Factbase Transcripts

Karine Jean-Pierre

Neutral

00:00:00-00:00:04 (4 sec)

"All right. Hello. I have a guest with me." 1

Question

Slightly Positive

00:00:04-00:00:04 ( sec)

"Yeah." 2

Karine Jean-Pierre

Positive

00:00:04-00:00:10 (6 sec)

"Yeah. Okay, just bear with me for a second. Got a little bit of a laydown of the trip." 3

Karine Jean-Pierre

Somewhat Positive

00:00:10-00:00:22 (12 sec)

"So, good afternoon. As you all know, we are on our way to East Palestine, Ohio, where the President will hear directly from residents affected by the Norfolk Southern train de- -- derailment." 4

Karine Jean-Pierre

Very Positive

00:00:22-00:00:34 (12 sec)

"The President is making today's visit as -- at the invitation of the mayor to see the progress delivered through our whole-of-government response and to reaffirm his commitment to supporting the community as it moves forward." 5

Karine Jean-Pierre

Neutral

00:00:34-00:00:49 (15 sec)

"While on the ground, the President will also receive a briefing from officials on continuing response and recovery efforts, which began within hours of the derailment and will continue for as long as it takes to make this community whole again." 6

Karine Jean-Pierre

Very Positive

00:00:49-00:01:01 (12 sec)

"A couple of things that I wanted to just highlight for all of you: The Department of Transporta- -- Transportation arrived on scene within hours to support the National Transportation Safety Board in their independent investigation of the derailment." 7

Karine Jean-Pierre

Somewhat Negative

00:01:01-00:01:20 (19 sec)

"EPA also arrived within hours and continues to work around the clock to clean up the mess Norfolk Southern made, removing more than 176,000 tons of hazardous waste and removing or treating more than 49 million gallons of water, all paid for by Norfolk Southern under EPA's historic enforcement authority." 8

Karine Jean-Pierre

Slightly Positive

00:01:20-00:01:32 (12 sec)

"FEMA provided immediate technical and operational assistance to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and other agencies, including by leading community outreach efforts to help keep residents informed." 9

Karine Jean-Pierre

Leans Negative

00:01:32-00:01:41 (9 sec)

"And HHS continues to monitor the public health consequences of the derailment, including any long-term health issues in the affected communities." 10

Karine Jean-Pierre

Very Positive

00:01:41-00:02:02 (21 sec)

"The President also wants to ensure that what happened in East Palestine doesn't happen again here or in any other community. That's why he has deployed historic investments to modernize and upgrade rail infrastructure and make passenger and freight rail safer and continues to call on Congress to do its part by passing the bipartisan Railway Safety Act." 11

Karine Jean-Pierre

Somewhat Positive

00:02:02-00:02:16 (14 sec)

"Today, the President is bringing a message to the people of East Palestine: We will continue to be here every step of the way, as long as it takes, and use every tool available to ensure this community is able to move forward." 12

Karine Jean-Pierre

Neutral

00:02:16-00:02:25 (8 sec)

"And with that, I have the EPA Administrator, Michael Regan, to take any of your questions or to make any statements that you may have. Go ahead." 13

Question

Neutral

00:02:25-00:02:26 (2 sec)

"Can you just speak up a little bit? Sorry." 14

Karine Jean-Pierre

Slightly Positive

00:02:26-00:02:27 ( sec)

"Yeah." 15

Michael Regan

Positive

00:02:27-00:02:43 (17 sec)

"Yes. You know, I just want to add that, first and foremost, President Biden has been laser-focused on East Palestine from day one -- laser-focused since day one. As Karine said, we were there just hours after the derailment. We have been there since." 16

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:02:43-00:03:17 (34 sec)

"This is a historic response. Because the President has leaned in, EPA has been able to accomplish work in 12 months that would have normally taken close to five years. We have moved over 176,000 tons of contaminated soil, over 43 million gallons of contaminated water, and all the while, have had a EPA welcome center open downtown to take questions and provide educational materials to all that have been affected." 17

Question

Neutral

00:03:17-00:03:23 (7 sec)

"Do the people of East Palestine need long-term healthcare provided to them by the federal government?" 18

Michael Regan

Leans Positive

00:03:23-00:03:36 (13 sec)

"You know, long-term monitoring and long-term healthcare are things that have been requested and are being considered. There are multiple ways that we are evaluating how to arrive to those potential solutions." 19

Michael Regan

Neutral

00:03:36-00:03:47 (11 sec)

"But we are listening to the people of East Palestine. And what I have pledged and what the President has pledged is that we will be there, shoulder to shoulder with the people of East Palestine, until the job is done." 20

Question

Neutral

00:03:47-00:03:52 (5 sec)

"What is the status -- what is the status of the drinking water now?" 21

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:03:52-00:04:06 (15 sec)

"You know, there are weekly tests done at the municipal level by the state of Ohio, as well as continual samples for private wells, all of which are getting a clean bill of health from the state." 22

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:04:06-00:04:20 (14 sec)

"We check the state's homework, and we firmly believe that when the state checks a municipal well source or a private well and they say that they have a green light, we trust that methodology and believe that the water is safe to drink." 23

Question

Very Positive

00:04:20-00:04:30 (9 sec)

"What is the administration's message, though, to the residents who are concerned about the air in their homes and the water still, even though they're getting these positive messages from the -- from local officials there?" 24

Michael Regan

Positive

00:04:30-00:04:53 (23 sec)

"You know, what I -- what I have to say is we have over, you know, 45,000 air quality monitoring tests strategically done around the area, over 115 million different data points that suggests that there was never any concerns for air pollution levels above safe levels." 25

Michael Regan

Leans Positive

00:04:53-00:05:15 (23 sec)

"And -- and shortly after the derailment -- I'll remind folks -- we went inside over 600 homes to do indoor air assessments and determine, even shortly after the controlled burn, that there were no elevated levels. And so, we believe that the science and the technology prove that the indoor air quality is safe." 26

Michael Regan

Neutral

00:05:15-00:05:31 (15 sec)

"And we are determining this through multiple measures. We have high-tech aircraft that we've had in the vicinity. We have mobile sources and trucks and others with sophisticating measurement tools. And then we have stationary air monitors placed all around this community." 27

Michael Regan

Positive

00:05:31-00:05:35 (5 sec)

"We believe and know, based on the science and the data, that the air is safe." 28

Question

Neutral

00:05:35-00:05:40 (5 sec)

"Just wanted to follow up on that. If -- if that's the case, where do the contaminants go?" 29

Michael Regan

Slightly Positive

00:05:40-00:06:11 (31 sec)

"Well, you know, most of these contaminants, during the controlled burn -- dissipated immediately during the controlled burn. And we -- the -- the state ordered an evacuation. And we set up this very well-designed system for testing the air quality. So, since people have been back in their home, we've been having lots of testing and data points that determine that most of these chemicals dissipated immediately." 30

Michael Regan

Slightly Negative

00:06:11-00:06:23 (11 sec)

"But we've set up this safety net to determine that there are no elevated levels in the area, externally or in these homes, based upon the derailment and the controlled burn." 31

Question

Very Positive

00:06:23-00:06:31 (8 sec)

"Can you help us understand why it took so long for the President to make this trip? Was there a specific reason? Was his own health considered in making this decision?" 32

Michael Regan

Somewhat Positive

00:06:31-00:06:44 (14 sec)

"You know, what I would say is, the President has been laser-focused since day one, deployed a whole-of-government approach, and decided to strategically visit and engage when he thought the time was right." 33

Michael Regan

Positive

00:06:44-00:07:01 (16 sec)

"I will note that a lot of work has gone on this past year, and it has been, as of late, that the mayor extended an invitation to the President to join. And the President is responding to that local invite, which I think is very appropriate." 34

Question

Negative

00:07:01-00:07:13 (12 sec)

"To Josh's -- a follow-up to Josh's question. Senator J.D. Vance has proposed a $15 million long-term study for the health effects after the crash. Is that something that the administration is considering?" 35

Michael Regan

Somewhat Positive

00:07:13-00:07:34 (21 sec)

"You know, I -- I would say that this administration understands that we need to be there until the job is done. We also understand that the community is requesting long-term monitoring of the environment and personal health. And all of those things we believe are under consideration and deserve a really robust conversation." 36

Question

Neutral

00:07:34-00:07:46 (12 sec)

"Have you received any information, any feedback from the residents who may still have some concerns about their air and water? Have they brought it directly to the EPA, or have you just been hearing it sort of through a trickle-down method?" 37

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:07:46-00:08:14 (28 sec)

"Absolutely, we've heard it directly from the community. We've been embedded in this community, you know, hours after this derailment. We have an EPA welcome center, which we've seen over 1,200 East Palestinian residents darken that door. You know, in the East Palestinian community and surrounding areas, we send out newsletters to about 9,000 homes and residents. So, we have a really robust two-way communication." 38

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:08:14-00:08:33 (19 sec)

"We are hearing and listening to those concerns. For those who have health concerns, we have advocated from day one: Please engage your medical providers, please provide them the appropriate information. That way we can have a better understanding from a health perspective where there may be some correla- -- correlations." 39

Michael Regan

Positive

00:08:33-00:08:50 (17 sec)

"But I want to be clear that the monitoring that we've done of the municipal water, the private wells and the monitoring that we've done around the air quality demonstrates that there were no elevated levels of pollution exposure due to this derailment." 40

Question

Slightly Negative

00:08:50-00:09:09 (19 sec)

"Given this robust response that you've described here, what -- why do you think the people of East Palestine are so frustrated and angry at the President? I mean, we're not expecting a particularly warm welcome for the President today when he arrives. Do you have a sense for what -- what that is?" 41

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:09:09-00:09:41 (32 sec)

"You know, this is my fifth trip, and I've spent time with a lot of different people -- families that have been impacted, high school students. When I converse with the mayor or with Congressman Bill Johnson and with many community members, what I'm hearing is 90 to 95 percent of the people of East Palestine are looking forward -- are ready to move forward and believe that their community is safe. And they want to see this dark cloud removed from over their community." 42

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:09:41-00:10:14 (33 sec)

"There is a percentage of people -- a smaller percentage of people who do not quite have the faith in the quality of their water and the quality of their air. And what I would say is we continue to work with these individuals, provide the data, provide the analytics, and try to help them get to a place where they are more comfortable with what they're experiencing. Some of these people were not quite confident in their water quality before this derailment, and they're definitely not going to be satisfied after the derailment." 43

Michael Regan

Neutral

00:10:14-00:10:19 (4 sec)

"So, we have to continue to work with the community and meet people where they are." 44

Question

Very Negative

00:10:19-00:10:26 (7 sec)

"What's your response to requests for a disaster declaration? There has been one from the governor, from Senator Sherrod Brown. Why wasn't that made?" 45

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:10:26-00:10:50 (25 sec)

"You know, I think the President's executive order -- or presidential order made it clear that this option is on the table, and the state has a few boxes it needs to check to provide the federal government with the level of detail needed to pursue that. And so, the ball is in the state's court. And, you know, we will let the states lead on that and be prepared to respond at the appropriate time." 46

Question

Neutral

00:10:50-00:10:59 (9 sec)

"Is the Ohio governor or are other federal Republican Ohio lawmakers invited to take part in the briefing or in any of the events today?" 47

Karine Jean-Pierre

Neutral

00:10:59-00:11:01 (2 sec)

"Say that mor- -- I didn't hear the question." 48

Question

Neutral

00:11:01-00:11:07 (6 sec)

"Was -- was the Ohio governor or other, sort of, Ohio Republican lawmakers invited today? And did they decline to come or --" 49

Karine Jean-Pierre

Very Positive

00:11:07-00:11:23 (16 sec)

"So, I would certainly refer you to their offices. Obviously, when these -- the President makes these types of trips, he sends out an invite to -- it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, obviously -- he sends out the invite. But I would refer you to their respective office on -- on their schedule." 50

Question

Neutral

00:11:23-00:11:24 ( sec)

"All right." 51

Michael Regan

Very Positive

00:11:24-00:11:48 (24 sec)

"And I'd like to say, on that point, from day one -- and I think the facts bear this out -- we have engaged both Republicans and Democrats in both states. In all fi- -- four of my trips, I've worked shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Conaway, Congressman Bill Johnson, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Governor Shapiro." 52

Michael Regan

Positive

00:11:48-00:12:03 (15 sec)

"Listen, I -- I think we have been laser-focused on this community. Politics do not belong in the response of something of this -- this magnitude. So, we've -- we've definitely seen cooperation across the aisles --" 53