Here’s everything you need to know about Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s gaggle on Air Force 1 en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 12, 2021.
1. Right to Vote
On Tuesday, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced President Biden would be delivering remarks on the constitutional right to vote on Air Force 1 en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
President Biden will articulate how to meet the greatest threat to the right to vote and the integrity of our elections since the Civil War. He wants to “Overcome the rash of anti-voter laws motivated by the big lie and underline all of the government efforts the Biden Harris administration launched to use the powers of the executive branch to protect and advance the sacred constitutional right to vote,” said Jean-Pierre.
The President will highlight that the greatest irony of the 28 voter suppression laws that have been passed across 17 states this year alone is that the 2020 election stands as a model for the trustworthiness and precision of the United State’s system given that over 80 judges, including judges appointed by his predecessor, threw out every challenge to it.
The President will give Democrats credit unanimously voting to advance the For The People Act and decry the republican obstruction of its path. He will reiterate that the work to pass it and the John Lewis voting rights advancement are only beginning.
Pierre stated that the President would also blast the denial of the right to vote as grounded in autocracy under undemocratic and as unpatriotic. He will note that while voter protection that what these 21st century Jim Crow laws represent is “sadly not unprecedented in American history.”
“These new insidious moves to empower partisans over Independent Election authorities in terms of who counts the votes are new and extremely dangerous. Such efforts, which could allow partisans to throw out the votes of anyone who for made-up reasons, are the most significant threat to today to the integrity of our elections and to the security of the right to vote,” said Jean-Pierre.
According to Pierre, the President will call for a new coalition made up of activist leaders, labor leaders, and business executives to overcome this un-American trend and meet the moment of turnout and voter education.
“The President will repeat that these are the most egregious attempts to harm the integrity of our democracy since the Civil War, but that if we show the will to save and strengthen our democracy, this can be turned back,” expressed Jean-Pierre.
This comes as Democrat lawmakers in Texas left the state and flew to Washington D.C. to halt state Republicans from passing highly restrictive voting rights bills.
Pierre announced that the President would meet this week with the Texas legislators who broke Horam to block legislation that would have made it significantly more challenging for the people of Texas to vote.
2. Covid-19
In the wake of the highly transmissible Delta variant making a way in the United States, the push to get as many Americans vaccinated is still on.
As data continues to show young Americans are a particular age that has low vaccinations rates, the Biden administration will have popular actress and singer Olivia Rodrigo at the White House to promote the Covid-19 vaccines amongst young people.
According to Pierre, Rodrigo will meet with President Biden and Dr. Fauci. The three will record videos about the importance of getting vaccinated, including answering essential questions about getting vaccinated.
The videos will be featured on Olivia’s channels of over 28 million followers across the channels and the White House social media pages.
3. Infrastructure
As Biden continues to sell the Infrastructure package to the American people, Pierre expressed that there is, “Growing bipartisan momentum in Congress as we look towards the historical framework that came together, the bipartisan framework, that this is the product of hard work, by Democrats and Republicans, and which would make the most significant investment in our roads and bridges since the creation.”
She added that the creation of the internet interstate highway system would connect every American should broadband, including in underserved rural areas, stop our children from drinking poisoned water that can impact them for life, will secure leadership in the clean energy economy, and make the most significant investments in American Rail since Amtrak.
“As Senator Portman said yesterday, people want to see our infrastructure be improved. They’re tired of waiting in traffic during their rush hour commute. People are tired of worrying about lead pipes. It’s prevalent because it’s something people know is needed,” said Jean-Pierre.
The Deputy Press Secretary announced that just this morning, the US Conference of Mayors, on a bipartisan basis, wrote to both chambers of Congress, advocating for quick passage of the framework. They wrote the bipartisan infrastructure framework as crucial to making meaningful progress on one of the most pressing and unifying challenges facing our country. “We believe that this framework deserves bipartisan support in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The American people are calling out for these investments and we’re going to deliver.”
As for the reconciliation bill, Pierre revealed that Senator Sanders is continuing to negotiate a resolution package.
Biden on Haiti and Cuba
In the wake of the assassination of the Haitian President last week, Pierre announced that the President said yesterday, “We are closely following the developments in Haiti in the wake of the horrific assassination of their president that recently took place. we iterate our deepest condolences to the family of President Moise and wish first lady Moise a swift recovery.”
Pierre stated that the people of Haiti deserve peace and security, and Haiti’s political leaders need to come together for the good of their country.
“The President dispatched a high-level interagency expert delegation to assess the situation and to determine whether the United States can offer our support. We are in close consultation with the Haitian government, and he’ll have more to share in the upcoming days.”
As of right now, all the members have returned from the delegation, according to Pierre.
In the wake of recent protests in Cuba yesterday, Jean-Pierre expressed that the President recognized the demonstrations that are happening in Cuba calling them, “remarkable” The President stated that the “Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime.”
The President reiterated that the United States stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal right. Biden called up the government of Cuba to refrain from violence or any attempts to silence the voice of the people of Cuba.