Tag: Biden

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Biden publicizes first spherical of funding for EV charging community throughout 35 states

Biden promotes American-made electric cars at the Detroit Auto Show

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the release of the first round of funding for a nationwide electric vehicle charging network that will fund the construction of stations in 35 states.

“I’m pleased to announce that we are approving funding for the first 35 states, including Michigan, to build their own statewide charging infrastructure,” Biden said at the Detroit Auto Show, facing a barrage of electric vehicles.

Biden was a big proponent of electric vehicles, Legislative incentives signed to encourage consumers to buy and businesses to build. The bipartisan Infrastructure Act provided $7.5 billion for a national electric vehicle charging network, while the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act both contained provisions designed to encourage the development of the industry in the United States.

“They will all be part of a network of 500,000 charging stations — 500,000 — across the country installed by the IBEW,” Biden said, Referring to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.

Biden noted that his administration has poured $135 billion into developing and manufacturing electric vehicles.

“You used to have to make all sorts of compromises when buying an electric car, but not anymore,” Biden said. “Look, the great American road trip will be fully electrified, whether you’re driving coast-to-coast along I-10 or on I-75 here in Michigan, charging stations will be as easy to find as they are now.”

The lack of ubiquitous chargers remains one of the biggest obstacles to electric vehicles nationwide. The tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act are intended to give Americans incentives to buy electric vehicles, including first-time buyers of used electric vehicles.

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Health

Biden Picks Biotech Government to Lead New Biomedical Analysis Company

Biden Picks Biotech Executive to Lead New Biomedical Research Agency

WASHINGTON — President Biden, who outlined a vision for “bold approaches” to fighting cancer and other diseases, announced Monday that he was recruiting Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, a Boston-based biotech executive with government experience, was selected to serve as director of a new federal agency in pursuit of risky, far-reaching ideas that drive biomedical innovation.

Mr. Biden made the announcement at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on the 60th anniversary of the former president’s “moonshot” speech, which ushered in an era of space travel. He took the opportunity to reiterate his call to “End Cancer As We Know It” – the slogan for his own “Cancer Moonshot” initiative.

“Imagine the possibilities — vaccines that could prevent cancer, as HPV does,” the president said, referring to the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer. “Imagine molecular zip codes that could precisely deliver drugs and gene therapies to the right tissues. Imagine simple blood tests during an annual checkup that could detect cancer early.”

Mr. Biden, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, has a deep personal commitment to advancing cancer research, and the Kennedy Library was a reminder of that. Another Kennedy, former Senator Edward M. Kennedy, whom Mr. Biden described as “one of my dearest friends,” died in 2009 from the same type of cancer — glioblastoma — as Beau Biden.

Mr. Biden helped create the Cancer Moonshot when he was Vice President. His goal, which he described as “quite feasible,” is to reduce cancer death rates by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years while “converting death sentences into chronic diseases.”

With the midterm elections approaching, here stands President Biden.

He proposed the new biomedical research agency earlier this year as part of efforts to revitalize the initiative.

Modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the new agency is known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. (In Washington argot, where each agency has an acronym, the Defense Research Agency is called DARPA and the Health Agency is ARPA-H.)

The agency aims to be nimble and flexible — a kind of “shark tank” for biomedical research, populated by “brilliant visionary talents” who will invest in untested approaches, knowing that “a significant proportion of projects are likely to fail,” said Dr . Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health who now serves as Mr Biden’s acting scientific adviser and helped find the new director.

dr Wegrzyn is vice president of business development at Ginkgo Bioworks and leads innovation at Concentric by Ginkgo, the company’s initiative to promote coronavirus testing and track the spread of the virus. She also worked at DARPA and its sister agency, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.

“Some of the problems we face every day — particularly when it comes to health and disease — are so vast that they can seem insurmountable,” said Dr. Wegrzyn in a White House statement. “I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous expertise and energy the US biomedical and biotechnology company can bring to solve some of the toughest challenges in healthcare.”

Congress has approved $1 billion for ARPA-H, which is housed at the National Institutes of Health but reports directly to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services – an agreement intended to prevent the new agency too busy with the federal bureaucracy. While its director is not a Senate-approved position, Mr. Biden could be pushed back by Republicans, some of whom have argued that the agency is duplicating the NIH’s efforts.

The agency already has an acting associate director, Adam H. Russell, also a DARPA alumnus, who provided the technical infrastructure and other foundations to get the new agency off the ground. dr Collins said Dr. Wegrzyn will start work on October 1st. Her primary goal will be to hire program managers who will bring bold ideas that the agency wants to pursue, and will spend a limited time, perhaps three years, with the agency, he said.

“They’ll arrive, they’ll do a little due diligence, and then they’ll have to get the idea of ​​Dr. suggest Wegrzyn,” said Dr. Collins. “If she says ‘thumbs up,’ they’ll go off with whatever money they can spend to figure out how to put together the right partners to get the job done.”

The emergence of successful new innovations, he said, will take time. But Steve Brozak, an investment banker whose firm WBB Securities specializes in biotechnology, said if the agency is to be a success, Dr. Wegrzyn acted quickly to differentiate their work from the rest of the federal bureaucracy.

“What she needs to do is get a win on the board right away,” he said. “It doesn’t mean money. This means something that can be seen outside of the current paradigm in promoting health care for all.”

Mr. Biden’s selection was commended by Ellen V. Sigal, chair of Friends of Cancer Research, a nonprofit organization that works with industry and government to advance new therapies. Mrs. Sigal called Dr. Wegrzyn “an inspired choice,” adding that “she is a proven innovator and leader who knows science, knows how to make governments work and understands the urgency for patients across the country.”

In addition to announcing his intention to have Dr. Wegrzyn, Mr. Biden on Monday issued an executive order establishing a biotechnology and biomanufacturing initiative that aims to position the United States as a leader in the field and center drug manufacturing in the country. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed critical vulnerabilities in the supply chain for medicines and life-saving therapies.

“The United States has relied heavily on foreign materials for biomanufacturing for too long,” the White House said in a statement, “and our past outsourcing of critical industries, including biotechnology, poses a threat to our ability to access key materials such as including the active pharmaceutical ingredients for life-saving medicines.”

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Politics

Marking 9/11, Biden Remembers the ‘Treasured Lives Stolen From Us’

Marking 9/11, Biden Remembers the ‘Precious Lives Stolen From Us’

WASHINGTON – Twenty-one years after the September 11 attacks, President Biden vowed never to forget “the precious lives that were stolen from us” as he honored the victims of the worst terrorist attack in American history with a somber wreath-laying ceremony in the pouring rain at Pentagon.

“I know for all those who have lost someone, 21 years is both a lifetime and no time at all,” Mr. Biden said in a speech after the ceremony on Sunday. “It’s good to remember. These memories help us heal. But they can also open up the pain and take us back to the moment when the grief was so raw.”

Members of the Biden administration fanned out over memorials at the sites of the three attacks — Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the Pentagon and lower Manhattan — to pay tribute to rescue workers and families of the nearly 3,000 victims who continue to mourn lost memories. experiences and ties. Mr. Biden also celebrated the anniversary by encouraging Americans to defend the nation’s democratic system, returning to a message that the country’s institutions are under threat from forces of domestic extremism.

“It’s not enough to stand up for democracy once a year or once in a while,” Biden said. “It’s something we have to do every day. So this is not only a day to remember, but also a day of renewal and determination for every single American.”

To begin his remarks, Mr. Biden recalled part of a message sent by Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week, in the wake of the attacks: “She strongly reminded us: ‘Sorrow is the price we pay for love.'”

The President’s speech came just over a year after Mr. Biden ended the two-decade war in Afghanistan that the United States began in response to the September 11 attacks. While Mr. Biden has defended the decision to withdraw American troops from the country, the chaotic and random nature of the withdrawal is also one of the darkest moments of Mr. Biden’s presidency.

When the Afghan government collapsed in August 2021, a bomb attack outside Kabul airport killed up to 170 Afghans and 13 American soldiers. The United States has taken in tens of thousands of Afghans supporting US troops in the country, although many others hoping to immigrate stayed abroad even after Mr Biden promised they would have a home in the country.

Mr Biden said Sunday his government remains committed to holding those responsible for the attacks accountable, citing the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawari in a CIA drone strike last month. “Our commitment to preventing another attack in the United States does not end,” Biden said.

The First Lady, Jill Biden, commemorated the day with a visit to Shanksville and recalled the grief as she realized her sister Bonny Jacobs, a flight attendant, may have lost colleagues in the attack.

“When I got to her house, I realized I was right. Not only had she lost colleagues; she had lost friends,” said Dr. biden “As we learned more about that dark day, she also felt proud of what happened here – proud that it was other flight attendants and passengers on United Flight 93 who fought back, who helped damage the plane.” to prevent claiming countless lives the capital of our nation.”

The scene in front of the memorial in New York followed a familiar pattern. Vice President Kamala Harris and Mayor Eric Adams stood by as family members carried photos of their loved ones, while others carried American flags or roses. There were flashes of recognition and hugs between people who saw each other once a year. As the honor guard entered and the national anthem was sung, attendees who had captured pictures of their loved ones held them up.

There were moments of silence at 8:46 a.m. when Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center and at 9:03 a.m. when Flight 175 hit the South Tower. Reading the names of the victims brought both tears and fond memories.

David Albert was 13 when his father, Jon Leslie Albert, vice president of information technology at Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., died in the terrorist attack. He read the names of his father and other victims. The feeling of loss remains even after 21 years, said Mr. Albert.

“The reality is that I, along with countless other children who have lost their parents, have missed countless memories, moments and conversations,” he said. “While the grief eases somewhat over time, my father’s permanent absence is as felt today as it ever was.”

Anthoula Katsimatides, 50, an actress and trustee of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, lost her brother John Katsimatides, 31, a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald.

“As time goes by, it’s easier for people to forget about it or put it on hold,” she said. Ms Katsimatides said the goal of the annual commemoration is to “teach younger generations” to avoid a similar tragedy in the future.

“They need to know, they need to be educated,” Ms Katsimatides said. “And then it will be their job to take the torch and pass it on.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs reported from Washington and Jeffery C. Mays from New York.

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In Ohio, Biden Says Democrats Have Began a Manufacturing Revival

In Ohio, Biden Says Democrats Have Started a Manufacturing Revival

WASHINGTON — President Biden attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a $20 billion computer chip factory in a heavily Republican section of Ohio on Friday, testing the power of his election-year message that Democrats helped kickstart a revival in manufacturing with record amounts of government spending .

Mr. Biden traveled to Licking County, Ohio, outside of Columbus, where Intel plans to build a semiconductor fab. In a remark at the event, the president said the company’s decision to build the facility was the result of a law he signed authorizing his government to spend up to $52 billion to support the chip industry.

“This new law is a historic investment for companies to build advanced manufacturing facilities here in America,” said Mr. Biden, standing in front of an open field on which the sprawling 10-football facility will be built. “Since I signed the CHIPS and Science Act, it’s already started.”

Intel, one of the world’s leading chipmakers, announced construction of the Ohio plant in January, months before the bill passed in the summer, and said it was building the plant to meet rising global demand. In its press release announcing the investment, the company didn’t specifically mention the possibility that federal laws will help fund it.

But Pat Gelsinger, the company’s chief executive, welcomed the legislation, known as the CHIPS and Science Act, and said federal spending could boost the construction sector even more in the years to come. In introducing the President, Mr. Gelsinger praised Mr. Biden and other Washington officials.

“It was a bipartisan bill,” he said at Friday’s event. “How often do you hear that today?”

For Mr. Biden, praising Intel’s blueprints is part of a strategy to draw voters’ attention to parts of the economy that are improving — and away from record-high inflation that has frustrated many Americans and dragged his approval ratings lower.

White House officials note that manufacturing jobs in the United States have risen by 680,000 since the president took office, the fastest pace in 50 years. In his remarks, Mr. Biden said that three other high-tech companies — Micron, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries — recently announced plans to expand manufacturing in the United States.

Government officials have promised that the investment in chipmaking will not be a giveaway to companies that are already making big profits. The law prohibits companies from using the federal investment to buy back shares or invest in construction projects in China. And it includes rules to encourage the use of unionized workers.

Gina Raimondo, the Commerce Secretary, told reporters this week that her department will be “vigilant and aggressive” to ensure the money is not misused.

“We will push companies to be bigger and bolder,” she said. “So if a company already has funding for a $10 billion project right now, we want them to think bigger and see how they’re going from $10 billion to $50 billion with taxpayer funding.”

With the primaries over, both parties are beginning to shift their focus to the November 8 general election.

She pledged that the government would “claw back” investments if companies failed to comply with government rules.

Friday’s visit to Ohio is the latest example of efforts by Mr. Biden and his advisers to rewrite the nation’s economic narrative ahead of the midterm elections, drawing on legislative wins and some bright spots in economic data in hopes to reassure consumers who have been rocked by soaring prices following the pandemic recession.

Polls show that the economy – and persistently high inflation in particular – remains a burden for the President. Mr. Biden’s economics team has been increasingly encouraged by the state of the recovery over the past few weeks, as job growth has remained solid and gasoline prices continued to fall across the country.

On Friday, Mr. Biden’s economic team released a 58-page “economic plan” aimed at claiming credit for the strong job market and manufacturing sector, and reiterated the president’s still-unfinished plans for additional tax and spending changes that would benefit the economy should help .

The document breaks Mr. Biden’s economic strategy into five parts: empowering workers, improving American manufacturing, supporting families, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and aligning tax laws to help middle-class workers.

Will it work politically to help Democrats avoid deep losses in this fall’s midterm elections?

White House officials are betting that messages like Mr. Biden’s on Friday will appeal to a broad constituency of voters, including middle-class workers, independents, and those with and without college degrees.

Places like Ohio will be a test of that theory.

The state is home to one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. JD Vance, an author who appropriated the style and ideology of former President Donald J. Trump, is running as a Republican against Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio, to replace Sen. Rob Portman, who was in the going into retirement.

Mr Ryan has distanced himself from Mr Biden, refused to court the president and said the country needs “new leadership” when asked if the president should run for a second term. Mr Ryan, who also attended the Intel event on Friday, noted that during the 2020 campaign Mr Biden had hinted that he might only serve one term.

“The president said from the start that he would be a bridge to the next generation,” Ryan told reporters, “which is basically what I said.”

Mr. Biden’s approval rating has recovered somewhat from the lows earlier this year, although a majority of Americans continue to disapprove of his leadership in most polls. Still, the president’s appearance in one of the most conservative parts of Ohio suggests his political advisers believe talking about manufacturing can be a winning strategy.

In 2016, Mr. Trump won Licking County, where the Intel plant is to be built, 61 percent to 33 percent over Hillary Clinton. Four years later he won again, this time against Mr. Biden, 63 percent to 35 percent.

Prior to Mr. Biden’s comments, the White House announced that the government had allocated $17.7 million to Ohio colleges and universities to support programs focused on developing a workforce capable of Taking jobs in next-generation semiconductor fabs like the ones Intel plans to build.

Officials said the National Science Foundation plans to spend $100 million to invest in similar programs across the country, all aimed at helping people take on new, high-paying jobs in the industry regardless of where they live .

In his speech, the President made clear the message he hoped voters would take with them from these announcements.

“Jobs now,” he said. “Jobs for the future. Jobs in all parts of the country.”

Jim Tankersley contributed reporting.

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Democrats unlikely to cross Biden social spending plan

Democrats unlikely to pass Biden social spending plan

US Vice President Kamala Harris (R) listens as President Joe Biden remarks on his proposed “Build Back Better” social spending bill in the East Room of the White House on October 28, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s Social Spending and Climate Change Act has stalled in the Senate and nearly dashed Democratic hopes of passing it this year.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Conservative Democrat who alone can block his party’s plan, has not signed the $ 1.75 trillion proposal while his party waits to see if it complies with Senate rules. That means any vote on the bill is likely to slide into 2022, when the upcoming mid-term elections only add to the strong political pressure surrounding the plan.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday his party would “keep working to put the Senate in a position where we can vote on the President’s Build Back Better legislation”. He didn’t mention his goal of getting the plan approved by Christmas – a goal he’s been repeating for weeks.

When asked on Wednesday whether he thinks the law can be passed this year, Biden said, “I hope so. It’s going to be tight. “

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If the plan is not adopted in 2021, this will have immediate effects. The expanded child tax credit of up to $ 300 per month per child expires at the end of the year unless Congress extends it. The last payments to families went out on Wednesday, and the Build Back Better Act would extend them for a year.

Manchin on Wednesday rejected a report alleging opposition to expanding the larger child tax deduction is holding the bill. He said he was “always in favor of child tax credits” before he was irritated by reporters asking him about the legislation, according to NBC News.

“I don’t negotiate with any of you all, okay?” he said. “So you can ask any questions you want – folks, let me go. This is cops —. You are cops —. OK. I’m done, I’m done! “

A source familiar with the discussions told NBC News that the conversations between Biden and Machin went “very badly” and that they were “far apart” from the proposal.

The Democrats are considering options to continue child tax deduction through a separate bill. It is unclear how they would pass the renewal as they likely won’t garner the 10 Republican votes it takes to break a filibuster.

If the bill hits a wall, the Senate will move on to other priorities. Senate Democrats have discussed possible instruments to bypass the filibuster and pass a voting law in the coming weeks without Republican support.

Biden supported a possible push to pass electoral laws in the final days of the year.

“There is nothing more important at home than the right to vote. It is the greatest,” he said on Wednesday.

The idea of ​​using a temporary filibuster carveout gained momentum after Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Voted for a similar tactic to get the debt ceiling hike this week. Democrats tried to pass federal voting rights this year after several states passed restrictive electoral laws, but Republicans stalled their efforts and insisted that states control the elections.

US Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) takes a break from remarks to reporters in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, November 1, 2021.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Delays in the passage of the Build Back Better Act would have wider implications than the Senate’s plans. Democrats see the legislation as a transformative package that would make child and health care more affordable, provide families with additional financial support, and make the largest investment in climate change mitigation in the country’s history. The longer it hangs in the balance, the Democrats continue to grapple with the appearance of not getting through for their constituents.

Republicans call it an excessive spending plan that would fuel inflation. Failure of the bill would provide energy to Democrats as ineffective as they continue to criticize their platform.

The fate of the legislation could affect halfway through. The Democrats have been looking for advances to sell to the electorate, as it appears that Republicans are favored to regain control of the House of Representatives – and possibly the Senate.

Biden’s approval ratings have fallen despite economic aid from the Democrats this year and the passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Voters may not see the benefits of the infrastructure package for months or years.

Manchin did not rule out voting in favor of the pending law on social spending and climate. But even after urging his party to cut the price of the plan from $ 3.5 trillion to $ 1.75 trillion, he raised concerns about its cost and the potential to increase inflation.

When asked Wednesday about Schumer’s Christmas goal to pass the bill, Manchin noted that the Senate MP has not decided what the Democrats can include in the final package.

“We have nothing to vote on!” he said.

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Jim Jordan texted Mark Meadows argument for Mike Pence to reject Biden electoral votes

Jim Jordan texted Mark Meadows argument for Mike Pence to reject Biden electoral votes

Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Saul Loeb | Pool via Reuters

Republican MP Jim Jordan conveyed a message to then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows arguing that Vice President Mike Pence should reject certain Electoral College votes on Jan. 6 during the confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidential win over Donald Trump.

The text, which NBC News confirmed Wednesday was broadcast from Jordan, was one of several messages to Meadows a House special committee publicly shared this week as it pursued criminal disdain for Trump’s former chief of staff.

The text was written by Joseph Schmitz, a former Pentagon inspector general and former Trump campaign aide, and passed on to Meadows by Jordan, a source told NBC News. Schmitz could not be reached immediately to comment.

The message said that on Jan. 6, Pence was due to “cast all votes which he believed to be unconstitutional as there were no votes at all,” alleging that such an act would be consistent with “judicial precedence” and “guidance from.” Founding father Alexander Hamilton “stand. “

The legally questionable argument that Pence could unilaterally invalidate or deny a state’s votes was rejected by Pence himself, despite Trump urging him to do so.

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Schmitz’s argument, relayed by an incumbent member of Congress to the president’s chief adviser, reveals how Trump’s allies at all levels exchanged ideas about how the outcome of the democratic elections could be changed.

Jordan is a staunch ally of Trump who worked alongside Meadows in the conservative House Freedom Caucus. The Ohio legislature was one of dozen of Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to challenge election results that favored Biden after the rioters were evacuated from the Capitol.

Jordan spokesmen did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment on the text sent to Meadows.

The special committee is tasked with investigating the facts and causes of the deadly invasion of January 6, when hundreds of Trump supporters forcibly stormed the Capitol and forced Congress to flee their chambers. Many of the rioters were spurred on by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 elections had been “rigged” against him by widespread electoral fraud.

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to hold Meadows for disregarding Congress for defying the summons of the selected panel to request dismissal. The committee says Meadows created thousands of pages of records and agreed to answer questions before abruptly pulling back. Meadows has sued the selected panel for invalidating two of his subpoenas, arguing, in part, that Trump exercised executive privilege over his testimony.

The committee this week revealed some of Meadows’ records, including texts he received from Jordan and other lawmakers. They also shared messages sent to Meadows by Donald Trump Jr. and several pro-Trump Fox News presenters, who panicked over the Capitol uprising as it unfolded.

“He must condemn this s — as soon as possible. The Capitol Police’s tweet is not enough, ”Trump Jr. wrote to Meadows on Jan. 6, said Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Vice chair of the special committee, during a meeting Monday night.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Read part of Jordan’s message to Meadows at the meeting without naming Jordan as the sender.

“On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, was supposed to call all votes that he deems unconstitutional because there were no votes at all,” reads the text, which was sent to Meadows by a person who only described Schiff as “Legislator”.

An accompanying graphic displayed this quote as a full sentence. Jordan’s office argued to NBC that Schiff misrepresented the message because it omitted some of the language Jordan sent to Meadows.

A select committee spokesman told CNBC that the graphic “accidentally” added a period to the end of the quote Schiff read during the meeting. “The special committee is responsible for the mistake and regrets the mistake,” said the spokesman.

The spokesman sent the full text messaging record “in the interests of transparency” to CNBC.

It states: “On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should call all votes that he deems to be unconstitutional, as there are no votes at all – according to the instructions of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and ‘No legislative act,’ wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78, ‘may be valid against the Constitution.’ The Hubbard v. Lowe affirmed this truth: “That an unconstitutional law is not a law at all is no longer up for discussion.” 226 F. 135, 137 (SDNY 1915), appeal dismissed, 242 US 654 (1916). Because of this, an unconstitutional elector, like an unconstitutional law, is not a voter at all. “

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Biden provides New York to areas eligible for catastrophe funds after Ida devastation

Biden adds New York to areas eligible for disaster funds after Ida devastation

A man looks at a car in the flood after what was left of Ida on Sept.

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President Joe Biden has added New York to the list of the greatest disaster areas following the devastation of Hurricane Ida last week.

The move, announced on Monday, releases federal disaster funding to help the storm-hit areas, which cut a swath of the northeast from September 1-3, dropping an average of 3.1 inches an hour and causing dozens of deaths.

In a similar announcement on Sunday, Biden also declared New Jersey a disaster area. Ida is said to have caused at least 27 deaths there and four people are still missing.

The president is expected to tour Manville, NJ and Queens on Tuesday to witness Ida’s damage and various restoration efforts.

One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the US, Ida struck Louisiana earlier this week before moving north and wreaking havoc in several states.

According to PowerOutage.us, a tracking site, nearly 530,000 Louisians were still without power as of Monday morning.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul estimates Ida caused more than $ 50 million in damage to the state.

Biden’s move will enable it to support the Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond and Westchester counties, the White House said. The evaluations are also ongoing in other areas and counties.

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Biden to Go to Northeast Flood Zones as Demand Grows for Local weather Motion

Biden to Visit Northeast Flood Zones as Demand Grows for Climate Action

As residents sought to clean up and assess the damage caused by catastrophic flash floods in the northeast last week, President Biden prepared to visit the hardest-hit areas of New York and New Jersey where he faced political ferment that is about the climate-related disaster.

The deadly flood from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which killed more than 45 people in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, has fueled the fighting that began with Hurricane Sandy in 2012 to slow climate change and protect the population Communities tightened. The floods are already sharpening the debate about whether city and country leaders are doing enough – even those who, like Mr Biden, are publicly advocating strong action.

Mr Biden’s trip comes as he and the Democratic leaders struggle to get Congress to incorporate measures to curb planet warming emissions into a $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill and funds to protect communities from disasters increase like last week.

Within hours of the downpours in the New York area, Mr. Biden had linked it directly to his climate agenda. In a speech he described the floods as “another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here” and called for more spending on modernizing power grids, sewers, water systems, bridges and roads.

But some climate groups are blaming his government for including large new funds for building and upgrading highways in the measure.

In New York and New Jersey, advocates of stricter climate action are hoping the disaster will give new impetus to ambitious state and local climate laws and regulations and help counter opposition to even broader proposals like a city council bill banning gas heaters and stoves in all new buildings.

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, and Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, pledged to step up the fight on climate change as state and city agencies stepped up to help residents apply for assistance and file insurance claims close. However, some residents still complained that days after the flood there had not been an officer in their block.

Ms. Hochul said on Twitter on Sunday that she got 378 million back. “

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat and majority leader, said he would use the moment to add more extreme weather protection to the budget and pledged to support the state’s call for Washington to speed up damage assessments and federal aid. But some New York City residents pressed for more.

Dozens of protesters waved life jackets – each representing a New Yorker killed in the flood – outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home on Saturday, calling on him to come up with a $ 1.43 trillion proposal for a “Green New Deal” for public schools to support.

Climate and environmental justice groups said they would also protest against Mr Biden. Their message: The deaths – at least 13 in New York City and at least 27 in New Jersey – show that government action has been too hesitant to curb both the burning of oil and gas, which is driving climate change, and the Protecting people from the effects of climate change storms, fires and heat waves, which become more frequent and intense as the planet warms up.

Rachel Rivera, a resident of the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn who campaigned against a new gas pipeline there, said she wanted to urge not only Mr. Biden but also local officials to “stop both the pollution that is causing all of this” also to start financing the work ”. to get us to safety. “

Extreme weather

Updated

9/3/2021, 2:38 p.m. ET

“It’s neither one nor the other,” she said. “It’s both. In every storm they talk big, but then they do nothing.”

Ms. Rivera joined New York Communities for Change, a group working on environmental and public housing issues after her roof collapsed during Hurricane Sandy. She said her teenage daughter still suffers from traumatic flashbacks when it rains.

Mr. Biden will visit the New York borough of Queens, home to the majority of New York City residents who were killed in the floods last week. Most of them drowned when rainwater poured into basement apartments that violated housing codes.

The president will also visit Manville, NJ, which recorded 10 inches of rain in the downpour on Wednesday, forcing the city to rescue residents by helicopter and boat.

Both New York and New Jersey were devastated by Hurricane Sandy nearly nine years ago, sparking new policies and grassroots movements to combat climate change. Ambitious infrastructure plans for renewable energy development and coastal protection such as levees and dune restoration have been drawn up. Public pension funds began divesting fossil fuel companies and passed laws drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But many of these projects remain unfinished, and more far-reaching proposals have not made it into law. Proponents of more ambitious ideas like the city’s bill to ban gas appliances in new homes are now mobilizing for a new boost.

This includes a growing number of local lawmakers, chosen on promises to adopt bold measures to curb carbon emissions and address issues and inequalities that have been allowed – in housing, transport, disaster preparedness and other areas – and the extreme weather conditions cause more deadly.

Small issues that may not have been noticed before the flood are already attracting new attention. A protest against Jenifer Rajkumar, a state lawmaker, was planned for Monday in Queens over a proposed parking space she supports in Forest Park, one of the largest green spaces in the district.

The official response to the recent disaster did not begin until Sunday. The police went door to door looking for people who were still missing. State authorities are setting up command centers in flooded areas to help people get information and assistance. The New York Sanitation Department collected storm debris and said it would reverse a plan for garbage collectors to suspend Labor Day.

On the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, Linda Bowman, another member of the New York Communities for Change, had to contend with a flood for the second time; her house had also been flooded during Sandy.

“I need help,” she said. “Don’t just talk.”

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Politics

Biden blames delta variant, unvaccinated individuals

Biden blames delta variant, unvaccinated people

President Joe Biden on Friday blamed the coronavirus pandemic for a surprisingly weak jobs report, calling out Americans who have still not gotten vaccinated even amid the spread of the highly infectious delta variant.

Nonfarm payrolls in August increased by just 235,000, the Labor Department reported, far below the 720,000 new hires that economists predicted. The report showed the smallest monthly jobs total since January.

“There’s no question the delta variant is why today’s job report isn’t stronger,” Biden said at the White House shortly after the data came out.

Biden, who has spent much of his first leg in the White House focused on the pandemic, said, “We need to make more progress in fighting the delta variant.”

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Despite the government’s ongoing vaccination push, tens of millions of eligible Americans still have not received even a single dose of a Covid shot. Biden said that group is prolonging the pandemic and contributing to anxieties that impact the economy.

“This is a continuing pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the president said. “Too many have not gotten vaccinated, and it’s creating a lot of unease in our economy and around our kitchen tables.”

Less than 64% of U.S. adults, roughly 175 million people, are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-shot Covid vaccine, the only one to receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, is only available for people 16 and older. Kids ages 12 to 15 are still able to get Pfizer’s shot on an emergency use basis.

Biden acknowledged the weak numbers in the report — “I was hoping for a higher number,” he said. But he nevertheless defended the economic progress that the U.S. has seen under his administration.

“What we’re seeing is an economic recovery that’s durable and strong. The Biden plan is working. We’re getting results.”

The president highlighted the decrease in the unemployment rate, down to 5.2% in the latest report from 6.3% in January.

He also teased new steps the White House would take next week to combat the delta variant, suggesting that the actions would focus on protecting schools, businesses, families and the economy from the virus.

The spread of the delta variant has led to another huge surge in Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths around the country, with Southern states hit especially hard. Florida has a higher Covid hospitalization rate than anywhere else in the U.S., and this week broke its record for the largest single-day rise in deaths, with 1,338 reported Thursday.

Some experts are predicting another spike is in store for the Northeast.

“Now whether we see a wave of infection as dense and severe as the South, I don’t think that’s going to be the case because we have a lot more vaccination; we’ve had a lot of prior infection, which we also know is protective,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA chief for two years under then-President Donald Trump, told CNBC earlier Friday.

“But we will probably see a build in cases here in the Northeast,” he said. “I don’t think that we’re done with this.”

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Politics

Insurance coverage corporations heed Biden name to assist victims cowl extra prices

Insurance companies heed Biden call to help victims cover more costs

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives on Jan.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

WASHINGTON – Two of the best-known US insurance companies have responded to President Joe Biden’s request to cover additional living expenses for Louisiana policyholders who evacuated their homes prior to Hurricane Ida but were not under certain mandatory evacuation orders.

Allstate and USAA have agreed to pay additional living expenses for policyholders in the state who have evacuated their homes, a White House official told CNBC.

More companies are expected to follow suit, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing effort.

Typically, insurance only covers the additional cost of living for policyholders evacuating their homes before major storms, not those who leave their homes voluntarily.

Biden first addressed the issue on Thursday in a White House speech about the storm.

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“Right now we are hearing reports that some insurance companies may refuse to cover additional living expenses unless the homeowner has been on a mandatory evacuation,” Biden said.

Homeowners in the path of the storm, he said, “left their homes because they felt they were fleeing or risking death. Nothing about that is voluntary.”

Biden then appealed to home insurers: “Do the right thing. Pay your policyholders what you owe them and cover the cost of temporary housing amid the disaster. Help the needy. “

On Friday, Biden visited Louisiana, where he said his government was “putting as much pressure as possible” on insurance companies.

State Insurance Commissioner James Donelon issued a bulletin Friday to all insurers in the state saying they should “refrain from using the language in their insurance policies that requires mandatory evacuation to trigger civil coverage”.

Donelon also directed insurers to let his office know whether or not they would comply, and increased the stakes on companies if they choose to refuse coverage.

After the story was published, a USAA spokesman told CNBC, “Some USAA homeowner policies offer limited coverage for evacuation costs when damage is covered. Members can provide receipts for reimbursement. “

The episode is a rare example of a US president effectively shaming large corporations for changing a fundamental piece of the way they do business – how insurance companies assess eligibility for coverage.

The origins of political change can be traced back to Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman who is a senior official in the Biden White House.

In the days following the storm, Richmond learned from homeowners that their insurance policies would not cover temporary housing costs unless their homes were subject to mandatory evacuation orders.

Ida hit land in most of southeast Louisiana last Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane. However, the evacuation orders were very different from community to community.

Some coastal communities, such as Grand Isle, made mandatory evacuations for all residents. Others, however, issued evacuation orders that were only compulsory for people in low-lying areas and voluntary in areas that are better isolated from floods.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a mandatory evacuation order for people living outside the city’s levee system, but a voluntary one for those protected by the levees.

“We are not asking for a mandatory evacuation because time is just not on our side,” Cantrell said on the Friday before the storm. “We don’t want people on the street and therefore in greater danger due to lack of time.”

During his visit, Biden encouraged anyone affected by Ida to contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency and see what kind of help they might be eligible for, and promised to keep the federal resources there until they settle have fully recovered.

“We will be there for you,” he said.

The home insurance industry’s leading trading group said its members are aware of Ida’s suffering and would like to help.

“Ida has devastated communities along the Gulf Coast and along the east coast. Insurers recognize the tragedy and fear faced by many American families, individuals and businesses as wildfires and storms rage amid uncertainty over the pandemic, “said David Sampson, president and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said in one Statement to CNBC.

“Insured who have suffered a claim should call their insurer as soon as possible to initiate the claim process. Call your insurer if you have been evacuated voluntarily or compulsorily to discuss your coverage. Policies can vary by company and state, ”he said.