Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the heart and soul of our communities. They employ nearly half of all private sector workers and contribute to every industry. Getting them what they need to grow is one of the best investments our country can make. During National Small Business Week, we celebrate the grit and strength of every entrepreneur who has chased a dream and put in the hard work each day to see their business and our Nation thrive.

When I took office, the pandemic was raging, and our economy was reeling. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses had closed forever, and millions more hung on by a thread. Too many families faced the possibility of losing not only their life's work but also their hopes of leaving something behind for their kids. But we turned that around. My Administration reformed the landmark Paycheck Protection Program, which got quick help to thousands of small businesses so they could keep paying their workers. We delivered $450 billion in relief to help 6 million small businesses cover their bills and stay afloat. I signed the American Rescue Plan, which provided additional support to 100,000 restaurants and to 225,000 child care centers, which so many parents rely on to be able to work themselves.

Three years later, America is in the midst of a historic small business boom. Americans have filed a record 17 million new business applications — and every one of them is an act of hope. The share of Black-owned businesses has more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, and Latino business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in at least a decade, generating new jobs and new wealth in local communities. In all, our economy has added 15 million new jobs since I took office. Growth is strong, wages are rising, and inflation is down. We are witnessing a small business boom. Across the country, we are experiencing a great comeback story — and small businesses are playing a key part.

From day one, they have been at the heart of my plan to grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up. That is why — as my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the biggest investment in our Nation's infrastructure in generations, rebuilding roads, bridges, ports, public transit, and more — we are relying on America's Main Street entrepreneurs to help us rebuild. We set a goal of awarding $37 billion in these investments to small businesses so they can benefit from these projects and create good-paying jobs. We are making sure every home and business in America has access to affordable, high-speed internet by the end of the decade so entrepreneurs everywhere can access more customers and have a fair shot. We passed the CHIPS and Science Act to expand semiconductor manufacturing and ensure industries of the future are Made in America, creating tens of thousands of jobs, strengthening supply chains, and supporting small suppliers and businesses across the country. As our Inflation Reduction Act makes the most significant investment in fighting climate change ever in the world, it is creating new markets for small clean-energy companies. Altogether, my Investing in America Agenda has attracted $688 billion in private-sector investments from companies that are bringing jobs back to America where they belong, helping to rebuild our economy, our supply chains, and our small businesses.

To help small businesses grow, we are also expanding access to capital and to markets by using the power of the Federal Government as both a lender and customer. Mom and pop businesses with only a handful of employees often need small loans of $100,000 or less, but not all banks offer them. That is why the Small Business Administration [SBA] is expanding access to low-cost small-dollar loans and increasing the number of lenders that offer affordable guaranteed loans. The SBA finalized rules that will provide rural and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small businesses with more affordable loan options by authorizing more non-traditional lenders, like Community Development Financial Institutions, to offer guaranteed loans. Because the Federal Government buys more goods and services than any entity in the world, we set a goal of increasing the share of Federal contracting dollars that must go to small disadvantaged businesses from less than 10 percent before I took office to 15 percent. Last year, we awarded a record-setting $76 billion to these businesses, helping level the playing field and close the racial wealth gap.

Meanwhile, we invested $10 billion in State-level small-business programs, which will catalyze tens of billions in private investments to expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Further, my Administration has invested nearly $70 million in the Women's Business Centers network, which is designed to promote and support women-owned businesses and can now be found in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Small businesses may only employ a few people instead of thousands, but together they make up 40 percent of our economy and 99.9 percent of all American businesses. They are the glue that helps hold our Nation together. In their dedication to their communities and in their courage, hope, sweat, and drive, small business owners embody the spirit of America and our boundless possibilities. This week, we recommit to making that future real and leaving no one behind.

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 April 28 through May 4, 2024, as National Small Business Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the American economy, continue supporting them, and honor the occasion with programs and activities that highlight these important businesses.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of April, 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.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

A job is about more than a paycheck — it is about dignity and respect. Our Nation's workers built this country, and we need to have their backs. On the most basic level, that means every worker in this Nation deserves to be safe on the job. Too many still risk their lives or well-being in unsafe work conditions or dangerous roles. On Workers Memorial Day, we honor our fallen and injured workers and recommit to making sure every worker has the peace of mind of knowing that they are protected at work and can return home safe to their families every night.

I am proud to be the most pro-labor President in history, and from day one, my Administration has fought to make workplaces safer and fairer. Our American Rescue Plan invested $200 million into keeping workers safe during the pandemic and guaranteeing that workers had sick leave available if they got COVID-19. We also used the full power of the Defense Production Act to deliver personal protective equipment to workers who needed it. We vaccinated 230 million Americans so they could return to offices, stores, factory floors, and more without worrying about their health.

Strong unions are at the core of all of this work. Every major law that protects workers' safety passed because unions fought for it. That is why, as my Administration makes the biggest investment in our Nation's infrastructure in generations, we are also incentivizing companies to hire union workers, pay prevailing wages, and support pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships that help workers learn how to safely do the job. At the same time, my Administration finalized a rule requiring Project Labor Agreements for most large-scale Federal construction projects, helping ensure these projects are completed safely, efficiently, and on time.

I am proud of my work standing up for unions, from being the first sitting President to walk a picket line to nominating union advocates to the National Labor Relations Board, which has helped protect the right to organize. I also signed Executive Orders restoring and expanding collective bargaining rights for the Federal workforce, and I re-established labor-management forums at Federal agencies to ensure Federal workers on the job are heard. I signed the Butch Lewis Act, protecting the pensions that millions of Americans worked their whole lives for. I have expanded coverage through the Affordable Care Act and slashed prescription drug prices, making health care more affordable for millions of working families.

At the same time, the Department of Labor has also made it easier for whistleblowers to report unsafe working conditions, regardless of their immigration status, and are hiring and training hundreds of workplace inspectors to ensure employers are meeting health and safety requirements. Last year, my Administration issued the first-ever heat Hazard Alert to protect millions of farm, construction, and other workers who spend their days outside in increasingly extreme heat. We also finalized a new rule to limit miners' exposure to toxic silica dust — protecting more than 250,000 from its harmful effects. The Department of Labor has also ramped up the enforcement of heat-safety rules, conducting more than 4,000 heat inspections in the past 2 years. They have also completed over 65,000 workplace safety and health inspections since 2022, helping keep workers in high-risk industries safe. Further, my Administration published a rule that allows workers to choose a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration official during a workplace inspection, ensuring workers are being heard. The Department of Labor is working to develop a national standard to protect indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat that can be hazardous to their health.

We are also fighting for the courageous first responders who routinely run toward danger to protect the rest of us. The Department of Labor proposed a rule that would strengthen safety standards for emergency responder equipment, training, and vehicle operations for the first time in more than 40 years. These new standards would transform many current industry best practices to requirements and could prevent thousands of injuries for more than one million brave first responders across the country. I was also proud to sign the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, which boosted pay for over 10,000 Federal firefighters to help recruit more to the job, because I know that nothing keeps firefighters safe like more firefighters. We are also committed to protecting firefighters from the harmful effects of toxic "forever chemicals", which are still too often found in firefighting equipment and fire suppression agents. I signed legislation extending the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program to firefighters who are permanently disabled and to families of firefighters who die after experiencing trauma like PTSD — it will not bring their loved ones back, but we owe them.

Today, our Nation is in the midst of a great comeback. Our economy is growing, wages are rising, and inflation is down. We have created a record 15 million jobs. On Workers Memorial Day, we recommit to making sure that every worker in this country is safe on the job. We honor those who lost their lives or have been injured on the job; we stand by their families; and we stand with the labor unions that are fighting to guarantee every worker safety, dignity, and respect.

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 April 28, 2024, as Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs and ceremonies in memory of those killed or injured due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twenty-sixth day of April, 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.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

South Lawn

3:52 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello. That's me. [Laughs]

Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. [Applause]

I want to thank Elliot for that introduction. I just love seeing all of our young leaders here today. And on behalf of our President, Joe Biden, and all of us at the White House, a warm, warm welcome to you.

And to all of the young leaders who are here today, part of why I wanted to come out and see you is to thank you for letting your parents and your godparents and your aunts and uncles and big sisters and brothers and your family members — thank you for letting them work here. You guys, by giving them permission to work here, you are helping children around our country and around the world.

The work that your parents do is about making sure that our children are happy and they're doing well and they have clean air and clean water and that they are safe. And you guys letting your parents do this work is helping so many children that you may never meet.

So, I wanted — on this day, when you're here with your parents while they're at work, I want to thank you for letting them do what they do. It means a whole lot to our entire country.

And with that, I will also say, when I was your age, I used to go to work with my mom. And it was really kind of neat to see what they do all day. Right? Wasn't it neat? Did you ask them lots of questions?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes, good. Did you get lots of good answers?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Are all of you skipping school today?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: [Laughs] It's a good day. Okay.

Well, welcome, welcome, welcome, and happy day. And I'm so happy to see all of you.

And to all of the parents, the godparents, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, the big sisters, big brothers, thank you all for the work that you do every day. Thank you all very much. [Applause]

END 3:55 P.M. EDT

Roosevelt Room

2:56 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I — before the press came in, I — I thanked the leaders who are at the table who will be sharing their stories with us this afternoon. And I mentioned to them that their stories are indicative of stories around our country of extraordinary people who have demonstrated the importance of us as a society understanding the power of redemption.

And so, we've asked these four extraordinary individuals to share their stories as a way to help people who are not in this room understand how we can do better, in terms of how we are thinking about the criminal justice system and who has been in it.

And so, I'll start by saying that I want to thank Kim for your advocacy and for using your platform in a way that has really lifted up the importance of talking about and being dedicated to second chances. And you are going to speak in a moment, but I really thank you for being here and Mayor Benjamin, of course, for moderating the conversation.

So I'm a big believer in the power of redemption. It's an age-old concept that transcends religions but is fundamentally about an understanding that everybody makes mistakes. And for some, that might rise to the level of being a crime. But is it not the sign of a civil society that we allow people a way to earn their way back and give them the support and the resources they need to do that?

And so, that's why we have convened today to talk about the power of individuals when supported by a community, by society — the power that they have to do extraordinary things that benefit all kinds of people in terms of where they live and the people they meet, their family members, and others.

So, again, I welcome the four of you for being here. And — and I'll tell you, I have worked on this issue my entire career, and I know it works. I know that it works to give people second chances.

Back when I was elected DA of San Francisco in — I was elected in 2003, started in 2004, and I've created one of the first reentry initiatives in the country. In fact, back then, the United States Department of Justice designated my program, Back on Track, as being a model of innovation for law enforcement in the United States.

And I designed it focused on first-time drug sales offenders — and most of them were in their 20s — and getting them into an initiative that was about job training — the building trades and the unions were very helpful and a great partner around apprenticeship programs; parenting classes; helping folks with housing. All of the things that any person needs to actually be productive.

And we proved that it worked. It was one of the first in the country. We reduced recidivism by 80 percent with that program in San Francisco. Then, when I became Attorney General of California, running the California Department of Justice, I created the first division on recidivism reduction and reentry, highlighting how state attorneys general but state — states as a whole and law enforcement, in particular, can and should be dedicated to this concept of what we can do around reentry and reduction of recidivism.

For a number of reasons, yes, it is about reduction but also is about public safety. Right? Reduction of recidivism is about reducing crime and doing it in a productive way, which realizes that sometimes we really ought to think more about what's the return on our investment, and we actually get a lot more out of our investment if we invest in the capacity of people instead of reacting after they've done things that might warrant a — a prosecution.

And then, of course, now, as Vice President, we have continued this work. Our President, Joe Biden, has a longstanding commitment to the issue of reduction, of recidivism. And while we have been here, then, at the White House, we've done a number of things that have been about allowing people second chances through understanding the obstacles that also still exist within society that prevent people from taking advantage of a second chance.

For example, there have been longstanding restrictions on access to opportunities such as small-business loans. So, recently, we announced that we are changing the way that we think about who is eligible for small-business loans and have, for the first time, said that folks with a criminal conviction can qualify for small-business loans.

Understand that we issue about $40 billion in small-business loans every year. The average is about $500,000. So, making this now available — and these are small business leaders, by the way — making this available, reducing and eliminating that restriction is going to mean a lot in terms of second chances and the opportunity for people to excel.

We have expanded Pell Grants for people who are currently incarcerated, understanding that there are a lot of folks who are inside who do, while they are there, want to enhance their education so that when they come out, they can get a job that allows them a — a quality of life and living that can allow them to take care of themselves and their families.

We have now expanded Pell Grants for the people who are currently incarcerated. And we have invested nearly a billion dollars to include cities and local governments and nonprofits in money for job training — for increased job training and addiction recovery and reentry support.

And I will say this. Many Americans who have served their time still face obstacles to their success. And one way for us to remove some of those other obstacles is by issuing pardons and commutations. And so, that is the subject of our conversation today.

We have issued, as an administration, with President Biden's leadership, more pardons and commutations than any recent administration at this point in their term.

For example, on marijuana, we have pardoned all people for federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. Many of you have heard me say I just don't think people should have to go to jail for smoking weed. And these pardons have been issued as an extension of that approach.

We have also addressed unjust sentencing to the extent that we have issued pardons and commutations to address historic disparities in sentencing.

One of the examples that as well-known was the disparity — longstanding disparity in sentencing of crack versus powder cocaine. It was 100-to-1 disparity, and we have been dealing with that.

In furtherance of this work, to- — yesterday, the President issued a new round of pardons. And today, we are, then, here to honor some of the recipients of those pardons.

And — and I will close my comments, as I turn it over to Kim, by saying that, again, I think we know that we can be smarter with how we seek to, one, achieve public safety but also be smarter in terms of how we invest in the people of our country, especially when we do receive and understand the importance of a concept like redemption.

And so, again, I thank everybody for being here today. And I will now turn it over to Kim Kardashian, who has been a wonderful advocate on this and so many other issues.

END 2:56 P.M. EDT

Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology
Syracuse, New York

2:39 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, hello, hello. [Applause] It's good to be back in Syracuse. [Applause] I fell in love with this place, but I fell in love with a girl before I did that. [Laughter]

Come — please, all, have a seat.

Shannon, thanks for that introduction and thank you for your brothers and sisters in the — in the building trades, what they're doing to help build a future here in Syracuse.

You know, before I start, I want to take a moment to honor

two officers who have already been mentioned — two fallen heroes who were killed in the line of duty this month: Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and — County Sheriff Department — and Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen.

We pray for their loved ones, whose hearts have been broken. You know, every time a police officer puts on that shield every morning, their husband or wife, whatever it is, their child worries about will they get that phone call — will they get that phone call.

I got one of those phone calls in a different circumstance — find out you've lost part of your soul, lost part of your heart.

For — the entire Syracuse community is grieving, and we're grieving with you.

You know, to the men and women in law enforcement here and across the country, you represent the best of us. You really do. It's one of the toughest jobs in America — one of the toughest jobs. And to the families, who I hope to get to meet shortly, I say, "My heart goes out to you." Thank you. And God bless you all.

Folks, I want to thank Governor Hochul for having us here today and for her partnership. And thanks to Chuck Schumer, a relentless advocate for this project we — we're here to talk about today.

County Executive McMahon, it's good to be back in a place that meant so much to me in my life.

I also want to thank Governor Little of Idaho and — and Boise Mayor McLean for joining us.

Micron's CEO, Sanjay, thank you for your leadership and investment in America. We tried to entice you a little bit with a couple hundre- – you know, billions of dollars, but you came. [Laughter] It seemed to work.

And to all the union leaders here, including Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers, thank you for showing the world that we can do big things again in America.

And all — folks, all over the years I've asked business leaders like Sanjay –- because the other team kept criticizing me for wanting to make these investments, you know, things like the — the infrastructure bill, which was over a trillion dollars. And we're going to have in- — we have an Infrastructure Decade coming. The last guy had Infrastructure Week and never showed up. [Laughter]

But — but, you know, I asked him — I was told that, you know, "This is a government intervention." I said, "Sure in the hell is." [Applause, Laughter]

I ask every business leader I know — not a joke — "When the federal government makes a multi-billion-dollar investment in something, does that encourage you or discourage you from getting engaged?" Well, guess what? Every single solitary leader said, overwhelmingly, yes, it encourages them to get engaged. And so, that's why we're here today.

You know, during the pandemic, folks, everyone learned about supply chains. You may remember we had a global shortage of semiconductors — smaller than the tip of your finger, and now it's even smaller than that — that would help power everything in our lives from smartphones to cars to dishwashers, satellites.

We invented those chips here in America. We invented them. We made them move. We modernized them. But over time, we stopped — we used to have 40 percent of this market. And over time, we stopped making them.

So, when the pandemic shut down the chips factories overseas, prices of everything went up at — here at home. That semiconductor shortage drove one third of the surge in inflation in 2021, caused long wait lines of all kinds of products.

Folks, I determined that I'm never going to let us be vulnerable to wait lines again. Wh- — if it's essential, we're going to make it here in America.

And together — [applause] — and, by the way, that's not hyperbole; that's literal. Together with Schumer, Leader and I, we took action to make sure these chips are made in America again, creating tens of thousands — and I mean tens of thousands — of good-paying jobs, bringing prices down for everyone.

In 2022, together with Sch- — Leader Schumer, we wrote the CHIPS and Science Act. We used to invest significant amounts of money in research and development. We stopped doing it, but I was determined we were going to do it again. It's one of the most significant science and technology investments in our history.

And two months later, I came to Syracuse to celebrate Micron's historic plan to build the biggest semiconductor manufacturing site in all of America, one of the biggest in the world.

As was mentioned, it's the size of — going to be the size of 40 football fields — 40 — big enough to fit four Carrier Domes inside and still have space leftover.

Today, I'm pleased to announce we're building on that commitment with a landmark preliminary agreement between my administration and Micron, a major chip manufacturer, which is building these fabs here in Upstate New York: $6.1 billion in chips funding paired with $125 billion from Micron to build these facilities here in New York and near Micron headquarters in Idaho.

And I — you know, by the way — [applause] — it's been mentioned before, it's the single-biggest private investment ever in the history of these two states — Idaho and, you know, New York.

So far from — not far from here, in Clay, New York, it's going to help build two to four manufacturing facilities planned by Micron'smega-labs[mega-fabs].

In Boise,Ohio[Idaho], it's going to help build new high-volume manufacturing fabs as well.

In all, it's going to create over 70,000 jobs across both states, at least 9,000 of which are construction jobs, 11,000 manufacturing jobs, tens of thousands more up and down the supply chain. And it includes 9,000 permanent Micron manufacturing jobs right here in Clay — not here, but near, in Clay, just a — just a little bit from here — many of them paying — catch this — $100,000 a year. And it doesn't require a college degree. [Applause]

These projects are governed by the largest Project Labor Agreement in the state's history. It makes one of the — and it makes sure that work is done on time with the highest quality and most significant safety standards. And I'm pleased that Micron is planning to sit down with unions to discuss the labor piece.

Look — [applause] — that's not all. And, by the way, I know I get criticized for being the most pro-union president in American history, but guess what? The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. [Applause]

These new — brand new facilities are going to produce the most sophisticated, powerful, leading-edge memory chips in the entire world. Each one has — has trillions — not billions, not millions — trillions of tiny features, each4,000[40,000] times thinner than a single hair on your head. And I've got some very thin hair on my head. [Laughter]

They require manufacturing precision down to the size of an atom. They posse- — they process enormous amounts of information at lightning speed. And they're critical to the emerging technology that will power tomorrow's economy, like artificial intelligence and advanced communications. They'll make everyday things faster, lighter, smaller, and more reliable. And it's about time.

Even though America invented these advanced chips, we don't make any of them today — zero, zero. All manufacturing of leading-edge chips moved to Asia years ago.

That's why, today, this is such a big deal. And it is a big deal.

We're bringing advanced chips manufacturing back to America after 40 years. And it's going to transform our semiconductor industry, a pillar of a modern economy. And it's going to create an entirely new ecosystem in research, design, manufacturing of advanced chips here in America.

Folks, where is it written — when I said we were going to have the lo- — become the manufacturing capital of the world again when I got elected, they looked at me, some of my friends, and said, "You're crazy." Well, where the he- — where the heck is it written — [laughter] — that American manufacturing can- — will not be the capital of the world again? It's going to be.

We've already created 8- — nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since I took office. And, fol- — we're just getting started. And that's a fact. We're just getting started.

It isn't just about investing in America. It's about investing in the American people as well. [Applause] And that includes training folks for these high-paying jobs — highly skilled new jobs that we're creating. To do that, we're bringing employers, unions, community colleges, high schools together and workforce hubs where folks can learn the skills hands-on.

My Jill wi- — my wife, Jill, cares a lot about this as well. She's teaching at a community college right now. Last year, she announced our first five workforce hubs in — in the na- — in the United States in Pittsburgh; Phoenix; Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; and Augusta, Georgia. Thousands of workers will be trained in these facilities.

And today, I'm pleased to announce four new hub programs. One hub in Detroit and Lansing, Michigan, folks will make electric cars. Another hub in Philadelphia, one in Milwaukee will train workers that'll replace every — every poisonous lead pipe in America within the decade. And here in Syracuse — the Syracuse region, a new hub is going to train semiconductor workers for the future. [Applause]

And I know that Micron is also partnering with the American Federation of Teachers to develop a technology curriculum for high schools in New York state. Think about it, those of you who are as young as me, 40 — in your 40s or so. [Laughter] How many schools still have shop in them? How many folks have — where you learn how to work with your hands?

A significant number of public schools did away with it. So many young people who are qualified and want to and are capable who are going to never know that they had that capacity.

Well, I want to thank Randi and Sanjay for their work and Micron's leadership in workforce development, because it's going to make a big difference.

In all — [applause] — so far, my Investing in America agenda has attracted more than $825 billion — $825 billion in private-sector investment, not a penny of which existed before I got elected. I ignited a ma- — it ignited a manufacturing boom, a clean-energy boom, a semiconductor boom nationwide. And it's clear we have the strongest economy in the world, and that's a fact.

Fifteen million new jobs created in three and half years. [Applause] Unemployment did — has — hasn't been this low for this long for 50 years. Wages are rising. Instead of importing foreign products, we're exporting — and exporting American jobs, we're exporting American products and creating American jobs — [applause] — here in America where they belong.

And, folks, my predecessor and his MAGA Republican friends have a very different view. They oppose the CHIPS and Science Act that's powering this growth today.

In fact, your congressman, Brandon Williams, called it "corporate welfare."

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: Bless me, Father. [The President makes the sign of the cross] [Laughter]

And Elise Stefanik, a few counties over, called the CHIPS Act — she said it was, "Washington at its worst," end of quote. I guess they're not going to be here today to celebrate. [Applause, Laughter]

But now — now — [applause] — conversion is wonderful, isn't it?

Now they've seen the massive surge in investment and jobs that we've mobilized, and they're singing a different tune now. Now they say this is "critical." You got that? Stefanik said this is "critical."

Now they say what we're doing will, quote, "lead to a more prosperous, secure, and innovative America." Well, there's nothing, I said, like conversion. I agree. Welcome, welcome, welcome. [Laughter]

Folks, look, we got to stop this division. I promised to be a president for all of America, whether you voted for me or not. Today's investment helps Americans everywhere, in red states and blue states, and proof that we have — we leave no one behind.

Of the infrastructure jobs and pr- — and proposals, we have more of them in red states than in blue states. It's about America.

Let me close with this. The past few years, I've talked to folks all across America, in their communities and at their kitchen tables. They often tell me, back in 2020, they were down. They had lost their business.

How many — did you know somebody who worked at Carrier or another facility and a whole generation that worked there? And you're sitting there as a parent and — a mom — and the kid that comes home, well-educated, says, "I can't live here anymore. There's no job for me. I got to move. I got to move." They lost faith.

Syracuse is a good example. For decades — decades, it was a manufacturing boomtown full of good-paying jobs and a solid path to the middle class. I know; I lived here. I went to law school here. I married a wonderful woman from Lake Skaneateles who I came — that's why I came to Syracuse Law School. I felt it.

But over the years, trickle-down economics swept it all away. Under my predecessor, manufacturers left. Factories like BCS Automotive over in Auburn, where her family lived, shut down. Twenty-two thousand local jobs disappeared in the Syracuse region.

That's a story seen in community after community nationwide: hollowed out, robbed of hope. But not on my watch, thanks to investing we're making in America and the partnerships we've formed. [Applause]

American manufacturing is back. [Applause] New factories are going up all across the country. And communities like Syracuse are writing a great American comeback story — that's what it is: a comeback story — creating new jobs, new businesses, new hope.

Today, folks, when folks see shovels in the ground on these projects, people going back to work, I hope they feel the pride that I feel — pride in their hometown that's making a comeback, pride in America, pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together.

That's why I've never been more optimistic about this nation's future. We just have to remember who we are, for God's sake. We're the United States of America. [Applause] And there is nothing — nothing, nothing — beyond our capacity to get done when we work together.

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

This is a big deal day. Congratulations, Syracuse. [Applause] Congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you. [Applause]

Thank you.

2:55 P.M. EDT

America was founded on the promise of new beginnings. Yet, for people returning home to their communities from jail or prison, obstacles often stand in the way of turning this promise into a reality. Having a criminal record can make it hard to secure a steady job, safe housing, affordable health care, or quality education — all important to building a good life. More than 60 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals are unemployed one year after being released, and formerly incarcerated people are ten times more likely than the general population to be homeless.

These barriers matter to an enormous number of Americans: One in three U.S. adults has been arrested by age 23, and over 70 million Americans have a criminal history record. Forty percent of all children in the United States have at least one parent with a criminal record. Every year, more than 650,000 people are released from State and Federal prisons, many with limited resources to start their new lives. Elected officials of both parties, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that when the basic needs of those returning to communities are met, we do not just empower formerly incarcerated people — we prevent crime and make our communities safer.

Each April, the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Second Chance Month, recognizing the important role of individuals, communities, and agencies across the country in supporting the safe and successful reentry of people returning from jails and prisons each year. As the Biden-Harris Administration opens new doors, it also slows the revolving door, reducing the number of people returning to jail or prison once they leave.

The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing two actions this week:

Removing Barriers for Entrepreneurs. The Small Business Administration [SBA] provided more than $50 billion in loans to small businesses across the country in Fiscal Year 2023. Today, the SBA finalized a rule that will eliminate the bar on accessing SBA funds for people on probation or parole. The rule also eliminates a deterrent to seeking loans by eliminating standard questions about one's criminal background from SBA loan forms. Expanding access to entrepreneurship facilitates successful reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals while also creating economic growth that benefits the whole nation. Under SBA programs, lenders will continue to conduct individualized reviews that address fraud risks and assess the creditworthiness of borrowers.

Remedying Unjust Sentences. Yesterday, President Biden again used his constitutional authority to uphold the values of redemption, rehabilitation, and fairness by issuing 11 pardons and 5 commutations for individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses who have demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation. The President has exercised his clemency power more than any recent predecessor at this point in their presidency with 122 commutations and 20 pardons to date. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms that advance equal justice, address racial disparities, strengthen public safety, and enhance the wellbeing of all Americans.

These actions build on extensive actions from Day One through 2024, including:

Connecting Formerly Incarcerated Individuals to Good Jobs: As part of the Administration's Good Jobs Initiative, competitive grant programs providing hundreds of billions of dollars now offer competitive preferences for grantees to provide high-quality jobs for qualified workers who face systemic barriers to employment, including those with criminal history records. By July 2024, the Department of Labor [DOL] will also award nearly $40 million in grants through its Growth Opportunities Program for paid work experiences, training, mentorship, and other services specifically for incarcerated young people transitioning into the workforce. That effort is in addition to DOL's recent announcement of $52 million for re-entry services for individuals leaving state or local prisons and jails.

Supporting Veterans. To help fulfill the country's sacred obligation to care for America's veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA) has strengthened its Homeless and Justice-Involved Veteran Outreach Program, helping to ensure that veterans who are or have been involved in the criminal justice system learn about the services and benefits available to them for successful reentry. VA also changed its policies to require quarterly outreach to veterans incarcerated in federal and state facilities. In fiscal year 2023, VA provided over 2,682 hours of outreach dedicated to veterans who may have been involved with the justice system. By mid-March of fiscal year 2024, the VA already completed over 1,060 hours of outreach dedicated to such veterans.

Expanding Access to Government-Issued Identification. Because people often leave jail or prison without the state-issued identification that is often needed to secure housing and employment, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP] has successfully developed a new Release ID Card that provides U.S. citizens leaving BOP custody a temporary form of official identification. As of April 2024, 21 states allow U.S. citizens to use their Release ID Card to help obtain state identification.

Addressing a Failed Approach to Marijuana. Sending people to prison for marijuana possession has upended too many lives for conduct that is now legal in many states. Following his October 2022 pardon of prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana, in December 2023, the President issued a Proclamation that pardoned additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law, as well certain violations under the Code of Federal Regulations involving simple marijuana. These full, categorical pardons lift barriers to housing, employment, and educational opportunities for thousands of people.

Making Higher Education More Accessible and Affordable. The Second Chance Pell initiative provides need-based Pell Grants to people in federal and state prisons to obtain high-quality postsecondary education in prison and after release. As a result, in the past financial aid year, more than 17,443 students enrolled in a postsecondary degree or certification program through the initiative. The Department of Education [ED) continues to expand its Second Chance Pell Initiative with the Prison Education Program. Last year, 6,036 students obtained a postsecondary degree or certificate through the initiative, and ED predicts that number to grow in the coming years. The Prison Education Program has the potential to reach over 760,000 individuals who are incarcerated and eligible for a Pell Grant. AmeriCorps has also made it easier for members and volunteers to use the education awards they earn during national service to pay for education and repay their student loans after being incarcerated. Earlier this month, the Department of Education announced a new path for student loan borrowers who are incarcerated to exit default through consolidation, providing them access to improve their credit and better repayment options than ever before. This provides incarcerated borrowers an additional pathway out of default and will provide options for such borrowers to lower their monthly payments and in some cases get loan forgiveness. For example, after consolidating their loans out of default, borrowers can access the newest repayment plan – the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE] Plan. The SAVE plan lowers monthly payments to as little as $0 a month based on a borrower's income and family size.

Expanding Access to Health Care. Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] announced a new demonstration opportunity that allows Medicaid coverage for select services, including substance abuse disorder services, for certain incarcerated persons in the period shortly before release from jail or prison. For Medicare, in November 2022, CMS issued a final rule establishing a special enrollment period for formerly incarcerated individuals so they can enroll up to 12 months following their release from a correctional facility, enabling them to avoid potential gaps in coverage or late enrollment penalties. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services also announced the availability of $51 million for the first-ever funding opportunity for health centers to implement innovative approaches to support transitions in care for people leaving incarceration. Health centers can provide health services to incarcerated individuals who are expected to be or are scheduled for release within 90 days to help ensure they continue to receive care as they move back to their communities.

Implementing the First Step Act of 2018. The First Step Act of 2018 was the culmination of a bipartisan effort to improve rehabilitation for people in federal custody, facilitate successful reentry, safely reduce the size of the federal prison population, and strengthen public safety and equal justice. Since 2021, BOP has finalized and implemented several changes to maximize the availability of good and earned time credits for eligible people in federal custody, to expedite the calculation and application of those credits, and to give people in custody the ability to track their time credits. Between January 2022 and April 1, 2024, a total of 31,925 individuals have been released from prison under the First Step Act due to credits earned for good behavior.

Reducing the Use of Criminal History in Federal Jobs and National Service. In August 2023, the Office of Personnel Management [OPM] issued rules that prohibit federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information in most circumstances before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment; expanded the positions covered by this "ban the box" policy; and established a complaint process and accountability measures for hiring officials who are alleged to violate it. AmeriCorps has limited the use of criminal history checks to their intended purposes so that justice-involved individuals who do not pose a danger to vulnerable populations have an opportunity to give back to their communities through national service.

Addressing Harmful and Unlawful Fines and Fees. Last April, DOJ issued a Dear Colleague Letter for state and local courts and juvenile justice agencies on common court-imposed fines and fees practice. The letter cautions against those practices that may be unlawful, unfairly penalize individuals who are unable to pay, or otherwise have a discriminatory effect. Building on this letter, in November 2023, DOJ released a report that highlights the most common and innovative approaches taking place across the country to reduce reliance on criminal and civil fines and fees. DOJ also launched a new initiative that provides training and assistance to jurisdictions to address common barriers to creating a more equitable justice system by rethinking the use of fines and fees.

Reducing Recidivism Through Prison Programs. Since 2021, the BOP has added 19 new recidivism-reduction programs and expanded existing reentry and treatment programs related to adjustment, recidivism reduction, and psychological symptoms and distress for the BOP population. In March 2021, 26,251 of 124,509 [21%] incarcerated persons had participated in at least one such program. In March 2024, partly due to program expansions and partly due to the end of COVID-19 restrictions, 48,160 of 127,367 incarcerated persons [38%] had participated in at least one program.

12:20 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: [In progress] …a delayed start this morning. I apologize. Just going to talk a little bit about the trip and then I'll hand it over to the Admiral, who has some stuff on — on the Middle East and some other stuff — some other foreign policy stuff. So, we'll get going.

So, we're on our way to Syracuse, where President Biden will announce — oh — oh, it's very loud back there. Okay.

Q Hey, guys —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sorry, guys. Thank you. Appreciate you all.

We're on our way to Syracuse, where President Biden will announce that the Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary agreement with Micron to provide up to $6 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. This investment will support the construction of two fabs in Clay, New York, and one fab in Boise, Idaho, unleashing $50 billion in private investment by 2030.

For these projects, Micron established two project labor agreements at the New York and Idaho sites for construction of new fabrication facilities. These agreements will ensure that projects are completed efficiently and on time, while also supporting high-quality jobs.

Micron has affirmed it respects workers' rights to organize, to share feedback without fear of rep- — reprisal, and to collectively bargain. Since President Biden took office through March — through March 2024, companies have announced over $825 billion in private-sector investments, in manufacturing and clean energy, and over 50,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects are underway.

This announcement is part of the President's broader commitment to build an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down, and invest in all of America.

With that, the Admiral is here.

MR. KIRBY: Hi. I just — thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No problem.

MR. KIRBY: [Laughs] Just real quickly, on Haiti. We join the international community in commending all Haitian participants in their process to establish a transitional presidential council. We welcome the swearing in of those nine TPC members today. Our ambassador to Haiti was present for the ceremony.

In addition to that, today marks a critical step towards free and fair elections, and, of course, we were able to deliver the first shipment of U.S. government nonlethal equipment to the Haitian National Police to bolster their capabilities. Renewed access to the airport after a month of closure and steps made today toward inclusive governance should give us all hope for the future of Haiti.

As we've said numerous times, the United States remains committed to supporting Haitian-led efforts to restore security and the rule of law to pave the way to democratic governance.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Go ahead.

Q Any update —

Q Can you —

Q I'm sorry. Go ahead.

Q Thank you. Can you give us just any updates on the flow of aid into Ukraine? I know the President said within hours yesterday. What has been able to get in place?

MR. KIRBY: I'll refer you to the Pentagon for updates. I mean, there is — there are some things on that list that can get there in very short order, in a matter of days. As you know, we have quite a bit of inventory there in Poland. Other things will take longer to get there, but, really, the Pentagon should speak to timing.

Q John, how can the U.S. ensure that that equipment gets to where it needs to go in Haiti, to the actual National Police, just given the situation in Port-au-Prince and also a history where, at times, U.S. weapons, U.S. equipment does get into the wrong hands?

MR. KIRBY: Yeah, I want to make clear a couple things. This is nonlethal stuff, like body armor and that kind of thing. And we're working with partners on the ground to make sure that it gets to the HNP and that they use it appropriately. We are not present there. We're not going to have an inspection regime there on the ground to do that. But we're comfortable that we can work through the embassy, through the ambassador, and partners on the ground.

Q Admiral, a question on Turkey. In two weeks' time, President Erdo?an is expected at the White House for a visit. Last Saturday, he hosted the Hamas leader. Will that be, you know, subject — topic of conversation, or would that compromise the visit?

MR. KIRBY: There's nothing on the schedule to speak to in terms of a specific visit by President Erdo?an. So, I don't really have a comment on that.

Q And on him hosting the Hamas leader?

MR. KIRBY: Again, I'll let President Erdo?an speak to the meetings that he's having. We've been very clear about our position on Hamas and who they are and what they represent. I'll leave it at that.

Q U.S. officials, UK officials, Arab leaders are going to Saudi Arabia next week. Any idea — can you give us some preview of what to expect from that?

MR. KIRBY: No, sorry. I don't have anything on that.

Q On U- — on Ukraine, John, can you say: Is the U.S. considering sending another Patriot battery to Ukraine?

MR. KIRBY: When we send additional items and we can speak to it, we'll certainly let you know. You all saw what is in this first package. These are critical capabilities for them. But clearly, air defense is going to remain something that's a high priority for — for the Ukrainians. And as we can contribute to that air defense across a range of different capabilities — long, medium, and short range — we'll do

Q And on — on the meeting in Saudi Arabia, can you say which U.S. officials will be attending that?

MR. KIRBY: I just don't want — I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll take the question, though, and go back to the team and see if we have more detail on that.

Q Does the President have any comment today on the arguments before the Supreme Court questioning whether the President should have a —

Q Can we actually —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait, wait. Hold on.

Q Can we get — can we get one more with —

[Cross-talk]

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'll get to that in a second.

[Cross-talk]

Q John, a top Han- — Hamas political official told the AP that the — the group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more in exchange for a Palestinian state being established. Do you guys consider that particularly credible starting of a negotiat- — negotiating point from Hamas?

MR. KIRBY: Absolutely not. There's not going to be a Palestinian state with Hamas in control. It's a terrorist organization.

We support a two-state solution. You've heard the President talk about that a lot. But it's got to be done through direct negotiations between the parties: Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Now, look, it seems like Hamas just keeps wanting to move the goalposts. They could end the war now, and if they really believed in a state for the Palestinian people, they wouldn't have violated the — the ceasefire that was in effect on the 6th of October, they'd lay down their arms, they'd let the hostages go.

Q I know you've said that you're in a dialogue with Israeli officials over the reports of mass graves. Have you received any clarity on those reports or —

MR. KIRBY: I have nothing new on that today. I mean, obviously, we are talking to our Israeli counterparts. You heard Ja- — Jake talk about this yesterday. We'd like to see this investigated. We'd like to get more information about it.

Q [Inaudible]

Q He asked it already.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks, Admiral.

Q Thanks, John.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Appreciate it.

Okay. I'll — your question was about?

Q Does the President have any thoughts on the argument before the Supreme Court today made by the former President that presidents should face immunity from any actions taken in office?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Nothing to say about that.

Q Can I ask about campus protests? Speaker Johnson visited Columbia yesterday, I believe. He also talked about the possibility of bringing National Guard troops. One, is that a conversation he's had with the President? And, more broadly, does the President think that's necessary and something he could potentially support?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, on the National Guards, that is something that is under the governors, right? That is something for the governors to decide. As you know, Governor Hochul visited Columbia University recently. And so, she spoke to that. So, I would just refer you to her comments. That is something for governors to decide, so I — I don't have anything beyond that.

But I want to be really clear here. The President put out a statement, as you know — and I mentioned this — I've mentioned this a couple times this week — when he talked about Pa- — Passover, as Jewish Americans were celebrating Passover. And he said that antisemitism basically is wrong and that we should call out — call that out. And there is no place — no place for — for hate or hateful rhetoric or any type of violence, obviously.

And that's — that is sometime — something that we continue to condemn. And we've been very consistent about that throughout our term — throughout his term.

And so, don't have anything else be- — beyond that. But the National Guard, that is something for Governor Hochul.

Q And then —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And governors, in general, they are — that is something for them to decide on.

Q Johnson seemed to suggest that he was going to have a conversation with the President about this issue. Has that conversation happened?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have a conversation to read out. Yeah.

Q On the U.S. economy. The economy is slowing. The expectation was it was going to be 2.5 percent in the first quarter, and it was 1.6. And we saw your — the statement from the President talking about how it's been 3 percent over the last year. But was 1.6 about what the White House had projected?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what we — and you saw this in the statement, so I'm not — I'm just going to reiterate just a little bit here what the GDP report showed. We be- — the economy remains strong. And we've been talking about the steady and stable growth, and that's what we see from that report today.

And as you know, the economy has grown more under President Biden than, at this point, in any presidential term in the last 25 years. And you mentioned the 3 percent growth over the last year. Consumer spending and business investment, the core of GDP growth, are strong.

But, look, we're always going to be very clear: There's more work to do. The President has said this — at the center of his economic plan is going to be lowering costs for the American people, and we're going to continue to do that. Fighting inflation, we're going to continue to do that.

But we believe we're — we're going toward that slow and steady growth. And I think that's what the GDP report —

Q So, can you say if the White House projected that 1.6 or —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I — I —

Q Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You know, that's for the economic experts to — to speak to. I don't have anything to — to share about what was our expectations. But what we see from the report is actually what we believe is — is the economy continuing to remain strong.

Q And it sounds like Kim Kardashian is at the White House today. Did the President speak with her?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, that's a good question. I — as you can imagine, we're now on this trip. So, I don't have a — I don't have a readout for you on a conversation with Kim Kardashian.

But, look, this is part of — this is part of what we announced very recently —

[Addressing an Air Force One crew member] Oh, okay.

— the pardons yesterday.

Getting a look here.

So, as you know, this afternoon, the Vice President will convene par- — pardon recipients and criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian for a roundtable discussion to highlight the administration's Second Chance policies during Second Chance Month.

So, the four pardon recipients participating in the discussion are among the 16 individuals who received clemency from the President just yesterday. And to date, the President has commu- — commuted the sentences of 122 individuals and granted pardons to 20 individuals who committed nonviolent drug offense.

And so, obviously the Vice President is going to speak to this. And so, I will let her remarks kind of lay out the — the importance of today.

[Cross-talk]

Q Does the White House have a reaction to Meadows, Giuliani, and others being charged in Arizona for the fake election scheme?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No.

Q What about the Weinstein conviction getting overturned?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No comment on that.

Q Can you say what the President is doing tomorrow in New York?

AIR FORCE ONE CREW MEMBER: So sorry. We're landing in four.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Go ahead.

Q Can you say what the President is doing tomorrow in New York?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We'll have more to share later today.

All right. Thanks, everybody.

12:30 P.M. EDT

The Vice President will kick off her multi-state tour with a moderated conversation in Atlanta, GA on April 29 and an event in Detroit, MI during the following week

WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris announced today that she will embark on a nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour with a series of events focused on investing in communities, building wealth, and ensuring every American has the freedom to thrive. The Vice President's tour will take her back to several states across the country as she highlights how the Biden-Harris Administration has built economic opportunity and delivered for the American people. The Economic Opportunity Tour will kick off with a moderated conversation in Atlanta, GA on April 29 and an event in Detroit, MI during the following week. Additional dates and locations will be announced soon.

"President Biden and I are committed to creating an economy in which every person has the freedom to thrive. That is why we have taken historic steps to advance economic opportunity by increasing access to capital, investing in small businesses, addressing housing costs, forgiving student loans and medical debt, investing in infrastructure, and championing additional policies that put money in people's pockets and build wealth," said Vice President Harris. "Our economic approach has delivered great progress, and we will continue to invest in you, your family, and your future."

During the Vice President's Economic Opportunity Tour, she will highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered historic investments that have supported communities and helped people thrive. This includes making unprecedented investments in small businesses and achieving the fastest creation of Black-owned small businesses in more than 30 years, creating a record number of jobs, increasing access to capital for underserved communities, investing in infrastructure, cutting the price of insulin and expanding access to health care, erasing medical debt, forgiving more student loan debt than any administration in history and boosting investments in education, making housing more affordable, lowering child care costs, and increasing the wealth of American families. Vice President Harris will also outline additional steps that she and President Biden are taking to expand this work. She will be joined on the tour by Administration officials, members of Congress, local leaders, and other special guests.

The Vice President's tour is a continuation of her nonstop travel to communities across the country. She has made more than 35 trips to 16 states since the beginning of 2024. This includes consistent travel to meet with small business owners and entrepreneurs in underserved communities to discuss challenges and opportunities they face. In March, she traveled to Black Wall Street in Durham, NC to announce $32 million in funds to support historically underserved entrepreneurs. She began the year in Las Vegas, NV where she announced an SBA rule that will ensure millions of Americans who have served time are eligible for SBA loan programs that help individuals start and run small businesses.

The Vice President has long been focused on ensuring that minority, rural, and low-income communities have the capital and resources they need to thrive and support small businesses. Last year, she announced that Treasury's CDFI Fund has awarded over $1.73 billion in grants to 603 Community Development Financial Institutions [CDFIs] across the country. In 2022, the Vice President also announced a first-of-its-kind public-private sector initiative — the Economic Opportunity Coalition [EOC] — that is a historic public-private partnership of more than 20 private sector organizations that will invest tens of billions of dollars to create opportunity and grow wealth in historically underserved communities. The EOC has already surpassed over $1 billion in increased member company deposits into community finance institutions. As a Senator, the Vice President partnered with key Congressional stakeholders to secure a transformative $12 billion investment for CDFIs and MDIs in December 2020. Since that time, she has worked to ensure these programs are as successful as possible.

Additional dates, cities, and details for media to RSVP will be available soon.

11:16 A.M. EDT

Q Mr. President, how was your meeting with Abigail? Can you talk about your meeting with Abigail a little bit?

We're told that you met with Abigail, the little — the little girl that was held hostage.

THE PRESIDENT: I'm sorry, I can't hear you [inaudible].

Q Abigail. You met with Abigail the other day.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q The little — the little girl. How did that go?

THE PRESIDENT: That went really well. Her dad sent me — her — excuse me — her family sent me a note saying she was riding home and she said, "You know, I love Joe Biden."

Q We're told that she did a lot of playing.

THE PRESIDENT: She did.

Q And had you seen — can you discuss that a little bit. Was she outside, inside? She was playing a lot?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, she was. We had her on the swings. She was pla- — swinging around in the Oval Office. She was really good.

Q Have you seen the video of the hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin with the missing arm? Have you seen that video of that hostage? Any reaction?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't, but I know about it. I haven't physically seen it.

11:17 A.M. EDT

We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern.

We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities. Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions.

We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region.

Today, President Biden will announce four new Workforce Hubs to ensure all Americans can access the good jobs created by the President's Investing in America agenda, which includes the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. President Biden will make the announcement during his visit to Syracuse, New York, to highlight a CHIPS and Science Act preliminary agreement with Micron to dramatically expand semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The Upstate New York region will be one of the four new Workforce Hubs, in addition to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the state of Michigan.

Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, private companies have announced over $825 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments, on top of $478 billion already announced by the Administration for clean energy and infrastructure projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. These investments are projected to create hundreds of thousands of good jobs—many of which do not require a college degree. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that all workers—including women, people of color, veterans, and those that have been historically left behind–have equitable access to those job opportunities and the training and skills needed to fill them.

Today's announcement also builds on the inaugural five Investing in America Workforce Hubs in Columbus, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Augusta, and Phoenix that First Lady Jill Biden announced last May. Over the last year, the inaugural Hubs have generated dozens of significant commitments to create pipelines to good jobs, including an initiative to train 10,000 skilled construction workers in Columbus, Ohio, the first-ever registered apprenticeship program in semiconductor manufacturing at TSMC in Phoenix, and project labor agreements on $9 billion worth of infrastructure projects across Maryland. In each of the four new Hubs, the Administration will expand the successful models developed in the first round of Workforce Hubs and will continue to collaborate with state and local elected officials and community leaders to drive effective place-based workforce development efforts that are essential to the President's vision of building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

The next four Investing in America Workforce Hubs are:

These new Workforce Hubs will align with the Roadmap to Support Good Jobs, the Biden-Harris Administration's comprehensive approach to ensure that every American—whether they go to college or not—has equitable access to high-quality training, education, and services that provide a path to a good career without leaving their community. A new analysis released today from the Council of Economic Advisors outlines the economics behind the Administration's workforce strategy and underscores how it has led to record-breaking job growth.

Progress to Date
The Investing in America Workforce Hubs build on the Biden-Harris Administration's existing whole-of-government effort to advance high-quality workforce development, including:
Building new pipelines to connect Americans to good jobs

Making place-based workforce investments so every community can meet its foundational labor needs
In addition to the nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs that are training residents for growing industries like clean energy and manufacturing, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Boosting job quality to support recruitment and retention

Funding unleashes $125 billion in private investment from Micron to build leading-edge memory semiconductor and create more than 20,000 direct jobs.

Today, President Biden will travel to Syracuse, New York, to announce that the Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary agreement with Micron to provide up to ~$6.14 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. This investment will support the construction of two fabs in Clay, New York, and one fab in Boise, Idaho, unleashing $50 billion in private investment by 2030 as the first step towards Micron's investment of up to $125 billion across both states over the next two decades to build a leading-edge memory manufacturing ecosystem. Micron's total investment will be the largest private investment in New York and Idaho's history, and will create over 70,000 jobs, including 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs. During his visit, President Biden will discuss how his Investing in America agenda is building our economy from the middle out and bottom up, mobilizing an economic comeback in communities like Syracuse, and strengthening U.S. national security.

Semiconductors were invented in America and power everything from cell phones to electric vehicles, refrigerators, satellites, defense systems, and more. But today, the United States produces only about 10 percent of the world's chips and none of the most advanced ones. Thanks to President Biden's CHIPS and Science Act, that is changing. Companies have announced over $825 billion in investments in manufacturing and clean energy in the United States since the President took office, including in semiconductors. Semiconductor jobs and manufacturing are making a comeback.

Back in 2022 and shortly after President Biden's CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law, President Biden and Leader Schumer joined Micron in New York to recognize the company's intention to invest in the Syracuse community. Today's announcement is a major step in realizing the aspiration laid out on that day – that the United States will once again be a leader in global chip manufacturing. Leading-edge memory chips are critical for advanced technology, including artificial intelligence and advanced computing and communications.

Micron's projects will create a robust leading-edge memory chip ecosystem and bring back leading-edge memory manufacturing to the United States for the first time in over 20 years:

Creating Good-Paying and Union Jobs with Good Benefits Across America
Workforce Funding: President Biden promised to be the most pro-worker, pro-union President in American history, and his Administration has committed to ensuring that workers have the free and fair choice to join a union and equitable training pathways to good jobs. Today's announcement includes at least $40 million in dedicated CHIPS funding for training and workforce development to ensure local communities have access to the jobs of the future. The focus of this funding will be further determined in the coming months based on the Department of Commerce's labor and workforce priorities, in partnership with the Department of Labor.

Workforce Hubs: In addition, as part of the Administration's effort to connect workers with good-paying jobs created by the President's Investing in America agenda, today President Biden will announce four additional Investing in America Workforce Hubs – including one in Upstate New York, which will focus on semiconductor manufacturing – along with Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Michigan. These hubs complement five existing Workforce Hubs, including those in Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio that have already catalyzed new semiconductor training programs. These hubs will leverage and develop partnerships between companies, educational institutions, and labor unions to meet our nation's workforce needs.

Project Labor Agreements: For these projects, Micron established two Project Labor Agreements [PLAs] at both the New York and Idaho sites for construction of new fabrication facilities. Both PLAs are the largest in each state's history. These PLAs ensure that projects are completed efficiently and on time, while also supporting high quality jobs.

Registered Apprenticeships: To prepare for the thousands of jobs that will need to be filled, Micron is also leveraging Registered Apprenticeship programs to assist and propel underrepresented individuals to "earn-and-learn" and provide a pathway to well-paying careers. In New York, Micron has a partnership with the Manufacturers Association of Central New York. In Idaho, Micron established its first-ever Registered Apprenticeship Program in the state in partnership with the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance and College of Western Idaho. Micron is also joining DOL's Advanced Manufacturing Sector Table of leading labor, industry, and workforce organizations committed to equitably building and growing the next generation of the manufacturing workforce here in the United States. The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute will support DOL's Sector Table by working with Micron, the American Federation of Teachers [AFT], and other employer and labor organizations to develop, scale, and adopt a universal pathway curriculum for advanced manufacturing, including semiconductor manufacturing, to provide workers an onramp to good manufacturing jobs and create a pipeline of job-ready workers for employers across the country. Finally, Micron is also engaging with the AFT, its New York affiliates, the State of New York, and teachers to develop a training framework based on foundational and technical skills found throughout the semiconductor industry to engage and train students.

Good Jobs Principles: Micron has established itself as a leader on workforce issues, including by living up to the Department of Commerce's and Labor's Good Jobs Principles, which includes offering living wage starting salaries, opportunities for promotion—including for individuals from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds—a comprehensive benefits package, and an organizational culture that encourages feedback from all members to help Micron retain talent and strengthen its workforce over time.

Child Care: Micron has committed to providing affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for its workers across its facilities, and is building new child care facilities in both Idaho and New York, as well as partnering with local child care providers to provide subsidized care.

Right to Organize: Micron has affirmed it respects workers' rights to organize, to share feedback without fear of reprisal, and to collectively bargain. The Administration strongly supports these rights, and expects Micron to neither hold mandatory captive audience meetings nor hire anti-union consultants. Micron and the Communications Workers of America [CWA] plan to meet to discuss labor peace. The Administration also plans to convene industrial unions and CHIPS companies to discuss workforce issues.

Sustainability: Micron is committed to delivering on its existing sustainability framework for the design and operations of its new facility, which includes planning to use 100% renewable electricity at the facilities and mitigating greenhouse gases. These efforts support Micron's global target to achieve net-zero emissions from operations and purchased energy by 2050.

Rebuilding America's Communities
Today's announcement is part of the President's commitment to revitalize communities that for too long have been overlooked by federal investment. This investment is symbolic of how innovation, national security, and economic competitiveness can bring back communities that were once powerhouses. Syracuse was a manufacturing hub during World War II, when General Electric began building engines, vacuum tubes, and radar systems for the military. After powering the country to victory in World War II, families in Syracuse were left behind by decades of failed trickle-down policies. Factory closures led to jobs flowing overseas, increased rates of poverty, and a decline in income.

President Biden came to office with a different agenda – to leave no community behind and build the economy from the middle out and bottom up. Today's announcement is coupled with ongoing, targeted investments in the Syracuse region. For example, the Department of Commerce designated upstate New York as a Tech Hub; the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing $180 million in the I-81 viaduct project to reconnect communities in Syracuse divided by transportation infrastructure; the Department of Energy and National Grid are investing a combined $140 million in upstate New York's electric system; and the Environmental Protection Agency awarded $23 million in funding to clean up industrial waste. These investments set the stage for a new chapter in Syracuse's economic history.

Now, the Syracuse region is making a comeback. After 22,000 jobs disappeared from the Syracuse region under the prior Administration, President Biden has added 25,000 jobs in Syracuse and over 1 million jobs statewide in New York. And workers are taking home more – real per capita personal income is up nearly 5%. Micron's new investment is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs across suppliers and supporting industries – on top of the approximately 20,000 manufacturing and construction jobs it will directly employ – fostering a more resilient semiconductor supply chain in the U.S.

Building on Historic Progress Under the CHIPS and Science Act
Today's announcement is the seventh preliminary memorandum of terms [PMT]

under the CHIPS and Science Act:

President Biden's Investing in America agenda – including the CHIPS and Science Act – is spurring a manufacturing and clean energy boom. Since President Biden took office through the end of March 2024, companies have announced over $825 billion in private sector investments in manufacturing and clean energy, and over 50,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects are underway. This announcement is part of the President's broader commitment to build an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down, and invest in all of America.

Since Day One, President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate and environmental justice agenda in history, including securing the largest-ever climate investment. The power sector, which is responsible for a quarter of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, now has more tools than ever – including unprecedented financial support, efficient permitting, and long-term regulatory certainty – to reduce pollution and upgrade the grid to support more factories, electric vehicles, and other growing sources of electricity demand. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key actions to build on this momentum and deliver clean electricity to more homes and businesses, helping lower energy costs for American families and power the U.S. manufacturing renaissance driven by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, while providing cleaner air and water to communities long overburdened by pollution from fossil fuel power plants.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] is announcing a suite of standards to cut greenhouse gas emissions as well as toxic air pollution, water pollution, and land contamination from fossil fuel power plants. EPA's greenhouse gas emission standards will avoid 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047, equivalent to the annual emissions of 328 million gas cars, and together with the other standards will provide hundreds of billions of dollars in climate, environmental justice, and public health benefits, including fewer premature deaths, asthma cases, and lost work and school days. The standards announced today will ensure that power companies use modern, cost-effective technologies to reduce pollution and protect the health and wellbeing of communities, including communities historically overburdened by pollution.

The Department of Energy [DOE] is announcing up to $331 million through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a new transmission line that will be built with union labor – the latest awards from the Administration's $30 billion investment in strengthening America's electric grid infrastructure. A capacity contract from the Transmission Facilitation Program [TFP] will support a new 285-mile transmission line from Idaho to Nevada, bringing more than 2,000 Megawatts of needed transmission capacity to the region. The Southwest Intertie Project-North is expected to provide hundreds of jobs to workers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Alongside this critical investment, DOE is releasing a final rule to make federal permitting of new transmission lines more efficient, ensuring meaningful engagement with Tribes, local communities, and other stakeholders. The rule establishes the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorization and Permits [CITAP] program, which aims to improve coordination across agencies, create efficiencies, and establish a standard two-year timeline for federal transmission authorizations and permits. The CITAP program gives transmission developers a new option for a more efficient review process, a major step to provide increased confidence for the sector to invest in new transmission lines.

DOE is also issuing a final rule to create an even faster track for completing environmental reviews of upgrades to existing transmission lines, which will increase reliability and lower energy costs. The rule creates a categorical exclusion, the simplest form of review under the National Environmental Policy Act, for projects that use existing transmission rights of way, such as reconductoring projects, as well as for solar and energy storage projects on already disturbed lands.

Additionally, today, the Administration is launching an effort to mobilize public and private sector leaders to expand the capacity of the existing U.S. transmission network, setting an ambition to upgrade 100,000 miles of transmission lines over the next five years. The Administration has made funding available through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership [GRIP] program to support upgrades to existing transmission lines, and DOE's categorical exclusion issued today will speed up the process to upgrade existing lines. The power sector can achieve this ambition primarily by deploying modern grid technologies like high-performance conductors and dynamic line ratings that enable existing transmission lines to carry more power. As a complement to building new lines, deploying solutions like these offer fast and cost-effective ways to unlock hundreds of gigawatts of additional clean energy, increase system reliability and resilience, reduce grid congestion, and cut energy costs.

These efforts all work in tandem – historic investments from President Biden's Investing in America agenda that are making America a magnet for clean energy investment; continued permitting progress to get projects up and running; and smart standards to provide rules of the road for power companies, enabling them to seize the unprecedented opportunities to deliver clean electricity across the country. These steps – which are part of a broader slate of Earth Week announcements – build on President Biden's actions since Day One to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice.

Upgrading the Electric Grid for Reliability and Resilience
President Biden's Investing in America agenda is delivering the largest investment in grid infrastructure in history—more than $30 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These investments will help deliver reliable, affordable electricity to families and businesses, prepare for worsening natural disasters that strain the grid, and unlock the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy. To help expand the transmission system at the pace necessary to confront the climate crisis, today's actions and additional recent steps will help streamline permitting and overcome financial hurdles:

Revitalizing U.S. Manufacturing and Securing Clean Energy Supply Chains
Thanks to incentives from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the clean energy future will be made in America. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, private companies have invested almost $80 billion in clean energy manufacturing. Strengthening U.S. clean energy supply chains not only benefits American workers but also makes it easier to deploy clean energy even faster to cut emissions. Recent actions continue the progress to build and secure domestic supply chains and ensure that the U.S. will lead the world in clean energy manufacturing:

Deploying Clean Energy to Meet America's Power Needs
The President's Investing in America agenda has unleashed unprecedented investment in deployment of clean energy technologies, attracting hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment and creating over 270,000 new clean energy jobs. The Administration is taking additional steps to accelerate buildout of clean energy and remove roadblocks to deployment to ensure that new clean energy resources can come online fast to meet growing demand. Recent actions include:

Ensuring All Communities Benefit from Clean Energy
From Day One, President Biden has prioritized ensuring that all communities benefit from clean energy deployment, including the energy communities and workers that have powered our nation for generations and the low-income households that are burdened with high energy bills. The Administration has followed through on these commitments—not just talking about coal and power plant communities but investing in them. The President's Investing in America agenda is creating good-paying and union jobs in energy communities, bringing solar energy to low-income households to reduce energy bills, supporting community engagement and improved outcomes for state and local permitting, and increasing grid reliability and resilience through distributed energy solutions. The President's Justice40 Initiative sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal in climate, clean energy, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Recent actions continue this progress:

The President's Investing in America agenda delivers historic public investments to American communities through legislation like the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. These investments are crowding-in private investment into critical industries—to date, private companies have announced $825 billion in investments in growing industries like semiconductors, clean energy, and electric vehicles—and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Creation of high-quality jobs for American workers is central to the President's economic growth agenda. Already, since President Biden took office, the economy has added 15 million jobs while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in half of a century, remaining below 4 percent for a record 26 months. But as the President's agenda brings clean energy and manufacturing back to America after decades of offshoring, the Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that this transition won't be fully achieved if we don't build the workforce we need. Expanded commitments to workforce development are necessary to successfully create durable, lasting industries through the Investing in America agenda.

As described in the Administration's Roadmap to Support Good Jobs, the Biden-Harris Administration's workforce strategy has four central priorities. First, it is designed to connect people to good jobs, including through evidence-backed training solutions like registered apprenticeships and other high-quality "earn and learn" pathways, and supportive services like child care that expand opportunity for American workers. Second, it is focused on ensuring that we have a skilled, diverse workforce for our transformational investments, with targeted workforce programs that align with growing sectors like clean energy and manufacturing that President Biden's agenda has focused on. Third it ensures every community can meet its foundational labor needs, with policies designed to support short- and long-term labor supply in critical sectors like health care and transportation that often struggle to recruit and retain talented workers. Fourth, it prioritizes the creation of good-paying jobs with benefits, safety, stability, and worker voice to ensure that American families and businesses thrive.

This blog provides additional detail on the economic context for the President's workforce strategy along with, for each of these priorities, recent actions taken, and recent progress in enacting them.

President Biden took office in the midst of a global pandemic with staggering economic consequences. In January 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.4 percent and the labor force participation rate was 61.3 percent—two percentage points below the rate only a year earlier. However, the workforce problems did not begin with the 2020 pandemic. The United States had seen a multi-decade-long decline in the labor force participation rate for workers between the ages of 25 to 54, falling behind many of its peer countries. In manufacturing communities, the offshoring of domestic manufacturing in the 1990s and early 2000s led to the loss, by 2011, of one million U.S. manufacturing jobs and 2.4 million jobs overall.

President Biden came into office determined to address these challenges. His American Rescue Plan enabled the strongest recovery in decades. And moving forward, external estimates predict that over the next decade, the Administration's Investing in America agenda will create more than a million jobs in industries like construction and manufacturing. In addition to making bold investments in 21^stcentury infrastructure and industries, President Biden has an evidence-backed workforce strategy designed to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to get a good, well-paid job in their community.

The Administration has made investments in evidence-backed training programs that ensure employers and counselors can play an active role in providing workers with the skills they actually need in industries with actual demand for labor. Research shows that demand-driven, sector-focused employment programs can not only increase employment in targeted sectors, but also have positive effects on earnings—especially for underserved workers entering these programs. These initiatives do not require students or workers to know on their own what skills the future job market requires. Instead, programs that produce the largest and most persistent earnings gains make strong connections to employers to determine in-demand jobs and skills. These programs also tend to provide larger investments per participant, upfront screening of participants on basic skills and motivation, and wraparound support services for participants.

Registered Apprenticeship programs have been shown to be particularly effective at increasing workers' earning potential. A study of apprenticeships in 10 states finds that, over their lifetime, individuals who completed their training earned an average of $240,037 more than nonparticipants, with net social benefits of $49,000 over the course of the apprentice's career. Apprenticeships also benefit employers; one study found that, on average, for every $1.00 invested, employers receive $1.44 in direct and indirect benefits in the years during and after training an apprentice.

The Biden-Harris Administration invests holistically in places across the United States, so that workers can get jobs in their communities. Job programs that are targeted towards regions that have been underinvested in can have particularly strong payoffs. One recent study found that the economic benefits of policies that add jobs in a given place [such as government-funded infrastructure projects] are at least 60 percent greater in "distressed" regions than in "booming" ones.

The President's investments to empower and educate workers are already paying off. After Georgia received over $37 billion in private investments for clean energy technology, the city of Augusta has partnered with five major regional employers to develop their workforce and meet this increased demand through an Investing in America Workforce Hub. Terrence Tillman, a recent graduate of a newly expanded apprenticeship program, said "This is going to change my lifestyle. […] Knowing what the job entails and what its purpose is, I feel like I'm helping the country and the community." Augusta is emblematic of how the Investing in America agenda can deliver good paying jobs and prepare the workforce for the future.

The President's workforce strategy prioritizes job quality. An extensive economic literature lays out the benefits of improved job quality for workers, households, and businesses. By improving job quality, employers can more easily attract and retain workers—benefitting their bottom line. At the same time, improved job quality enables workers to bring home the pay and benefits that provide an opportunity to reach the middle class, which in turn supports economic growth.

Paying workers fair wages and providing benefits like paid leave can increase productivity, reduce turnover, and facilitate hiring and retention. Providing childcare lowers turnover while increasing the likelihood that parents can invest in training or additional education and work [especially full-time]. Manufacturing firms that focus on job quality, like increasing pay and providing avenues for workers to have inputs into the firms' practices, are better able to attract skilled workers, experience lower turnover, and generate higher productivity. Similarly, unions are already playing a central role in developing and training the workforce for the President's investments in America.

President Biden has prioritized the creation of high-quality jobs for American workers in two ways—a strong and rapid labor market recovery and a comprehensive workforce strategy that prepares workers for the 21^stcentury economy. As a result, while forecasters predicted that in 2023 the economy would fall into a recession, the US economy grew at a healthy 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, added over 15 million jobs, saw the unemployment rate fall below 4 percent for a record 26 months, and hit a record low gap between the highest and lowest state unemployment rates. Further, employment growth remains solid in specific industries where growth has been catalyzed by the Investing in America agenda—since January 2021, the economy has added 848,000 jobs in construction, 768,000 jobs in manufacturing, and 27,500 jobs in clean energy employment.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making the necessary investments to connect Americans to good jobs, prepare them for our transformation investments, ensure every community can meet its foundational labor needs, and boost job quality. Case in point: President Biden's FY25 Budget proposes a new $8 billion Career Training Fund that would provide approximately 750,000 workers with training and wrap-around supports, as well as funds to expand public-private partnerships to offer high-quality training in growing industries. Investments like these lay the foundation for a thriving U.S. economy and strong, shared, and stable economic growth.

Today, the White House convened state legislative leaders to discuss state-level actions to address junk fees, building on the Biden-Harris Administration's unprecedented efforts to crack down on junk fees across the economy to lower costs for Americans. National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] Director Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commission [FTC] Chair Lina Khan, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, and state legislators from across the country participated.

President Biden is committed to taking on hidden junk fees that companies sneak onto customer bills, and which the Council of Economic Advisers estimates amount to more than $90 billion every year. These fees occur across industries, from apartment rentals to concert tickets to health insurance. Since the first White House State Convening on Combatting Junk Fees last March, the Administration has taken landmark actions to increase transparency and eliminate these fees, including:

Actions taken by the Administration will save Americans over $20 billion per year on junk fees, according to the Council of Economic Advisers. While the President is committed to using every tool at his disposal to combat unfair and deceptive pricing, he also believes that state-level actions are an essential part of this mission. This legislative year, at least 12 states introduced legislation to curb junk fees and during the convening state leaders shared steps they are taking to address junk fees in their home states. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has introduced sweeping price transparency legislation this session and called on the General Assembly to bring it to a vote last month. Legislators in Arizona, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois have introduced far-reaching legislation to combat hidden and misleading fees, and many discussed progress in advancing legislation and the strong support from constituents to tackle these issues. These bills combat junk fees across multiple industries, protecting consumers in every corner of the economy. White House officials thanked the state leaders for their work and ongoing partnership on behalf of American families.

The White House State Legislative Convening on Combatting Junk Fees can be viewed here.

The following state elected officials delivered remarks as part of the convening: