a few, I mean there's still a lot of forces arrayed against, or aligned along the border with Ukraine and in occupied Crimea," Kirby said. "And it's still never been completely clear what the intentions were."

Defender Europe is an Army-led exercise, though this year it has significant Air Force and Navy participation. Last week, for instance, the USNS Bob Hope arrived off the coast of Albania in advance of its participation in a joint logistics over-the-shore exercise there.

The Defender Europe 21 exercise will also include several smaller "linked" exercises, Kirby said. Those include Swift Response, which involves airborne operations in Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania; Immediate Response, which involves more than 5,000 troops from eight nations conducting live-fire training in 12 different countries; Saber Guardian, which includes more than 13,000 service members doing live-fire training as well as air and missile defense operations; and a command post exercise with 2,000 personnel exercising the ability of a headquarters to command multinational land forces.

"The Defender Europe exercise is going to conclude in June, but not before demonstrating joint force readiness, lethality and interoperability, reinforcing the U.S. commitment to our allies and partners, and providing an outstanding opportunity to highlight the superb job our men and women are doing every day and in the region — the Balkan and Black Sea regions in particular, and throughout Europe and the Africa area of operations," Kirby said.     source from

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MAY 3, 2021
Secretary of State Blinken and British Foreign Secretary Raab News Conference
Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a joint news conference with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London.

‘Mind-bending’ photo of giant Bidens and tiny Carters baffles the internet

May 4 - The Carter Center released a photo showing Joe and Jill Biden during a visit with Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter -- but something seemed askew.

Both couples looked happy enough to spend time together, but the Bidens appeared to be about three times larger than the Carters, most likely due to a wide-angle camera lens -- but the strange effect set off speculation both humorous and serious.     quoted from

​

Sen. Lindsey Graham, left, Sen. Bob Menendez, center, and Sen. Chris Murphy on Capitol Hill, December 12, 2018.
Biden is getting closer to a deal with Iran, and Democrats in Congress need to get with the program

May 4 - ...US diplomatic credibility on the Iran issue took a plunge during the Trump years, particularly after he unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018 even though Iran was complying with the deal. All the pressure in the world won't accomplish your goals if the other side, and your best allies, have no reason to believe you will keep your word.

Trump's irresponsible decision in 2018 to withdraw from the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions lifted by the accord — despite the fact that Iran was in full compliance with the agreement and despite the objections of key US allies — unsurprisingly led Tehran to retaliate by breaching some of the deal's limits on its nuclear activities beginning in 2019.

Now, the time it might take Iran to amass enough material for a bomb has been reduced from one year or more, under the 2015 agreement, to perhaps less than three months.

If the US and Iran can agree on a process to return to compliance in their ongoing talks in Vienna, there is hope that Iran's most worrisome nuclear violations can be reversed, and the nonproliferation benefits of the 2015 accord can be quickly restored.

But just this week, Menendez is once again attempting to throw a wrench in the gears of diplomacy. He, along with Sen. Jim Risch, a known Iran hawk, introduced a bill that would purposefully complicate the diplomatic process by adding untenable reporting requirements for international agreements.

Biden needs a solid foundation for further negotiations with Iran to try to secure a follow-on deal that strengthens and lengthens the original nuclear agreement and advances America's interests in the region.     quoted from

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Jews increasingly targeted by white nationalists, Biden warns
In Jewish American Heritage Month address, President Biden warns of rise in anti-Semitism, linking it to 'white nationalism'.

May 4 - In his proclamation marking Jewish American Heritage Month, President Joe Biden cited the precedents set by prominent Jews in politics this year and condemned the nation’s spike in antisemitism in recent years.

Biden recognized Douglas Emhoff and Chuck Schumer, saying this year Americans saw “two historic firsts… the Vice President take the oath of office alongside her Jewish spouse, and a Jewish American became the first Majority Leader of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish American elected official in our Nation’s history.”

Schumer, the Jewish Democrat from New York, became Senate majority leader in January when Democrats retook the Senate.

“Alongside this narrative of achievement and opportunity, there is also a history — far older than the Nation itself — of racism, bigotry, and other forms of injustice,” Biden said. “This includes the scourge of antisemitism. In recent years, Jewish Americans have increasingly been the target of white nationalism and the antisemitic violence it fuels.”

​Biden’s decision to run for president was fueled in part by his perception that then-President Donald Trump was equivocating in condemning white supremacist violence and antisemitism. He said last week in his address to a joint session of Congress that white supremacists posed the greatest terrorist threat to Americans.     source from

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Pres. Joe Biden Will Give Everyone More Money

May 4 - ...​Median black household income in the United States is approximately $59,000; that of Nigeria $5000. Black life expectancy in the USA is 75 years, that in Nigeria is 54. Even allowing for differences in purchasing power, American blacks are several times richer than Nigerians, and they live on average 21 years longer, a not inconsiderable advantage.

In other words, in important respects American blacks have been net beneficiaries from the forced transportation of their ancestors to America. This does nothing to detract from the horrors of slavery, but it does cast a different light on the claims to reparations of those who are now living.

I have a personal interest in reparations. My mother, a refugee from Nazi Germany, inherited nothing from her parents, who were solidly middle class. The German government offered her reparations, which she turned down to my youthful regret at the time, as they might have eased somewhat her (and subsequently my) economic path through life.
She called such reparations blood money. But it is obvious to me that I have no claim on Germany, nor would my life have been improved had I pursued, or even won, such a claim.

On the contrary, it would have been a degrading and dishonest search. The pursuit of something for nothing—nothing, that is, that is personally and individually deserved—is unedifying and not conducive to self-respect.     quoted from

Meet The Press Broadcast (Full) - May 3rd, 2021 | Meet The Press | NBC News
May 4, 2021
Bill and Melinda Gates announce divorce, more than 360,000 new Covid cases reported in India, and U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and fears over impact on women.