Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Delivers Remarks to U.S. Conference of Mayors Via Video - January 23, 2021 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:19 ()

Thank you Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville, Greg and everyone at The Conference of Mayors for everything you do. And Greg, thanks for leading the deal. Let me begin by saying, you have a partner in the White House. Vice President Harris and me. A partner you can trust who will listen, who will work to get you what you need.

Joe Biden

00:00:19 - 00:00:39 ()

I know how important your job is. When I was Vice President in charge of implementing The Recovery Act, I worked with mayors to take us from crisis to recovery and the road to resurgence. Now as President, I'm going to work with you again in this moment of crisis to contain the pandemic and to build our economy back and build it back better.

Joe Biden

00:00:39 - 00:01:01 ()

So as you meet with your teams during the winter meeting, be honest about what you need and how we can help work with you and get it done. I've just released, we've just released, our national strategy to beat COVID-19. The plan mounts an aggressive vaccination campaign to meet our goal of administering 100 million shots in the first 100 days.

Joe Biden

00:01:01 - 00:01:23 ()

We've already, ah, we've already instructed the federal emergency agent, the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA, to stand up the first federally supported community vaccination centers with the goal of 100 centers in the next one, in the next month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to make vaccines available to your local pharmacies by early February.

Joe Biden

00:01:23 - 00:01:54 ()

We've tasked the Department of Health and Human Service to expand the pool of medical professionals who can administer the vaccine, put the shot in people's arms. We're expanding testing which will help your schools and businesses reopen safely and protect the most vulnerable among us. We also formalized the Health Equity task force to ensure that equity is at the core of everything we do both in urban and rural communities alike.

Joe Biden

00:01:54 - 00:02:23 ()

At the same time, we need to work together to slow the spread of COVID. In the next few months masks, not vaccinations, are the single best defense that we have against COVID-19. Medical experts say that by wearing masks, by wearing masks from now until April we will save more than fifty-thousand lives. Fifty-thousand lives.

Joe Biden

00:02:23 - 00:02:42 ()

We're asking the American people to mask up for the first 100 days. I've issued an Executive Order requiring masks on federal property and interstate travel like trains, planes and buses. I hope we can work together to require masks -- I hope with you and you can require masks in your cities, and social distancing.

Joe Biden

00:02:42 - 00:03:09 ()

I also laid out a two step economic plan to rescue and recover what we were working on together. The first step is, the American Rescue plan. It includes direct cash payments, extended unemployment insurance, rent relief, food assistance and aid to small businesses. It also includes $350 billion for state and local governments to keep educators, first responders, cops, firefighters, etc.

Joe Biden

00:03:09 - 00:03:35 ()

on the job. And you'll have a greater flexibility to use the funding to meet what other, ah, needs you have. And we know you have to balance your budgets. We know the strain on you. It's real. This needs to be done. The second step is our Build Back Better Recovery Plan that makes historic investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, research and development, and clean energy.

Joe Biden

00:03:35 - 00:03:57 ()

It also confronts the climate crisis with jobs. Builds all for reentering into the Paris in the, the, the, the Paris Climate Agreement. Which I know so many of you never walked away from. Above all, I'll always level with you. I promise you. And the brutal truth is that things are going to get worse in the next several months before they get better.

Joe Biden

00:03:57 - 00:04:21 ()

We didn't get into this mess overnight, it's going to take time for us to turn things around. But we also have to act now. Now, with urgency and unity as the United States of America. So please, reach out to me, reach out to Kamala, reach out to the administration and our team any time any day. I mean it, any time any day.

Joe Biden

00:04:21 - 00:04:40 ()

We're your partners. We can do this together. I promise we'll do everything we can to help. And we can also use your advice as well. Thank you for taking the time to let me speak to you all and I hope I'll be able to do this in person in not too many months from now. Thank you so much.