Category: Joe Biden

As smoke blankets Minnesota, Walz prepares to meet with Biden to discuss wildfires

Star Tribune Banner

Today’s virtual meeting comes amid some of the worst air quality ever recorded in Minnesota. 

As Minnesotans toiled in dramatically smoky, dangerous air Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz prepared to discuss the nation’s growing wildfire crisis with President Joe Biden and several other governors.

The virtual meeting Friday comes as the state faces a worsening drought and one of the worst air quality crises it has ever recorded. On Thursday, much of the state, including the metro area, was enveloped in air so smoky that it blocked out the sun. An air quality alert was in effect for most of state until 3 p.m. Friday, and wildfire smoke is likely to cause problems beyond that, experts warn.

Biden and the governors, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, will discuss efforts to strengthen wildfire prevention and responses and hear firsthand about the burgeoning wildfire crisis, White House officials said. Continue reading.

Aid bill for Capitol security, Afghan refugees headed to Biden’s desk

Roll Call Logo

Vote of 416-11 in House came hours after 98-0 Senate vote

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a $2.1 billion spending bill meant to shore up their own safety in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, reimburse the National Guard for a monthslong activation to secure the complex and relocate Afghans who helped the U.S. government during the war.

The 416-11 House vote Thursday afternoon clears the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature with just days to spare before the Capitol Police and National Guard are expected to face funding shortfalls related to the insurrection by pro-Trump rioters.

House passage came just hours after the Senate’s 98-0 vote. Though lawmakers in that chamber gave the measure a strong bipartisan vote, House members weren’t entirely pleased with the final product or that it took the Senate about two months to approve its version after the House acted on an earlier version. Continue reading.

Justice Dept. Warns States on Voting Laws and Election Audits

New York Times logo

The department said that auditors could face criminal or civil penalties if they flouted elections laws.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday sent another warning shot to Republican state legislatures that have initiated private audits of voting tabulations broadly viewed as efforts to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election.

The department warned that auditors could face criminal and civil penalties if they destroy any records related to the election or intimidate voters in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and federal laws prohibiting voter intimidation.

The admonishment came in election-related guidance documentsissued as part of the department’s larger plan to protect access to the polls, announced by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June. Another document released on Wednesday outlined federal laws on how ballots are cast and said that the department could scrutinize states that revert to prepandemic voting procedures, which may not have allowed as many people to vote early or by mail. Continue reading.

Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty

New York Times logo

The most comprehensive study yet of the federal response to the pandemic shows huge but temporary benefits for the poor — and helps frame a larger debate over the role of government.

WASHINGTON — The huge increase in government aid prompted by the coronavirus pandemic will cut poverty nearly in half this year from prepandemic levels and push the share of Americans in poverty to the lowest level on record, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of a vast but temporary expansion of the safety net.

The number of poor Americans is expected to fall by nearly 20 million from 2018 levels, a decline of almost 45 percent. The country has never cut poverty so much in such a short period of time, and the development is especially notable since it defies economic headwinds — the economy has nearly seven million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic.

The extraordinary reduction in poverty has come at extraordinary cost, with annual spending on major programs projected to rise fourfold to more than $1 trillion. Yet without further expensive new measures, millions of families may find the escape from poverty brief. The three programs that cut poverty most — stimulus checks, increased food stamps and expanded unemployment insurance — have ended or are scheduled to soon revert to their prepandemic size. Continue reading.

Biden proposes rule to strengthen ‘Buy American’ requirements

The Hill logo

President Biden announced a new proposed rule that aims to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical goods and increase the threshold for products to qualify as American-made as part of his commitment to bolstering the number of products made in the U.S. 

In January, Biden signed an executive order to launch a government-wide initiative to increase the use of federal procurement to support American manufacturing. 

The proposed rule was announced ahead of Biden’s remarks on Wednesday on the importance of American manufacturing, buying products made in America and supporting good-paying jobs for American workers at a manufacturing facility in Lower Macungie Township, Pa.  Continue reading.

Biden administration considering vaccine requirements for all federal workers

The Hill logo

President Biden on Tuesday said his administration is considering making it mandatory for federal workers to get the coronavirus vaccine.

The president’s comments, which echoed those of his press secretary hours earlier, came one day after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcedit will require its front-line health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“That is under consideration right now, but if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not nearly as smart as I thought you were,” Biden said during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Continue reading.

Biden, pulling combat forces from Iraq, seeks to end the post-9/11 era

Washington Post logo

President Biden on Monday announced that the United States will wrap up its combat mission in Iraq by year’s end, his latest effort to push American diplomacy past a post-9/11 worldview and shift its focus away from terrorism and the Middle East and toward threats like China and cyberwarfare.

Welcoming Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to the Oval Office, Biden promised ongoing support for democracy in Iraq, including elections this fall, but he said the military mission there will change.

“Our role in Iraq will be . . . just to be available to continue to train, to assist and to help, and to deal with ISIS as it arrives, but we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden said, referring to the Islamic State terrorist group. Continue reading.

CDC to urge vaccinated people to resume wearing masks indoors in some circumstances as delta variant spreads

Washington Post logo

NOTE: This article is provided to all free of charge by The Washington Post.

The recommendation would reverse guidance by the agency in May saying that vaccinated individuals did not have to wear masks indoors or out because of protection afforded by vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend on Tuesday that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain circumstances, citing the highly transmissible delta variant.

The recommendation, to be unveiled at a 3 p.m. news briefing, would alter the agency’s May 13 guidance saying that vaccinated individuals did not have to wear masks indoors or out because of the protection afforded by vaccines. At the time, cases were dropping sharply and the delta variant, which is 1,000 times more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus, had not gained significant traction in the United States.

President Biden and CDC director Rochelle Walensky have repeatedly said there is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” because unvaccinated people make up the vast majority of patients hospitalized with the disease. But the delta variant has been a game-changer for the United States, sending cases surging throughout the country, and there is concern that although vaccinated people are unlikely to become severely ill, they may still be able to become infected and spread the virus. Continue reading.

President Biden’s First Six Months: We are Building Back Better

DFL Dispatch Header

Tuesday, July 20th marked six months since President Biden took office. He has followed through on his promise to build America back better, and the accomplishments of his administration and Democrat leadership are truly remarkable.

Highlights of the past six months:

Continue reading “President Biden’s First Six Months: We are Building Back Better”

WATCH: Biden leaves conservative reporter speechless after bringing up the GOP’s QAnon problem

Raw Story Logo

A blunt-talking President Joe Biden shut down a conservative reporter on Thursday night who asked if Democrats are defunding police departments — firing back with a question about a QAnon claim that left the reporter grasping for an answer.

As Biden walked across the South Lawn, he engaged with Shelby Talcott from the conservative Daily Caller following his town hall event in Cincinnati. The exchange went like this, according to White House transcripts:

“Mr. President, can you clarify what you said about no — that there’s no — no one in the Democratic Party is anti-police”‘ Talcott asked.

“I didn’t say that,” Biden replied before adding, ” I said that that — that is not the Democratic Party’s position. I’m the Democratic Party; I am President. So is the Speaker of the House and so is the –- the Majority Leader. We are not defunding the police.” Continue reading.